Kansas State Board of Education is at it again
- From: "George" <george@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 02:50:18 GMT
http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=EVOLUTION-11-08-05&cat=LS
New standards require Kansas teachers to question evolution
By BILL STRAUB
Scripps Howard News Service
November 08, 2005
- The Kansas State Board of Education has once again thrown itself into the
middle of the debate over evolution, adopting new science-curricula
standards for the state's 445,000 public-school students that openly
question Darwinian theory.
The new standards, adopted Tuesday in a 6-4 vote after hours of sometimes
hostile debate, are seen as a victory for religious fundamentalists even
though the regulations don't require that Bible teachings be presented as
an alternative to the theories of Charles Darwin, who said species evolved
from a common source. Scientists and other foes assert that evolution is
more than a theory, and that the new standards will prove an impediment to
education.
"American children are consistently falling behind those of other nations
in their knowledge and understanding of science," said Francisco Ayala, a
biology professor at the University of California-Irvine. "We will not be
able to close this gap if we substitute ideology for fact in our science
classrooms."
The dispute between natural scientists and those who embrace the creation
story found in the Bible has been simmering for decades. In its initial
incarnation, it was supporters of Darwin's theories on the origin of the
species seeking to break through the schoolhouse door. More recently, those
who maintain a literal belief in the biblical accounting of Adam and Eve
are the ones trying to get their views heard.
In June 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that
prohibited the teaching of evolution unless creationism also was taught.
The ruling essentially banned the teaching of creationism in schools.
But Darwin's foes have proved resilient. They argued that the 19th-century
scientist's teachings on natural selection and the formation of new species
are unproven theories pockmarked with logical holes. They advanced an
alternative premise - that matter and energy can't be credited as the sole
originators of the universe and that much is owed to "a profoundly
formative intervention."
This intelligent-design theory maintains that those facets of natural
science that remain unexplained by Darwin should be attributed to an
anonymous intelligent agent. Many suggest that intelligent agent is the
Christian God.
The concept of intelligent design has gained popularity among those
questioning Darwin's veracity. According to the Discovery Institute, a
Seattle-based think tank promoting the concept of intelligent design, four
states - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New Hampshire - preceded Kansas
in requiring schools to present a critical analysis of evolution.
The newly approved Kansas regulations, which don't require the teaching of
intelligent design, are significantly broader. They not only question the
theory that all life has a common origin, they also rewrite the definition
of science, holding that it no longer is limited to searching for natural
explanations for natural phenomena.
Kansas, one of the reddest of the Middle American red states, has over the
years emerged as a key battleground in the debate. In 1999, a conservative
faction on the State Board of Education managed to institute science
standards that removed almost all references to evolution in the
curriculum. New standards, restoring evolution to its previous status, were
adopted in 2001 when voters ousted the creationist bloc.
Those opposing the new standards cast them as a backdoor effort by
creationists to introduce religious expression into the public classroom.
"They (state school board members) are allowing the intelligent-design
minority to bypass the scientific community," said Jack Krebs, a
math-and-science teacher at Oskaloosa High School in Oskaloosa, who serves
as vice president of Kansas Citizens for Science, a pro-evolution group.
"While not specifically mentioning religious concepts, it's advancing a
sectarian religious view. They're treading on some constitutional grounds
here."
But supporters of the new standards insist their effort has nothing to do
with religion and everything to do with Darwin, saying that science classes
present his theories as fact when plenty of questions exist about his
findings.
"Under these standards, students will learn more about evolution, not less,
as some Darwinists have falsely claimed," said Casey Luskin, program
officer for public policy and legal affairs with the Discovery Institute's
Center for Science and Culture. Anyone who reads the science standards, she
said, "will see that they deal solely with science, are based on scientific
debates in mainstream scientific literature and do not include any
alternative theories."
The Discovery Institute praised the changes, Luskin said, "because they
expand the information presented to students about biological and chemical
evolution by including some of the scientific criticisms of these
theories."
Kansas isn't the only place where the Darwin debate is being waged.
A federal judge in Harrisburg, Pa., is mulling a suit brought by the
American Civil Liberties Union seeking to overturn a declaration by the
Dover Board of Education requiring that students be taught the existence of
the theory of intelligent design as an alternative to Darwinian theory.
.
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