This is taking religious freedom(s) way too far.
From the report:
Bottom line: The Ohio House has passed legislation that would allow students to give wrong answers and not be penalized if those wrong answers are based on the student’s “sincerely held religious belief.”
The kids will have a field day with this. They'll make a game of it trying to see how ridiculous their answers can be while still getting credit. I wonder what they'll have to do to prove 'sincerely held religious belief'. What a farce. Somebody has decided that education is useless and meaningless.
Wow. What are their plans for their kids' futures? Are they waiting for the second coming of Jebus to end the world so nothing will matter?
I've got news for them. Just like with all the other predictions over the last however many thousand years -- nobody's coming.
Because I adore Calvin and Hobbes, and you made me think of this one (hope I do this right):
This is fucking insane. Ohio is the Alabama of the north.
So, Holocaust deniers are also allowed to give wrong answers on WWII history tests because of their beliefs? Racists are allowed to give wrong answers about slavery in America and race relations afterward because of theirs? This is a slippery slope that has no useful or valid result.
I am sure there are white supremacist religious sects that will argue that.
@Beowulfsfriend - No doubt, you are correct.
It's funny in a sad, ironic way how much the American religious fundies have in common with the Taliban and Islamic fundamentalists, and yet, they are totally clueless about the similarities........
Exactly. Every time someone, usually xtion, posts an anti Sharia post, I respond with, "I agree, ALL Abrahanic law is evil."
@Beowulfsfriend I doubt they get it, but that is exactly the right response.
I'm so glad I no longer live in Ohio.
First, Jim Jordan, now this shit.
SMFH
I once interviewed for a job in Ohio. So glad I never moved there. Sounds even more backward than Iowa, and that's saying something......
@TomMcGiverin From what I read Iowa, although rural, has a lot of book readers, so they aren't all a bunch of hicks.
@snytiger6 You want to stick close to the three C's. Cleveland - Columbus - Cincinnati.
But Ohio is really backward. I grew up there.
Ohio is PAINFULLY backward. Pretty sure this is where rednecks were invented. In any residential neighborhood, there are easily 50-100 churches. The economy is depressed, most of the industrial and labor jobs are either gone or low income, and the opioid problem is huge. Seems like instead of helping themselves, they just load up another serving of grease onto their plates, dump down another 6pack of PBR, hop on that ATV, and pray to jeeezus to help em outta this bad spell! I guess pretending something/someone else will take care of all their problems FOR them is reassuring?
Appalling.
@snytiger6 Not all of them are, but most of them are, if you move outside of all of the cities and towns with four year colleges. Also, you need to know that many of those book readers only read romance or mystery novels, not exactly intellectual types....
@LisaFultonave I pity you for still living there....
@TomMcGiverin I brought it on myself. It's a good financial move for me post divorce, with family and lifetime friends for a support network. Everyone knows I won't stay beyond getting some equity built up. I hope to be back in CO in 10 yrs or less. Just need to feel confident being self sufficient after 36 yrs
@LisaFultonave Sounds like a good plan. Glad you are self sufficient and hope you are back west soon.
Nothing like blind faith to dumb down the population.
Can they really get any dumber?
@starwatcher-al If Trump is their model, yes.
In other words, chosen stupidity for religious reasons is to be encouraged? If anyone takes that seriously, it is no wonder that America is dumbing down.
Easier to control stupid people
Dumbing down? How about already dumbed down?
Unbelievable. NOBODY better wonder why I joined this forum in search of intelligent conversation. I just don't understand why all these religious people WANT to be stupid. It's not even accidental, it's willful ignorance! And now they want to make it a LAW that you can be ignorant!!!!!
"Confuse not the minds of the ignorant. They will only hate you for it"...
@TomMcGiverin that's for sure! It's why I'm very circumspect about what I post or comment on in FB.
@LisaFultonave I almost never post on FB. Just use it for messaging with friends and keeping up on entertainment events like live music.
Me at 16 - as a Rastafarian I can smoke a joint while taking a test.
Kind of defeats the whole purpose of education, but, you can't fix rigid belief and orthodoxy.....
This issue is easily solved: just rephrase the all questions by starting each one with "According to Science..."
That way it's not about what they believe, it's about knowing the position Science holds, and that is certainly not based on their beliefs. They will still have to know and give the right answers.
Very nice!!!!
If this becomes law, employers and College Admissions officers should question any High School diplomas from Ohio.
Do not ever allow such students to try and fix your plumbing!
Or perform medical procedures, since they can feasibly say it was never wrong in school training to use prayer instead of surgery to fix your medical emergency! Talk about dumbing down our entire educational system!! Wonder how long OSU could remain an accredited college endorsing this bullshit.
So can they say 6+7=14 because they think 13 is unlucky? Makes as much sense.
I believe 13 became "unlucky" because in the story of the last supper there were 13 attendees.... 12 apostles and Jesus. However, the messiah and 12 apostles story is not unique to Christianity, so it may predate from one of the earlier religions using such a story.
Sure why not? Just keep em dumb enough to not question the myth makers.
Let's just hand out diplomas that say I may be stupid, I went to Ohio.
Why don't we just make a national law that religious people can do and/or say anything they like and they can't be called out on it because it would infringe on their religious freedom or rights. That is where we are headed
Please don't let Pence hear that!
OMG, I live in Ohio and I’m embarrassed.
Strangely... the rest of us who live in the U.S. can relate.. because Trump is president.
The students should just write 42 as the answer to every question in every class. After all it's the answer to life the universe and everything!
Nah, 45. Then it honors their orange demi-gawd.
So fair and equal treatment under the law - right to be stupid. Then where does the separation of education and religion sit?
If this is allowed, then as long as some arsehole with an AR15 shoots up an Ohio school claiming God told them to do it, then they must be innocent.
Sad to say, this makes us in the rest of the world laugh at America. I hope your SCJ can overturn this as another aspect will be that any qualifications obtained there, must be accepted throughout the rest of the USA.
When law makers interfere with established facts they appear not to think about the greater consequences. Now what about when one religion conflicts with another over a fact?