Wednesday
Dover
Here’s a hypothetical. The school board of the town of Thalia decides on a curriculum in which they teach the kids that 2+3=9, the only information on a times table is the schedule of trains, the derivative of x2 is seventeen, there aren’t an infinite number of integers, the graph of 6/(4-x3) is an ellipse, and thousands of other false mathematical propositions. The members of the school board, as well as the parents of the children in the school, were educated outside of the town and are well aware that the information is false. Nevertheless, they re-elect the same school board members each time there is an election. This is because all the parents are practical jokers and/or hate their kids and/or want to see the results of this social experiment. Now imagine that the separation of powers is in flux. Should higher level state legislative bodies have the ability to mandate that accurate math be taught? Should Congress? Courts (at any level?) Does the answer on how this situation should be dealt with change based on how big of a majority support the school board? These ramblings brought you to me thinking what the debate over teaching intelligent design would be like if it weren’t for pesky issues about establishing religions.
