Teach the Controversy

 
I have long advocated that the best way to defeat Creationism is to bring it into the schools and teach children what's wrong with it. We have nothing to fear from directly exposing our children to the controversy between science and religion. I'm sure that science and rationalism will win the hearts and minds of our children if we let them face off in a fair fight.

Mike Dunford isn't so sure. In a recent posting at The Questionable Authority (Benefits of teaching the "controversy") he addressed an article by Michael Balter in the International Herold Tribune. Mike thinks that teaching the controversy is a good idea but only if you have the right teachers. Teachers like university Professor Steven Verhey. Unfortunately, Mike concludes,

If I was confident that Balter's suggested approach would result in science being taught the way that Verhey taught it, I would be happy to support it. As things currently stand, however, I think it's a lot more likely that his approach would result in science being taught the way the Discovery Institute wants to teach it - heavy on the Jonathan Wells, light on the honesty.

This is very sad. If Mike is right it means the battle is already lost in the American schools. This means it's true that the courts are the last resort in the battle to teach science. We can't rely on the science teachers in the public schools to stand up for evolution. It's all in the hands of lawyers who must fight hard to suppress Creationism in order to save biology.

How did we ever get to this point? Is it true? Would teaching the controversy really lead to victory for the superstitious? I don't think this is true in Canada.