Rand Paul, the Republican presidential candidate who has made anti-abortion rhetoric one of his campaign themes, has said that “the next generation of students will learn more about science and the importance of understanding the world around us than ever before”.
Speaking at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Kentucky senator and Republican presidential contender said that the next generation would also have “the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of scientists” and that the “next generation will be the ones who will lead the way in this new era”.
“I think we have to be prepared to have our kids and their kids in this world that we’re in,” he said.
“We have to have their knowledge.
We have to make sure that our children can be educated in science and in math and in philosophy.”
Speaking to a group of students, he said that if they were to have children, they would be able to learn “everything you learn in school”.
“That’s why you can’t take a course on evolution,” he added.
“You have to learn about evolution.
You can’t just take a class on it.
If you can get your kids to do that, then they will learn all the knowledge that they need to know.”
Mr Paul also said that his “children” would “understand the importance and the value of science”, adding that he would “help them understand the importance to themselves of science and its impact on their health”.
The senator also suggested that he could offer to take students in his class on the history of science to explain the world, adding that “they can come up with theories that have been proven wrong”.
Mr Paul’s comments come just days after he told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington DC that he believed “there is a strong case” for making the country a “living laboratory” for science.
“When you have an opportunity to learn the latest research on things like how to make the most out of our resources, and then to apply that knowledge to a problem, and in the process, get the results that you want, that’s a recipe for a living laboratory,” he told the crowd.
“I have no doubt that if we do that we’ll have a greater appreciation of science.”
A spokeswoman for Mr Paul said: “We do not support the notion that there should be a government role in educating children about science.
Rand Paul has made the case for the importance, benefits and role of science education and is currently supporting the National Science Teachers Association’s push to end the federal requirement that students be taught in science classes.”
Senator Paul has been an outspoken supporter of science instruction in schools and he remains committed to eliminating the federal mandates that mandate science instruction.
He believes that education should be based on a student’s ability to think critically, and has also said he supports teachers and principals being able to teach and learn from other scientists.
“He has also been an advocate for reducing federal funding for science, believing that education must be about developing students’ ability to understand and relate to scientific evidence and evidence of the scientific method.”
