A great dialog is going on right now in the midst of the Dover, PA school district’s defense of insisting that teachers read a statement in biology classes that upgrades Intelligent Design to the level of Darwin’s and Wallace’s concept of natural selection and the theory of evolution. The trial also demonstrated the legal power available to both sides in the case. The plaintiffs’ side, is being represented by the ACLU and the the school district is being represented by the Thomas More Law Center, a faith-based legal center. The trial centers on an examination of controversial idea of Intelligent Design. Of course the real issue is played out in the classrooms of high school biology where evolution is a central concept and organizing idea for understanding the development, origin and study of living things on the Earth.

Here students are making observations and measurements of fossil brachiopods collected from two different strata of sedimentary rocks (see below) from the Paleozoic Era. They are trying to find out if there are any significant differences in the brachiopods (length and width) in the two different layers of rock.

The trial is in its sixth week. I’ve been reading the court transcripts on line, and you can keep up with the proceedings too by checking out the trial transcipts.