Louisiana Senator Wants to Know if E. Coli Could Evolve Into a Human
As it turns out, this whole "evolution" thing isn't just a phase. And now Louisiana has to figure out whether we should be teaching it in our schools.
This video was posted to YouTube last April, but has only recently gone viral. It shows a science teacher calmly trying to explain a concept 4th graders have no trouble with to her state senator. Sen. Mike Walsworth asks if there are any concrete examples of evolution that could be taught in the classroom. The teacher patiently responds that yes, there are. She is used to speaking slowly and in small words for the kids in the back of the classroom, so this is not that difficult for her.
She begins to describe Richard Lenski's long-term E. coli research when Walsworth interrupts with another question:
"They evolve into a person?"
The E. coli. Evolving. Into a person.
Clearly exasperated, the teacher manages to soldier on. Let's get this woman an award.
They were debating Senate Bill 374, aimed to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, which requires the teaching of creationism along with evolution in public schools. It failed in committee.