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[Phys-L] Re: 1/3 bio teachers "feel" pressure to offer ID



Of course it is under a similar threat. The same forces that oppose
evolution also oppose cosmology. The only thing that has saved us is the
small number of students who actually study cosmology. All students have to
take a biology course at one time or another. Biology is in, and physics
and astronomy are not. If the anti-evolutionist camp wins the fight in
biology, physics is next.

The interesting thing is that most of the mainline churches do not oppose
biology. And the largest denomination, Roman Catholic, teaches it in their
schools. I was told by a friend that the best explanation of evolution he
had was from a nun. As a result the courts are unlikely to allow one
sectarian interpretation to be taught in public school.

If the Supreme Court ruled it was alright teach a sectarian point of view,
the glue binding the social, religious, and economic conservatives would
probably melt.

The current ferment is apparently because of the No Child Left Behind Act.
The fundamentalists have taken this as an opportunity to make changes and
seize control of the curricula. There is also the factor that they feel
that their alliance with the party in power gives them control. If they
realized that the thinking skill of students is generally sufficiently low
that teaching evolution is usually a fruitless task, they would not be
worried about it. Lawson has shown that the concepts of evolution are very
difficult to get across because they are at the theoretical level.

Actually a bigger threat to physics is that most people have poor
understanding of it because of the traditional methods of teaching.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


Is Physics under a similar threat?

bc, in HS Bio. taught by very religious geologist who based the course
on evolution. Led Summer expeditions to collect fossils.