EvC Forum: New Tennessee Monkey Law!

quote:
Governor Bill Haslam allowed Tennessee's House Bill 368 to become law without his signature on April 10, 2012, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal (April 10, 2012). The law encourages teachers to present the "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses" of topics that arouse "debate and disputation" such as "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."

This is the first bill in the Governor's 15 months in office that he allowed to be passed by being ignored.

KCRW (a Santa Monica, CA, affiliate of NPR) carried a program tonight interviewing several people, including the former state senator who had authored the bill, but so far it is not up on their site: http://www.kcrw.com/news/programs/ww

The bill ... er, law, purports to defend a teacher from repercussions for presenting negative evidence of certain scientific ideas. The bill ... er, law, only specifies science classes to be subject to this law, not other classes. The law specifically targets evolution, climate change, and human cloning. The sponsor of the bill, the aforementioned former state senator, works for a very specifically religious organization. Furthermore, the only "negative evidence of said scientific ideas" can be found amongst creationists and IDists. And a scientist and wife of a high school science teacher interviewed on the afore-linked-to NPR program, "Which Way, LA?", pointed out that teachers have always been allowed to present opposing scientific ideas into their classrooms, so that law is totally unnecessary. The only purpose that the law could possibly serve would be to allow teachers to bring in religious creationist materials.

Of course, in my perversity, I want to imagine at least one teacher who uses this law for good, instead of the evil that its backers intend:
"OK, students, this is evolution. Any comments?"
"But it is a fairy tale, based on these false assumptions!"
"OK, let's examine those claims you just presented. ... As we can plainly see, all your objections have no basis."
"But what about this? And this?"
"OK, let us examine those. ... Well, we can now clearly see that those claims you cited are completely and utterly false."
"But what about this?"
"OK, let us examine that as well. ... OMG! I'm sorry, but this one is so ludicrous that I am truly embarrassed for you! Please, apply yourself more to your studies so that you might avoid such obvious howlers in the future."
"OK, so what about the mountains of negative evidence against evolution?"
"Such as?"
Claim is presented.
"OK, let's examine it. ... Sorry, but that is nonsense and here is the explanation of why it is such total nonsense."
"OK, so what about this!?"
"OK, let's examine it. ... Sorry, but that is nonsense and here is the explanation of why it is such total nonsense."

And so on.