Last November news broke of at least one Florida school district opposing new education standards that would bring the term "evolution" to the state's students for the very first time. Since that time opponents to the view have attempted to rally but never quite got their act together, and now it has been decided that the phrase "scientific theory of evolution" will be used in Florida public school science standards. This is a compromise (I'm sure we'll still be hearing "It's only a theory!" often), but in a general sense it's a win for better science education.
Some have hinted that the compromise is a bad one, while others have regarded it as a victory. What is most telling, however, is that Casey Luskin has thrown a hissy-fit over the decision, essentially saying that we shouldn't even call evolution a scientific theory!
While it is good that students will learn about evolution, these standards will make for bad science education because they elevate Darwin's theory to a dogma that cannot be questioned. Even worse, some board members thought that they could rectify the dogmatic tone of the standards by calling evolution a "scientific theory." Some news articles are even calling this a "compromise." Those board members were tricked into a false compromise: inserting the word "scientific theory" before the word "evolution" is a meaningless and impotent change that will do absolutely nothing to actually inform students about the scientific problems with evolution.
What Luskin really means is that students won't be learning about evolution the way he wants them to learn about it (i.e. using bogus books like Explore Evolution or The Design of Life), and even recognizing evolution as an extremely important scientific theory is merely concealed dogmatism. (Even though there are a slew of essays about evolution as fact & theory, creationists appear fully unaware of this concept.) Perhaps this is why the language "scientific theory of evolution" was adopted; creationists are going to continue to claim that evolution is a belief system that undermines faith & morality, so to prevent confusion/protect teachers "scientific theory" was tacked on to the standards. Even if such an assumption is incorrect, the new standards represent a step forward for good science education despite the yowling and gnashing of teeth from creationists.
- Log in to post comments
Anytime Casey is pissed, it's a good thing happening.
BTW - This is not a theory, it's a law. Luskin's Law:
The dumber the Luskin screed, the better it is for science.
I think the very first thing they should be learning in science class is the meaning of the term "theory" in a scientific context and its difference from the everyday usage.
It has gone too far lately...
Stavros; If you click the "science standards" link, look at the pdf, and search for the term "theory" in the document, you'll see that they appear to plan on making that distinction in grade 3.
"BIG IDEA 3: The Role of Theories, Laws, Hypotheses, and Models The terms that describe examples of scientific knowledge, for example; "theory," "law," "hypothesis," and "model" have very specific meanings and functions within science. ...
Recognize that words in science can have different or more specific meanings than their use in everyday language; for example, energy, cell, heat/cold, and evidence."
Whether these standards will be effectively implemented, though, is another question.
If Casey Luskin is pissed, I think I can feel at least a little happy. It's rather like how I think the "Common Era" system of dating is a silly patch-up job of the "Christian Era", but if CE and BCE anger the people at Conservapædia, then C is for Common, and that's good enough for me!
If you click the "science standards" link, look at the pdf, and search for the term "theory" in the document, you'll see that they appear to plan on making that distinction in grade 3.
And this distinction should have a refresher at the beginning of every semester until high school/college/university graduation!
The standard are group by grades 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12. They continue:
And, in 9th through 12th grades:
If taught well, the kids will be thinking their parents and preachers are crazy when they tell them evolution is "only" a theory.