John would appreciate recieving copies of your previous posts about the
insert. He is at:
jwiester@aol.com
The version of the insert, from John, as it presently stands is given
below. It looks like the version that has been under discussion here.
Thanks, on John's part,
Dennis L. Feucht
Innovatia Laboratories
American Scientific Affiliation Newsletter Editor
Great Lakes Rocket Society
14554 Maplewood Road
Townville, Pennsylvania 16360
(814)789-2100
dfeucht@toolcity.net
> Suggested Textbook Insert November 24, 1997
>
> ADOPTION OF INSERT TO CORRECT DEFICIENCIES IN CURRENT SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS
>
> WHEREAS, one of the major purposes of science education is to teach the
> skills of objective scientific inquiry; and
>
> WHEREAS, in the areas of biological origins, most textbooks have failed
to
> provide the correct and/or necessary information for students to assess
the
> validity (strengths and weaknesses) of evolutionary theory; therefore
>
> BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the following corrective insert be pasted into the
> inside front cover of all biology textbooks that deal with the question
of
> biological origins:
>
> A MESSAGE FROM THE _________________________________________________
>
>
> This textbook discusses the controversial theory of evolution. As you
study
> this material please keep the following in mind:
>
> Although your textbook may give you the impression that scientists
understand
> how complex biological molecules formed and evolved into cells, the truth
is
> that the atmosphere of the early earth did not favor the formation of
such
> molecules, and how they became organized into cells remains one of the
great
> unsolved mysteries in science.
>
> Although your textbook may suggest that all animals evolved gradually
from a
> primitive ancestral form, the truth is that almost all basic animal types
> ("phyla") appeared in the fossil record within a relatively brief
interval
> known as the "Cambrian explosion," and that their presumed common
ancestors
> have not been found.
>
> Although your textbook may give you the impression that similarities
among
> early embryos provide evidence for Darwin's theory, the truth is that
there
> are significant differences among these embryos, especially at the
earliest
> stages.
>
> Although your textbook presents evidence that the Darwinian mechanism of
> natural selection operating on random mutations has produced minor
changes
> such as variations in the colors of moths and the sizes of finch beaks,
the
> controversial question is whether the same mechanism can account for
major
> innovations such as the origin of insects, birds, and scientific
observers in
> the first place.
>
> Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday you may contribute to theories
of
> how living things appeared on earth.
>
>
>
>