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Originally Posted by NEOWatcher
From this statement...... it sounds like they have been on the fence all along.
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hmm. I found this pdf which summarizes the "sunshine state standards:"
http://etc.usf.edu/flstandards/sss/pdf/science9.pdf
that says,
Quote:
"(students will) understand the mechanisms of change (e.g., mu-tation and natural selection) that lead to adaptations in a species and their ability to survive naturally in changing conditions and to increase species
diversity."
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That standard has an ID of: SC.F.2.4.3. The actual curriculum that a school purchases will have lessons that map to one or more standards, so that the teachers can keep track and make sure they've covered everything they were supposed to. What that means is, you can google that ID and find sample cirriculum that teach it. For example:
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/uploa...benchmarks.pdf
Quote:
Grade 10. Sample Question:
The coast of South America and a group of islands about 1000 kilometers (km) away both have large sea birds called cormorants. The cormorants on the mainland of South America are able to fly and dive to catch fish. Descendants of cormorants that flew to the islands are unable to fly. These descendants use their feet and wings to swim and dive. Over time, none of the cormorants on the island could fly. Explain why, over time, this trait occurred in all cormorants on the island.
Correct and Complete Response:
Cormorants that were better at swimming survived more easily on the island. There was an advantage to having strong swimming skills over a strong flying ability. The strong swimmers passed on their traits to their offspring.
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Anyway, it seems to me that they aren't really on the fence (which would imply they haven't made up their mind). It just looks like they're trying to avoid controversy, but still teach the major ideas. Teachers have such hard jobs as it is. Can't blame them for trying to deflect some controversy.
BTW, in googling that standard ID, I found this little app:
http://www.explorelearning.com/index...ResourceID=554
It's quite cool. Everybody should check it out. You pick the color of leaves, then it puts bugs on the leaves and simulates predation by birds. The bugs that contrast the most have the highest chance of getting picked off.
Unfortunately, it has a timer and only lets you play with it for about five minutes. :-( I was having a lot of fun making bugs.