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New Florida law lets any resident challenge what’s taught in science classes

P

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...nt-challenge-whats-taught-in-science-classes/

Any resident in Florida can now challenge what kids learn in public schools, thanks to a new law that science education advocates worry will make it harder to teach evolution and climate change.
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The legislation, which was signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) this week and goes into effect Saturday, requires school boards to hire an “unbiased hearing officer” who will handle complaints about instructional materials, such as movies, textbooks and novels, that are used in local schools. Any parent or county resident can file a complaint, regardless of whether they have a student in the school system. If the hearing officer deems the challenge justified, he or she can require schools to remove the material in question.
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The legislation, which was signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) this week and goes into effect Saturday, requires school boards to hire an “unbiased hearing officer” who will handle complaints about instructional materials, such as movies, textbooks and novels, that are used in local schools. Any parent or county resident can file a complaint, regardless of whether they have a student in the school system. If the hearing officer deems the challenge justified, he or she can require schools to remove the material in question.
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Proponents of the new law say it makes the challenge process easier for parents and gives residents a greater say in their children's education. And state Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Naples), who sponsored the bill, told Nature in May that his intent wasn't to target any particular subject.

But Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Council for Science Education, said that affidavits filed by supporters of the bill suggest that science instruction will be a focus of challenges. One affidavit from a Collier County resident complained that evolution and global warming were taught as “reality.” Another criticized her child's sixth-grade science curriculum, writing that “the two main theories on the origin of man are the theory of evolution and creationism,” and that her daughter had only been taught about evolution.
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Based on the affidavits, it seems likely that the law will also be used to request the removal of library books that parents find objectionable.
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D

devilhawk

Member
How are they going to hire an "unbiased" person anyways?

They'll probably claim that anyone who took a science class was biased. The other side will rightfully claim that anyone who went to church is biased. Then they'll claim if you don't go to church then you are biased.

So inevitably they will hire some biased as shit creationist. Sigh.
 
X

Xe4

Banned
Wow. Jesus fuck Florida, that's the dumbest bill ever. Seriously, this had to have been passed because of fear of "them damn libruls teaching too much evilution and global warming". I can't think of any other reason.
 
B

Binabik15

Member
Oh, US, u so silly. Literally, in too many cases.

I can't really talk shit because Creationism was taught in my German advanced biology class, too. "There are also some people that believe life was created by god." That was the extent of it, thankfully, but even that has no place, IMO.
 
KarneeKarnay

KarneeKarnay

Member
devilhawk said:
How are they going to hire an "unbiased" person anyways?

They'll probably claim that anyone who took a science class was biased. The other side will rightfully claim that anyone who went to church is biased. Then they'll claim if you don't go to church then you are biased.

So inevitably they will hire some biased as shit creationist. Sigh.
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This. It's total bullshit wrapped in bullshit and with a bow made out of bullshit on top
 
D

Dryk

Member
It continues to amaze me that a nation so hostile towards science is where so much of our best scientific work is done
 
Sunster

Sunster

Member
Dryk said:
It continues to amaze me that a nation so hostile towards science is where so much of our best scientific work is done
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And Florida has 1 of the best environmental science programs in the country at FIU. Meanwhile our own governor banned the term climate change in the state capitol
 
J

JonnyDBrit

Member
What's extra ridiculous, on top of everything else, is how much power this gives individual parents. You only need one parent to take umbrage with a topic or how it's approached, and so long as the hearing officer agrees with them, that topic is changed or stricken for everyone.
 
X

Xe4

Banned
JonnyDBrit said:
What's extra ridiculous, on top of everything else, is how much power this gives individual parents. You only need one parent to take umbrage with a topic or how it's approached, and so long as the hearing officer agrees with them, that topic is changed or stricken for everyone.
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And the fact that it doesn't even have to be parents but any county resident. God knows, megachurches will be getting county residents to lodge complaints against schools for "advocating evolution".
 
J

JonnyDBrit

Member
Xe4 said:
And the fact that it doesn't even have to be parents but any county resident. God knows, megachurches will be getting county residents to lodge complaints against schools for "advocating evolution".
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Oh my fucking god I just saw that. All you'd need is a group with members in every county, and they can potentially determine the education of every child in Florida.

The fuck.
 
N

nubbe

Member
It's like when the Islamic empires fell

going from free trade and pro science to fundamentalist dogma
 
J

jwk94

Member
I'll never understand why it's always evolution or creationism. Why can't it be both? What would've prevented God (or your deity of choice) from starting out small and building up via evolution?
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
jwk94 said:
I'll never understand why it's always evolution or creationism. Why can't it be both? What would've prevented God (or your deity of choice) from starting out small and building up via evolution?
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Because the fundamental idea behind creationism is based on fantasy.

If you want to personally believe in both? That's great. It's actually a much less hostile approach to the argument.

But putting that shit in schools, let alone in a science classroom, is fucking dumb.
 
K

KuroNeeko

Member
So what happens if we challenge both the theory of evolution and anything related to creationism? Parents have always had a say in their kid's education, it's just that they were required to get off their asses and get involved in the school's PTA.

If parents want more say in their children's education, they can supplement their studies at home. When I got in trouble with my parents, they sat my ass down and made me read books like The Catcher in the Rye.

jwk94 said:
I'll never understand why it's always evolution or creationism. Why can't it be both? What would've prevented God (or your deity of choice) from starting out small and building up via evolution?
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It's not. There are loads of people who believe in an Intelligent Designer or any variation of such that says that God was behind evolution. It's not a matter of all or nothing.

Science, by it's very nature, postulates only on those things that can be measured, tested, proven, or disproven. We have a theory that explains most of the origin of human life--one that exists well enough without the presence of an all-powerful god; it's called evolution. If people want to add God into that mix, they can (and many scientists have), however, it's not important to the theory (and the term "theory" is very clearly defined) so it is left out.
 
S

SolarPowered

Member
A complete slap in the face to all science teachers in Florida. Literally telling thousands of people who worked their asses off in the sciences that their experience and knowledge is only as legitimate as Joe Schmo decrees.
 
C

ColdDeckEd

Member
jwk94 said:
I'll never understand why it's always evolution or creationism. Why can't it be both? What would've prevented God (or your deity of choice) from starting out small and building up via evolution?
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Because the Bible/Torah/Koran is the word of God/Allah and can not be wrong.
Fundamentalism fucking sucks
.
 
I

Imperfected

Member
I mean, the stuff they teach in high school science classes is the stuff that's been heavily challenged already. That's why we teach it to high schoolers and leave the frontier stuff to graduate students.
 
C

caliph95

Member
ColdDeckEd said:
Because the Bible/Torah/Koran is the word of God/Allah and can not be wrong.
Fundamentalism fucking sucks
.
Click to expand...
jwk94 said:
I'll never understand why it's always evolution or creationism. Why can't it be both? What would've prevented God (or your deity of choice) from starting out small and building up via evolution?
Click to expand...
Funny enough browsing wikipedia it's not and a lot mainstream churches and christian Americans do believe in both and accept that evolution is incompatible it's mostly the more Evangelical Christians that insist this. Even in Islam due to the different school of thoughts you a divide with this, where some scholars accept the science and vice versa.

Though this is me doing an hour tops of research and memory but yeah fundamentalism sucks.

Like this law
 
T

theepicoftyler

Member
So, they're just making the scientific method law, right? If my experiments that are repeatable, peer reviewed, and published show that evolution is not occurring, I get to present that information to an unbiased panel of scientifically literate people to change all of this?

Maybe I'll get a Nobel prize too.
 
J

Johndoey

Banned
What? Rick Scott is being a human monster and allowing whatever insane legislation other Repubs can think of to go through? Why I never.
 
J

jdstorm

Banned
devilhawk said:
How are they going to hire an "unbiased" person anyways?

They'll probably claim that anyone who took a science class was biased. The other side will rightfully claim that anyone who went to church is biased. Then they'll claim if you don't go to church then you are biased.

So inevitably they will hire some biased as shit creationist. Sigh.
Click to expand...

So essentially you need a christian scientist. Good luck finding that person.

We do actually exist.
 
J

JonnyDBrit

Member
HP_Wuvcraft said:
Because the fundamental idea behind creationism is based on fantasy.

If you want to personally believe in both? That's great. It's actually a much less hostile approach to the argument.

But putting that shit in schools, let alone in a science classroom, is fucking dumb.
Click to expand...

If you want to teach creationism, have a fucking RE class. Heck, while you're at it, teach other ideas of creation from other religions.

I say that because that's exactly what my schools did, and they were both Catholic schools. Albeit in the UK, but the general point remains.

Trying to force the teaching of creationism in science class is to place it on an undeserved pedestal that presumes, as a subject of science, it is as equally valid as evolution. Inversely, trying to remove evolution from the scientific curriculum is a fundamental denial of reality in the name of a faith which doesn't damn well need defending from this. If people lose their faith over evolution, that is their choice to make. Otherwise they can reconcile it, just as the vast bulk of scientists who are Christians tend to do.
 
I

Impeccable

Member
Now we can finally debunk the earth being round in an official capacity. Won't be long until everyone accepts the reality of flat earth.
 
F

Frankfurter

Member
I'm not sure if it's only Florida, or only the Republican parts of America, but sth. about these kinds of news definitely makes it seem like many Americans are incredibly stupid :/
 
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