As debate over teaching “intelligent design” in the classroom presses on, the Ohio State Board of Education focused on the science education standards for the new kindergarten through grade 12 public school curriculum yesterday.
“The Standards Committee is in agreement to include evolution in the standards but is undecided whether to include intelligent design,” said Jennifer L. Sheets, president of the Ohio State Board of Education and moderator for the meeting.
Four expert panelists were invited to the meeting to give a 15-minute presentation about either side, giving board members, members of the standards committee and the public the opportunity to hear different viewpoints on the controversial issue.
“There is a growing scientific controversy of Darwin’s evolution,” said panelist Dr. Jonathan Wells, senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute in Seattle and intelligent design advocate.
Wells and his colleague Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, director and senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, criticized the manner in which evolution evidence is being presented in the classroom.
Wells said teachers should be permitted to show students problems with text books, be free to tell students that upcoming scientists doubt Darwinism and be allowed to teach about the controversy of intelligent design.
Meyer proposed a four-point compromise that includes teaching intelligent design in the classroom along with evolution. He explained that when two credible groups of scientists believe different theories, students should be permitted to learn both theories in class.
On the other side of the discussion was Dr. Lawrence Krauss, chairman of the physics department at Case Western Reserve University and Dr. Kenneth R. Miller, professor of the division of biology and medicine at Brown University. They disagreed with the other panelists and said intelligent design should not be taught in science classes because there is no credible research or evidence behind the theory.
“Evidence for intelligent design has not been produced. In the absence of such evidence, intelligent design is simply not scientific,” Miller said.
Both Miller and Krauss accused advocates of intelligent design of “short cutting” their way into the classroom, instead of taking time to research and test the theory in order to come up with evidence.
“Intelligent design is an assault on science,” Krauss said.
The final draft of the academic content standards is supposed to be presented to the State Board of Education in September, and the board is to adopt new standards for science by December.
