Throughout history, education and what is taught to future generations has been a hot topic of debate. It should go without saying that preparing young children for the future, and how to operate in and become a functioning member of society should be paramount ideals when considering how to go about educating future generations. In recent history, there has been a sizable push to establish a specific viewpoint into public school curriculum—the science curriculum, to be more specific—around the nation. This viewpoint can be commonly referred to as Young-Earth Creationism, or creationism for short. This fundamentalist Christian viewpoint is a literal interpretation of the biblical account of creation, as written in the Book of Genesis. However,
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Let’s Talk Science, an organization focused on education and outreach to support youth development, defines scientific literacy broadly to include proficient understanding in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Being scientifically literate not only helps those who are employed, or are pursuing careers in these fields, but it can also help shape how people interact in and shape their daily lives. "Science Literacy…helps us as we interact with our environment, asking questions and seeking answers (Why)." In a video interview with Big Think, Lawrence Krauss, noted science communicator, expresses that teaching creationism in science classes would be akin to promoting ignorance in young children. Krauss critiques the belief that both Creationism and modern scientific theories should be taught side by side, saying that if “we allow nonsense to be promulgated in our schools, then we are doing a disservice to our children (Krauss).” In another interview with Big Think, Bill Nye, well-known author and science communicator, discusses the consequences of promoting this ignorance to children. Mr. Nye discusses the potentially disastrous effects that Creation education could have on the future of the country; saying that …show more content…
Creationists take offense that schools teach things like Darwin 's theory of evolution, as it makes assumptions about the past based upon observational evidence in the present. These same Six-day Creationists insist that the biblical account of Creation in the Book of Genesis is ample "historical evidence ” for their religious beliefs to be taught in the science classroom. However, both usage of and belief in this "historical science" is unique to creationist scientists and holds no sway over the rest of the scientific community. No theories or predictions can be made with "historical science," so the general consensus among most actually legitimate scientists concludes that it is not a real thing (Browning). Another argument often used in favor of teaching Creationism in the science classroom is that not teaching creationism in the science classroom is ignoring the scientific accuracy of the biblical account of creation. However, as discussed earlier in this essay, the account of creation featured in Genesis is anything
Let’s Talk Science, an organization focused on education and outreach to support youth development, defines scientific literacy broadly to include proficient understanding in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Being scientifically literate not only helps those who are employed, or are pursuing careers in these fields, but it can also help shape how people interact in and shape their daily lives. "Science Literacy…helps us as we interact with our environment, asking questions and seeking answers (Why)." In a video interview with Big Think, Lawrence Krauss, noted science communicator, expresses that teaching creationism in science classes would be akin to promoting ignorance in young children. Krauss critiques the belief that both Creationism and modern scientific theories should be taught side by side, saying that if “we allow nonsense to be promulgated in our schools, then we are doing a disservice to our children (Krauss).” In another interview with Big Think, Bill Nye, well-known author and science communicator, discusses the consequences of promoting this ignorance to children. Mr. Nye discusses the potentially disastrous effects that Creation education could have on the future of the country; saying that …show more content…
Creationists take offense that schools teach things like Darwin 's theory of evolution, as it makes assumptions about the past based upon observational evidence in the present. These same Six-day Creationists insist that the biblical account of Creation in the Book of Genesis is ample "historical evidence ” for their religious beliefs to be taught in the science classroom. However, both usage of and belief in this "historical science" is unique to creationist scientists and holds no sway over the rest of the scientific community. No theories or predictions can be made with "historical science," so the general consensus among most actually legitimate scientists concludes that it is not a real thing (Browning). Another argument often used in favor of teaching Creationism in the science classroom is that not teaching creationism in the science classroom is ignoring the scientific accuracy of the biblical account of creation. However, as discussed earlier in this essay, the account of creation featured in Genesis is anything