Who Gets On the Shelf?

The Loom
By Carl Zimmer
Mar 22, 2005 12:05 AMNov 5, 2019 4:53 AM

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

Panda's Thumb has an update on the ongoing drama over teaching creationism in public schools taking place in York, Pennsylvania. Last year a group of residents donated 58 copies of a creationst book called Of Pandas and People to the local school. The board of education reviewed them and gave them the green light. The books are now available in the school library.

Now someone has donated 23 science books, many of which deal with evolutionary biology, to see how the board deals with them. So far, the board has said it will review them as to their "educational appropriateness," and has left it at that.

It's an honor for my book Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea to be on a list that includes work by luminaries such as Stephen Hawking and Ernst Mayr. But if the donor wants to make his point--that evolution is well-established science--even more clearly, I'd suggest adding a few extra items: some of the leading college textbooks in biology, botany, microbiology, genetics, zoology, and developmental biology. Open any of them up and you're likely to find evolution acting as the backbone for all of the knowledge they have to offer. Would the board balk at them? If they did, you'd have to wonder whether they actually want their students to succeed in college.

0 free articles left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

0 free articlesSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2025 LabX Media Group