TDK has just been alerted that Zack Kopplin will be a guest on tonight’s Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC to talk about his ongoing fight to remove “Creationist Theory” from Science Classrooms throughout the state.
We reported on the defeat of SB 70 yesterday and certainly not due to the lack of effort on the parts of Zack and the bill’s author, Senator Karen Carter Peterson.They offered up expert testimony even when Senator Quinn ripped into Zack – an attack that was really quite uncalled for.But Senator Quinn wasn’t done then… she later ripped into her peer, Senator Peterson, by insulting each and every person who testified on behalf of the bill by saying “all these people with little letters after their names.”Senator Peterson kept her calm… but she immediately defended all those “little letters.”It seems troubling to me that we have such open hostility to education in this state.
Anyhow- be sure to tune into Hardball tonight (I believe it plays at 4pm and again at 6pm Central) on MSNBC or check out their web page later tonight for the archived video.And here is wishing Zack all the luck he needs in continuing this fight to return SCIENCE to the Classroom.
Originally published on NOLA Defender. (Special thanks to them).
Make no mistake: Zack Kopplin, a 17-year-old high school senior from Baton Rouge Magnet who is leading the efforts to repeal the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act, is not your stereotypical science geek. Last November, when he spoke before the LA Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)’s Textbook Advisory Council about the need to maintain science textbooks that teach actual science, Kopplin wore an orange hoodie and a pair of blue jeans, while he addressed a group of serious-looking adults in serious-looking suits. However, it would have been a mistake to judge the skinny, fresh-faced teenage kid in the blue jeans as anything less than serious. Kopplin, as it turns out, is preternaturally smart and knows a thing or two about doing his homework.
When he addressed the council, the soft-spoken student suddenly became the teacher. “Please stand tall and endorse life science textbooks that teach realscience rather than undermine it,” he urged.The council, and eventually the entire BESE Board, took Zack’s advice. The council voted 8-4 to keep science in science textbooks, and the BESE Board proceded to vote 6-1 and 8-2 in support of science in subsequent meetings. Zack describes this as “the largest victory for science that Louisiana has had in eight years. "Although Kopplin’s victory at the BESE Board generated state and national news, including a strong endorsement from his hometown newspaper, The Baton Rouge Advocate, which suggested he could be "the newest giant-killer in state education policy," he’s always had his sights on something much bigger: the repeal of the Science Education Act. He will have a shot at achieving that goal during the current legislative session. Sen. Karen Carter-Peterson (D-New Orleans) has introduced a bill to repeal the Act.
Kopplin launched his campaign on his own last summer. He explained that he always wanted to take on this law because it “hurts Louisiana student’s chances of getting good science-based jobs.” This year was his last chance as a high school student. He began by e-mailing Dr. Barbara Forrest, the nationally-renowned professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, who may be best known for her expert testimony during Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, a landmark case about the scientific merits of intelligent design education. The judge ruled that the textbook, Of Pandas and People, violated the Establishment clause of the First Amendment, and during her testimony, Dr. Forrest exhaustively demonstrated the ways in which the intelligent design “movement” was merely creationism repackaged and repurposed. Again, Kopplin knows how to do his homework. Since e-mailing Dr. Forrest, Kopplin has sent out hundreds, if not thousands, of e-mails to scientists, educators, clergy members, and world-renowned academics.
During last year's legislative session, I highlighted SB 651, which was written by the Louisiana Family Forum, and offered by Democratic State Senator Ben Nevers. It later morphed into SB 733, which passed the Legislature overwhelmingly, garnering only 3 "no" votes in the House, and passing unanimously in the Senate.
The language of the bill (pdf alert) allows for religious ideas of the earth's creation to be taught by public school teachers, specifically, creationism, all behind the guise that everything in science is a "theory."
The issue that many scientists have with this bill is that the meaning of theory in science is vastly different than that of the common, every day meaning we ascribe to theory. In science, a theory is a "a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena." In the field of biology, scientists have tested the "theory" of evolution in experiments, and it has not yet been disproven.
The religious right is twisting the common, every day meaning of theory - an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles, or circumstances - to bolster their argument that creationism - the idea that God created the world in seven days or that the Earth is thousands of years old - is also a logical interpretation of the facts we have before us.
Anyhow, all this will come to a head here in Louisiana over the next few days. Today, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's Student/School Performance and Support (SPSS) Committee meets. One of the items on their agenda is Science Education (pdf alert), which means that they will take up what to do about SB 733 by considering revising Bulletin 741, which is the school administrator handbook that all school boards in Louisiana must follow.
And on Thursday, at 9 AM in Room 1-100 of the Claiborne Building at 1201 N. Third Street in Baton Rouge, the full Board of Education will meet to review the SSPS Committee Report (pdf alert) on the Louisiana Science Education Act.
Already, some of the earlier wording - "religious thinking shall not be advanced under the guise of critical thinking" - has been removed. And the proposed changes to Bulletin 741 will expose Louisiana's children to religious beliefs during their science class than ever before. For a state trying to diversify its economy by building up its biomedical research sector, such an changes may be the death knell.
No, this is NOT an April Fool's story, and yes, Democrats are people of faith too, y'all. Just in case y'all didn't know that.
A Democratic State Senator - Ben Nevers - has filed a bill, SB 651, currently titled "The Louisiana Academic Freedom Act." I'm guessing Frank Luntz advised him on the name.
The bill provides for the following:
Educational authorities in Louisiana should “assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies.”
Biological evolution, global warming and other topics “can cause controversy” in public school classrooms and may confuse teachers on how they should be taught.
Teachers and others should encourage students to tackle different views on such topics, including scientific strengths and weaknesses of each theory.
Secular institutions, of which public schools are, cannot teach religious instruction in the curriculum. It's as simple as that. The Supreme Court already smacked us down before for trying to teach creationism in our schools. Are we attempting to prove Albert Einstein right? After all, he defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Now, Mr. Nevers is a nice man, but he has been hoodwinked by the Louisiana Family Forum, which is an innocuous sounding name for a right-wing shill group intent on telling us all how we ought to be living our lives. Don't believe me? Look at their mission, which is right on their website (emphasis added):
To persuasively present biblical principles in the centers of influence on issues affecting the family through research, communication and networking.
Biblical principles? Centers of influence? That's mighty high falutin' language to dress up the fact that they'll use our elected officials to push their agenda upon the rest of us.
