Intelligent Design Theory: Science or Religion?

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I was giving you a brief swipe at a fast lesson in economics.And subjective legal yardsticks.

What are the symptoms of this 'ere paranoia thing.I'm always hearing about it from folk who seem a bit obsessed with it.I could check myself out if I knew that.

Broward selects biology text with watered-down passages on evolution
(By Chris Kahn, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, February 24, 2006)

High school biology students in Broward County will use a textbook next year that watered-down passages about Charles Darwin and evolution theory.

Science teachers picked Florida Holt Biology this month in a countywide vote, favoring it over another book that discussed the controversial idea of intelligent design.

The Holt textbook stays away from intelligent design, the idea that a god or other guiding force caused the development of life on Earth. Mainstream scientists have discredited the theory as a repackaged form of old-school creationism.

But publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston did edit several sections at the request of the Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank that has peddled intelligent design around the country for years.

The changes were "kind of a merging of philosophies to get something that everyone was satisfied with," said Broward science curriculum supervisor J.P. Keener.

"What came out in the book was scientifically correct," Keener said. "That's the bottom line."

A review by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found that on one edited page, Holt agreed to give Darwin less credit for shaping modern biology. In another section it inserted descriptions that conservative Christians believe challenge evolution theory.

Previous editions of the textbook said Darwin's theory "is the essence of biology."

In the Broward edition, students will read instead that Darwin's theory "provides a consistent explanation for life's diversity."

The county plans to spend $1.2 million for 20,000 copies of the book. It will be required reading in Biology I classes until 2013.

"We're very pleased," said Rick Blake, spokesman in Chicago for Holt, Rinehart and Winston. "Science is a very strong area for Holt."

The changes were "kind of a merging of philosophies to get something that everyone was satisfied with," said Broward science curriculum supervisor J.P. Keener.

"What came out in the book was scientifically correct," Keener said. "That's the bottom line."

The county plans to spend $1.2 million for 20,000 copies of the book. It will be required reading in Biology I classes until 2013.

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The county plans to spend $1.2 million for 20,000 copies of the book.

Scientific study requires sound methodology

I'm inclined to think that some of the anti-ID posts on this thread have been a trifle naive.The idea that the business mind cares two hoots for anything other than a fast,easy profit is laughable.

Indiana teachers focusing more on evolution
(By Anne Kibbler, The Herald-Times, February 26, 2006)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ten years ago, high school biology teachers in Indiana spent little time teaching students about evolution.

Despite controversy over the place of evolution instruction in the classroom, there's been a shift in the Hoosier state: A new study indicates teachers are devoting more, not less, time to incorporating the concept of evolution into their lessons.

At the same time, the study says, Indiana universities' schools of education could improve their preparation of science teachers on the subject of evolution.

The study, by Indiana University doctoral student Lisa Donnelly, found that instead of tacking evolution on at the end of a course or discussing it in passing, teachers are making Darwin's theory a central organizing principle in their classes.

"Indiana really takes evolution teaching seriously compared with other states," said Donnelly, a former biology teacher at Brown County High School.

Donnelly said that even though Indiana's biology standards support the teaching of evolution, teachers must make sure they don't teach it as dogma. At the same time, she said, they must be true to what they know as science.

One of the areas in which teachers could be better trained is in explaining to students the most basic terminology: What is science? What is a theory?

Dan Henry, who replaced Donnelly at Brown County High, spends time at the beginning of each school year going over fundamental concepts. Once students understand that science must be testable and that theories are proven, not just guesswork, they are more open to accepting the science of evolution, he said.

"I personally use it as an overarching concept of all the biology I teach," Henry said. "I start by presenting evidence for evolution and doing so in a way that is nonconfrontational, showing different viewpoints around the world and showing that people are coming from different religious and ethnic backgrounds. Then I go into evolution and show how it ties together all of the different sciences."

Henry said some students start out being skeptical, but most eventually accept what evolution means. He has only rarely -- perhaps once or twice a year -- fielded complaints from parents about what he is teaching their children.

Such complaints usually are made by people of strong religious convictions, Henry said. He explains to the parents that religion and science are kept separate in the classroom.

At the same time, Henry treads lightly so he doesn't offend students with deep religious beliefs.

"You don't want kids going home saying, 'I've changed my belief system at school, Mom and Dad,' " he said. "But it helps to show them they can come from a lot of different backgrounds and still buy into the idea of science."

Jean Schick, a science teacher at Bloomington High School North and science coordinator for the Monroe County Community School Corp., said showing students how evolution is part of everyday life helps them grasp the scientific concepts.

If students understand that using anti-bacterial soap or taking antibiotics too often can lead to the evolution of resistant bacteria, then they can understand evolution in general, she said. Likewise, if they study climate change or natural disasters, they can see how evolution works on a larger scale.

"When we talk about drought and pollution and weather and competition for resources, those are mechanisms for evolution," Schick said.

She understands that students might have different explanations for life developing on the planet, but the explanations aren't scientific and therefore don't belong in a science class.

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How old are you young man?

Global Warming Fuels Speedy Evolution

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Global Warming Fuels Speedy Evolution

"Still," said Lucas, "It's kind of exciting."