Institute of Education’s ‘Head of Science’ sells out science
Professor Michael Reiss, Head of Science at the University of London’s Institute of Education, says:
‘The days have long gone when science teachers could ignore creationism when teaching about origins.’
Great. If so, then why not:
‘The days have long gone when geography teachers could ignore flat-earthism when teaching about the earth.’
What should science teachers do when confronted in the classroom with the negation of science that is religious fundamentalism? Give in to it of course. Let the baseless nonsense of creationism be treated with respect, and let the parameters of debate be set by those who, ignorant themselves, want to make sure their children stay ignorant too.
UPDATE: There’s a good post about this at Skeptipedia, and the Virtual Philosopher has some top-notch musings on the issue as well. A post at Counterknowledge.com takes a different view: ‘[Reiss] makes the excellent point that by not simply dismissing Creationism and Intelligent Design, we can explain to children why they do not constitute scientific theories, and why they are not equivalent in status to evolutionary theory’. The question is whether science lessons are the right place for this kind of discussion.
October 5th, 2007 at 03:01 pm
The reason the ‘days have long gone’ when science teachers could ignore creationism is that there is a significant body of children coming into school indoctrinated with this nonsense - some of them willing to challenge the teachers. There is no such body supporting flat-earthism, so it does not to be addressed.
I heard Professor Reiss on the radio and he said not that creationism should be respected, but that people who believe should be treated with respect. He said they should not be ridculed, but they should be challenged and confronted with the science.
Sorry to spoil your rant.