Re: National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to Adopt Science Standards Allowing for Critical Analys

Sneaky, sneaky. The Discovery Institute identifies Skell as a "professor
emeritus of biochemistry." Nope; he identifies his research interests as
"organic chemistry mechanisms, organometallic chemistry, and heterogeneous
catalysis," and his title at Penn State is "Holder Emeritus of the Evan Pugh
Professor of Chemistry." He may well know what an Alu repeat is, but he's not
a biochemist.

Naturally this won't matter to the Discovery Institute, which would surely
never be caught dead making a bogus appeal to authority.

Steve Matheson
Calvin College
Biology Dept.
matheson@calvin.edu

>>> Pattle Pak Toe Pun <Pattle.P.Pun@wheaton.edu> 05/12/05 3:45 PM >>>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 17:22:24 -0700
From: Discovery Institute <press@discovery.org>
To: cscinfo@discovery.org
Subject: National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to Adopt Science
    Standards Allowing for Critical Analysis of Evolution

National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to Adopt Science Standards
Allowing for Critical Analysis of Evolution

TOPKEA, KS. --- Dr. Phil Skell, a member of the National Academy of
Sciences** and a professor emeritus of biochemistry at Pennsylvania State
University, has just sent an open letter to the Kansas State Board of
Education encouraging them to revise the state's science standards to allow
students to learn the scientific evidence both for and against biological
and chemical evolution.

"I am writing-as a member of the National Academy of Sciences-to voice my
strong support for the idea that students should be able to study scientific
criticisms of the evidence for modern evolutionary theory along with the
evidence favoring the theory. . Evolution is an important theory and
students need to know about it. But scientific journals now document many
scientific problems and criticisms of evolutionary theory and students need
to know about these as well," Skell writes. "Encouraging students to
carefully examine the evidence for and against neo-Darwinism, therefore,
will help prepare students not only to understand current scientific
arguments, but also to do good scientific research."

The Kansas State Board of Education is revising the state's science
standards and last week a board sub-committee heard testimony from
scientists and scholars about how biological and chemical evolution should
be presented in the classroom. As a matter of public policy, the Discovery
Institute's Center for Science and Culture, the nation's leading think tank
dealing with scientific challenges to Darwinian evolution, opposes any
effort to mandate or require the teaching of intelligent design by school
districts or state boards of education.

"Like Dr. Skell, we believe evolution should be taught as a scientific
theory that is open to critical scrutiny, not as a sacred dogma that can't
be questioned," said Seth Cooper, Senior Program Analyst, Public Policy &
Legal Affairs at the Discovery Institute.

Last year Ohio adopted a model curriculum that includes a lesson plan on the
"Critical Analysis of Evolution." Two other states, New Mexico, and
Minnesota, have adopted science standards that require learning about some
of the scientific controversies relating to evolution.

**Members
<http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf/b57ef1bf2404952b852566dd0
0671bfd/d1e1ffa204f859cf852566dd006c1560?OpenDocument> and foreign
associates of the Academy are elected in recognition of their distinguished
and continuing achievements in original research; election to the Academy is
considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or
engineer.

Copies of Dr. Skell's letter are available at the CSC website:

http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view
<http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=2568&prog
ram=CSC> &id=2568&program=CSC - Views and News&callingPage=discoMainPage

###

To schedule an interview with Discovery Institute spokesperson contact
Kristina Grabosky at (703)-683-5004, ext. 132, or Rob Crowther at (206)
292-0401 x107.
Received on Thu May 12 16:32:39 2005