CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Chair of the state Senate Education Committee believes there is no harm in allowing science teachers to offer a form of creationism as an alternative to the theory of evolution when instructing West Virginia students on the origins of mankind.
Although many opponents believe Intelligent Design crosses the line between science and faith and violates the principles of separation of church and state, Senator Amy Grady (R-Mason) who is also a teacher disagreed.
“I always say I want to teach my students how to think, not what to think. When I’m presenting something, I want to present them with all the options. We do that with different cultures. We say, ‘..this is a belief in one culture and this is a belief in another culture…’ This is no different,” she explained in a recent appearance on MetroNews Talkline.
Grady said she introduced Senate Bill 619 after a compelling correspondence with a student at Hurricane High School. Hayden Hodge, age 15, is the student who actually appeared before Grady’s committee this week to offer up his reasons for wanting to see the bill enacted. Hodge said he was perplexed when a teacher presented the Evolution Theory, but when asked about the alternative of creation, the same teacher was reluctant to talk about it fearing repercussions.
“If it’s presented in way to let kids think, as in this is another theory that other people believe. We’re not talking about 100 people in the world, we’re talking about billions,” Grady explained.
The legislation is up for passage on Saturday on the Senate floor.