Intelligence Defined

The background: Wilder is home sick from school today; Calder left on a business trip yesterday; I refused to lie down with the children last night as they fell asleep in my bedroom because I wanted to watch the debate; Wilder did not at first accept this decision peacefully.

The scene: The kitchen, this morning, as we re-enter the house after seeing Elba and Gemma off on the bus.

Action:

Wilder: So, um, how was that two-hour debate with Obama?

Me: It was the debate between Governor Palin of Alaska and Senator ...

Wilder, interrupting: The one who doesn't believe in science?

Me [second-guessing how I talk politics with my kids]: Well, she doesn't believe in evolution.

Wilder [There is a note of confused concern in his voice]: Doesn't she have kids in school?

Me: Yes, but she believes that the Bible is literally true.  That God created the world in six actual days and made people out of real dust from the ground ...

Wilder [puzzled]: But that would be church.

Comments

[merseydotes]

Ha!

[Phantom Scribbler]

I'm convinced. Wilder for VP, then!

[Madeleine]

Whatever he's sick with isn't clogging up his brain, at least.

[Genevieve]

This gave me a big grin. See, the difference is clear to an intelligent first-grader!

[landismom]

Heh! Clever boy.

[magpie]

I think you're doing a splendid job talking politics and religion with your kids.

[Elizabeth]

Not that I agree with very many of her views (to the extent that I can figure them out), but I don't think you're being quite fair to Mrs. Palin. In interviews, she's said that she supports teaching evolution in school science classes (and that she expected intelligent design would come up in classroom discussion).

[Jody]

Elizabeth:

If you follow the link to Palin on evolution, you will see that I flagged Palin's statements -- and you are right, she has stated her support teaching it in the schools. My first link there, to Lisa's site at Vindauga, was meant to imply that I was second-guessing my over-simplications for the sake of conversation with children.

That having been said, Palin supports teaching evolution along with some version of "intelligent design," and I believe that to be an insupportable intrusion of religion into science education in this country. Here is the 2008 Alaska Republican Party position (Subcategory E under their education plank) on this issue: "We support teaching various models and theories for the origins of life and our universe, including Creation Science or Intelligent Design. If evolution outside a species (macro-evolution) is taught, evidence disputing the theory should also be presented."

[stefan]

Well, in our household religion mostly comes up as a from of cultural literacy. And we're not necessarily doing a good job, since kid #1 is having a hard time getting past the 'obvious' untruth of religious myths to appreciate or even understand them. Watching Ben-Hur last week, the divinity of Christ as the son of God caused a bit of consternation to to kid #1. For her it is a just a conversation ender that she has encountered before. Guess where she picked up this perspective? I tried suggesting that the divinity of Christ is in part making lemonade with lemons, as well as, well, a narrative device that uses the possibilities that this paradox opens up.