-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
science nonsense that Louisiana’s taxpayers are going to be funding this upcoming school year. Governor Bobby Jindal’s bill will divert public school funds to pay for vouchers for students to attend private Christian schools like Eternity Christian Academy, in Westlake, LA.
The Eternity Christian Academy follows the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum. What comprises the ACE science curriculum?
ACE’s science material claims scientists have speculated that Noah took baby dinosaurs on the Ark and that some may still be alive today:
Have you heard of the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ in Scotland? ‘Nessie,’ for short, has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur.
Creationists, using an imaginary being to disprove evolution.
The big losers in Jindal’s diversion of taxes to these establishments of religion, are the kids who go to these Christian Madrasahs. None of their high school level science courses will be accepted by any reputable university. Any university curriculum that requires even a general knowledge of science will not be open to them.
As more and more states slash funding for public education and divert those funds to the Christian Madrasahs, the pool of students exposed to actual science will shrink. Industries that rely on scientific expertise, such as medicine, pharmacology, oil and gas exploration, and defense, will have to look outside the United States to fill their requirements for qualified job applicants.
While ExxonMobil funds ALEC to get states to approve weak fraking legislation, ALEC is also the driving force behind Jindal’s voucher program. With Jindal’s taxpayer subsidy, more of the Religious Right will be able to afford to yank their kids out of the public education system, and many corporations, that fiscal conservatives love, will find the number of scientifically literate job seekers diminish. The marriage of religious conservatives and fiscal conservatives has always seemed like an alliance with opposing agendas on critical issues.
There may be some parents who use their vouchers to send their children to a secular private school that provides a better education than found in the local public school. However, the net effect of vouchers is to divert funding from schools that teach secular science to schools that teach creationism. Wealthy parents can already afford to send their children to private schools so the voucher is an outright taxpayer funded gift for them.
H/T: Bruce Wilson, Michael LaBossiere, The Independent Weekly, Leaving Fundamentalism, John Nichols, Julianne Hing, Kristin Rawls.