Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Florida Adopts New School Standards...but...

The story can be found here.

Apparently an amendment was made to the standards, calling for all theories and laws to be referred to as "scientific" theories and laws.

Also, a proposal to add an amendment to the standards was struck down. According to the Miami Herald, "The amendment would have given teachers the explicit permission 'to engage students in a critical analysis of that evidence.'"

Donna Calloway said some amazingly annoying things, including this:

If we decide that we're going to hide this debate and we're going to hide the controversy, and we're going to hide the fact that thousands of people disagree, then we better get with the witness protection program,'' she said. This is a point of debate, and we need to address it right here.

Is this a good thing, this "scientific theory" prefix? I don't know. If you ask me, calling something a theory gives it much merit. To a person unfamiliar with the scientific method, it weakens it.

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