Creationist Biology Teachers

Creationist "Science" Teacher, Beau Schaffer, will be keeping his job as a Libertyville High School biology teacher.  Recently, the school board and superintendent decided not to fire him, even though he violated several Supreme Court rulings and district rules by teaching Creationism to his student.  In a related story, Tom Ritter, a biology teacher from Pennsylvania, has sued the school board for the teaching of evolution, which he calls "unscientific".    In my own high school, my biology teacher refused to teach evolution because she did not believe it and would not discuss it.

In each instance, and the remaining 13% of creationist biology teachers, these individuals have risen and declared this truth: "I don't know anything about the subject that I am supposed to teach to your children!"  They dress it up in many ways like Tom Ritter who also states, "I do not understand the methods and characterizations of science".  Or my teacher, "I don't know anything about the topic, but at least I won't do anymore damage than plant a tiny seed of doubt in 150 years of scientific observation and theory".

Yet these teachers keep their jobs (even while school boards slash the teaching force and governors make boogie men out of teachers unions).  You can't teach biology if you don't understand evolution.  Simple.  That 60% of biology teacher teach the bare minimum or admit to avoiding the subject bothers me, but applies to another post.

Imagine a math teacher to claims not to believe in calculus, scoffs at the idea of Game "Theory", or refuses to teach algebra as Muslim conspiracy.  Imagine history teachers leading lessons question the veracity of Holocaust claims, or claiming that the Founders used the Three-Fifth's clause to undermine slavery and never resting until the awful practice were abolished.

Of course we would look upon these teachers for what they are, people who don't understand the subject for which we pay them to teach.  A Holocaust-denying art teacher or algebraically-illiterate civics teacher present sad problems for the general education of the American public, but their beliefs don't affect their ability to teach their subjects. I couldn't care less about a creationist librarian, but if your job is to teach biology then you should know what you are talking about.