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Biology education vids that stick to biology … not too much to hope, after all?

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Leslie Samuel
Leslie Samuel

Recently, we noted that Dr. Khan, of the Khan Academy education vids, seems to fancy himself a theologian and – on that basis – attacks design in nature in one of them.

(Just in case your kid isn’t getting enough religion in Sunday school, Khan thoughtfully provides that too – but is it a religion you accept?)

This revelation left some parents scrambling for an alternative (lucky them if they have any say!) A friend points us to Interactive Biology (“Struggling with Biology? We’ll Make it Fun.”) for high schoolers.

Here’s the teacher behind it:

We all know that there are MANY people out there who don’t like biology. Ok, ok, there are even many out there who HATE it with a Passion. I know . . . it’s hard to believe – such a fascinating topic with so much valuable information and people actually don’t like it. Can you fancy that?

Here’s the thing – I have a theory. My theory is that most people who don’t like it, don’t like it because of the way it was taught to them – A bunch of $100 words …

Our friend comments,

Unlike Khan Academy, I couldn’t find any videos on Darwin or evolution…. just straight biology. What a concept: teaching biology without Darwin. Is that good or bad? (What? You mean no just-so stories?)

Let’s hope there are no just-so stories! It’s nice that we don’t currently have the least idea whether Dr. Samuel thinks, BioLogos-style, “God would have/wouldn’t have done it that way.”

If your kid wants religion at school, tell him to sign up in the Comparative Religion course or the World Philosophy course.

Biology is the study of what actually does or did happen, not what we think about God.

Question?: Why is theology the only discipline where just anybody at all can fancy himself a theologian, and never fear looking foolish?

Update:  Dr. Samuel writes to say:

Howdy, Thanks for the writeup about my Biology Site. It’s interesting that you noted this because I intentionally stay away from the whole creation-evolution debate, for a number of reasons.

I’ve seen how that debate can get, and I know that you can have a quality biology site without going into that those topics.

p.s. The site mainly targets University level students, but also contains High School Biology resources.

Good stuff,prof!

Comments
Say more, Rob, about the Darwinist tenure-track prof they did hire" who "went nuts and shot her colleagues."? On line anywhere? Did Darwinism play a role? it'd be no new thing, but ...News
September 28, 2011
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I have a good friend that taught biology at a state university. Did a great job. Created the course in cell biology (or was it Genetics.) But they didn't offer him a tenure track position. He went off to work at a thinktank, and probably is happy to escape the faculty intrigues. Eight years later the Darwinist tenure-track prof they did hire went nuts and shot her colleagues. So I asked him before he left, whether Darwinism was part of the curriculum or research. He said that everyone makes a kowtow at the end of their research paper about how this supports Evolution, but in reality it has no bearing on the research, either the hypothesis or the experiment design or the conclusions. It's irrelevant. Dr Samuel is not just being political, he's being a good researcher.Robert Sheldon
September 28, 2011
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Hello writer, Your article defines biology as "the study of what actually does or did happen", but according to the dictionary, biology is "the science of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, especially with reference to origin, growth, reproduction, structure, and behavior." I think that includes what people may believe God thinks about it, along with what did or does happen. I agree that if kids want religion, they could choose to sign up for it, but can't they also choose whether or not to look at the sources you gave as well? If someone wants to teach biology and talk about what God, Ghandi, or Obama thinks about it, then I think it's appropriate, especially if it works for some people and aligns with their values. I can understand not pushing one's beliefs on another, but whether or not you agree, Darwinism is a belief and it is being pressed upon Christians in their classrooms daily. If there are teachers out there who are catering to students' spiritual values while learning the fundamentals of biology, then they should be congratulated for taking on such a difficult task (since you implied that the two are not related). I encourage you to look at biology outside of "what does or did happen", because it is a beautiful, complex, and important science and I think any other biology professional would agree that it is much more than "what does or did happen". Thank you for writing this article, and being open to readers' comments.marjswann
September 28, 2011
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OT: Casey Luskin just posted part 6 of 8 in his series refuting Venema: Another Bogus Claim of "Novel Function Arising Through Mutation and Selection" Casey Luskin http://www.evolutionnews.org/2011/09/another_bogus_claim_of_novel_f051251.htmlbornagain77
September 28, 2011
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Howdy, Thanks for the writeup about my Biology Site. It's interesting that you noted this because I intentionally stay away from the whole creation-evolution debate, for a number of reasons. I've seen how that debate can get, and I know that you can have a quality biology site without going into that those topics. p.s. The site mainly targets University level students, but also contains High School Biology resources.Lrsamuel
September 28, 2011
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