Texas State Board of Education Chairman Dr. Don McLeroy is at it again. This time, he has been reading everything he can get his hands on. He has even been listening to podcasts!
Andrea Grimes of The Austin Chronicle reports:
The first of several hearings on the science curricula updates occurred July 17 and 18, with this first meeting dedicated only to the delicate bureaucratic process of planning on how to plan those updates. According to SBOE chair and College Station dentist Dr. Don McLeroy, this year's "battle is to bring in some of the weaknesses of evolution," to ninth- and 10th-grade biology classrooms, retaining language requiring that teachers instruct students in the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories.
More below the fold.
According to the article, Dr. McLeroy lists gaps in the fossil record as one of three "weaknesses" of evolution that should be taught in Texas Biology classrooms.
Since McLeroy has expressed an interest in reading about the topic, I would like to suggest a couple of helpful resources:
First, I recommend this wonderful booklet (pdf) entitled Evolution and the Fossil Record from the American Geological Institute. The free-to-download booklet briefly describes a small portion of the evidence of evolution as documented by the fossil record. It also succinctly outlines the processes involved in evolution. Paleontological research advances at a rapid pace, so the 2001 booklet is already quite outdated. Nevertheless, it still provides an excellent summary of the vast amount of fossil evidence that demonstrates evolutionary change over time.
Second, I recently ran across this very informative Geek Counterpoint podcast explaining why gaps in the fossil record are expected based on what scientists know about the process of fossilization.
You can either listen to it right here:
or
Download the mp3 file here.
posted by Jeremy Mohn
