icons of evolution

Evolution Theater

One thing I love about the creation/evolution controversy is that it provides no end of amusement.Take the summer of 1999 for example. When the Kansas state board of education voted to de-emphasize the more speculative aspects of evolution in the state science standards, folks went wild. In a broadside published in Time, Harvard paleontologist and science writer Stephen Jay Gould Read More ›

How a theologian, two biologists see Darwin

In this trio of books on science, evolution, and God, John Polkinghorne best fits his self-described category of “scientist- theologian.” He is a world-class physicist, member of the British Royal Society and an Anglican priest. His Faith, Science and Understanding (Yale University Press, $19.95, 224 pages) strikes at the heart of the theology and science debate. Is theology a real Read More ›

Crumbling Icons

http://www.boundless.org/2000/departments/pages/a0000367.html About 10 years ago, I came across a delightful article in the Italian journal, Rivista di Biologia. Titled “Be Cautious, Mr. Bates,” the article challenged the Darwinian explanation of how the Viceroy butterfly came to look so much like the Monarch. The most interesting part of the article was the way the authors chided biology professors for presenting speculative Read More ›

19 states get a bad grade for their teaching of evolution

More than one-third of the states (19) do an “unsatisfactory to dreadful job” of including evolution in public school science standards, including 12 states that shun the “E-word” and four that avoid the subject, says a study out Tuesday. The rest do “at least a satisfactory job,” says the study, “Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching Evolution in the States,” published Read More ›

Biology texts, state teaching policies criticized, defended

The teaching of biology is getting poor grades this year amid criticism of confusing textbooks and lackluster state science standards. Despite the complaints about materials, biology teachers are doing a fine job, said the president-elect of the National Association of Biology Teachers. “Our teachers are just excellent, and they work with what they have,” said Ann Lumsden, professor of biology Read More ›

teacher paleontology.jpg
Young male teacher paleontologist in the classroom

Natural Selection Found in Report on Science Education

Science teaching, and the teaching of evolution in particular, continue to be a flashpoint in American education. Hoping to correct the problem, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation just released a report (with the American Association for the Advancement of Science), “Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching Evolution in the States.” Written by Lawrence Lerner, the report recommends increased emphasis in America’s Read More ›