There’s not a whole lot to go on with the first page (just “6th” and “plants”), but what little handwriting there is seems consistent to me. She crosses her “t” the same way (kind of an equilateral cross), and her “s” (and other curvy characters) have a sharp, angular quality on both the first and second page. I’d guess that both pages were written by the same hand.
That’s not proof that it’s genuine, of course. And I agree with Doug K. and others that Snopes’ sources at this point don’t amount to much more than a FOAF. To me, there’s not enough evidence to confirm it as true, nor enough evidence to dismiss it as a hoax.
Having lived briefly in Upstate South Carolina (where this school is supposed to be located), however, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if it’s a real quiz. There’s a high concentration of Christian fundamentalists in that region (Bob Jones in Greenville is not an isolated example), and I can easily see a 4th-grade science teacher at a private religious school implementing his or her personal Creationist theology on their class, perhaps beyond what the other faculty at the school teach.
Still, I think the jury’s out on the existence of this quiz, at least until further evidence comes forth.
I suppose I might do an AMA about it; my hours are strange, though, and I’m a little unsure that I might be able to devote the time needed to answer a bunch of questions. Then again, I write so dully that after a day or so, interest would drop dramatically.
It contains the following quote from a school official:
There’s no further explanation, but I am guessing that by “the theory” they mean evolution. So she might be claiming that they teach evolution and creationism, even though I’m sure they point out that evolution should not be believed because it contradicts the Bible.
If you follow the link in the OP, you can eventually get to this statement from the guy behind Answers in Genesis. He claims that atheists “responded in rage and vehement attacks on the school.” Now, I only read about the story here, so perhaps some atheists somewhere were in fact attacking the school, but I thought most of the response was disbelief and laughter.
I can believe they’re getting rageful missives. Pretty much any time any person or institution goes viral for any reason whatsoever, they’re going to catch a bunch of bullshit from the public at large. The Internet is big, dumb, and stupid.
Characterizing this as some kind of coordinated atheist attack is just ridiculous, though.
Children who attend this school are unlikely to succeed in college. Since science is anathema to them, they will tend to gravitate toward jobs where rational thinking is not all that important. So there will be more slots available for other kids to attend college, and better jobs for the other kids too.
Didn’t the Bush administration give all kinds of plum jobs in the Iraqi reconstruction to kids whose only credential was a degree from a super-patriotic, super-religious excuse for a college?
Well, I Fucking Love Science and of course, Snopes, is saying this is a REAL FUCKING QUIZ! It appears it may have been given at Blue Ridge Christian Academy, though they didn’t respond to a Snopes inquiry. However, Ken Ham and Mark Looy form Answers In Genesis say they provided materials for the quiz and that it indeed did originate from this school.
If this is really true, I can’t decide whether to leave this country or open a school who teaches how Chutulu created the dinosaurs. Heck, if these guys can get away with fairy tales…
