Evolution
Debate Returns
By
Julie Sabatier
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.
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