Do they still have to teach it as a "possible alternative" to how life began? I remember it being required of my highschool science teacher and was curious. It's ridiculous if it still is. It makes about as much sense as teaching flat earth theory as an alternative to verified science.
Comments
Laeek t1_izysvgp wrote
https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/content
If you go down to "standards" at the bottom you could see if there is anything under history or science (I'd assume it's one of those, although creationism obviously has no basis in either) that would require it to be taught.
If anyone has kids, or is just interested, it might be worth taking an hour or so to look at what knowledge we're expecting kids to end up with these days.
Shell58 OP t1_izytd89 wrote
I graduated in 2010. They didn't have to talk too much about it but they did have to include/mention creationism and intelligent design without saying they are complete bullshit in biology class
c4boom13 t1_izz2as3 wrote
Maybe this was a local requirement? I was in highschool very close to 2010 and creationism never came up in a science course.
MrsBeansAppleSnaps t1_izzdc8k wrote
They don't teach anything about how life began in schools because it's a scientific mystery at the moment. They teach evolution because is explains how species change over time. Here is a good read: https://time.com/77676/why-science-does-not-disprove-god/
"Science is an amazing, wonderful undertaking: it teaches us about life, the world and the universe. But it has not revealed to us why the universe came into existence nor what preceded its birth in the Big Bang. Biological evolution has not brought us the slightest understanding of how the first living organisms emerged from inanimate matter on this planet and how the advanced eukaryotic cells—the highly structured building blocks of advanced life forms—ever emerged from simpler organisms. Neither does it explain one of the greatest mysteries of science: how did consciousness arise in living things?"
ServiceMX t1_izzf9uz wrote
They mentioned it to us in Biology, too, but I think it's really more at the discretion of the teacher. In this case, there was a Baptist girl who freaked out on a field trip when the TVs on the bus started playing "The Golden Compass." She demanded to be let off because they "KILL GOD" in the movie.
Some teachers would probably rather offer a throwaway to these freaks rather than have their parents fuck with them, especially in the current climate of nutjobs trying to take over local schoolboards. Sure, we'd probably both prefer that they stand their ground, but they really don't get paid enough to take the inevitable harassment.
the_wookie_of_maine t1_izzk3yg wrote
I don't think public schools do.
Private religious schools probably do.
IamSauerKraut t1_j005zjx wrote
I thought there was a federal case before then which made the mandatory teaching of creationism unconstitutional.
IamSauerKraut t1_j006417 wrote
Were you in private school or public high school?
lookiamonredditnow t1_j01ewff wrote
I think you are slightly taking for granted that we have these answers to how life and the universe originated. We don't and may never. Not saying you should believe one thing or the other, but I fail to grasp how you can pick and choose which ideologies might be valid without knowing the truth.
Lieutenant_Joe t1_j01zynm wrote
Creationism might as well have been banned in all the schools I went to growing up. Graduated 2015. Anyone who talked about it got a more polite version of the “you’re stupid, shut up” treatment from whatever teacher was there. They weren’t teaching religion and they didn’t want students teaching other students their religion either. This was in rural central maine.
tsmit50 t1_j03pslj wrote
The tolerant left, ladies and gents.
Silktrocity t1_j0448qi wrote
2004 graduate here, never discussed anything religious in terms of science. Was the big bang theory.
Hotpickledsprouts t1_j04la0d wrote
If you're so tolerant as to cast stones, then burn your flag you self righteous gopher diddler
tsmit50 t1_j04thqz wrote
Who cast stones? You’re the one that called 85% of the world “dumb.”
Hotpickledsprouts t1_j04uen6 wrote
You're being edgy insinuating that im not tolerant. 85% of the world believes in young earth creationism ?? Gtfo. That's a laughably made up statement, par for the course.
Just because you're delusional about the world you live in doesn't mean I have to be nice about it.
tsmit50 t1_j04vet8 wrote
You say you’re tolerant but then you insult someone who happens to disagree with you.
Hotpickledsprouts t1_j0519uz wrote
No, you don't understand. We're not disagreeing.
WalkerBRiley t1_j07l6bv wrote
How does one kill God specifically? According to Abrahamic religions He is omniscient and omnipotent and immortal. Not even going to start the argument about how being omniscient and omnipotent makes him a complete and total asshole to his creations, but the immortal part is pretty important in terms of Killing God. Your god can't be that good if some random person is able to kill him.
WalkerBRiley t1_j07lfk3 wrote
We have a fairly good idea how the first organisms emerged, and it doesn't have anything to do with a magic invisible floaty man.
WalkerBRiley t1_j07m20f wrote
The problem is you are mistaking belief for truth.
I can believe in magic fairy lands all I want, doesn't make them true.
The truth is we have a pretty good idea on how life began, and evolution explains how we got to where we are now. But we will never definitively prove it.
But it's certainly a much better explanation than 'magic invisible floaty man made everything.'
ServiceMX t1_j07mbbv wrote
In the book/movie they actually do kill God. Blasphemy is frowned upon in Christianity from what I've seen, so that was probably her major issue with it if I had to guess.
SPOILER:
A simplistic explanation is that, in the story, God is just the oldest angel and came into being before all other sentient life. He then convinces all the other angels that he created them (and everything). In actuality, he just happened to come into being first, and all angels are formed of a particle colloquially referred to as "dust," which is both the byproduct and catalyst of sentient life.
It's actually a really good book series, the main characters are children but the story is honestly more written for an adult audience.
MrsBeansAppleSnaps t1_j07o7zu wrote
"A fairly good idea" lmao. I think if we had solved the question of the origin of life I would have heard about it in the news. Link me the science.
Hotpickledsprouts t1_izykebv wrote
I would hope not since it's entirely nonsense but the people who believe that sort of idiocy are real loud about it and probably have gotten it included in some classrooms. It's very common in the south already unfortunately.
But yeah, anyone who believes young earth creationism is basically as dumb as a flat earther. Plenty of overlap there. Easily refuted.
Biology/evolution/genetics are not things someone can believe or not believe, you understand or you don't understand.