Column: Pi is not three
By Scott Walker, M.D.
Dear Neighbors,
Our nation’s founders knew that the role of religion in politics would be debated continually in a democracy, and so they wrote in an explicit separation of church and state into the document we call the Constitution.
When we try to blur that line, things go wrong. Think, for example, if the Indiana State Legislature had been successful in defining pi as equal to three in all state construction projects. Windows would leak, roofs would collapse, and highways wouldn’t meet up. But it says so in the Bible! (I Kings 7:23).
We accept that there are religious truths that don’t much affect everyday life, but some religious truths, like the one in I Kings, must be seen as practical misunderstandings. We know that using a value of 3.141 for pi works for erecting curved structures and getting rockets to the Moon and back. To borrow from Dr. Fauci, if we used three for pi, people would die.
When my taxes pay to educate my neighbor’s child, I want that youngster taught the practical value for pi, not the religious value. Why? Because that youngster may someday build a house for me or my offspring, and I want it done correctly, not religiously. I leave room for others to disagree, of course, and I have no objection to them educating their children in any system they choose at their own expense. I don’t want to pay to train an unsuccessful engineer.
I don’t know if the Wisconsin State Constitution prohibits spending tax dollars on religious schools. But I do know that where our tax dollars go, our regulations may also follow. Silly as it may seem, I would like to see our state, so stingy in so many things but generous to “private schools,” pass a law or a regulation prohibiting the teaching of pi as three in schools that receive public funding.
Of course, taking things just a step or two further would be good in my book. What about a regulation that requires students to meet literacy standards? I think we can all agree that literacy is a good thing, and demonstrating it serves a public interest. So can we at least agree on teaching pi and literacy to children in schools that accept public funds? Great!
Next we should be talking about requiring schools that accept public funds to accept all students, regardless of disability. Why should a child with cerebral palsy be limited by their wheelchair to just one choice for a school? But I understand; this is too much of a stretch for today’s voters. Okay then, second best, if we’re consigned to having all physically and mentally challenged children in the public school system, let’s set the special education budget where it needs to be and stop giving that money to private schools. Let’s rebalance the special education budget to recognize that as many as twenty percent of public school students may face challenges and need IEPs. Let’s take money from what we allocate to the private schools that don’t accept disabled students and give it to the special ed budget. Gosh, if doing this enough makes the public school a more attractive venue, so be it.
