It turns out that Professor Reiss was not speaking for the Royal Society after all – well anyway, they’ve sacked him – and may have meant only that science teachers should be courteous to the pre-scientific element in the classroom. Why am I not surprised that Reiss’s day job is in an Institute of Education?
John Connell reckons Reiss has a point but argues for an aggressive approach: let’s shine a light into these poor kids’ darkness. I think not, not out of respect for creationism – we are not called upon to respect wearily-familiar folly, except in blood relations – but because faith thrives on direct attack. Every well-brought-up fundamentalist has been taught what sorts of things the wicked world will say. Best not to buy the script. Some kids will get the real science, others won’t, most will learn both how to pass biology and please the parents.
Meanwhile over at the Institute of Education where Professor Reiss puts in some time, the matter is turned into flummery, like this:
Here we would want to acknowledge that in science classrooms in both schools and universities, there is a diversity of social, cultural and faith groups. Teachers and academics need to be aware of this diversity to develop appropriate and inclusive practices, whether natural or social scientists.
Doesn’t that sound nice?