« Dover Case Decided - The Good Guys Won
Main
Rereading Before Rethinking »
December 21, 2005
Dover as a Beginning Rather than an End
Not surprisingly, Alun has an extremely interesting post on the Dover decision. Also not surprisingly, his view has a European, even English, perspective. But, because the issues he highlights transcend the European/American divide (if there is one) it translates easily and completely into our situation and he's kind enough to make sure we don't miss the point in his concluding paragraph. Here is a sample from his post. Please go read it all.
This really is the problem: A lack of literacy and understanding. In the name of freedom there’s a reluctance to mandate the teaching of Evolution in schools or anything that might offend. It’s held to be important that acceptance of scientific principles is a matter of choice and so should not be forced in schools. It’s a powerful argument only undermined by the fact it’s utter gibberish.
If I were American I’d want to use the positive publicity of the case to push on for improved science teaching. The Dover ruling isn’t a victory for science, it’s an emphatic and comprehensive avoidance of a defeat. A victory for science would be something that actually improved teaching standards. Wouldn’t it be good if the NCSE had managed to push on that back of the court case?
The Dover trial and "victory" was only maintenance of the status quo that got us in this state of profound scientific illiteracy. It wasted precious resources that would have better been used in the teaching of Dover's children and the real work of the scientists and educators who spent countless hours preparing for what was actually a defense of science that only took the legal form of a complaint.
Let us all celebrate the victory, but let us also remember the real work of improving science literacy lies ahead.
Posted by Duane Smith at December 21, 2005 8:30 AM | Read more on Evolution |
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.telecomtally.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1502
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Dover as a Beginning Rather than an End:
» The Dover decision from Higgaion
If you don't know by now, Judge John Jones (no, really) has issued his decision in Kitzmiller vs. Dover, and the decision decisively (and rightly) rejected the teaching of "intelligent design" in public schools. [Read More]
Tracked on December 21, 2005 8:52 AM
Comments
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.
Send me an email if it is important.