School Standards and Science

Well, the battle for our children continues in this country (and around the world). A few months ago, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were made available to the American public for comment and recommendations. Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell (AiG–U.S.) wrote a detailed discussion of what was being written into these standards.

Forty-one people, who represent 26 states, are writing the science standards. All 50 states will be able to decide if they want to adopt these standards. A recent article in WORLD magazine explained two of the key issues with these standards. “They explicitly emphasize Darwinism and climate change.”

We at Answers in Genesis do not deny that climate change happens. However, we do debate how much of a role man has in it. An AiG web article written by a meteorologist “How much global warming is natural?” states the following:

Man’s contribution is slight, and not enough manmade warming has occurred to panic over. There is a good chance that man can do nothing or only very little to change the manmade portion, even if he spent what alarmists suggest to ‘fight’ global warming (although we should always have been and should continue to be good stewards of the resources God has provided us).

George Taylor, the president of Applied Climate Services, wrote an article for our Answers magazine. He said in relation to climate change that many aspects of it are “poorly understood” and that “talk of overhauling society is unwarranted.” You see, our concern is that students will not be taught the difference between good stewardship and some sort of view where nature is no longer under man’s dominion, but man is under nature’s.

The new science standards would have much of the education on these topics begin in kindergarten! Students in schools that have adopted the NGSS are “supposed to learn … about ‘evidence’ supporting the Big Bang.” The article goes on to say that high school students will be taught that common ancestry and the evolution of organisms from one kind to another are well supported by evidence.

You know, what these standards are doing is removing any opportunity for your children to think critically about evolutionary ideas and other controversial topics in science. At Answers in Genesis, we don’t advocate government-mandated creation classes in schools, but we do advocate that students be taught to carefully consider the claims being made by any scientific idea. We want the instructors and students to be allowed to criticize evolution. Evolutionary ideas are based on numerous assumptions. Yet the NGSS standards, if adopted, would require teachers to teach these ideas uncritically to this generation.

We are seeing increasing efforts to teach generations of children evolution and millions of years as fact. As the biblical creation ministry has increased in influence, we see an increasing effort by the secularists to impose their anti-God religion on the culture. We are truly in a spiritual war. The evil one (the Devil) is very active on planet earth. Don’t let him deceive you and your children.

As I’ve said many times before, the culture is at war regarding the hearts and minds of this generation. I encourage you to read my co-authored book Already Gone, which explains why the church is losing two-thirds of this generation by the time they reach college age.

Proverbs 22:6 tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” It is the responsibility of parents to show their children how to think critically—we can’t depend on the school system. Parents, I urge you to teach your children how to think about the claims of evolution, so that they will be prepared for the challenges they will undoubtedly face in their educations.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Note: I thank Steve Golden for his assistance in composing this blog.