[Taxacom] evolution education

[John Grehan]

'Scenario' is the right the right term and the problem. Scenarios or stories are just that. But where stories are generated by science the focus should be on the science, not the story which itself is not science, but a metaphysical claim about reality. So long as the teaching of evolution is focused on the stories and not the science it will be a mess.

John Grehan


-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Kenneth Kinman
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 9:15 PM
To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: [Taxacom] evolution education

Hi All, 
     Another conservative state legislature is facing renewed
proposals to challenge evolution in classrooms (which would require
teachers to do so whether they like it or not). But in the present day,
do such state laws (if passed) actually have a significant impact on the
biological education of the vast majority of high school students?     
      I suspect that those students most likely to be
seriously torn between evolution-only scenarios and God-only scenarios,
increasingly opt for something in between (God created species,
including humans, but through an evolutionary mechanism). An
understandable stance for those torn between their parents' God-only
scenarios and the scientific evidence for evolution.         
         So the question is, would a few such state laws (which would
presumably be eventually overturned anyway) have any significant
long-term effect in the teaching of evolution?  But even if not, would
it still (in the short term) be an unfair burden on biology teachers in
those states who might be subject to law-suits if their presentation of
evolution was not critical enough and angered some conservative parents
of those students?   Not that such proposed laws should not be resisted
in those states, but do such laws (if they are passed) cause as many
problems and harm as they once did?  
         ---------Ken Kinman          

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/oklahoma-bill-would-mandate-educators-question-evolution-in-classes/ 


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