Evolution and creationism in schools

Professor John Bryant comments on the furore following a talk at the Festival of Science. "Teachers should tackle creationism says science education expert" proclaimed the headline in The Guardian. Other newspapers ran similar stories, all based on a talk given at the British Association Festival of Science by Revd Professor Michael Reiss, Professor of Science Education at the London Institute of Education and, until very recently, Director of Education at the Royal Society. Responses to these newspaper reports were not long in coming. Many of the responses were very hostile, calling for Professor Reiss to be removed from his education post at the Royal Society. One particularly militant atheist, who can always be relied on for a comment, said that having an ordained clergyman as Director of Education at the Royal Society was like a Monty Python sketch (but failed to acknowledge that Professor Reiss has a Cambridge PhD in Zoology and is a strong proponent of evolution). A few days later it was announced that Professor Reiss had agreed to resign from his Royal Society post.

By E Genis UK.

Education Policy Resource.