Why is Intelligent Design bad for kids?

I've never posted anything to the WWW before, so this is my first shot. Lately I've been discouraged by the apparent support in both the media and the country at large for the theory of ID or Intelligent Design.

Sometimes people ask why it bothers me so much when creationists try to manipulate the education system to keep evolution out or to get any form of creationism included. What can you say to that? Well, I can say lots!

Anti-evolution movements grow out of something called religion. Now, religion isn't a bad thing on an individual level, but when you get a conglomeration of people professing to a religion it becomes a problem. Religion (particularly Christianity) has, by and large, prohibited the development of free thinking in many societies.

By forcing public school to teach evolution as a flawed theory without real support, anti-evolutionists are dooming our children to a sub-standard education. No wonder American children perform so poorly on tests! Children who are not shown the evidence in support of evolution and taught the reasoning skills to make an informed decision are at a disadvantage in today's global economy.

Further, children who could become great biologists are never exposed to real biology. Real biology is built on the foundation of evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory governs our investigations into the natural world around us. In order to say anything meaningful about lie on Earth, one must accept evolutionary theory.

I believe that children are entitled to a quality education covering a wide range of relevant topics that have shaped the world we live in today. If a high school biology lecture on evolution so damages a student's faith in God that they become an atheist, their faith was not very strong in the beginning.

I've got to get back to work.