I disagree with Richard and Ian's response. Why is it OK to visit a place
of worship where belief and faith are part of the deal, but not OK to go to
a zoo where some of the staff have beliefs of their own? The techniques
used by good education services at religious sites aim to elicit feelings of
personal reflection in a setting designed for people to think about these
things - so why not in a zoo where you're right in front of the 'evidence'
and the debate can be even closer to the reality?
I looked at the Noah's Ark Farm Park's website and they explicitly say that
evolution and creation are areas open to debate, and that while they have
their own views, it's up to the individual to come to their own conclusions:
'In our view the evidence currently known points to a ‘both/and’ situation
(creation and evolution) rather than ‘either/or’' ... we encourage
interested readers to explore the issues for themselves'. Ian's Life Centre
runs a KS4 workshop in which students 'use dialogue activities to explore
Darwin’s theory and the historical ideas behind it and decide for themselves
how modern day criticisms of evolution should be answered' - not that
different?
Noah's Ark Farm Park lists a range of educational workshops and activities
based around National Curriculum in Science and there's no suggestion that
these workshops actually morph into something else when the schools arrive.
It appears that the Farm Park was chosen as one of the 10% of self-assessed
sites to receive an inspection, and presumably this found that the service
was as described in its publicity, otherwise that would in itself be a
reason to lose the quality badge status.
However the main point, as expressed in the CLOtC's reply, is that the
Quality Badge is about processes, not content. The Farm obviously reached
the standard required and was awarded the badge. It's not up to the CLOtC
to discriminate between different applicants on anything other than quality
of provision.
For these reasons, while on a personal level I refute Creationism, I can't
see a reason why Noah's Ark Farm Park should lose its badge.
Robin Clutterbuck
White Rook Projects
www.whiterook.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Richard Ellam
Sent: 27 July 2010 14:17
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Council for Learning Outside the Classroom approves Creationist
Attraction
Dear All
List members considering whether to seek the Learning Outside the
Classroom Quality Badge may be interested in, and concerned about, the
CLOtC's decision to award their Quality Badge to the Noah's Ark Farm Park at
Wraxall, near Bristol.
The Noah's Ark Farm is an explicitly and agressively Creationist folly,
which seeks to mislead children by teaching them the literal truth of the
biblical account of creation and explicitly denies that evolution can
explain the diversity of life on Earth.
Quite apart from any wider concerns about the validity of these opinions,
the teaching of Creationism is contrary to the requirements of the National
Curriculum.
A number of people involved in science communication and informal science
education including my colleague Ian Simmons from the Centre for Life in
Newcastle are very concerned about the fact that CLOtC has accredited Noah's
Ark in the first place, and (as the correspondence below shows) doesn't seem
to understand that it might have made a mistake in the second.
If you share our concerns, can I ask you to join with us in writing to the
CLOtC to express your concern.
The CLOtC can be contacted via [log in to unmask]
Thanks
Richard.
Richard Ellam
L M Interactive
Science Shows and Hands-On Stuff
[log in to unmask]
Begin forwarded message:
From: Ian Simmons <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 27 July 2010 11:49:45 BDT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] Council for Learning Outside the Classroom
Reply-To: "psci-com: on public engagement with science"
<[log in to unmask]>
Centre for Life is accredited by the Council for Learning Outside the
Classroom with their Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, but I was
worried to find out this week that they’d also given this status to the Noah
’s Ark Zoo – a creationist outfit near Bristol, so I wrote to them
expressing my concerns that we are put on a par with such a dubious body,
and got this reply
“Dear Mr Simmon, s
Many thanks for your email concerning the recent award of the Learning
Outside the Classroom Quality Badge to Noah's Ark Zoo Farm.
The criteria for awarding the LOtC Quality Badge are that the
organisation must offer good quality learning outside the classroom and
manage risk effectively. The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom is
very committed to equality and we will award the Quality Badge to an
organisation that can demonstrate that it meets these criteria; past awards
have included Interfaith Kirklees and Canterbury Cathedral without any
implied endorsement of their religious base.
CLOtC believes that an important aim of learning outside the classroom
is allowing children and young people access to education that challenges
assumptions and allows them to experience a range of viewpoints; giving them
the tools needed to be proactive in their own learning.
CLOtC is an independent charity and I would like to stress that the
operation of the LOtC Quality Badge scheme receives no government funding.
Kind Regards
Amy”
Which concerns me even more, such that I am considering asking to be
delisted, as I think giving them a stamp of providing ‘good quality
education’ devalues us by association, if any of your organizations are LOtC
registered and share my concern I would urge you to make it known to them –
their website is
http://www.lotc.org.uk/The-LOTC-quality-badge/The-LOTC-quality-badge
IAN
Ian Simmons
Science Communication Director
Centre for Life
Management Suite
Times Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4EP
Tel: +44191 2438250
Fax: +44191 2438201
Email: [log in to unmask]
Life - A Centre for world-class science
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