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SEATTLE, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohios science standards are not going to
be downgraded by an education foundation, as was mistakenly reported in the
Dayton Daily News and elsewhere in Ohio this week.
Chester Finn, President of the Fordham Foundation, released a statement
saying: "Just to clarify, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has no plans to
revisit or alter Ohios (or any other states) grade on science standards
anytime soon."
Comments critical of Ohios "Critical Analysis of Evolution" lesson plan
by a researcher who helped write Fordhams report grading the states science
standards sparked the rumors that the grade was to be lowered unless the
lesson plan was withdrawn. But Fordhams president clarified that researcher
Paul Gross comments were made in his private capacity, not as a spokesman for
the Foundation and stressed that they do "NOT mean Fordham is changing the
grade we gave Ohios generally good statewide science standards."
"Clearly this was an attempt by dogmatic Darwinists to try and scare the
Ohio public into thinking the lesson plan promoting critical thinking about
evolution was somehow detrimental to the states education standing," said Dr.
John West, associate director of Discovery Institutes Center for Science &
Culture.
West added that Darwinists and some journalists were engaging in a
"campaign of misinformation" to convince Ohioans that the state board of
education has tried to insert intelligent design in Ohio schools.
"These claims about intelligent design being in Ohios science standards
and model curriculum are science fiction," said West. "In fact Ohios
standards clearly state that they do not endorse teaching intelligent design."
West pointed out that the voluntary Ohio lesson plan denounced by
Darwinists does not discuss religion or alternative scientific theories such
as intelligent design, but simply presents for students consideration some
mainstream scientific evidence that challenges parts of Darwinian evolution.
Moreover, the lesson plan is only one of ten biology lessons available.
Ohios lesson plan on the critical analysis of evolution was created with
input from a science advisory committee that included teachers, science
educators, and scientists from across the state, and it was defended by a
number of scientists in public testimony before the state board of education
adopted it in 2004.
However, in the wake of a decision in federal district court in
Pennsylvania saying intelligent design could not be required, Darwinists are
now moving to censor Ohios teaching of scientific evidence which challenges
Darwinian evolution, even though Ohio has not proposed teaching anything about
intelligent design in its model curriculum or science standards.
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