Thanks to one of the second years for this extra link on this story:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/28/ncreation28.xml
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6187534.stm has a story about attempts to push ID / Creationism back into school science lessons...
Should we keep faith-based approaches in Religious Education lessons - or allow them to be taught as science? How do you answer the 'it is just another theory' approach?
keep going with the slave-trade debate - but hope some of you (esp RPE201: Philosophy, Science and Belief students) will comment on this...
D.
Children need guidance from a young age and the faith-based system should be kept in place. Science does have a part to play, but not in the fundamental aspects of Creationism.
ReplyDeleteQuote the Raven 'Nevermore' !
whist i agree that children need religious guidance i do not think that it is necessarily right to confuse science and religion at such a young and impressionable age.
ReplyDeletethere was a recent channel 4 programme about the rise of creationism in schools and i see this as a worrying trend. it is fine for people in our position ( not necessarily doing our degree but older and more informed) to have a debate about creationism because we are able to analyse and process the debate for what it is and truely understand the consequences that the view has on the darwinian doctrine. however i do not think that many children have the ability to do this and would therefore become confused about science if religion gets in the way.
i think it is something for individuals to decide on and not the job of the schools, or rather exam boards, to confuse science and religion when it is something, as i have said before, that most children would just not be able to comprehend in a way that makes the most sense
i think that the rise of creationism in schools is worrying and here are my reasons.
ReplyDeletefirstly whilst we are able to sit here and debate the issuse, we are at an advantage because we've got the capabilities to analyse what is being said and take the creationist doctrine as an interesting theory or something bigger than that. children i feel, do not have this ability and therefore should not be confused when science and religion become mixed.
channel 4 recently showed a programme about the rise of fundamentalism in schools and i think that if this trend continues we could end up with a situation where children are taking up the creationist view without necessarily being able to fully understand it.
should we not leave the mixing of science and religion in schools and just teach and let children make up their minds when they are a little more informed and older?
We read Grimm's Fairy Tales to our children. Have you read a Grimm's Fairy Tale lately? They make adults cringe. The savagery is singular, brutal behaviour with dire consequences, feet being cut off, poisoning, murder, intrigue, fire and brimstone. While you're reading these pieces of entertainment to your children, have a look and see what they're doing. They're lapping it up. They love it. Developmental psychologists say that the brutal stories of our childhood indicate a world of cardboard archetypes that fit with the developmental stage of the child. Good/evil, prince/villain, princess (good mother)/witch (stepmother). Strong distinctions, no grey areas.
ReplyDeleteI think children can handle Creationism. (Old testament stories are part of the Rudolph Steiner school curriculum). They will not be damaged by it. It is perfect for children. They do not need to analyse. They can accept it as a story. Children wonder about how we got here. Creationism is a perfect answer and beneficial to their cognitive development.
As you say, as we get older our thinking changes. We become more objective and analytical and require better answers from our questions. We no longer think in archetypes and science can inform our questions better.
Sometimes I wonder at priorities. Society is at a fever pitch with anything 'religious', while computer games and media dependence seem far more threatening and addictive than Old Testament stories and 'religion' for our children. Children are glued to computers at primary level. Telly and game boys are installed in many cars to keep children happy on journeys. Is that not a little worrying? Is technology the new 'opiate'?
I have no problem with creationism being taught in religious lessons, along with any other major religious teachings the origin of the universe. But not in science, because it is NOT a science.
ReplyDeleteIt is just another theory, but it is not a scientific theory, because creationism does not adhere to the rules governing what is science.
I do think it is important kids - yes, i said kids - learn creationism, and other religious ideas, as they have such a major social influence on people worldwide.