Ohio Science Standards Resource Page
Darwin in the Classroom
After months of debate, the Ohio State Board of Education unanimously adopted science standards on Dec. 10 that require Ohio students to know “how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory.” Ohio thus becomes the first state to mandate that students learn not only scientific evidence that supports Darwin’s theory but also scientific evidence critical of Read More ›
Mennonite Midwife Behind Bars
Diminutive, soft-spoken, gray-haired inmate 17204 at Holmes County Jail has been behind bars for over a month. She wears an orange jumpsuit rather than her usual modest blue Mennonite dress. She stays in a cellblock on the second floor. Heavy iron beds, vinyl mattresses, metal sink, and toilet combination. No privacy. Most annoying of all, for this quiet, prayerful 47-year-old Read More ›
Life’s Grand Design
Two people come to your door with a petition to give evolution some competition in the science classroom. One is a biblical literalist who wants genetics out and Genesis in. The other is a science professor with exquisite academic credentials, championing a compelling theory called intelligent design. He speaks in painful detail about the bacterial flagellum, whatever that is. Though Read More ›
Is Science Democratic?
A recent Zogby International poll found that 65 percent of Ohioans believe “Biology teachers should teach Darwin’s theory of evolution, but also the scientific evidence against it.” Only 19 percent favored biology teachers teaching just Darwin’s theory and only that evidence which supports it. What do these numbers mean? On the most obvious level, for every one Ohioan who wants Read More ›
Policy Resolved on Origin of Life
Original article Columbus – The State Board of Education yesterday unanimously adopted a set of science standards that makes Ohio the first state to require students to examine criticisms of biological evolution. But board members also agreed to a last-minute disclaimer stating that their action should not be construed as support for the controversial concept of intelligent design, the idea Read More ›
Ohio Praised for Historic Decision Requiring Students to Critically Analyze Evolutionary Theory
Contact: Mark Edwards — 206.292.0401 x107 — medwards@discovery.org SEATTLE–After months of debate, the Ohio State Board of Education has adopted science standards that require Ohio students to know why “scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory.” The Board unanimously approved the science standards this morning. Calling this provision in Ohio’s science standards “historic,” Dr. Stephen C. Read More ›
Will “Santorum Language” Save Us From Scientific Fundamentalism?
One combustible controversy is raging in Ohio school districts right now. It’s over science education and, soon enough, will flare up in all fifty states. To get to the heart of it, the controversy centers on how to teach evolution – not whether to teach it, mind you, but how. It all began with the passage of the “No Child Read More ›
Biologist Ken Miller Flunks Political Science on Santorum
The expertise of Brown University biologist Ken Miller apparently knows no bounds. Perhaps tired of being just a biologist, Miller in recent weeks has taken to moonlighting as a legal scholar and political scientist. The focus of Miller’s newfound expert knowledge is what has come to be called the “Santorum Amendment” adopted by Congress last year, which encourages coverage of Read More ›