Local lessons

The effort by a state representative from Camdenton, Mo., to legislate what science teachers in public schools can say about the origins of life appears to be the result of good intentions by a faithful believer who sees more than evolutionary accident at work.

The bill introduced in the Missouri House by Dr. Wayne Cooper, a physician, would require that the theory of intelligent design receive as much attention as evolution theory in school lessons and textbooks.

Cooper said his objective is to improve science instruction, make textbooks more accurate and create academic freedom.

The theory of intelligent design holds that an unidentified source of intelligence is responsible for all species of life.

"There are no significant mechanisms of present-day experiments to prove the naturalistic development of earth's species from microscopic organisms," the bill reads.

This would make a wonderful Sunday-school lesson, but there doesn't seem to be any compelling need for a state law to force all schools to teach this theory.

Local school districts in Missouri have historically made their own curriculum decisions based on a statewide framework that doesn't include many specifics.

Currently, it would be possible for a local board to adopt textbooks that include content about intelligent design. Such a decision would be based on what a community wants and is willing to accept.

Dr. Cooper might argue that local school boards are too timid to include intelligent design in a district's curriculum.

But the authority of local districts to make prudent decisions about what is being taught in public schools has been eroded enough.

Dr. Cooper's bill would take away even more local authority.

Communities with strong religious institutions offer ample opportunities to instill concepts of creation in the minds of the faithful.