I don't think they can do this. They will be walking a tightrope to remain constitutional. I think where they are trying to get to is a point where scientific creationism can be discussed alongside evolution as an alternative theory. I think they would have difficulty insisting upon it. Your point about alternative cultures is a good one. Science which denies man made climate change is being bundled in too. Pro-Gun and anti-taxation science will be nextPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Anytime the issue of bringing creationism in any of its cloaked forms into the public classroom comes up I say the same thing. Have them present the curriculum they intend to teach to university level biology graduate students, where new ideas are always hammered into practical knowledge, and then whatever's left we can form into a lesson for grade level students. I don't think any creationist is up to that challenge. I don't think they have a lesson plan, outside of waving a bible around and saying that evolution is wrong (without being able to point out why the science fails). It's smoke and mirrors. They wouldn't be pushing it at grade level if it wasn't a fraud.
My understanding is this law was written so they could discuss those issues and not get in trouble for doing so and applies to scientific subjects and science courses "taught under the curriculum framework developed by the state board of education." Personally, as a science teacher, I'd have no problem addressing those issues and explaining why there are controversies and why referring to something as a Scientific Theory doesn't mean what Creationists tend to think it means. Here's some key parts of Tennessee's ACTUAL curriculum framework for Biology 1,2 and Earth Sciences. Biology I : Standard 2 - Interdependence 3216.2.1 Analyze the ecological impact of a change in climate, human activity, introduction of non-native species, and changes in population size over time. 3216.2.2 Investigate how fluctuations in population size in an ecosystem are determined by the relative rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration. 3216.2.3 Investigate how human changes to the environment have led populations to adapt, migrate, or become extinct. 3216.2.4 Contrast accommodations of individual organisms with the adaptation of a species. Biology I : Standard 4 - Heredity SPI 3210.4.1 Identify the structure and function of DNA. SPI 3210.4.2 Associate the process of DNA replication with its biological significance. SPI 3210.4.3 Recognize the interactions between DNA and RNA during protein synthesis. SPI 3210.4.4 Determine the probability of a particular trait in an offspring based on the genotype of the parents and the particular mode of inheritance. SPI 3210.4.5 Apply pedigree data to interpret various modes of genetic inheritance. SPI 3210.4.6 Describe how meiosis is involved in the production of egg and sperm cells. SPI 3210.4.7 Describe how meiosis and sexual reproduction contribute to genetic variation in a population. Biology I Standard 5 - Biodiversity and Change SPI 3210.5.1 Compare and contrast the structural, functional, and behavioral adaptations of animals or plants found in different environments. SPI 3210.5.2 Recognize the relationship between form and function in living things. SPI 3210.5.3 Recognize the relationships among environmental change, genetic variation, natural selection, and the emergence of a new species. SPI 3210.5.4 Describe the relationship between the amount of biodiversity and the ability of a population to adapt to a changing environment. SPI 3210.5.5 Apply evidence from the fossil record, comparative anatomy, amino acid sequences, and DNA structure that support modern classification systems. SPI 3210.5.6 Infer relatedness among different organisms using modern classification systems. http://www.tn.gov/education/ci/sci/doc/SCI_3210.pdf and more of course in Biology 2 Earth Science : Standard 4 – Geologic History 3204.4.4 Construct a geologic timetable for the evolution of earth and the history of life. 3204.4.5 Interpret evidence for plate tectonics such as the fossil record, mountain range formation, rock strata, paleomagnetism, paleoclimates, and configuration of the continents. 3204.4.6 Recognize that fossils contained in sedimentary rock provide evidence of past life forms, changes in life forms, and environmental change. 3204.4.7 Determine the relative age of fossils in sedimentary rock. 3204.4.8 Interpret the sequence of rock strata using superposition, cross-cutting relationships, inclusions, the fossil record, and absolute dating techniques. 3204.4.9 Predict how an environmental change might influence the development of new species or cause the extinction of an existing species. http://www.tn.gov/education/ci/sci/doc/SCI_3216.pdf Environmental Science : Standard 7 – Global Change And Civic Responsibility 3260.7.3 Identify how environmental protection can be carried out on a local level and explain choices that can be made to lessen the impact on the environment. 3260.7.4 Choose three endangered species and predict how their removal would affect the ecosystems in which they live. 3260.7.5 Research the effectiveness of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 3260.7.6 Research major international environmental issues and how they are addressed by international agreements (Kyoto, Montreal, CITES, etc.). 3260.7.7 Compare and contrast stratospheric and tropospheric ozone. 3260.7.8 Define chlorofluorocarbons and explain how they break down ozone molecules. 3260.7.9 Explain the trend in atmospheric CO2 levels indicated by ice core data and CO2 measurements recorded at Mauna Loa since 1958. 3260.7.10 Predict the consequences of a warmer earth. It appears to me that Tennessee has a well rounded scientific curriculum and that students who meet those "performance indicators" above will understand the scientific basis for Evolution and changes affecting our climate etc. Indeed it seems to clearly provide the students with the knowledge to refute Creationists.
I agree. They are looking to tweak the law so that they can teach their own brand of science in the schools they control. It will not and can not force other schools to do so.
We really dont have to do anything. A few decades from now when Yankees will be working at research labs and universities and the californians making big movies, those guys would be stuck in minimum wage jobs and eating off food stamps. Then they will bask in the glory of their Lawd, for that is all they will have left.
