next »

[collegekidsmom]

I have never heard of "Catholic biology." Biology is biology.
My kids went to Catholic schools here and there and always had the same biology texts that everyone else was using. The one school made a point of telling the parents on back to school night that they were teaching the same science that any other school would teach and that parents should not expect any sort of difference in science education than a public school would teach.

[zharkov]

I have never heard of "Catholic biology." Biology is biology.
My kids went to Catholic schools here and there and always had the same biology texts that everyone else was using. The one school made a point of telling the parents on back to school night that they were teaching the same science that any other school would teach and that parents should not expect any sort of difference in science education than a public school would teach.

Although my kids don't go to Catholic schools, that seems the position of Catholic schools that my friends' kids attend.  The "pitch" is that grads are well prepared for college, including STEM fields.  Also, I was watching cable TV a couple of week back, and they had an ad for the Catholic Church.  In addition to the usual spiritual stuff, they  made the claim that the church operates hundreds of universities around the world, where "important scientific discoveries are made every day."   Even if that may be an exaggeration, the mainstream CC seems very comfortable with regular science.

So OP, is this HS you are involved with sponsored by some sort of reactionary organization?  (For want of a better term.)  There are fringe groups within the church that, among other things, are bothered by evolution, and view JP and Benedict as way liberal, leading the CC in the wrong direction. 

[glowdart]

I have never heard of "Catholic biology." Biology is biology.
My kids went to Catholic schools here and there and always had the same biology texts that everyone else was using. The one school made a point of telling the parents on back to school night that they were teaching the same science that any other school would teach and that parents should not expect any sort of difference in science education than a public school would teach.

Likewise.  (Sans kids, but the rest.)

Perhaps you could supplement a regular biology textbook with some Papal decrees or other Church documents on the Church's position on various biological topics instead?  Human cloning, stem cell research, etc.  

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences might be of help for this approach:  http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdscien/

[oldadjunct]

As the parent of three children who graduated from two different Catholic  high schools, I was also puzzled by this question.  As many others have mentioned there is no such thing as "Catholic biology" distinct from standard, accepted evolutionary theory.

[offthemarket]

I used to teach at a Catholic university. A lot of the students coming into introductory science classes from Catholic high schools were skeptical about evolution. Sure, officially the church teaches that you should leave science to the scientists, but on the ground, the people teaching in these schools may very well be creationists. Keep in mind that most science teachers in Catholic schools lack certification.

[slinger]

No, there's not "Catholic Biology."  But there are differing ways to approach Biology and to write a textbook.  One is (apparently) from a little-bit-crazy-little-bit-wrong-and-not-specifically Catholic perspective, which is the book that they are currently using.  I'm looking for another option: one that approaches from a more sane, more rational, and more accepting place, while still attributing *everything* to the power of God.  

Using a primary text and supplement(s), which would be first response too, is not an option, both for budget and cohesion.  For this particular organization, everything=God=everything, so God invented science, so to have a textbook that does not even mention that, let alone doesn't approach everything from that view, is disrespectful.

So OP, is this HS you are involved with sponsored by some sort of reactionary organization?  (For want of a better term.)  There are fringe groups within the church that, among other things, are bothered by evolution, and view JP and Benedict as way liberal, leading the CC in the wrong direction.  

Kind of, not really.  Not totally fringe, just a bit unconventional, but not in a whackadoodle way.

[fizmath]

I do recall that at my Catholic high school we used textbooks that were identical to the ones used at public schools.  In fact, many of them came from the state textbook loan program.  The only ones that I imagine would want to have something different are the ones that are known as "independent" Catholic schools.  They are started by a group of families independent of the local diocese.

[oldadjunct]

I used to teach at a Catholic university. A lot of the students coming into introductory science classes from Catholic high schools were skeptical about evolution. Sure, officially the church teaches that you should leave science to the scientists, but on the ground, the people teaching in these schools may very well be creationists. Keep in mind that most science teachers in Catholic schools lack certification.

I suppose this may be regional, but in New England Catholic high schools generally hire only state certified teachers.  At one of the two high schools, the biology teacher was a retired Ph.D., at the second an MA.  Both were also certified.  In my experience there are fewer and fewer private high schools of any stripe that waive state certification.

Leaving aside for the moment that "certification" means "qualification", the assertion that "most [+50%] science teachers in Catholic schools lack certification", really does need some support.

[offthemarket]

In my 'hood, there are a ton of catholic schools. As a principle, all of the high school science teachers lack the single subject credential required by the state. And it's not just a matter of paperwork, they lack the training and the coursework that would be required to get one. That's why they teach at the catholic schools, and get paid a lot less in the process.

[ejb_123]

As the parent of three children who graduated from two different Catholic  high schools, I was also puzzled by this question.  As many others have mentioned there is no such thing as "Catholic biology" distinct from standard, accepted evolutionary theory.

Perhaps what this particular school is looking for is a biology textbook that focuses on theistic evolution. If this is so, I can understand why the school would not like the Young Earth Creationist textbooks that reject evolution (at least "macro-evolution") or the secular biology textbooks that would favor a secular and what might be perceived by some individuals as an atheistic evolution.

[oldadjunct]

In my 'hood, there are a ton of catholic schools. As a principle, all of the high school science teachers lack the single subject credential required by the state. And it's not just a matter of paperwork, they lack the training and the coursework that would be required to get one. That's why they teach at the catholic schools, and get paid a lot less in the process.

That both surprises and saddens me.  And, to be honest, I seriously doubt that, "As a principle, all of the high school science teachers lack the single subject credential...." Particularly when talking about "a ton of catholic schools."  Did you actually weigh them?  Wouldn't a ton of school be less than one room?  Just curious.

Not for nothing, generally we capitalize the names of religions.

[bwwm1]

I'm looking for another option: one that approaches from a more sane, more rational, and more accepting place, while still attributing *everything* to the power of God.  

It seems to me that this is outside of the realm of biology and a quite unhelpful simplification. Like others have said, there is no Catholic biology. Why not just teach ordinary biology, and leave the theology to the religion/theology/philosophy class?

[ejb_123]

I'm looking for another option: one that approaches from a more sane, more rational, and more accepting place, while still attributing *everything* to the power of God.  

It seems to me that this is outside of the realm of biology and a quite unhelpful simplification. Like others have said, there is no Catholic biology. Why not just teach ordinary biology, and leave the theology to the religion/theology/philosophy class?

As I previously mentioned, I think what this school probably really wants is a textbook that discusses theistic evolution. Theistic evolution is not exclusively Catholic, but it is the kind of evolution that Catholics accept.

[spork]

I'm looking for another option: one that approaches from a more sane, more rational, and more accepting place, while still attributing *everything* to the power of God.  

It seems to me that this is outside of the realm of biology and a quite unhelpful simplification. Like others have said, there is no Catholic biology. Why not just teach ordinary biology, and leave the theology to the religion/theology/philosophy class?

As I previously mentioned, I think what this school probably really wants is a textbook that discusses theistic evolution. Theistic evolution is not exclusively Catholic, but it is the kind of evolution that Catholics accept.

No it's not. The Catholic intellectual tradition is based upon the human mind's capacity for reason. Through reason one gets at Truth (yes, that's capitalized).

[oldadjunct]

I'm looking for another option: one that approaches from a more sane, more rational, and more accepting place, while still attributing *everything* to the power of God.  

It seems to me that this is outside of the realm of biology and a quite unhelpful simplification. Like others have said, there is no Catholic biology. Why not just teach ordinary biology, and leave the theology to the religion/theology/philosophy class?

As I previously mentioned, I think what this school probably really wants is a textbook that discusses theistic evolution. Theistic evolution is not exclusively Catholic, but it is the kind of evolution that Catholics accept.

No it's not. The Catholic intellectual tradition is based upon the human mind's capacity for reason. Through reason one gets at Truth (yes, that's capitalized).

Yes, there is no nuance in the Catholic/Vatican acceptance of evolutionary science. Are there "out there" Catholic schools?  I have no doubt there are, though I have never encountered one even when I was in a seminary. FWIW, it would be hard to over emphasize how far I am from being a Vatican/Catholic apologist.

"Theistic evolution," properly understood, has no role in a biology textbook or classroom. Rather, the biology teachers teach the science, the religion/theology teachers teach how the science fits into the religious world view.