Re: UK news: Creationism to be taught as part of biology course

Exactly. It's not taught in our (UK) schools as a serious alternative. When
I was at school, creationism was mentioned in biology during our study of
evolution - not as a theory; my teacher was just making the point of why it
is so important to educate people about science properly.

by Sir Peter Vardy, a millionaire Christian car dealer. Sir Peter said in
2003: "We present both. One is a theory, the other is a faith position.
It
is up to the children."

Even he admits evolution is science and creationism is faith. I went to a
Christian primary school (although not a Christian secondary), where the
existence of God (not creationism) was taught as fact. However, I was
educated well and made up my own mind on the God issue. At the age of eight,
I was an atheist at a Christian school. They had no problem with that,
because it was more important to my good Christian teachers that I was able
to think for myself than that I accepted their religious inclinations.
--
http://www.eazyuk.com/evolution

"Iain" <iain_inkster@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1141990686.627780.143030@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mike Dworetsky wrote:
See the article below.

Schools in the US are apparently not the only ones to be subjected to the
"Wedge" strategy. Kudos to The Times for exposing this anomaly. Perhaps
there is time to get a change made. It is claimed that introducing
creationism is only in a historical context. I'm not so sure. Note that
Examination Boards are effectively privately run companies that compete
for
the "examination pound" (no Euros yet in the UK) of all public and
private
schools. GCSEs are officially mandated exams for 16-year-olds, but there
are several boards that each prepare their own detailed syllabus and
examinations. Schools then choose which to use. Generally the OCR
("Oxford
and Cambridge") examinations are used by "better", more academic,
schools.

Note also that the official National Curriculum (yes we have such a thing
here) does not include creationism, so OCR has I suspect blundered into
this
on its own, possibly with some help from guess who.

From the UK: London Times

Quoted material:
******************************************************
The Times March 10, 2006

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2078747,00.html

Creationism to be taught on GCSE science syllabus
By Tony Halpin

Exam board is accused of confusing pupils by including religion


AN EXAMINATIONS board is including references to "creationism" in a new
GCSE
science course for schools.

The OCR board admitted that a biology course due to be introduced in
September encourages schools to consider alternative views to Charles
Darwin
's theory of evolution.

Its new "Gateway to Science" curriculum asks pupils to examine how
organisms
become fossilised. It then asks teachers to "explain that the fossil
record
has been interpreted differently over time (eg creationist
interpretation)".
OCR, one of the three main exam boards in England, said that the syllabus
was intended to make students aware of scientific controversy. But
critics
accused the board of blurring the line between science and religious
education by putting creationism into lessons alongside evolution.

A spokeswoman for OCR said: "Candidates need to understand the social and
historical context to scientific ideas both pre and post Darwin.
Candidates
are asked to discuss why the opponents of Darwinism thought the way they
did
and how scientific controversies can arise from different ways of
interpreting empirical evidence."

John Noel, OCR's science qualifications manager, told The Times
Educational
Supplement: "It is simply looking at one particular example of how
scientific interpretation changes over time.

"The history of scientific ideas not only has a legitimate place in
science
lessons, it is a requirement of the new programme of study."

But James Williams, science course leader at Sussex University's school
of
education, said: "This opens a legitimate gate for the inclusion of
creationism or intelligent design in science classes as if they were
legitimate theories on a par with evolution fact and theory.

"I'm happy for religious theories to be considered in religious
education,
but not in science where consideration could lead to a false verification
of
their status as being equal to scientific theories."

A second exam board, Edexcel, included a reference to creationism in a
draft
lesson plan for teachers as part of preparations for a new biology GCSE.
But
a spokeswoman said that it had not been included in the final
specifications
for the course.

Evangelical Christians in the US have been pressing for schools to teach
"creationism", the idea that God created the world, as well as an
offshoot
theory of "intelligent design", which holds that nature is so complex
that
it could not have evolved on its own.

Controversy about the teaching of creationism has flared in England over
three comprehensives run by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation, which is
funded
by Sir Peter Vardy, a millionaire Christian car dealer. Sir Peter said in
2003: "We present both. One is a theory, the other is a faith position.
It
is up to the children."

A spokesman at the Department for Education and Skills said: "Neither
creationism nor intelligent design is taught as a subject in schools, and
are not specified in the science curriculum.

"The National Curriculum for science clearly sets down that pupils should
be
taught that the fossil record is evidence for evolution."


This sounds a bit like a "history of science" lesson, regarding
Creationism, rather than Creationism being taught per se.

~Iain



.

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