Darwin in the Classroom: Ohio allows alternatives.

National Review Online ^ | December 17, 2002 | John G. West Jr.

[Phaedrus]

Bump for Academic Freedom ...

[jlogajan]

What they really want to smuggle is creationism. Man, some religionists are such liars. Makes you wonder about their religion.

[APBaer]

Are they also going to teach that while some believe the world to be round, like a ball, that is just one interpretation, because others believe the world to be flat like a pancake?

[HankReardon]

The should teach Darwinism as a historical part of human history of the 19th and 20th centuries. If they teach the theory itself as fact should they also teach other fairy tales as fact?

[HankReardon]

They'll teach that the earth is flat as a pancake and life once crawled from the slime, only once, never again since and merely by accident. These two things are both incredibly ridiciculous, I agree with you.

[fone]

Last spring, state officials and Columbus-level educrats held community-forum meetings in (just about?) every one of Ohio's 88 counties regarding education "reforms," especially the science curriculum (although many different subjects were discussed).

The turnout in our rural county was amazing.

Overwhelmingly, parents articulated that "both" sides of the evolution/creation, er, evolution/intelligent design concept be examined in the classrooms. I made sure I participated in this particular discussion group, and I was a bit skeptical that the outcome was already "predetermined," but perhaps they really were listening.

Bump the good news.

[fone]

Ohio bump

[Junior]

Ping.

[PatrickHenry]

Sorry if Junior already pinged some of you.

[This ping list for the evolution -- not creationism -- side of evolution threads, and sometimes for other science topics. If you want to be included, or dropped, let me know.]

[f.Christian]

Don't you think the reality of existence needs an explanation---analysis---definition...

not the wave of a magic wish---nothing...accident?

[Right Wing Professor]

John West is a senior fellow of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute

That about sums it up.

Think NRO would publish a column in rebuttal?

[f.Christian]

Flat minds/science...evolution!

[Phaedrus]

I hope we see a lot of your #4 on these Evolution vs. Education threads. Many Thanks.

[whattajoke]

Don't you think the reality of existence needs an explanation---analysis---definition...

And I think you should develop that curriculum. how much class time does "god created everything. period," take up? Life is so simple for creationists... must be fun.

[f.Christian]

Life/science 'happens'...very stupid/dumb!

[Dimensio]

Thank God! A small step towards the truth...and a huge leap for academic freedom :)

Yep. We'll soon have the children taught that the universe was created last Thursday by a cat named Queen Maeve who lives on Mars.

Hey, they said 'alternatives'. They didn't say which alternatives. Why do so many people think that there is this false dichotomy between either evolution (and by implication 'atheism', even though evolution does not imply atheism) and Biblical creationism? Why don't they realise that nearly every religion has their own creation myth?

[Dimensio]

If they teach the theory itself as fact should they also teach other fairy tales as fact?

There is a difference between "theory" and "fairy tale". Perhaps if you had an understanding of science you would know this.

Do you think that gravitational theory is a "fairy tale"?