"Topeka Capitol-Journal"
Sat, 17 Feb 2001

  Pratt likely to review biology standards
  The Associated Press

  PRATT -- The Pratt Board of Education probably will take another look at
its biology standards after the state decided to restore evolution as a
central theory in science classes.

  Pratt's standards, adopted in November, were written with the help of
people who support the theory of intelligent design, which holds that
intelligent causes are responsible for the origin of the universe and life
and its diversity.

  The Pratt standards require students to have knowledge of different
viewpoints of the origins of life. Students must write a comparative
paper, engage in debate or do other research activities.

  Superintendent Ken Kennedy said he hadn't seen the new state document,
but he thinks the Pratt curriculum is "significantly in line" with what
the state has adopted.

  "Our adopted standards are, in my opinion, very comprehensive," Kennedy
said.

  Assistant Commissioner of Education Sharon Freden said the Pratt board
may do what it wants but probably should review the new state standards.

  "They might want to give consideration to whether they have incorporated
the indicators that refer to evolution, because that will be a part of the
state assessment," she said. "They included some things that one would
call intelligent design."

  The state standards will be used as the basis of tests given to students
this spring. The new standards replace ones adopted in 1999 that omitted
references to many evolutionary concepts as well as the big-bang theory of
the creation of the universe.

  Evolution, a theory developed by Charles Darwin and others, holds that
the Earth is billions of years old and that all life, including humans,
evolved from simple forms through a process of natural selection.

  Some religious fundamentalists and others object to the teaching of
evolution, saying it contradicts the biblical account of creation.

  Pratt officials said the local board probably wouldn't revisit the issue
until after the April elections, when two of four board members will be
replaced.

  "We haven't met, but I'm sure that will be a point of discussion in the
future," board president Bruce Pinkall said. "It will be a topic again,
and I feel like it will be put to a new vote."

  Michael Westerhaus, a Pratt Community College science instructor and a
candidate for the local school board, wants Pratt's standards reversed.
Otherwise, he said, teachers are put in a tough position.

  "In my opinion, I would think their confidence has been eroded," he
said. "I would think those teachers would be feeling some sense of
insecurity. They don't have the security of a concrete board policy behind
them, and they are somewhat at odds with the scientific mainstream with
what they're being asked to do by the school board; that has to be an
unsettling situation for the teacher."