Tales from the States as they try to outdo one another toward retrogression.
Tennessee ‘monkey bill’ becomes law
*cries* +5 Tennessee.
And Pontius Pilot (Corp.) washes his hands of it by not signing it into law, instead letting it sit on his desk and automatically become law that way. What a fucking coward.
So now we’ve just set up another generation of Tennesseans to grow up ignorant.
House Bill 368 passed the Tennessee House of Representatives on a 72-23 vote on March 26, 2012, theChattanooga Times Free Press (March 26, 2012) reports. The bill would encourage 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”; it now proceeds to Governor Bill Haslam, who will have ten days to sign the bill, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto it. Haslam previously indicated that he would discuss the bill with the state board of education, telling the Nashville Tennesseean (March 19, 2012), “It is a fair question what the General Assembly’s role is … That’s why we have a state board of education.”
+4 to Tennessee for the reconciled bill passing both chambers. Damn, I really don’t want to give the last 5 points a few days from now.
Just a reminder: There’s a petition against it right now addressed to Haslam, and it’s sitting on a rather meek 125 signatures. Please, sign and spread the word.
Because, you know, Tennessee’s educational history isn’t already embarrassing enough.
Apparently it’s fairly new, but it only had around 60 signatures as of the time I signed it. You can read about the monkey bill from this previous post I made, or the following for a quicker catch-up (from the petition site):
Why This Is Important
Tennessee Senate Bill 893, the so-called “Academic Freedom Bill” is yet another attempt to insert religious ideology into the education system. It’s about bringing Sunday School into public school.
Here are the facts:
WHERE DOES THE BILL COME FROM?
This bill is based on model legislation crafted by the Center for Science and Culture.
WHO IS THE C.S.C.?
The Center for Science and Culture is an overtly religious group whose stated goals are the insertion of Intelligent Design into science classes across the country, and to drastically decrease acceptance of the Scientific Theory of Evolution.
WHAT IS INTELLIGENT DESIGN?
Intelligent Design is a relatively modern term adopted by the minds behind the CSC several years ago after the Supreme Court ruled that Creationism was not science. Faced with this failure, the creationists at the CSC altered their terminology to remove any overtly religious language, but in such a way that provided the necessary legal defense for teachers who wished to teach Creationism in the classroom.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Several reasons. The first of which, of course, is a simple question: Why would we teach something that does not qualify as a scientific theory in science class? And why would we mislead our youth into believing it was science?
Secondly, this is a backdoor violation of the separation of church and state. The motivation behind this bill is clear, and it is religious in nature. With so much concern about the “indoctrination” of our youth, is this not exactly what the “Academic Freedom Bill” does?
Finally, and this is the most crucial component for a state whose economy has seen many troubles of late - The passage of similar bills has cost other states countless dollars in revenue and untold opportunities to bring in innovative new high-tech jobs. As the corporations doing the jobs of the future try to find the best place to plant roots and grow economies, more and more business leaders are taking note of this creationist legislation. Bills just like SB893 have been cited in Louisiana and other states by hi-tech companies as a reason to do business elsewhere, as they instill a lack of confidence in the next generation’s workforce when it comes to basic scientific knowledge.
Please, sign and then reblog the hell outta this!
(Full disclosure: I’m from Tennessee.)
Taking after Tennessee’s “monkey bill,” Oklahoma introduced its own anti-science legislation, which in classic 1984 fashion they call the “Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act.”
Here’s my favorite part:
Students may be evaluated based upon their understanding of course materials, but no student in any public school or institution shall be penalized in any way because the student may subscribe to a particular position on scientific theories.
Translation: If a student answers every question on an evolution test wrong because they believe that God made man from clay, you, the teacher, cannot give them a failing grade because that might be construed as “punishment.”
+1 to Oklahoma for intro, so far.
ETA: After doing a little more research on it, turns out it actually passed the full House. (The main article I linked doesn’t mention that part.) So add another +5 from the Monkey Business (+6 total).
ETA2: I hate how I had to get the news of the House vote from a fucking ID website.
Well, turns out just yesterday that the Senate revived and passed SB 893, its version of the “Monkey Bill” that passed the House last year.
… if enacted, would encourage teachers to present the “scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses” of “controversial” topics such as “biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.”
Among those expressing opposition to the bill are the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the American Institute for Biological Sciences, the Knoxville News Sentinel, the Nashville Tennessean, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, the National Earth Science Teachers Association, and the Tennessee Science Teachers Association, whose president Becky Ashe described (PDF) the legislation as “unnecessary, anti-scientific, and very likely unconstitutional.”
The bill now has to undergo reconciliation in the House before it heads to Gov. Pontius Pilot (Corp.) (or Bill Haslam for you politically correct). So no extra points to Tennessee just yet. Still, this is something to keep an eye on, as it will be quite embarrassing if, in fact, it does come to fruition. (Like Tennessee needs any more of that, right?)
And what is Pontius Pilot going to do if it hits his desk? Why, wash his hands of it, of course:
Tennessee’s governor Bill Haslam previously indicated that he would discuss the bill with the state board of education, telling the Tennesseean (March 19, 2012), “It is a fair question what the General Assembly’s role is … That’s why we have a state board of education.”
