Required Readings: Public Schools Teaching Creationism, Harassing Buddhist Student; Anti-Evolution Efforts Abound; and more
Happy Tuesday, and for our U.S./Canadian readers affected by yet another polar vortex, we hope you stay warm and dry. Even here in the far southern reaches of the U.S., we have a snow/ice day off from school. In other chilling matters, the past week has provided a blizzard of news about church-state issues in public schools.
As a follow-up to last week’s story about creationism in Texas charter schools, here’s a handy map of Publicly Funded Schools That Teach Creationism.
You’ll note on that map that Louisiana is one of two states where state law permits creationism instruction in the public schools. Teaching creationism isn’t the only way publicly funded schools are pushing religion in the Pelican State, as this lawsuit recently filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a student indicates. (My favorite bit: “Purporting to illustrate her point further, she noted that, because she did not find it offensive that “the lady who cuts [her] toenails has a statue of Buddha,” Plaintiffs should not be bothered by Roark’s in-class proselytization. She then wondered whether C.C. “has to be raised Buddhist” and even asked whether he could “change” his faith.”) The complete court documents, including photographs, are available here.
Meanwhile, the National Center for Science Education’s Update From Virginia details a legislative effort there to join Louisiana and Tennessee in promoting anti-evolution viewpoints.
Speaking of disinformation, the author of Information Literacy vs. the Demagogue raises Joe McCarthy from the Great Beyond to discuss the late senator’s motivations and techniques as an effort to “put information literacy educators in a better position to help their students critically evaluate inflammatory political communications.”
And to end on a more positive note, we have the first-hand account of a 10-year-old who used reason and information to defend his right to sit during the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Required Readings are a list of links that you might find interesting! Look for them to appear every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday morning.
Image credits: Wesleying