The last two parts of my “Indoctri-Nation” series have been about creationism and intelligent design pouring into public schools, whether
hidden in the pages of a textbook or offered as an
after school activity. I believe that it is wrong and my reasoning is simple. The Humanist in me says children should be encouraged to explore things for themselves, research facts and peruse real evidence - not to accept the personal opinions of others as verbatim, but to come up with and form original opinions of their own. The Secularist in me thinks that, legal or not, the church should not be butting into places where it does not belong. A public school funded by tax dollars is, undeniably, one of these places. The Atheist in me says that having to discuss the credibility of any deity, which is becoming more common in school curriculum, is asinine. And finally, the mother in me says that I would rather home school my kids than subject them to that sort of education, and frankly if I had that kind of patience and discipline I would already be a teacher, starving under the tenure of a sadly ill-advised career choice.
So just what am I doing here? I am an outspoken blogger, tired of seeing our education treated in this country the way the rest of the world already sees us, as an educational laughing stock. I am tired of teachers with their own agenda. Teachers should be seeking out their positions because they want to teach our kids information that will make them, as the next generation entering the workforce, competitive with the rest of the world. Instead, some are promoting failed pseudo-scientific mythology, without evidence, and altering history to fit their own personal tastes.
Teachers are not alone to blame. Parents - YOU also need to be better educated yourselves. Question everything. Ask, before you swallow that big pill, what it actually does. Ask about side effects and addiction potential. Ask about fatalities. Ask about morals and equality. Learn that the answers don’t always come from a pulpit.
Next are lawmakers who should be passing laws that protect our system of teaching, not allowing it to be corrupted by myth and mystical beliefs. These are people who are chosen [in theory] by the people, to serve the people, regardless of the views and culture of those they represent. So why don’t they listen to what growing numbers of us want and has been upheld by Supreme Court decision after Supreme Court decision? It makes me ask another question; just who is pushing for all this, and why?
I don’t want to be a conspiracy theorist. I would rather believe that this grip is the last “fig leaf” to fall. We have reached the end of the church rule and they are struggling to hold on to the last corner of the blanket. That’s what I hope. I grew up with an outspoken conspiracy theorist and I know what the conclusions sound like. I cannot tell you how much time I spent rolling my eyes and laughing at the latest convoluted collection of odd stories and weird assumptions of people of varying races, religions and political parties strung together with thin threads of circumstantial “evidence” and misinterpreted information.
Trust me, I get it. However when something like this presents itself, I have to ask…”Why?”
-Sheila Blackadder