Columnist Tim Hall gives his take on the evolution debate in Tallahassee

Evolved - Theory or Fact

Tuesday February Nineteenth my day began at 3 a.m. The Florida Department of Education had announced that in the Cabinet room of the State Capital they where going to make their ruling on the "Florida's Proposed Student Performance Science Standards".

These Standards known as the "Sunshine State Standards", which they had commissioned a group to write a year ago, some referred to them as the experts, but most referred to them as "the writers", to write what they referred to as "World Class Science Standards" for our Florida schools. They had also announced because they had received literally thousands of calls and e-mails concerning this decision, that before they voted they would give the public one more hearing.

They announced that they would allow ten speakers from both sides to have three minutes each to share their concerns and arguments for and against these Standards before they voted.

Even though I still arrived at the Capital over an hour before they were to begin letting people sign up to speak, as I walked in the door, a lady announced "We now have ten people on both sides in line, everyone else can go in and get a good seat, because it is going to be a full house today."

So I did not get to speak, but was very proud to see that I was not the only one concerned about the fate of our children, and the house was full.

My great concern was what was referred to in the Sunshine Standards as "Big Idea/Standard 15: Diversity and Evolution of Living Organisms" which stated "Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." As you can see this would have our schools teaching that Evolution was a fact proven by science, which it is neither.

It became very evident as the crowd grew to where each person stood on the issue, as those who were for the Standard to be approved as printed wore stickers on their clothing that read, "Evolved, Let It Stand".

Also as I listened to the chosen speakers it became very evident that they thought through a strategy as to who would be speaking. Because included as speakers arguing for the Standard to be approved as printed were three ministers, a Presbyterian, France Copeland pastor of the First Presbyterian of Tallahassee, a Methodist and a Baptist, Harry Parrott.

They all basically said that they saw no danger in the teaching of Evolution, that a person can believe both and that 11,000 pastors had signed a statement that they agree that Evolution and Creationism are not opposed. They also quoted Pope Benedict of the Roman Catholic Church in saying that "the teaching of Evolution enriches our understanding of life and being."

A very noticeable thing about the speakers, which was pointed out by one of the last speakers who opposed the Standard as printed, John Stinbrick, was that all the speakers who spoke for the Standard to be approved as printed referred to people of "faith", "religion" and "Christians" in their talks. Of course most of it was not in the positive matter, and this attitude was also evident in Board member Roberto (Bill) Martinez' speaking.

While those who wanted the Standard to be changed so that it was not so "Dogmatic" as they referred to it, used people of science to show the flaws, "and missing link" associated with the teaching of Evolution as a fact, and none of them used the words "Faith", "Religion" "Christian", "Creationism", or "Intelligent Design" in their arguments.

But most of them did refer to the "Academic Freedom Proposal" which the first speaker brought and gave to the Board members and asked the board to change "Big Idea/Standard 15" to read "Evolution is [a] fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence and teachers should be permitted to engage students in a critical analysis of that evidence."

As you have probably heard, both sides seemed to have left the room unhappy as Commissioner Eric J. Smith and Mary Jane Tappen, who was commissioned to work with the writers of the Standards as the organizer, presented a second option just before the Board would vote. The second option basically added four words to Big Idea 15. The words "The Scientific Theory of" were placed in front of the word "Evolution". After much debate the second option was approved.

I may have been the only person to leave the room satisfied with the way it was approved. I feel the "Sunshine Standards" will help our teachers in teaching science as it shortened the things they have to cover in science, so that the students can enjoy science as a whole as it should be. Matter of fact, Science, Math and History were my favorite subjects in school.

As FDOE Chairman T. Willard Fair stated at the closing of the session, "I know more about Evolution now than I ever wanted to know in my life. I want you to know that I think we made the right decision today, and only history will bear us out, and if history does not, my God has already told me that we did."