National Center for Science Education

National Center For Science Education’s Shrill Campaign In Defense Of Evolution

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE), a lobbying group whose self-described mission is to "defend evolution," has responded to scholarly criticism of the recent public television series Evolution with a series of shrill web postings that rely largely on mudslinging rather than science. Read More ›

Ohio School Board Debates Teaching ‘Intelligent Design’

Stakes were high Monday at a meeting of an Ohio Board of Education panel. Up for discussion: whether high school biology students should be told about potential problems with Darwinism and evidence that life on Earth was planned. About 1,500 parents, teachers and students showed up for the meeting, which was moved to an auditorium to accommodate the crowd. They Read More ›

US Commission on Civil Rights Hearing

Proceeding’s summation by then sitting board member Robert P. George: “Authentic education plainly requires fair consideration of all reasonable points of view. It is disturbing that there are efforts to exclude from the curriculum responsible criticism of Darwinism. There is nothing to be lost, and everything to be gained, from free and open inquiry.” Robert P. George McCormick Professor of Read More ›

Don’t Blame Fundamentalists for Evolution Controversies

The evolution controversy is getting out of hand. Passions have yet to cool in Kansas, where a 7-3 majority of the state board of education has made evolution a centerpiece of the state’s new science standards. But already there’s another donnybrook brewing in Pennsylvania-also over state science standards. And that’s not to mention all the lesser scuffles over the last Read More ›

Is Intelligent Design a Dumb Idea?

Introduction: How is this becoming a “current problem”? The notion of “intelligent design” for explaining what we see in the world of living things — including ourselves — is becoming a matter of open controversy of late. For example, in policy statements from the National Association of Biology Teachers and the National Science Teachers Association (available on the Internet), you’ll Read More ›