Quote Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost
Don, you pre-empted me as I was writing!

If what you say is true, then the schools of America are indeed letting their children down badly.

If I accept the standards of teaching are so low in biology teaching, does the same attitude prevail in teaching the other sciences: ie Science is Truth, Don't be Misled by Facts?

If not, might the biology failure be down to an over-reaction to the threats of creationists trying to hijack the school agenda? Might teachers be unwilling to even address other theories because it would be the slippery slope to creationists demanding no critical analysis of the Bible story?*

*See the unyielding Navaros.
Sadly, yes. The scientific method, or as I like to call it, thinking for oneself in an orderly, repeatable way, doesn't really get taught until the University level. Chemistry, physics, geology... they're all taught like Organic Chemistry.... semesters, if not years, of memorizing a series of facts Sometimes these facts are logically related, often they are not. Always, they are facts and why is an unheard question. The scientific method is 'taught', in that the 4 phases are presented as additional material for memorization, but true critique and analysis doesn't begin until after secondary school.