Florida Evolves
Beyond code speech. School science texts may now use the word “evolution” sted “change over time.” But the epic battle of Adam vs ape goes on. US News:
Florida’s state Board of Education decided yesterday on a compromise solution to the tumultuous question of how, or whether, to teach evolution in classrooms. Whereas the word was once an unmentionable in the Sunshine State—though teaching biological “changes” was sanctioned—evolution now will be explicitly taught by name. The so-called compromise? It must be phrased the “scientific theory of evolution.” That’s just fine with scientists, for whom the word theory means a testable truth.
It’s an uphill battle for science. Sounds like the crawl out of the primordial sea is straight up a cliff in Florida:
According to a recent poll by the St. Petersburg Times, just 22 percent of Florida parents want an evolution-only curriculum compared with 50 percent who want their children to instructed only with faith-based theories.
At Tuesday’s school board hearing, that divide was evident by frequent boos, hisses, and cheers from those gathered to promote their points of view, on both sides. Fittingly, the school board was also split, narrowly passing the approved language by a vote of 4 to 3. Evolution supporters are calling it a win, but in a sign of just how deep feelings run on the issue, one of the board’s most passionate supporters of teaching evolution, Roberto Martinez, voted against it. He argued that insisting on referring to evolution as a theory would only cause confusion in the classroom. That means the next argument in this evolving debate may be over a different word: theory.
Topics: moronocy, prehistory, science
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:04 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2008
4 Responses to “Florida Evolves”
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February 20th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Wow - I went to Catholic grade school and high school, and evolution was taught as fact, and the faith based “world was created in seven days” was taught as an allegory - as most of the bible stories were. What in the hell is the matter with people if 50% want only faith based teaching? I don’t believe that stat.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Making it an issue of Adam vs. ape is what makes it an issue. At your Catholic grade school, Bill, (and in my very fundy protestant church growing up… not so much any more) it wasn’t an issue, and Genesis could be an allegory, or as one of my pastors described it a “backward looking prophecy”… certainly true, but mysterious like the prophetic books, and that was fine. It was okay not to know the details.
I’m unsure who to blame for the shift to viewing science and faith as fundamentally antagonistic but I think it’s unfair to blame religious people alone. Two very famous scientists come to mind, Sagan and Asimov, who insisted that science demanded atheism. When you demand that people chose, they sometimes chose in a way that you disapprove.
At the Catholic school the nuns weren’t going to so much as imply that the scientific facts of evolution disproved God or disproved the Bible.
Right or wrong, a whole lot of parents view the teaching of evolution as an assault on their faith. I’ve found that not even the softest suggestion that these people be allowed some wiggle room is acceptable to self-styled defenders of science. But if you’re going to insist that science and faith are, in fact, antagonistic to each other, then this battle over science textbooks is what you get.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I went to public school, and evolution was taught as fact, and faith wasn’t taught at all. That was left to the churches and synagogues and parents. That was before everybody and his brother got the attitude of “my way or the highway”.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:46 am
Great points Synova, and I think you’re right that this has been a two way street. If people are told that science requires atheism, then many non-atheists will naturally assume that science is not for them.