[Hodar]

“I think it’s very important for children to know,” Graves said. “If they just believe that they came from some slime in a swamp that’s a whole lot different from being created in the image of God.”

The big picture is not necessarily a religous one, it's an exercise in the "Scientific Method" and "Critical Thinking". The Scientific Method is to look at observable data, make hypothisis regarding the observations, remove personal bias; and simply report what you see. For children, this is a fairly inexpensive yet thought provoking and engaging example. A field trip to just about any museaum will re-inforce that what you belive, and what you see may be at odds. The next step is "Critical Thinking".

Critical Thinking is taking in the observations, and then analyzing them with regard to truths and imperatives you believe, then working to come to an understanding of why things are as they are.

These are skills we all need, and use on a daily basis in work, play and in reading the news. I see no problem with a requirement that Evolution be presented as a plausable theory, I would object to it being presented as undisputed fact. However, to present it as a complete falsehood because Dinosaurs are not mentioned in the bible is teaching children to ignore observable facts; simply because they do not integrate into their belief system.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Good post, critical thinking and scientific method can certainly help these students. Especially when they are told that the world's oceans will be ten feet higher in 30 years and it will be the United States' fault.

[alexandria]

to present it as a complete falsehood because Dinosaurs are not mentioned in the bible

Ahh.. but they ARE mentioned.
"Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feed on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. He ranks first among the works of God..."
-Job 40:15-19 (NIV)

The Bible uses ancient names like "behemoth" and "tannin." Behemoth means kingly, gigantic beasts. Tannin is a term which includes dragon-like animals and the great sea creatures such as whales, giant squids, and marine reptiles like the plesiosaurs .

Behemoth tails were so long and strong that God compared them to cedars--one of the largest and most spectacular trees of the ancient world. Some people have mistakenly guessed that the behemoth mentioned in the Bible might be an elephant or a hippopotamus. But those animals do not have tails like the thick, tall trunks of cedar trees!
From Are Dinosaurs In The Bible?