Robichaux Gets High Praise on Policies

Outgoing Orleans Parish School Board Chairman Thomas Robichaux is receiving lots of supporting email for his policy changes to keep out the teaching of young earth creationism in the Orleans Parish schools. Danielle Dreilinger writes:

District 7 residents gave sitting Orleans Parish School Board president Thomas Robichaux only 3,072 votes out of 14,688 cast in November's election. But Robichaux is floating out of office on a national wave of support from anti-creationism advocates, who have sent him over 2,000 emails and faxes praising largely symbolic policy changes he championed that take religion out of science and history classrooms. In fact, Robichaux got so many messages he contacted the American Humanist Association, which had issued an action alert, to ask its supporters to stop.

For those of us that saw this as a very hopeful sign, Ms. Dreilinger then rains on our parade:

The national excitement seems to overlook the fact that the policy affects only six of New Orleans' 80-plus public schools - the ones run directly by the Orleans Parish School Board. It isn't even a change: None of those schools teaches creationism, administrators said in November. The district's dozen charters don't have to abide by the policy, and neither do the three quarters of the city's schools that are in the state-level Recovery School District.

On the other hand, given the level of local support that creationism ordinarily receives, we'll take what we can get.

More On the Orleans Parish School Board Decision

The Advocate has a story on the reaction to the decision by the Orleans parish school board's decision to push ID and young earth creationism over the side.  Karen Harden writes:

The day after the Orleans Parish School Board voted to forbid science teachers to teach creationism and banned approval of any science textbook “which presents creationism or intelligent design as science or scientific theories,” board President Thomas Robichaux said he received more than 300 faxes and emails applauding them for their effort.

“That’s more positive feedback on this proposal than anything else we’ve proposed in the past four years,” Robichaux said.

Robichaux said the amendments, which were adopted unanimously by the School Board, are one of the most important things the board has done related to education standards and curriculum.

There are probably more people out there that think like this but they typically don't get the press that the young earth supporters get. Also, the young earth folks tend to be more connected to the communities so have built-in support that way.   This is a welcome development.

Update to Orleans Parish Story

Glenn Branch of the NCSE has this to add to the Orleans Parish move to abolish teaching ID and YEC in the parish schools:

Why were these policies proposed? Noting that they were the brainchild of the outgoing president of the board, Thomas Robichaux, the Times-Picayune (November 20, 2012) previously speculated, "The move can be read in two ways": as a way for Robichaux "to leave his mark on issues he feels passionately about" and as reflecting "a concern that the board may eventually feel pressure to take a more religious bent." The blog of the weekly Gambit (December 19, 2012) reported that the only speaker on the textbook policy at the meeting was Zack Kopplin: "'Creationism certainly is not science,' he said, warning that students not only will not meet higher education standards, but they 'won't find New Orleans jobs in the Bio District.'"

We will certainly see whether or not the new president is of like mind by how he reacts to the (almost certain) future movement to repeal the policies by disgruntled parents and board members.

Orleans Parish Does Away With Young Earth Creationism and ID

HuffPo is reporting that the Orleans Parish school board has informed their teachers that they are not to teach ID or young earth creationism in any science class.  Cavan Sieczkowski writes:

The newly approved policy bans teachers from including "any aspect of religious faith" in science courses and from using history textbooks adjusted to include Christianity.

The first part regarding textbooks reads: “No history textbook shall be approved which has been adjusted in accordance with the State of Texas revisionist guidelines nor shall any science textbook be approved which presents creationism or intelligent design as science or scientific theories."

The second part delves specifically into teaching: “No teacher of any discipline of science shall teach any aspect of religious faith as science or in a science class. No teacher of any discipline of science shall teach creationism or intelligent design in classes designated as science classes.”

Such an act, while not in contradiction to the Louisiana Science Education Act, which specifically stated that local school boards could choose whether or not to include “supplemental” material in the classroom, is clearly not in the spirit of “academic freedom” as envisioned by those championing the bill. It is also in stark contrast to the route that Livingston Parish took when they toyed with the idea of teaching creationism in the schools. It is interesting to see two very disparate approaches to this legislation and it is tempting to suggest that the bad press that has been heaped on Louisiana in the wake of the bill's passing is at least some impetus for the Orleans ruling.