The Teaching of Evolution in U.S. Schools:
Where Politics, Religion and Science Converge
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, September 26, 2000
American Association for the Advancement of Science Auditorium
1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Please join us on Tuesday, September 26, for an important forum that
addresses one of the most serious issues in the school curriculum and in
state education policy: The Teaching of Evolution in U.S. Schools: Where
Politics, Religion and Science Converge.
Co-sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, the symposium will be held
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the AAAS headquarters at 1200 New York Ave., NW,
Washington, DC. The event is free and open to the public, although space
is limited.
Featured will be the presentation of a new report by the Thomas B. Fordham
Foundation Dr. Lawrence S. Lerner's Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching
Evolution in the States. This critical new report focuses on the treatment
of evolution in state science standards and evaluates how each state
handles the issue. The mixed results reflect the complexity of an issue
that has drawn headlines since the celebrated Scopes trial in 1925.
Seventy-five years later, confusion still reigns on this subject for many
Americans. Although almost all scientists accept evolution as the central
concept of biology, a 1999 Gallup poll found that 68 percent of Americans
favor teaching both creationism and evolution in public schools. And half
the respondents in another survey felt evolution is far from being proven
scientifically.
The presentation of Dr. Lerner's findings will be followed by panel
discussions that include a diverse mix of policymakers, scientists,
educators, and members of the religious community. The first panel will
respond directly to Lerner's report. Other panels will explore:
- How classroom teachers handle evolution;
- How the anti-evolution movement is itself evolving;
- How the public's level of scientific understanding impacts its
participation in science education policy questions; and
- The future of evolution politics at the state level.
The AAAS building is accessible by metro (Metro stop is Metro Center, red,
orange or blue lines). If you would like to attend please contact Deedee
Newman at AAAS (202-326-6733 or dnewman@aaas.org).
As you can see from the following agenda, the day is sure to be provocative
and enlightening. We hope that you can join us.
AGENDA
Public Forum on
The Teaching of Evolution in U.S. Schools:
Where Politics, Religion and Science Converge
Tuesday, September 26, 2000
AAAS Auditorium
9:00 a.m. Welcome
9:05 The Establishment of Science Education Standards *F. James
Rutherford, AAAS Education Advisor
9:20 Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching Evolution in the
States Lawrence S. Lerner, Professor Emeritus, California State
University, Long Beach
9:35 Respondents and open discussion
Moderator Chester E. Finn, Jr., Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
Paul R. Gross , University Professor of Life Sciences Emeritus, University
of Virginia
Lisa Graham Keegan, Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Warren Nord Director, Program on Humanities and Human Values, University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Eugenie Scott, National Center for Science Education
10:45 Break
11:00 Panel 1 Teaching evolution in the schools
Moderator to be announced
Caryn Galatis, Department Head for Science Education, Edison High School,
Fairfax VA
Wes McCoy, Department Head for Science Education, North Cobb High School,
Kennesaw GA
Jo Ellen Roseman, AAAS Project 2061, assessment of high school biology texts
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:15 Panel 2 - Is the anti-evolution movement evolving?
Moderator Marci Kanstoroom, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
David Byers Committee on Science and Human Values, U.S. Catholic Conference
Ted Davis Professor, History of Science, Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Barrett Duke Vice-President for Research, Ethics and Religious Liberty
Commission, Southern Baptist Convention
2:15 Panel 3 What the public thinks about evolution and what it knows.
Moderator Jim Miller, AAAS/DoSER
Paul R. Gross University of Virginia
Jon Miller Professor, School of Medicine and Medill School of Journalism,
Northwestern University
To be announced
3:30 Break
3:45 Panel 4 - What are current and future political prospects?
Moderator Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Kate Beem, Kansas City Star
Steve Rissing, Professor, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal
Biology, Ohio State University
Eugenie Scott NCSE
5:00 Adjourn
*invited
********************************************
Anybody else like to go? We could meet at the auditorium and sit together.
Call or email: Dick Fischer 703-803-1403.
Dick Fischer - The Origins Solution - www.orisol.com
"The answer we should have known about 150 years ago."
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