California: Board OKs Darwin challenge - Alex Branning Responds

Greetings,

There has been so much controversy over the past week regarding the
recently passed Science Philosophy document (
http://www.integrityinacademics.com ) in the Lancaster School District.
I was invited by Marc to share my views here, and I thought it would be
a great opportunity to share my thoughts.

First, reading through the original thread on the decision in
California I realize that there are so many people that have the wrong
idea over what this decision means. I know that the media is describing
it as anti-evolution (they've sensationalized the story) but this
Science Philosophy document is not an attack on evolution, nor is it a
"backdoor" for the creationists. It simply allows (even encourages) the
teachers to have discussions about science in the classroom. Evolution
is mentioned only once in the entire document, and even then it is only
to point out that it should be taught as theory, not "unalterable
fact." I'm sure we all agree that makes sense.

Second, my motives have been questioned. Because of the scare tactics
and fear-mongering of the NCSE and other organizations, it is an
automatic response to put anyone who even resembles an
anti-evolutionist in the "creationism" camp - and then to immediately
assume that I want to bring the Bible into the science class. These
things couldn't be further from the truth. The motives behind this move
are the sinking test scores - students don't care about science and
they are failing the class miserably. While my idea to promote
discussion (and hopefully pique their curiosity at the same time) may
be off the mark, we must do something!

I appreciate the invitation to share my side of the story.


Regards,


Alex Branning
Integrity in Academics
http://www.integrityinacademics.com

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