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Bill Lets Florida Schools Teach Evolution Alternatives
OK, so I was reading this story on NPR about a bill that "lets" Florida school teach alternatives to the Theory of Evolution.
This might surprise some of you, but I think this is a great idea, but I want to take it one step further. Allow the students to really understand the different perspectives—send them to the journals to find these so-called alternatives. Make it one of their class projects to find a viable alternative to the Theory of Evolution that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. To make it easier on them, we won't put an oldest date limit on the research so that if they can find journals published prior to Darwin at least they'll stand a fighting chance. Of course, there'll have to be a primer drafted for the students so they'll be able to recognize legitimate journals, so I'm open for suggestions on how to do that without it seeming like we're being "unfair" to intelligent design. (After all, I believe there are a few such sham journals that contain articles published only by intelligent design "scientists".)
Comments (3)
Schools already fill their heads with garbage anyway, how could any more harm be done with this, let's just reinstate prayer in class and have military training starting in kindergarten.
April 29, 2008 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm fine with teaching theology and philosophy in schools, but I would also want the breadth of these subjects taught. This idea is no more agreeable to most creationists than is teaching evolution.
However, I still think it's the way to go. Instead of going narrow on them, you go big. Then they lose their argument. It puts them in the position of suddenly having to tell us why other faiths shouldn't be taught in schools.
I like your idea and it could conceivably make for a great class project, but it also seems like science education is already suffering immensely. Perhaps there is a lot to be gained in letting students learn first-hand about what goes into good science, but would this occur at the expense of solid foundations in math, physics, chemistry and biology?
April 29, 2008 5:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it would really only work at a school that already had a really solid science program, and even then it probably wouldn't be the best use of time. I'd also be OK with a theology course that covered all of the major religions (some high schools actually have a course like these, but mine didn't).
Of course, while we're dreaming the impossible dream, I'd like for high schools to be required to teach basic Aristotelian logic and maybe cover some logical fallacies while we're at it. Oh, and computer science. Is it too much to ask that in the information age that all high school students get at least some exposure to this topic?
April 29, 2008 7:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
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