Schools are not a forum of free ideas, because now some ideas are more free than others
That has always been the case. In the past schools did not even PRETEND to be equal and wanting diversity. And when they say diversity they mean diversity of colors, genders, backgrounds, and sexual orientations. But with the EXACT same political opinions. Step out of line and you are in deep trouble.
IN case after case, teachers have been censured not for teaching creationism, but for merely mentioning that there is a strong movement that believes in it (a non-judgement response to students questions).
Sounds like one of the many lies spread by creationists. I don't beleive it for a second until I see some examples of this.
We can force students to live as Muslims, and obey Sharia Law
What? where?
but we cannot mention that there are some (rightly or wrongly is not the issue - since I was taught there was 9 planets and we know there are only 8, right?) who have a different view of the world - because it is related to a relilgion that has been singled out for ostracism from school.
1. The fact that a forum of scientists decided to redifine the word planet doesn't make any difference to the steller objects in our solar system. They didn't change, nor did they become wrong. Planet is a word we invented to mean something, and now we decided it means something else. So it is a flawed analogy.
2. The creationists don't have a slightly different world view. The creationist movement uses lies to try and debase the theory of HUMAN evolution (since evolution in of itself is a fact, even if god created us as we are now the laws of evolution apply towards the future). Anyways, The movement is based entirely on lies and fraud and its sole purpose is to debase human evolution and science and to create a conflicted religion vs science atmosphere of fear because some people beleive that the notion of evolution causes atheism, and that atheists are inherantly evil because they are not bound to obey the sky wizard.
3. The creationist movement is not about people who beleive in god or creation, the creationist movement is an organisation that calls itself with names like intelligent design and scientific critique, names that evoke understanding and acceptance, when I first heard intelligent design I ASSUMED it means the notion that maybe there is some being who interferes with us, maybe god, maybe aliens, maybe who knows what... a possiblitiy that one cannot deny. But that is a misleading name, it is actually just a pack of lies meant to debase human evolution. It is like how I told people I am a scientologist because I thought it means a person who beleives in science instead of god. (it doesn't).
If I murder homeless people and call it volunteering in the homeless shelter, it doesn't change what I do, and if I would get people saying "why would ANYONE oppose volunteering at a homeless shelter with such ferocity" then that person is duped by a misleading name on an action that is clearly completely different.
Any person who is supporting the creationism (renamed ID after supreme court ruling, renamed scientific critique after loosing a court battle) is either being duped, or is spreading lies because they beleive science destroys religion and without religion people are inherantly evil.
Merely by CALLING it intelligent design you are helping to spread lies, insinuating something completely untrue. When refering to ID you should called it "lies about evolution by people who beleive atheism is the root of all evil". The scientific world has 0 tolerance policy towards liars. One lie, and you are out.
To get back to the homeless murderer example... when in a conversation, would say say "have you heard about the guy who got the chair for volunteering at the homeless shelter"? no, you would say "Have you heard of the guy that got the chair for murdering a bunch of homeless people".