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An interesting article was released today regarding the teachings in RI (Religious Instruction) in Queensland that man and dinosaurs roamed the earth together.
This concept will, no doubt, be very unpopular with the scientific community, however, I'm more keen on what views the reader has regarding this incident.
Creationists hijack lessons and teach schoolkids man and dinosaurs walked together
Courier-Mail, Sunday August 1st 2010
"Primary school students are being taught that man and dinosaurs walked the Earth together and that there is fossil evidence to prove it.
Fundamentalist Christians are hijacking Religious Instruction (RI) classes in Queensland despite education experts saying Creationism and attempts to convert children to Christianity have no place in state schools.
Students have been told Noah collected dinosaur eggs to bring on the Ark, and Adam and Eve were not eaten by dinosaurs because they were under a protective spell.
Critics are calling for the RI program to be scrapped after claims emerged Christian lay people are feeding children misinformation.
About 80 per cent of children at state primary schools attend one half-hour instruction a week, open to any interested lay person to conduct.
Many of the instructors are from Pentecostal churches.
Education Queensland is aware that Creationism is being taught by some religious instructors, but said parents could opt out.
Australian Secular Lobby president Hugh Wilson said children were ostracised and discriminated against if they were pulled out of the class.
In many cases, the RI lay people were not supervised by teachers.
Kings Christian Church youth worker Dustin Bell said he taught "about creation" in Sunshine Coast schools.
Set Free Christian Church's Tim McKenzie said when students questioned him why dinosaur fossils carbon dated as earlier than man, he replied that the great flood must have skewed the data.
Queensland Teachers Union president Steve Ryan said teachers were sometimes compelled to supervise the instructors "because of all the fire and brimstone stuff".
Mr Ryan said Education Queensland had deemed RI a must-have, though teachers would prefer to spend the time on curriculum.
Buddhist Council of Queensland president Jim Ferguson said he was so disturbed that Creationism was being aired in state school classrooms that he would bring it up at the next meeting of the Religious Education Advisory Committee, part of Education Queensland.
He said RI was supposed to be a forum for multi-faith discussion...."
Click here to go to the full article.
What is your response to creationists teaching about the co-habitation of men and dinosaurs? Have your say on our forum.
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