The discussion about teaching Intelligent Design in addition to Evolutionary Theory has me puzzled. What would an ID curriculum look like? It seems to me that you could teach the whole idea in one paragraph: "Some biological structures appear to some observers to be irreducibly complex such that they are led to infer that they were designed by an intelligent entity. It is presently not possible to infer anything about the posited designer or to formulate any meaningful research design based on this notion."
On the other hand, it is possible that ID could be used as a pedagogical tool to instruct students in the nature of science, the meaning and uses of scientific theory, research design, and the disconnect between science and religion. ID is a perfect foil. Challenge students to devise a program of research based on ID and to compare ID and ET side by side for usefulness, evidence, consistency with scientific canons, and the like. Also, include brief instruction in various origin myths and discuss whether a program of scientific research might be predicated on any of them. Discuss openly the politics behind teaching ID and ET.
Some students will inevitably buy into ID or an origin narrative based on a supernatural premise, but we need not worry that we have lost a potential Einstein or an evolutionary scientist. Rather, we will probably have a misinformed carnival worker whose lack of biological insight will be irrelevant. Meanwhile, the parents of said future carnival worker will have their religious concerns addressed. Besides, we can probably expect a steady supply of well educated scientists from abroad for years to come.
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