Well, it looks like Florida is finally making an effort to get up to speed with the rest of the country - at least when it comes to education.
Education officials voted Tuesday to add evolution to required course work in state public schools.
But unfortunately, the victory ends there.
The State Board of Education gave in to pressure from religious conservatives and voted to include the words "scientific theory of" in the revisions that are part of the reorganization of the state's science standards.
Well, maybe we can't complain about this decision too much.
The small change, despite its meaningless compromise, actually represents progress for state science standards.
In the past, Florida students were taught evolution in an embarrassingly ridiculous and roundabout way, with teachers using code words like "biological changes over time" to discuss the contested issue.
In 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a respected science think tank, gave Florida an F for its science standards, describing them as "sorely lacking in content," "thin" and "nebulous." It specifically criticized the state's "superficiality of the treatment of evolutionary biology."
Maybe we'll do a little better this time.
Nevertheless, the opponents of this new teaching requirement have promised to take their case to the Legislature. In Tallahassee, they will attempt to get lawmakers to back their proposal to add "academic freedom" language into the new standard. That language would define evolution as a "fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." But, "teachers should be permitted to engage students in a critical analysis of that evidence."
If multiple forms of scientific evidence support it, then why include the critical analysis provision? Isn't the very nature of a classroom discussion already open to questioning and critical thinking?
Perhaps these conservative opponents are pushing for the teaching of intelligent design, a theory used to initiate faith-based ideology under the guise of theory.
If that's the case, we need to give Florida students a little more credit. If they read about an "intelligent designer," students would soon recognize the implication and some may feel they must make a choice between science and religion, which would do a great disservice to their education.
But it's not like the debate over teaching evolution is anything new. We're just hoping the controversy doesn't turn the next legislative session into something reminiscent of the 1925 monkey trial.
When Orange County-based TV evangelist John Butler Book told the Orlando Sentinel that "evolution is an educated guess. That we came from an ape is absolutely ridiculous," he compounded our fears that some in the state would rather students not explore their own views about evolution, but adopt those of misinformed creationists.
And arguing over whether to include certain language in standards seems counterproductive. With the knowledge that Florida's students are already behind on national tests, even though the United States falls behind other countries, we would think that lawmakers would want to create more scientists, not discourage scientific thought.
If there's anything biology teachers should focus on, it's giving their students whatever information they need to better understand scientific theories, not tip-toeing over contentious language to appease faith-based initiatives.
If Florida parents really want to inject religion into their children's education, they would be better off sending them to private schools.
