In a preliminary vote this January, the Texas Board of Education voted to drop a 20-year-old requirement for educators to teach the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution. (The final vote will occur in March.) Believers in evolution praise the vote's outcome, arguing that the strengths-and-weaknesses model is just a thinly veiled attempt to discredit evolution in favor of religion-inspired theories such as intelligent design. But some educators and many members of the community disagree. They believe that students should be encouraged to explore where scientific theories (including evolution) fall short, and that dropping the requirement could jeopardize teachers' rights to raise such issues. Should science classes explore the strengths and weaknesses of evolution? Tell us what you think!
