Two of the Most Important Steps in the Scientific Method are Being Violated by Higher Court Rulings.
In using the Scientific Method, we start by making an observation. We then begin to ask questions about our observation. What is it that we want to know? We then form our hypotheses, which are trial answers to our questions. The next step is extremely important:
(1) Include all possible hypotheses.
For example: Let’s think about our amazing vast universe. How did our universe come into being? There are two possible hypotheses: A naturalistic beginning, or a supernatural beginning. But what if our public-school teachers are told they can only consider one of them?
The Creationism Act in 1981
In 1981 Louisiana enacted the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction Act, commonly called the Creationism Act. It did not require that either evolution or creationism be taught in public schools. However, the act stated that if one theory is presented, then the other must be as well.
That is perfectly in line with how the Scientific Method is supposed to work. All possible hypotheses are supposed to be considered. That is just good science.
1987 Edwards v. Aguillard
The Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) held that Louisiana’s Creationism Act (the Act) that required evolution be taught if “creation science” was taught and vice versa violated the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. The Court ruled a creation science hypothesis could not be included, only evolution. (Considering a possible supernatural hypothesis does not violate the Establishment Clause.)
Putting It into Perspective
According to the Edwards v. Aguillard ruling, the Louisiana Creationism Act would not give them any flexibility they didn’t already have. Therefore, we would have to conclude, before the Louisiana Creationism Act, teachers already had the flexibility to teach creationism as a theory about the origin of life. The issue wasn’t whether creationism could be taught, just if it could be mandated it had to be taught.
(2) Theories are tested by attempting to prove them wrong.
Karl Popper said in science you formulate a hypothesis; you then try to prove it wrong. If it is satisfactorily disproven, you then attempt to form a new hypothesis. The question is asked: “Why not try to prove it right?” You actually can’t. You never know if there isn't one more experiment that will prove it wrong. This part of the process is called the method of falsification.
2000 Rodney LeVake v Independent School District 656
A high school biology teacher Rodney LeVake had argued for his right to teach "evidence both for and against the theory" of evolution. The court ruled he could only teach evidence in support of evolution, because that was the chosen curriculum. (This again is completely against the scientific process. The teacher was doing exactly what we are taught to do in the proper use of the Scientific Method. I used the Scientific Method professionally in the business world for problem solving. The courts are destroying science as it was intended. Of course, they are destroying the Establishment Clause as was intended also.)
I believe all of our State, Federal and Supreme Court justices should be required to study the Scientific Method, and be tested as to how it works, before being allowed to make decisions on what can or cannot be taught in our public-school science classrooms. They are ruling against the process.
The Establishment Clause
The Establishment Clause is a limitation placed upon the United States Congress preventing it from passing legislation establishing an official religion. It is a clause located in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution that prohibits the government from passing any law to "establish" religion. The clause applies to the federal government as well as state and local governments. The basic purpose of the Establishment Clause is to protect religious freedom and to prevent the Government from interfering in religious matters, which subsequently they have done.
The 10th Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
The tenth amendment is very clear, the federal government is not allowed to do anything that it is not given express permission to do by the constitution. Therefore, get out of education, welfare, social security and about 90% of what it is currently doing.
All of the flawed Higher Court decisions need to be challenged and overturned. We also need a whole new set of guidelines for public-school education. Guidelines that do not violate the proper use of the Scientific Method.