Tuesday, August 16, 2005
American Chemical Society supports teaching evolution in K-12
The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is reiterating its call for evolution to be included in the K-12 science curricula at an “age-appropriate level,” because it is “central to our modern understanding of science.”
“Evolution is a well-established, central scientific concept,” said William F. Carroll, Jr., Ph.D., ACS president. “In the proper context, students should be exposed to a wide diversity of ideas to help them shape their own opinions. But they should get a solid understanding of science from their science teachers through a full and robust scientific curriculum. Evolution is the proven scientific model that we should be teaching in the science classroom.”
Carroll said: “Because the debate has recently moved to the national stage, the American Chemical Society wants to reiterate its position that the curricula in our nation’s science classrooms should be based on well-established science, such as the theory of evolution in biology and other sciences.”
In a recently adopted policy statement, the Society said that “evolutionary theory is not a hypothesis, but is the scientifically accepted explanation for the origin of species, and explains significant observations in chemistry, biology, geology, and other disciplines."
“Evolution is a well-established, central scientific concept,” said William F. Carroll, Jr., Ph.D., ACS president. “In the proper context, students should be exposed to a wide diversity of ideas to help them shape their own opinions. But they should get a solid understanding of science from their science teachers through a full and robust scientific curriculum. Evolution is the proven scientific model that we should be teaching in the science classroom.”
Carroll said: “Because the debate has recently moved to the national stage, the American Chemical Society wants to reiterate its position that the curricula in our nation’s science classrooms should be based on well-established science, such as the theory of evolution in biology and other sciences.”
In a recently adopted policy statement, the Society said that “evolutionary theory is not a hypothesis, but is the scientifically accepted explanation for the origin of species, and explains significant observations in chemistry, biology, geology, and other disciplines."
