Putting Evolution To the Test The Missouri House Education Committee voted this session to approve HB 1266, the “Missouri Science Education Act.” This bill proports to improve science teaching in Missouri by helping students develop critical thinking skills. Teachers would have to clearly identify what is “verified emperical data” and distinguish it from what is… Read More »
Category Archives: Teaching Darwin in Public Schools
140 Years Without Darwin Are Enough
On the shelf by my desk is a slightly frayed book I treasure, a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species, published in 1859 and given to my great grandfather on his graduation from college shortly after the end of the Civil War. By the turn of the century, when my grandfather… Read More »
Charter schools propose to teach creationism as an alternative to evolution
Like a seed fallen on hard ground, the theory of evolution has not taken hold in America’s heartland. Evolution is given only passing mention in Missouri’s state educational standards, and no mention at all in those of our neighboring states Illinois and Kansas. While scientists like me can object — I wrote five columns on… Read More »
Darwinism at the cellular level
The evolution of complex cellular machinery reflects natural selection, not intelligent design The recent successes of creationism in persuading state school boards to abandon Darwinism reflects a surprising new tack, using molecular biology to challenge evolution. Their basic argument, although phrased in modern biochemical terms, is not a new one. It is the classic “argument… Read More »
Keeping Darwin out of Schoolrooms
Mark Twain once said, “Picking up a cat by the tail teaches you something that can’t be learned any other way.” I know what he means. My particular cat is creationism. I picked it up last July 11 when I pointed out on this page that Missouri state education standards for science make hardly any… Read More »
