SKEPTIC MAG HOTLINE FOR MARCH 15
Copyright Skeptics Society, Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer
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4. EVOLUTION: PUBLIC DOESN'T WANT CREATIONISM IN SCIENCE CLASS.
According to a new Yankelovich poll, commissioned by People for the American Way, an overwhelming 83% of Americans think Darwin's theory of evolution, not creationism, belongs in science class. That means most people don't live in Kansas (WN 13 Aug 99).
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5. EVOLUTION-CREATION CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
Evolution-creation debate grows louder with Kansas controversy
http://cnn.com/2000/US/03/08/creationism.vs.evolution/index.html
At Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, in Shawnee, Kansas, students are taught evolution in a biology class as part of the course curriculum March 8, 2000
Web posted at: 2:41 p.m. EST (1941 GMT)
SHAWNEE, Kansas (CNN) -- In Kansas, where high school science standards that de-emphasize evolution take effect this fall, the issue for educators is how to put those standards into practice. It's a delicate subject throughout the United States, as the country wrestles with what to teach children about the origin of human life.
Scientists condemned last summer's decision by the Kansas Board of Education making evolutionary theory optional in the state's science education standards. But creationists considered it a victory. They believe that all life in the universe was created thousands of years ago by a higher being -- a divine power.
Creationists don't accept that new species can evolve from older ones -- such as humans evolving from ancient apes -- and consider evolution an unproven theory. The revised standards also omit many references to the big-bang theory -- the idea that the universe is actually billions of years old, born in an explosion of matter and radiation.
Evolution 'is a fact'
Al Frisby, a high school biology teacher in Kansas who now includes evolution in his curriculum, was infuriated by the board's action. "We have fossil evidence for evolution. It's a fact. And I'll dare to say it. It's a fact," said Frisby, who teaches at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, outside Kansas City. "What else will the state board do? Will they take out verbs from English for some political or religious reason?" The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that states cannot teach creationism. Since then, some creationists have turned to attacking evolution's validity.
'Let the students make up their own mind'
Board member John Bacon said the action taken by his Kansas colleagues puts both positions on an equal footing. "Rather than mandate one theory over another," he said, "we took both off and said, 'Just let the scientific evidence speak for itself and let the students make up their own minds.'" Kansas Board of Education member John Bacon says the board wants students to decide for themselves which theory to believe. Under the Kansas order, local school districts will decide for themselves what is -- or isn't -- taught about evolution and the big-bang theory. But critics of the new standards worry that some schools won't include those subjects because they no longer will be covered on standardized tests given to Kansas students.
A U.S. dilemma
While the Kansas controversy has drawn most recent attention, the creationist position seems to have wide support nationwide.
A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll found that 68 percent of those surveyed favored teaching creationism along with evolution in public schools; 40 percent favored dropping evolution altogether and teaching children only the biblical version of creation.
The findings, though, are not necessarily a trend. Developments from around the United States following the Kansas decision in August show varying approaches to creationist-evolutionist controversy and how it should be addressed in classrooms:
In August, the Kansas Board of Education voted to drop evolutionary theories from the state's science standards
--The Arizona legislature is considering a measure that would require teachers to present scientific evidence that both supports and discredits the theory of evolution.
--Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson ruled last month that a state committee had no authority to require that biology textbooks carry a disclaimer saying evolution is a "controversial theory." The committee said the disclaimer, adopted in November, was added because biology texts do not devote enough space to alternate explanations of how life began.
--A poll of West Virginians released last month found that most people would like more biblically oriented teaching in public schools. A majority (57 percent) said the biblical account of creation is more likely to be the "actual explanation for the origin of human life on earth," while 9 percent selected evolution. Thirty percent said it is most likely that "both are true," while 4 percent were undecided and less than 1 percent said neither is true.
--In Kanawha County, West Virginia, where a policy banning the teaching of "creation science" was approved in 1987, a resolution to reverse the ban was defeated by the school board last December. The measure would have allowed teachers to use their classrooms to challenge theories of evolution.
--Last October, Kentucky's education department deleted the word "evolution" from its standards, replacing it with "change over time."
--The New Mexico Board of Education went the opposite way in October, when it said teachers no longer have to teach creationism alongside evolution. The state education standards had required teachers to "present the evidence for and against" evolution.
Correspondent Patty Davis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Michael Shermer
Publisher
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http://www.skeptic.com