Mat Bowles

Words fail me. Remember the creationist 'zoo farm' that Debi and I wrote about a few years back?

They've won an education award , specifically a "Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge" awarded by the Government backed Council for Learning Outside the Classroom.

A Government backed charity has issued an accreditation award to a science denying establishment that's been heavily criticised in the past for its animal welfare standards, and that links heavily to www.earthhistory.org.uk, a site seeking to rewrite the science to justify young-earth creationism. They seem to want to blame Darwin for Mao, Hitler and Stalin (SRSLY).

The front page of the Learning Outside the Classroom site currently says:

A new UK Government took office on 11 May. As a result the content on this site may not reflect current Government policy. All statutory guidance and legislation published on this site continues to reflect the current legal position unless indicated otherwise. To view the new Department for Education website, please go to http://www.education.gov.uk

Is dealing with this crap within Sarah's remit?

FYI: All links to earth history and the zoo farm itself have rel="nofollow" added, I avoid using that too often, but there's no way I want to give them any link credit at all.

ETA: davegodfrey has applied actual science to some of their claims.

Words fail me. Clarke dismisses medieval historians (Friday May 9, 2003):

( I don't mind there being some medievalists around for ornamental purposes )

Who the hell [was] he? you ask, and why should we care about his dismissive opinions when it comes to education policy? He [was]'s the Secretary of State for Education, the guy in charge of setting education policy. As my friend Alix puts it:

History is relative. No one period of history has innately more value than any other.( historical knowledge can be applied to any period, including today )

Putting Ruth Kelly, an avowed extremist Catholic member of Opus Dei, in charge of equality was bad enough, but putting someone who doesn't believe in the value of education in charge of education? Words fail me.

( Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it ) has never been more true today. But then, we are talking about Charles Clarke here.

ETA: Um, yeah. Shows me for posting late at night and not checking the date or checking the Cabinet membership, my brain forgot he's not in the cabinet any more. Ah well. Still should never have been said.

ETA2: Clarke defends himself and denies making the statement. Thanks to bagrec in the comments.