jamesq | Creationism in the UK (Reply)

I was hoping that creationism was a purely American vice (with rural Western Canada being unfortunately US-like), but apparently three out of ten science teachers in the UK want to teach it as well.

Fiona Johnson, head of education research at Ipsos Mori and director of the Ipsos Mori Teachers Omnibus, said: "Our findings suggest that many teachers are trying to adopt a measured approach to this contentious issue, an approach which attempts not only to explain the essential differences between scientific and other types of 'theory', but also to acknowledge that - regardless of, or even despite, "the science" - pupils may have a variety of strongly held, and arguably equal value, faith-based beliefs."

Just because it's a strongly held value doesn't mean it's of equal value. A strongly held belief can still be wrong and I hope we haven't gotten to the point where wrong has equal value to right.

Thankfully saner heads have chimed in:

Prof Higgins said: "Creationism, as an alternative to the evolution of species, has long been thoroughly discredited by rigorous analysis of data. Of course, if a pupil raises it as a hypothesis then a brief discussion as to why creationism is wrong might be appropriate as part of an education in intellectual integrity and rational thought.

"But it would undermine any educational system to purposefully teach discredited ideas which are now only perpetuated through ignorance or flawed thinking - one might as well teach astrology, flat earthism, alchemy or a geocentric universe."

I see no indication that UK schools are actually going to go this way, only that a polling firm has found some crackpots. Hopefully that's as far as it will go.

Read all about it here:
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/76915/Third-of-teachers-want-Creationism