Commending the State Board of Education for
Supporting the Teaching Cosmic and Geological Evolution
and Opposing the Forced Teaching of “Intelligent Design”,
a Creationist Belief, in Public School Science Education
WHEREAS, it is a responsibility of the Ohio Academy of Science to preserve the
integrity of science; and
WHEREAS, science is a systematic method of
continuing investigation, based on observation, hypothesis testing,
measurement, experimentation, and theory building, which leads to more adequate
explanations of natural phenomena, explanations that are open to further
testing, revision, and falsification, and while not “believed in” through faith
may be accepted or rejected on the basis of evidence; and
WHEREAS, the theory of evolution, as presently
defined, fully satisfies these criteria, especially when its teaching considers
the remaining debates concerning its detailed mechanisms; and
WHEREAS, under the authority of Senate Bill 55, the
State Board of Education is required to develop and test competencies of
students in science and other areas of education;
WHEREAS, the State Board of Education has included cosmic
and geological evolution in the recently adopted 12th
grade science competencies;
WHEREAS, the State Board of Education recently
rejected an effort to include “Intelligent Design” in the 12th grade
competencies;
WHEREAS, these actions of the State Board of
Education have elevated Ohio into a leadership position in science education among
all states;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The Ohio Academy of Science commends
the State Board of Education for its vision and integrity in recognizing the
significance of cosmic and geological evolution and resisting efforts of some
creationists to impose their religious views, masked as “intelligent design”,
as if this were science.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OAS urges citizens, educational authorities,
and legislators to commend the State Board of Education for their recent
actions to include cosmic and geological evolution
in 12th grade competencies and to oppose the compulsory inclusion in
the state competencies and proficiency tests for science education of religious
beliefs that are not amenable to the process of scrutiny, testing, and revision
that is indispensable to science.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OAS urges citizens, educational authorities
including the State Board of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents, and
legislators to include, explicitly, not only cosmic and
geological evolution but also biological evolution
in the curricula, state competencies and proficiency tests for science
education.
ADOPTED
March 31, 2000
by the Board of Trustees of The Ohio Academy of Science; based on a similar resolution
adopted by the Academy on February 28, 2000.
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