In the latest adaptation of a familiar argument, Ohio Board of Education members recently discussed a proposal to create "templates" for teaching scientific topics such as evolution, stem-cell research, and cloning. Strongsville's Colleen D. Grady called for the measure, insisting that teachers want guidance on how to explain issues that elicit "widely divergent opinions." The move comes just five months after the state board vetoed language in the state's tenth grade science standards requiring a critical analysis of evolutionary theory, a requirement Grady supported. The template proposal will be taken up for formal consideration at September's board meeting.
Critics denounced the move as another thinly-veiled attempt to insert aspects of "intelligent design" theory and creationism into the state's science curriculum standards. Yet no one should be surprised at the latest effort to chip away at Darwin's theory. Call it the "natural evolution" of an ongoing struggle.
"Darwin Faces Another Challenge," by Catherine Candisky, The Columbus Dispatch, July 11, 2006.
"State School Board Urged to Add Guide for Hot-Button Discussions," by Laura A. Bischoff, The Dayton Daily News, July 11, 2006.
