» Creationist Pseudo-Museum Displays
to Mislead Students

Citizens Stress Faith and Science can Coexist; Teachers, Organizations Highlight Dangers of Setting Religion and Science against each other

Scientists Dismayed over Irresponsible Attempt to Use Pseudo-Science to Win Converts

Scientists today expressed concern that The Answers in Genesis Creationism displays opening this weekend near Cincinnati, Ohio will be used to mislead students about the nature of science, and also about the compatibility of science and religion.

Mr. Ken Ham and his supporters have constructed a series of exhibits that attest to their strong religious faith. Building and operating this institution is a testament to the power of that faith, but it also makes it abundantly clear how far removed these exhibits are from current scientific knowledge and practice.

"This is yet another in a long line of creationist pseudo-museums," said Richard Hoppe, CEO of Intelli-Trade, a venture firm that uses evolutionary algorithms to guide investments. He added, "They use lies about science in an attempt to convert people to their particular, narrow view of God. This one may have cost $20 million, but these pseudo-museums all make the same bogus claims creationists have made since before the Scopes monkey trial. Though that doesn't make it any less confusing for today's kids."

Ohio Citizens for Science stressed that people should have a place to celebrate their faith and religious beliefs, and not just in churches. "We celebrate our right as Americans to do so," said OCS' Steve Rissing. He continued, "What Mr Ham, however, shows us clearly the link between the radical religious right interpretation of Scripture of *some* people and the approach to nature known as "creationism," "creation science," "scientific creationism," and --- most recently --- "intelligent design" creationism. This peculiarly narrow way of looking at Scripture leads to the equally peculiar conclusions at which Mr Ham's museum arrives."

Scientists in all the relevant fields of inquiry agree that the view presented at the AiG "museum" is NOT scientific.

Visitors to the institution will see an interpretation of nature through a lens unique to a single, very specific religious opinion. The very thing they will see there --- a history of life and a view of nature that is inextricably tied to one particular interpretation of biblical Scripture --- will demonstrate clearly that this view is religious and not scientific.

The particular creation narrative represented in the AiG exhibits cannot be uncoupled from that belief. It is not subject to standards of scientific analysis and proof, and so --- unlike scientific ideas --- can never be proved wrong. The nature of science, on the other hand, is that every idea is open to critique and analysis, and can ONLY be proved wrong.

"While OCS celebrates the rights of all citizens to believe and practice any religious faith that they wish, we also clearly oppose any scheme to present ideas that are strictly religious yet masquerade as scientific in any medium, curriculum, or public policy," said Patricia Princehouse, director of OCS.

OCS encourages citizens to insist that the science curriculum in their public schools be built on scientific foundations only, and not be distorted by the beliefs of any particular body within any particular religious tradition. Referring to the recent defeat of "intelligent-design" creationism in a Pensylvania courtroom that cost Dover, PA taxpayers over $1 million, Hoppe said, "AiG has set a Dover trap for public schools who might be tempted to acquiesce to creationist parents' demands for field trips."

"It's unfair to kids to lie to them about science," added Princehouse.

Contacts:

Patricia Princehouse 440-478-5292
Steve Rissing 614-688-4989
Richard Hoppe 740-393-7033

» Citizens Call on State School Boards
to Block Election of Creationist Candidate
for President of National Association of State Boards of Education

Teachers, Organizations Urge All 50 State Boards to Write in Pro-Science Candidate from Ohio

Boards Advised to View "Dodos" Film on Showtime, May 1-21 to See Kansas Board's "Science" Curriculum Based on Religion

Teachers, scientists and organizations this week called on state school boards in all 50 states to oppose the nomination of Kansas creationist Kenneth Willard as president of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), and instead support the pro-science write-in candidate Republican GR Sam Schloemer of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Willard, a Republican from Hutchinson, KS, was a leader in bringing international ridicule to the Kansas Board of Education in 2005 by backing statewide science standards that included creationist arguments about the validity of evolution and advanced a narrow sectarian religious viewpoint masquerading as science.

Patricia Princehouse, director of Ohio Citizens for Science, expressed dismay over NASBE's nomination of Willard: "The standards he promoted misrepresented, distorted and contradicted mainstream science. Boards of Education have no right to endorse using the science classroom to try to convert other people's children to their religion."

"Mr. Willard and his creationist colleagues were willing to disregard proper procedures and the advice of educational experts in advancing their radical right-wing conservative views about science and other topics important to education. I believe he would be a poor choice to lead a national organization of school boards," said Jack Krebs, a public school teacher and president of Kansas Citizens for Science. "The last thing this country needs is to export Kansas' blunders to the other 50 states," said Steve Rissing of The Ohio State University. "We donÕt need a repeat of the Dover trial."

Kansas' anti-evolution standards were repealed in February, 2007 after voters ousted several KBE creationists, but Willard squeaked through to win re-election by a narrow margin.

The Kansas debacle is chronicled in the movie "A Flock of Dodos: the Evolution Intelligent Design Circus" airing Thursday through Monday, May 17-21 on Showtime.

Contacts:

Ohio
Patricia Princehouse 440-478-5292
Steve Rissing 614-688-4989

Kansas
Jack Krebs 785-840-5113

» Scientists Oppose Creation "Museum"

Scientists from colleges and universities in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are banding together to sign a statement expressing concern about scientifically inaccurate materials at the Answers in Genesis "museum." Students who accept as scientifically accurate the material presented at this "museum" will need remedial instruction if they are to succeed in college-level science courses.

The statement reads:

We, the undersigned scientists at universities and colleges in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, are concerned about scientifically inaccurate materials at the Answers in Genesis museum. Students who accept this material as scientifically valid are unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level. These students will need remedial instruction in the nature of science, as well as in the specific areas of science misrepresented by Answers in Genesis.

Read more, and add your signature, at http://www.sciohost.org/states/

» Darwin Day - February 12, 2007
A Flock of Dodos to be screened

Come Celebrate Darwin's Birthday

The Evolutionary Biology Program at Case Western Reserve University is sponsoring a screening of the documentary A Flock of Dodos by filmmaker Randy Olson.

Monday, February 12, 6 PM
Case Western Reserve University
Goodyear Auditorium
Clapp Hall 108
Adelbert Rd. (near Severance Hall)

Free and open to the public.

This must-see film provides a searing look into the debate in Kansas over Evolution vs. "Intelligent-Design"

For more information, call 216-368-3703, or visit the Evolutionary Biology website

» Taft Names His Fourth Appointee
to Ohio Board of Education

The terms of four at-large members to the Ohio Board of Education expire December 31. On December 6, outgoing Governor Bob Taft re-appointed three of these board members to terms expiring December 31, 2010.

On December 22, Taft named his fourth appointee to the Ohio Board of Education. From the Governor's news release:

Ann Womer Benjamin, from Aurora, was appointed to the State Board of Education for a term ending December 31, 2010, replacing Richard Baker, whose term expired. Ms. Benjamin has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University and a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Ms. Benjamin is currently the Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance.

» Martha Wise: Friend of Science

Martha Wise represents District 2 on the Ohio Board of Education. Her term expires December 31, 2006 — she was ineligible, because of term limits, for reelection this year.

Martha has been a leader in advocating quality science education in Ohio schools. Ohio Citizens for Science has recognized her efforts with a Friend of Science award.

During the public participation portion of the December 12 Board of Education meeting, OCS members Steve Rissing and Tom Baillieul presented Martha with an official Ohio Citizens for Science Friend of Science certificate, which reads:

Ohio Citizens for Science is proud to honor Martha Wise as a Friend of Science for your outstanding 28-year effort as a member of the State Board of Education, promoting and defending quality science education in Ohio's public schools.

She was also presented with a framed drawing containing a haiku:

The simplest atom
evolves – to contemplate its
own evolution

T. Baillieul '99

» Taft Appoints Three to Ohio Board of Education

Outgoing Ohio Governor Bob Taft has announced the appointments of three members to the Ohio Board of Education:

Stephen M. Millett
Jennifer L. Sheets
Carl Wick

Their terms will run January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2010. (See also Governor Taft Plans to Appoint Four School Board Members)

Millett, Sheets, and Wick are current board members, appointed by Taft four years ago to terms expiring December 31, 2006.

» Governor Taft Plans to Appoint
Four School Board Members

Will Not Name Ayone Who Doesn't Back Teaching of Evolution

The Ohio Board of Education is made up of 19 members - 11 elected and eight appointed by the governor. The terms of four gubernatorial appointees (Richard Baker, Stephen M. Millett, Jennifer L. Sheets, and Carl Wick) expire December 31, 2006.

The December 6 Columbus Dispatch (registration required) reported that outgoing Governor Bob Taft plans to fill these vacancies before leaving office on January 7.

From the Dispatch story:

Looking back yesterday on his eight years as governor, Bob Taft said one of the lessons he learned was to ensure that potential appointees to the state Board of Education don't support teaching intelligent design in public-school science classes.

"I learned that lesson about four years ago," Taft said, a reference to previous appointees who backed intelligent design, the idea that life is too complex to have evolved without an unnamed intelligence, perhaps God.

Taft said he plans to appoint four new members to the board before he leaves office and that he will not name anyone who doesn't back the teaching of evolution.

"I want people who are really committed to teaching good science in school, and I think that intelligent design does not play a role in the science curriculum," Taft said.

» Ohio Board of Education Elections
November 7, 2006

On November 7, voters elected five members to the Ohio Board of Education, in Districts 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8.

Ohio residents may refer to this map at the Ohio Department of Education website to determine the district in which they reside.

Below is a listing of candidates in each district. Incumbents are marked with an asterisk.

Update: Election results are posted below.

District 2

992 of 992 precincts reporting

District 3

938 of 938 precincts reporting

Mike Anagnostou	27262	11%
*Thomas W. Gunlock	75063	32%
Susan M. Haverkos	89204	38%
James K. Uphoff	46034	19%

District 4

1046 of 1046 precincts reporting

John Hritz	71237	33%
*G. R. Schloemer	144864	67%

District 7

1005 of 1005 precincts reporting

John T Jones	17154	6%
David Kovacs	33789	12%
*Deborah Owens Fink	83641	29%
Thomas C. Sawyer	157798	54%

District 8

1076 of 1076 precincts reporting

* = incumbent

Results supplied by AP.

Elections for the Ohio Board of Education are non-partisan, so no party affiliations are given for any of the candidates.

In January and February of 2006, the Ohio Board of Education voted on resolutions to delete a creationist lesson plan from the model curriculum. The February vote referred the issue to the Board's Achievement Committee. In October, the Board of Education voted to discharge the Achievement Committee from further consideration of the issue. Here's how the board members voted:

• How they voted January 2006
• How they voted February 2006
• How they voted October 2006

» Audio From October Board of Education Meetings

The Achievement Committee of the Ohio Board of Education met on October 9. It was expected that there would be a vote on Resolution 31 at this meeting, but no vote transpired. (See Board of Education Achievement Committee Once More Defers Action.)

Here is a wav recording of a brief discussion of Resolution 31 at the meeting.

On October 10, the full board considered a motion to discharge the Achievement Committee "from further consideration of Resolution 31 and anything arising therefrom, including the template for teaching controversial issues." (See Board of Education Discharges Achievement Committee From Consideration of Resolution 31.) The motion was approved.

Here is a recording of the discussion and vote on the motion, in mp3 format.

The first speaker is Matthew DeTemple, Chief Legal Counsel of The Ohio Department of Education, acting as board parliamentarian.

See also this Panda's Thumb post.

» Board of Education Discharges Achievement Committee
From Consideration of Resolution 31

In February the Ohio Board of Education passed Resolution 31, which deleted from the model curriculum a creationist lesson plan, "Critical Analysis of Evolution." Also deleted at that time were parts of the benchmarks and indicators that singled out evolution for special attention. (See this story on the February meeting.)

Resolution 31 also gave a charge to the Achievement Committee:

The Achievement Committee of the State Board of Education is charged to consider whether the deleted model lesson, Benchmark H and Indicator 23 should be replaced by a different lesson, benchmark, and indicator, and if so, to present any recommendation to the entire State Board for adoption.

As noted in an earlier story, the Achievement Committee was expected to vote to kill Resolution 31 at its October 9 meeting. In today's Canton Repository (registration required), Lynn Elfner, CEO of The Ohio Academy of Science, is quoted: "...the Ohio Academy of Science reached an agreement with [Achievement Committee co-chair Jim] Craig and board member Colleen Grady to kill the critical analysis effort ... That was their promise."

At today's meeting of the Ohio Board of Education, the full board responded to the Achievement Committee's lack of action on Resolution 31. The following motion was approved, by a vote of 14-3:

RESOLVED, That the Achievement Committee of the State Board of Education, having recommended no response to Board Resolution 31 referred to it in February 2006, is hereby discharged from further consideration of Resolution 31 and anything arising therefrom, including the template for teaching controversial issues.

Here's how the school board members voted

Martha Wise proposed and Rob Hovis seconded the motion. It was introduced as new business, and the customary 30 day waiting period was waived in a 13-4 vote that declared the motion an emergency measure.

The motion effectively kills any attempts to revive the creationist lesson plan in the Achievement Committee.

» Board of Education Achievement Committee
Once More Defers Action

No Action on Resolution 31 or "Controversial Issues" Template

Resolution 31, passsed by the Ohio Board of Education in February, deleted the model lesson plan "Critical Analysis of Evolution" and deleted parts of the benchmarks and indicators that singled out evolution. The resolution also gave the following charge to the Acievement Committee:

The Achievement Committee of the State Board of Education is charged to consider whether the deleted model lesson, Benchmark H and Indicator 23 should be replaced by a different lesson, benchmark, and indicator, and if so, to present any recommendation to the entire State Board for adoption.

After eight months, the Achievement Committee has failed to comply with this charge. Based on comments made by several board members, a vote on the issue was expected at yesterday's Achievement Committee meeting. None transpired.

(See also the Columbus Dispatch article of October 7 (subscription required), in which it was noted that "Some members privately have discussed calling for a vote...")

The Achievement Committee has been considering a "Controversial Issues" Template, which is widely viewed as an attempt to reintroduce "Critical-Analysis" of evolution into the classroom. (See the OCS Response to the "Controversial Issues" Template.)

Some board members claim that the template has nothing to do with "Critical-Analysis" of evolution. It is curious, then, that the Discovery Institute has chimed in with their support of the document.

» Board of Education Defers Action
on "Controversial Issues" Template

On September 11, the Achievement Committee of the Ohio Board of Education considered the "Controversial Issues" Template, drafted by a staff member of the Ohio Department of Education. This was the final item on the agenda of the Achievement Committee meeting.

The document was distributed to committee members. After a pause, there was a motion for adjournment from Deborah Owens-Fink. Although the motion did not receive a second, the meeting was adjourned.

The full board met on September 12. The template was not discussed by the board at this meeting.

Updated September 21: Recordings from the September 11 meeting.

During the September 11 Achievement Committee meeting, the minutes of the July 10 meeting were amended before approval.

Here is an mp3 recording of that discussion. For comparison, here is an mp3 recording of the relevant portion of the July 10 meeting.

Here is an mp3 recording of the final moments of the September 11 meeting, including the motion for adjournment described above.

» Ohio Citizens for Science Responds to
"Controversial Issues" Template

Ohio Citizens for Science has prepared a statement regarding the draft "Controversial Issues" template:

"Controversial Issues" Response (pdf)

Here is the Executive Summary of the statement:

The Ohio Board of Education's proposed Controversy Template is incoherent if, as its major proponent has stated, it will have teachers and students "challenge everything." It is impossible to challenge everything in each school class; to even attempt such a thing would result in chaos and no learning. Clearly the template is in fact the latest step in ongoing efforts to orchestrate a religiously motivated attack on the theory of evolution (as detailed below). That explains why its content was kept secret as long as possible. While science relies constantly on genuine critical analysis, it does not use denigrating debate tools based on political propaganda and ill-informed by evidence. The Board must call the question and vote down this transparent ploy.

Continue reading ...

» "Controversial Issues" Template

On Monday, September 11, the Achievement Committee of the Ohio Board of Education will be considering a "Controversial Issues" template.

Here is a pdf version of a draft of the document.

» Ohio Board of Education Achievement Committee
Discusses "Critical-Analysis" of Evolution & Global Warming

At the February meeting of the Ohio Board of Education, the "Critical Analysis of Evolution" lesson plan was deleted from the state board-approved curriculum, along with Indicator 23 and part of Benchmark H. The Board's Achievement Committee was charged with considering

... whether the deleted model lesson, Benchmark H and Indicator 23 should be replaced by a different lesson, benchmark, and indicator, and if so, to present any recommendation to the entire State Board for adoption.

In the July 10 meeting of the Achievement Committee, board member Colleen Grady submitted for discussion an amendment to an existing indicator:

Describe that scientists may disagree about explanations of phenomena, about interpretation of data or about the value of rival theories, but they do agree that questioning, response to criticism and open communication are integral to the process of science.

According to a version made available to some board members before the meeting, the amendment added:

Discuss and be able to apply this in the following areas:
Earth and Space
a) Global warming
Life Sciences
a) Evolutionary Theory
Physical Sciences
No indicators in grade 10
Science and Technology
a) Emerging technologies and how they may impact society, e.g. cloning or stem cell research

The version submitted to the Achievement Committee on July 10 omitted the references to cloning and stem cell research. The committee took no action on the proposal, but will be reconsidering it at its next meeting in September.

Here is an audio recording of the relevant portion of the Achievement Committee meeting, in mp3 format.

» Playboy Foundation Awards Patricia Princehouse
Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award

The Playboy Foundation has announced the winners of the 2006 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards. One of the award winners is Patricia Princehouse, a founding member of Ohio Citizens for Science.

The Playboy Foundation's press release includes this commendation:

Patricia Princehouse, Ph.D. (Education): The leader of Ohio Citizens for Science who, seeing a profound and rising challenge to the separation of church and state in American schools, organized a successful coalition to preserve science education in Ohio's public schools.

Congratulations Patricia!

Patricia's acceptance speech has been posted at The Nation.

See also Why We Do This at Panda's Thumb.

» New Resources

Speciation

At the February 14 meeting of the Ohio Board of Education, the Achievement Committee was charged with considering whether the deleted lesson plan Critical Analysis of Evolution should be replaced by a different lesson, and if so to present any recommendation to the entire State Board for adoption.

The following lesson plan has been prepared by OCS member Steve Rissing as an example of such a replacement lesson. It shows how current areas of active inquiry and discussion in biology can be presented with grade-appropriate rigor in a pedagogically effective manner. The first two files are in Microsoft Word format.

Speciation Lesson - Teacher Version

Speciation Lesson - Student Version

Supplemental PowerPoint: How New Species Form

Common Ground

OCS members Ted Scharf and Phil Geis have prepared an essay Evolution vs. Young Earth and Intelligent Design Creationism in Ohio's Public School Curriculum: Finding the Common Ground. Portions of this appeared as an op-ed in The Cincinnati Enquirer on January 29, 2006.

Common Ground

» Board of Education Debate
Transcript and Related Matters

On February 14, 2006 the Ohio Board of Education voted to delete the model lesson plan Critical Analysis of Evolution and the "critical-analysis" portions of the standards. Ohio Citizens for Science has prepared an unofficial transcript of this historic debate and vote:
Transcript

The transcript was based on an mp3 recording made by OCS member Richard Hoppe:
Recording

The transcript refers to a document Analysis of Ohio's "Critical-Analysis" Standard and Lesson Plan, which was distributed to board members at the meeting. It is available here as a pdf document:
Critical Analysis Analysis

During the board meeting, posters prepared by Ohio Citizens for Science were on display. The following page contains these posters, as well as the cartoon commentary of Hank and Tom McIver.
Posters & Cartoon

» Ohio Board of Education Votes 11-4
to Delete
Creationist Lesson Plan from Model Curriculum
and
Critical Analysis Indicator from Science Standards

At the February 14, 2006 meeting of the Ohio Board of Education, the creationist lesson plan Critical Analysis of Evolution was deleted, by a vote of 11-4, from the model curriculum.

How the school board members voted

An audio recording of the Board of Education debate and vote (mp3 format)

The lesson plan had been linked to the following indicator in the Academic Content Standards:

Describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory. (The intent of this indicator does not mandate the teaching of intelligent design.)

The same resolution that called for the deletion of the lesson plan also called for deletion of this indicator and the same wording in Benchmark H. All are now gone.

Ohio Citizens for Science has put out this press release:

For Immediate Release

The Directors and members of Ohio Citizens for Science applaud the Ohio State Board of Education for removing the creationist material from the State Standards and Model Curriculum.

We are pleased that Members of the Board have affirmed the importance of honest science education in Ohio public schools, and we stand ready to assist the Board however we can in advancing that effort.

We are still vigilant, as are our allies. Efforts to undermine excellent science education will not stop here, and as Kansas learned to its regret, relaxation can be dangerous. We urge the Board, the Ohio Department of Education, and concerned citizens to continue to work to improve Ohio's public schools.

Here is the text of the resolution approved by the Ohio Board of Education

Resolved, that the Superintendent of Public Instruction be, and she hereby is, directed to take the following actions immediately:

1) Delete the model lesson plan, Critical Analysis of Evolution, from the state board-approved curriculum and remove its availability from print sources, technology sources, and any other Ohio Board of Education/Ohio Department of Education mechanism that makes it available for use;

2) Delete the following sentences from Grade 10 Life Science Benchmark H: "Describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory. (The intent of this benchmark does not mandate the teaching or testing of intelligent design.)", and delete Indicator 23 in its entirety, and adjust all print sources, technology sources, and any other Ohio Board of Education/Ohio Department of Education documents to reflect the removal;

3) The Achievement Committee of the State Board of Education is charged to consider whether the deleted model lesson, Benchmark H and Indicator 23 should be replaced by a different lesson, benchmark, and indicator, and if so, to present any recommendation to the entire State Board for adoption;

4) Communicate the fact of the above actions to all public school superintendents and high school principals in Ohio.

Continue reading ...

» Press Release, February 7, 2006
Science Standards Advisory Board Letter to Governor Taft

Creationist standards must go, says original committee

Members of the Ohio Science Standards Advisory Committee today called upon Ohio Governor Bob Taft to remove a benchmark, indicator and lesson from Ohio's science standards and endorsed curriculum. The material, they say, is "wholly without merit" and "embodies intelligent design creationism poorly concealed in scientific sounding jargon."

Continue reading ...

Letter to Governor Taft

» Press Release
Governor Taft Abandons Intelligent Design

Today's (Feb 3) Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Governor Taft has concluded that intelligent design should not be taught in Ohio schools. He has called for a legal review of the creationism-based model lesson plan to assess Ohio's vulnerability to a lawsuit.

He also said that he would look more closely at prospective appointees to the Ohio State Board of Education.

We welcome the Governor's actions, and hope that he follows through. We have one reservation. The "critically evaluate" benchmark, H23 in the 10th grade biology standards, is the product of intelligent design creationists, and was the gateway through which a writing team dominated by intelligent design creationists wedged the offending model lesson plan. The lesson plan is not the root problem. It is an implementation of a flawed benchmark that allows and encourages trash science in Ohio science classrooms.

Continue reading ...

» Statement from the Authors of
the Fordham Report
The State of State Science Standards

In December 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation released the report The State of State Science Standards, in which Ohio's science standards received a grade of B.

The study's principal author, Paul R. Gross, has issued the following statement:

In the recent report, “The State of State Science Standards” (Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2005), of which I am the lead author, we issued a grade of “B” for the Ohio standards. This was in recognition of documents unnecessarily long and with some errors, but dedicated, on the whole, to good and sufficient science content. My distinguished colleagues, members of the expert advisory committee, join me in the statement that follows.

The standards we reviewed present evolutionary biology well enough, and start it early enough, although the treatment is rather thin in relevant molecular genetics. In one benchmark, there is a mention of “critical analysis” of “aspects of evolutionary theory.” We gave Ohio the benefit of the doubt that such ordinarily innocuous words might raise in the current political climate. After all, modern evolutionary biology includes, in fact comprises, “critical analysis of evolutionary theory,” just as modern physics includes critical analysis of relativity and quantum theory. Serious science is a continuous critical analysis.

But the benefit of doubt we gave the benchmark may have been a mistake. Creationism-inspired “critical analysis” of evolutionary biology - as has been shown over and over again in the scientific literature, and recently in a Pennsylvania Federal Court - is neither serious criticism nor serious analysis. The newest version of creationism, so-called Intelligent Design (ID) theory, is no exception. Like its predecessors, it is neither critical nor analytic, nor has it made any contribution to the literature of science. Any suggestion that our “B” grade for Ohio’s standards endorses sham critiques of evolution, as offered by creationists, is false.

To the extent that model lessons are to be provided in Ohio as curricular guidance, lessons that refer favorably to, or incorporate, sham critiques of evolution, or bad science, or pseudo-science, the standards we reviewed are contradicted. That part of the state’s science education will be a failure. Moreover it will reflect badly on the entire standards undertaking, not just on biology and evolution. To devote scores of pages in the official standards to the principles of good science, and then to teach bad or pseudo-science in the classroom, is to defeat the very purpose of standards. If creationism-driven arguments become an authorized extension of Ohio’s K-12 science standards, then the standards will deserve a failing grade.

Paul R. Gross
University Professor of Life Sciences, emeritus
University of Virginia

The creationist lesson plan Critical Analysis of Evolution remains in Ohio's science curriculum, as a model for the science standards. The Fordham Foundation has not indicated that they plan to revise Ohio's grade in the report. But, based on the above statement by the authors of the report, the standards deserve a grade of F.

» Motion to Remove Creationist Lesson Plan
Loses in a Close Vote

A motion to remove the Critical Analysis of Evolution lesson plan from the science curriculum was defeated 8-9 at the Ohio Board of Education meeting on January 10, 2006. The motion was sponsored by District 2 board member Martha Wise, of Avon, Ohio. It was not originally on the agenda, but was added as an emergency measure because of the potential for litigation after the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision.

Here's how the school board members voted

Board members were informed of the records obtained by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Most members seemed unaware that Ohio Department of Education staff scientists had labelled items in the lesson plan as lies and as religiously motivated. Board member Michael Cochran tried to claim this was only hearsay, but quickly fell silent when copies of the staff scientists' notes were passed around.

Several OCS members were present and spoke at the public participation session at the end of the meeting. Because the motion was not an agenda item, there was no opportunity for them to speak before the vote.

During the public participation session, anthropolgy professor and OCS member Jeff McKee spoke on behalf of the Senate of The Ohio State University. Board members Deborah Owens Fink and Michael Cochran took the opportunity to launch a vicious personal attack on Jeff. It was a disgraceful performance.

Another disgraceful performance: Board members Richard Baker and Michael Cochran showed their public disdain for the proceedings by ostentatiously reading newspapers during the proceedings. Fortunately, the Columbus Dispatch captured Baker in the act and plastered the picture on the front page of their January 11 edition:

Richard E. Baker, a member of the State Board of Education, displays his apparent lack of interest in arguments for changing the state's science standards being put forth by fellow board member Martha W. Wise. Baker, who later voted to maintain the current standards, did not speak during yesterday's afternoon session, choosing instead to read the newspaper throughout.
TOM DODGE | DISPATCH

We will be keeping the pressure on. Although it went against us, the creationists seemed to be rattled by the closeness of the vote. Deborah Owens-Fink in particular gave us some good quotes. She linked evolution to atheism and stated that evolution was singled out for critical analysis because "only evolution is taught dogmatically." This should prove useful if there's a trial.

Update

Here are audio files of the debate and public comments. (Links added to this article on March 3, 2007)

Board Debate, Part 1

Board Debate, Part 2

Public Comments, Part 1

Public Comments, Part 2