One of the more effective antievolution strategies is to argue that, when evolution is taught, students should learn about both the "strengths and weaknesses" of the theory. Indeed, one of the politically active groups in Texas has a website with this sentiment in its URL: www.strengthsandweaknesses.org.
The URL belongs to Texans for Better Science Education (TBSE), a group of concerned Texans whose website banner informs visitors that "Open Minds Teach Both Sides."
The call for the teaching of the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution is an especially effective political strategy because it exploits the American sense of fairness. The problem is that, in practice, the strategy is anything but fair.
This is easily demonstrated by merely browsing the TBSE website. Not a single link, book, video, or other resource on the "Teacher Resources" page points visitors to information about the strengths of evolutionary theory. Using the search function on the TBSE website yields zero results for simple words relating to evolution such as homology, vestigial, and pseudogene. Clearly, fairness and scientific accuracy are not among the goals of this organization.
So, the next time someone tells you that students should learn about the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution, catch them off guard and ask them to tell you about the strengths.
Remember, open minds teach both sides.
posted by Jeremy Mohn
