To think this person should not be a biology teacher?

[baublegirl454]

My son is yr 8, and had had concerns about his biology teacher for a while. She has often been totally unprepared for their lessons so they are told to just read from their textbooks, she can't use the whiteboard & often sets incomprehensible homework or on subjects that they haven't studied yet. She is new, so we hoped these were just teething issues and would improve. Howe er, DS came home on Friday and announced that she has said that she doesn't believe in Evolution and (I quote) 'I don't believe an explosion (I.e. The Big Bang) could create a house'
WTF????
Would we be unreasonable to approach the school about this?!

*at grammar schools

But this was in a biology lesson.

I too am guessing NI

Was this during a lesson on evolution, or as an aside? Is she teaching the curriculum?

Could be NI or Newark or Chesterfield or Sunderland or a few other places

Fair enough if it was the RE teacher - Umm No its unacceptable to say that even if you are an RE teacher, it is not a teachers job to impose their beliefs on a pupil no matter what the subject is.

Big Bang theory is often disputed by reputable scientists - Umm No the Big Bang Theory is a widely accepted FACT, some of the details are still in depute but not the theory.

Trump is appointing a world class neurosurgeon to his administration, who also happens to be a YEC. Religious indoctrination can really mess with your head no mater how intelligent you are. We should ban this stuff from ALL schools in the UK, its poison.

Wow, this thread grew legs! To those posters saying this is rubbish- why would I post if it wasn't true? And I'm intrigued that people have looked up my other post to see what area I'm in, I would have stated (vaguely) if asked but don't really want anything identifiable on here.
I have drafted a letter to the Head of year to raise our concerns and ask their position. My son is not given to flights of fancy and told us about it with incredulity. I asked if anyone questioned her, but no one did - they're not really encouraged to query teachers in that way. This teacher is young and not originally from the UK - hence possibly the difficulty with the IWB and apparently also with all the tech they use.

Please tell me this school isn't in the North West?!

No we are in the SE

Wow, sounds like a shit teacher generally. I would probably approach the school about the promotion of the creationism stuff though.

Funnily enough I had a biology teacher at school who was a creationist. I thought it was most weird, and she was very open about it, but she did stick to the curriculum and put her own crazy ass theories to the side while she was doing the job she was paid to do.

Weird, I had a biology teacher who sounds identical - I would have thought it must be the same one except mine was ancient!

I would definitely complain. Reading from a textbook for 4 hours a week really is the way to kill any shred of enthusiasm for a subject. The creationism stuff is off the scale of inappropriate teaching for a biology lesson in the UK.

Totally unacceptable to have a teacher of biology teaching their own version of things. They will do great damage to the teaching of sideline topics like, mutation, recombination, Mendelian inheritance, speciation etc. This is easily a third of the syllabus that they are leading up to and so it represents inadequate preparation.

If I was the Head, I would sack this throwback.

Interesting 2nd thread, OP.
I didn't know there were state grammar schools in London. Every day's a school day.

This is trollhunting, isn't it? So (a) not allowed and (b) if you're going to air your suspicions on the thread, always a good idea to check the basic facts first. There are grammar schools in the outer London Boroughs of Sutton, Bromley and Bexley and also in Dartford, which is in Kent but really easy to get to from SE London.

Similar applies in North London too, I believe.

Good luck with the HoY, OP.

@KittyVonCatsington
"I think you misunderstood my post and have quoted me out of context."

Fair enough. I took it you meant that creationism was a common part of Christianity, rather than being the rare, unorthodox view that it is. Apologies for misunderstanding.

It seems the creationists and the 'all religion is bad' nuts are both arriving now, so I'll bow out. No point arguing with fundamentalists.

@OP. Well done for raising it with the school. Go easy, it's hard being an NQT.

It seems the creationists and the 'all religion is bad' nuts are both arriving now

This lol ^^

It doesn't matter whether all religion is bad or all religion is wonderful-it has no place in a science lesson!

And creationism is clearly bonkers, so has no place in a school at all except to be discussed and debunked in RE. As most Christians would do.

It's nice to agree on something with you BetrandRussell!

Creationism isn't 'bonkers' - it's part of Human history. It's how we explained the world before we developed scientific methods.

But I wouldn't teach 'creationism' in a science lesson (except to debunk it) any more than I would teach about Zeus and thunderbolts ...

"Creationism isn't 'bonkers' - it's part of Human history. It's how we explained the world before we developed scientific methods"

Yes, but believing in it now is bonkers.

Counterpoint surely continuing to teach and believe in something that we used as a story to make ourselves feel better before we had science, now that we do have science is surely the very definition of bonkers?

We used to rely on blood-letting and the humours for medicine before we had medical science. They don't still teach those in medical school.....

The really worrying thing is when creationists start talking about subduction zones, dinosaurs living alongside humans, the fossil record and other garbage to try and explain Noah's flood and such like in a pseudo scientific manner which children and anyone with a basic level of scientific knowledge don't have a hope in hell of contradicting . This was my sons experience when Creation Ministries International visited his school

As most Christians would do

If you asked the Pope or the ArchBishop of Canterbury how 'everything' began, I do wonder what they would say?

Especially if asked God's role...

2bees - they visited his school? Where the hell was this?
OP - please update when you hear back from school, I'd be interested to know the outcome

I suspect there are still some schools in the UK that teach Creationism as fact.

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/accelerated-christian-education-europe-ofsted-dfe-inspection-report-a7502616.html

This teacher is young and not originally from the UK - hence possibly the difficulty with the IWB and apparently also with all the tech they use.
OK OP that explains it.