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- FRANKFORT, Ky. (Reuters)
- A change in Kentucky school curriculum guidelines eliminating the word
``evolution`` has touched off the second uproar over U.S. science education
in less than two months.
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- The Louisville Courier-Journal first reported the change
in Tuesday`s editions, saying the phrase ``change over time`` had been
substituted for the word ``evolution`` in guidelines for middle school
and high school science courses.
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- The curriculum guidelines were posted on the state Education
Department`s Internet site.
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- Under the heading ``Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms``
they state, for instance, ``Biological change over time accounts for the
diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations.``
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- On Aug. 11 the Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to
embrace new standards for science teaching in public schools that eliminate
evolution as an underlying principle of biology and other sciences.
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- The Kansas decision reignited the national debate over
evolution, which holds that humans and other life forms evolved from earlier
life forms over millions of year, and Bible-based Christian teachings
about the creation of man and the universe.
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- Kentucky officials downplayed the controversy and said
they had the matter under review.
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- ``This is a semantics issue, not a subject or curriculum
issue,`` said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the state Education Department.
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- ``The change was actually made by consultants here in
the Education Department who did not use correct procedure. It will not
change the way teachers teach science, it will not change what students
are tested on,`` she said.
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- Gross said the revision would be reviewed, in particular
by the state`s Board of Education.
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- The Courier-Journal quoted the director of the Kentucky
Science Teachers Association as saying many teachers were upset about
the change and feared it would discourage biology teachers from covering
evolution.
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- Gross said the Education Department ``does not mandate
specific curriculum components. Those decisions are left to officials
and the local districts ... . Our main concern is to determine how this
happened within our procedures.``
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