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These are from the National Center for Science Education
http://www.nsce.org. One from Louisiana and the other England.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 09:45:09 -0700
From: Glenn Branch <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [ncse-news] Evolution education update: September 28, 2007
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Dear Friends of NCSE,
The junior senator from Louisiana is hoping to provide $100,000 of federal
funds to a local creationist group to "develop a plan to promote better
science education," while across the Atlantic, the British government seems
to have issued its promised guidance on creationism for teachers.
EARMARK FOR LOUISIANA CREATIONIST GROUP?
"Sen. David Vitter, R-La., earmarked $100,000 in a spending bill for a
Louisiana Christian group that has challenged the teaching of Darwinian
evolution in the public school system and to which he has political ties,"
reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune (September 22, 2007). Buried in the
Senate Appropriations Committee's version of the appropriations bill for
the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education is a
provision allocating funds to the Louisiana Family Forum of Baton Rouge "to
develop a plan to promote better science education." The bill is presently
awaiting action on the floor of the Senate.
In a written statement, Vitter explained, "This program helps supplement
and support educators and school systems that would like to offer all of
the explanations in the study of controversial science topics such as
global warming and the life sciences." The Times-Picayune added, "The
money in the earmark will pay for a report suggesting 'improvements' in
science education in Louisiana, the development and distribution of
educational materials and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
Ouachita Parish School Board's 2006 policy that opened the door to
biblically inspired teachings in science classes."
Adopted in 2006 with the backing of the Louisiana Family Forum, the
Ouachita Parish School Board's policy permits teachers to help students to
understand "the scientific strengths and weaknesses of existing scientific
theories pertinent to the course being taught"; "biological evolution, the
chemical origins of life, global warming and human cloning" are the only
topics specifically mentioned. A local paper editorially described it as
"a policy that is so clear that one School Board member voted affirmatively
while adding, 'but I don't know what I'm voting on'" (Monroe News-Star,
December 3, 2006).
Although the Ouachita policy reflects the stealth creationist campaign of
"teach the controversy," the Louisiana Family Forum is not always so
coy. The Times-Picayune reported: "Until recently, its Web site contained
a 'battle plan to combat evolution,' which called the theory a 'dangerous'
concept that 'has no place in the classroom.' The document was removed
after a reporter's inquiry"; that document was written by Kent Hovind, the
flamboyant young-earth creationist who is presently serving a ten-year
sentence in federal prison for tax offenses and obstruction of justice.
Charles Kincade, a civil rights lawyer in Monroe, Louisiana, told the
Times-Picayune that "The problem is, except for fringe people, evolution is
an accepted fact of science. To suggest otherwise is misleading. They are
trying to backdoor creationism." Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common
Sense, a group that opposes earmarks and compiles searchable databases
identifying their congressional sponsors, commented, "Using an earmark to
dictate that the Louisiana Family Forum receive the funding to develop a
science education program ironically ignores a hallmark of scientific
research, making decisions on the basis of competitive, empirical research."
Writing in the New Orleans Times-Picayune (September 26, 2007), columnist
James Gill took Senator Vitter to task for his proposal to grant $100,000
of federal funds to the Louisiana Family Forum "to develop a plan to
promote better science education." The Louisiana Family Forum, as Gill
observes, "has said the theory of evolution 'has no place in the classroom'
and has blamed Charles Darwin for Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot." "The Web
site," he adds, "leaves no doubt that they would ban evolutionary theory
altogether if they could; there is no incentive to give equal billing to
what they see as heresy."
Acknowledging that the director of the Louisiana Family Forum, Gene Mills,
"does his best to adopt a moderate tone, declaring that he wishes not to
supplant but to supplement Darwinism," the columnist remains skeptical
nevertheless. Quoting Mills's claim that "We think that in order to teach
controversial topics successfully, you have to teach both sides," Gill
retorts, "But that would make sense only if the scientific questions really
were unsettled. Creationists will always trot out the occasional deranged
Ph.D. who supports their cause, but, to the vast majority of scientists,
evolution is not up for debate."
For the story in the Times-Picayune, visit:
http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1190529501310280.xml&coll=1
For James Gill's column, visit:
http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1190786581155740.xml&coll=1
GUIDANCE ON CREATIONISM FOR BRITISH TEACHERS
The British government's promised guidance on creationism for teachers
seems to have arrived. A press release at Teachernet, run by the
Department for Children, Schools, and Families, states that "Creationism
and intelligent design are not part of the National Curriculum for science"
and describes "intelligent design" as "a creationist belief" that "is
sometimes erroneously advanced as scientific theory but has no underpinning
scientific principles or explanations supporting it and it is not accepted
by the international scientific community." The press release adds that
"there is scope for schools to discuss creationism as part of Religious
Education -- a component of the basic school curriculum -- in developing
pupils' knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other religions."
The press release and a corresponding document entitled "Guidance on the
place of creationism and intelligent design in science lessons" (dated
September 18, 2007; available for download from Teachernet) were occasioned
by a propaganda blitz in late 2006 on the part of a newly formed
creationist organization styling itself Truth in Science, which sent
packets of creationist teaching materials to the science heads of every
secondary school in the United Kingdom. Subsequently the government issued
a series of statements and disclaimers, including a June 21, 2007,
statement from the Prime Minister's Office affirming that creationism
(including "intelligent design") "should not be taught as science" and
promising guidance for schools "in due course."
After explaining the place of science and religious education in the
British national curriculum, "Guidance on the place of creationism and
intelligent design in science lessons" unequivocally states: "Creationism
and intelligent design are sometimes claimed to be scientific
theories. This is not the case as they have no underpinning scientific
principles, or explanations, and are not accepted by the science community
as a whole. Creationism and intelligent design therefore do not form part
of the science National Curriculum programmes of study." Presumably with
Truth in Science's materials in mind, it recommends, "Any resource should
be checked carefully before it is used in the classroom. If resources
which mention creationism or intelligent design are used, it must be made
clear that neither constitutes a scientific theory."
The guidance document explains that although it is inappropriate to teach
creationism, it is not necessarily inappropriate to teach about
creationism: "Any questions about creationism and intelligent design which
arise in science lessons, for example as a result of media coverage, could
provide the opportunity to explain or explore why they are not considered
to be scientific theories and, in the right context, why evolution is
considered to be a scientific theory. ... Science teachers can respond
positively and educationally to questions and comments about creationism or
intelligent design by questioning, using prompts such as 'What makes a
theory scientific?', and by promoting knowledge and understanding of the
scientific consensus around the theories of evolution and the Big Bang."
It also refers to a Religious Education model unit entitled "How can we
answer questions about creation and origins?" (available for download from
the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority website), which "aims to deepen
pupils' awareness of ultimate questions through argument, discussion,
debate and reflection and enable them to learn from a variety of ideas of
religious traditions and other world views." When the unit debuted in
January 2007, the Guardian (January 23, 2007) commented, "The teaching of
ID and creationism should prove less contentious in this part of the
curriculum (although the scientists who argue that ID is a science may be
disconcerted), as pupils will investigate and role-play disputes between
religion and science, such as Galileo, Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins."
For the press release, visit:
http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-00783-2007
For the guidance document, visit:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=11890
For the statement from the Prime Minister's Office, visit:
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page12021.asp
For the Religious Education model unit (PDF), visit:
http://www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/qca-06-2728_y9_science_religion_master.pdf
For the Guardian's story, visit:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1996287,00.html
And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in the United Kingdom, visit:
http://www.ncseweb.org/pressroom.asp?state=UK
--
Martin Weiss, Ph.D
Consultant
Science Interpretation
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, New York 11368
718 699 0005 x 356
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