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Re: [Phys-L] [SPAM] Re: strange things in chem book



On 9/16/2012 8:56 PM, Marty Weiss wrote:

On Sep 16, 2012, at 8:35 PM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:

Well, I guess "just a theory" means it's really not a "proven fact."
Fossil evidence clearly shows that evolution is the best explanation
we have for how species have changed over time, but it is not
complete. And nobody really knows how life began on Earth. So that's
why it is a "theory." Maybe "just a theory" sounds like it is far
from complete or something. Either way, it is a theory. Sort of like
the Big Bang. All evidence points toward a universe that began
extremely hot and dense. But that's all we know. Nobody really knows
where all the energy/matter came from, or what happened before the
Big Bang.

I have a few kids each year who (for religious reasons?) do not
believe in evolution.

Ask why Noah forgot to include the dinosaurs on the ark, but
remembered to bring termites. The explanation I get for fossils is
that God put them there to confuse man. (I kid you not.)

You can't ever convince someone like that but you can't look hesitant
or appear to hedge when confronted.

Check out Doonesbury. This week.. but I forgot which day it was. The
teacher is teaching evolution, then he says, "By Texas law I now have
to explain the alternate theory...and proceeds to lay out the Biblical
statements of sudden creation with drawings of animals entering the
ark. Finally a student calls out , "Please stop, I want to get into a
good college."

In a recent discussion on a friend's Facebook wall about teaching
evolution, one of the posters was a teacher from Australia.

[Background: Australia's constitution has similar language to ours
about freedom of religion and separation of church and state.
However, in 1982, Australia passed a law that allows private schools
(including religious schools) to receive federal funding for the
portion of their activities that are secular, provided that the
schools are teaching federally-approved curriculum.]

This particular teacher has taught in both public and religious schools.
On the subject of teaching evolution, he said:

I've taught in one of these [religious] schools a few years ago, and
when the subject came up, I taught evolution. All that I was asked to
do was to make a statement like this one to the students:

"This is a science class, and I am going to teach you the most
accepted scientific theory concerning how life developed on this
planet. Many of you will be aware that the Bible also outlines the
development of life in Genesis. I am not qualified to discuss that -
if you want to discuss that with somebody else, please see the
Chaplain or one of the Religious Education staff. In a science
class, we learn current scientific ideas."

In their RE classes, they were certainly taught about Genesis, and
creationism, but there was no attempt to block the teaching of science
in science classes.

Later in the same discussion, he also mentioned that after the 1982
funding law passed, the "number of fringe" religious schools in
Australia decreased noticeably.

--
Jeff Bigler
Lynn English HS; Lynn, MA, USA
"Magic" is what we call Science before we understand it.