At the prodding of right-wing groups, Ohio is reexamining the debate over evolution and the science curriculum.
Kenneth R. Miller, Professor of Biology at Brown University, gave a lecture entitled “The Emperor’s New Curriculum: Ohio and the Battle over Darwin” at the dedication of the new science building Saturday, in which he brought up issues that are pertinent to the scientific community as well as anyone who takes an interest in what kids are learning in public schools.
Miller began by relating the story of the Kansas Board of Education, which voted in 1999 to remove all mention of evolution from the state science curriculum. Though the vote was eventually reversed, Miller warned that this was just one example of an issue that could potentially affect the entire nation.
“The anti-evolution movement is alive and well and [it’s] not limited to Kansas,” he said.
The group that stands against evolution in current debates is made up of the advocates of Intelligent Design theory, otherwise known as “ID.” ID is the assertion that design, in the form of outside intelligent intervention, is required for living organisms to occur.
Throughout the lecture, Miller explained and refuted evidence against evolution provided by the Discovery Institute (the leading ID organization in the US, according to Miller) and the Intelligent Design Network.
Miller also made the distinct connection between ID and Creationism. He said, “Evidence of design requires a material structure … Design, to be detectable, implies a creative act.”
He went on to point out that, despite what its advocates may claim, ID is, in fact, both political and religious in nature.
He quoted from a paper that appears on the Discovery Institute website which states, “Life is a grand narrative told by the divine word … there is an Author for the book of life.”
ID has demonstrated its political force in the campaign to incorporate the theory in public education curriculums across the United States and, specifically, in Ohio.
Though ID has not published any of its findings for peer review in scientific journals, its advocates have been outspoken in debates on state curriculum development.
“There is no curriculum for design, [because] there’s no science to back it up,” Miller said.
ID developed into a hot issue in Ohio this past spring when its advocates and opponents (including Miller himself) spoke at a panel discussion sponsored by the Board of Education.
Those speaking on behalf of ID attempted to convince the board that ID deserves to be taught alongside the Darwinian theory of evolution.
A group called “Science Excellence for All Ohioans” is the leading force backing the admission of ID into State school curricula. This group is affiliated with the American Family Association of Ohio and the Intelligent Design Network.
They have been campaigning on a grassroots level for the inclusion of ID in the latest drafts of Ohio academic standards.
The Ohio Board of Education will adopt new academic content standards for science, among other disciplines based on the recommendations of a writing team gathered in January of this year.
The panel discussion was meant to influence this writing team. Drafts of the standards the team has produced will be reviewed at the board meeting on Oct. 14 and 15 and the board will most likely vote on the adoption of these standards in Dec., 2002.
Both advocates and opponents of ID see the October board meeting as a potential turning point in the process that will decide what academic standards are eventually adopted. At the end of his lecture, Miller urged Oberlin students and faculty members to get involved in the Ohio academic standards debate.
He provided the following web address for the Ohio Board of Education:
www.ode.state.oh.us/board/.
Public opinion has been a major factor in this issue thus far and, according to the school board’s website, “[Public] comments are reviewed by the writing team throughout the writing process.”

Miller informed his audience that college presidents from schools all over Ohio as well as professors like himself have already written to the school board with their concerns about the curriculum changes.

There is still time for members of the Oberlin community to make their voices heard on this issue before next week’s board meeting. “The big guys have weighed in, but they want to hear from the little guys too,” Miller said.