After railing against the use of intelligent design in classrooms, I felt it only fair to offer up an opinion that shows maybe, just maybe, it’s not such a horrible thing after all. In today’s Washington Post, metro columnist Jay Mathews argues that presenting the concept would actually enhance learning. He makes a compelling argument:

Drop in on an average biology class and you will find the same slow, deadening march of memorization that I endured at 15. Why not enliven this with a student debate on contrasting theories? Why not have an intelligent design advocate stop by to be interrogated? Many students, like me, find it hard to understand evolutionary theory, and the scientific method itself, until they are illuminated by contrasting points of view.

When you put it like that, it makes it hard to disagree with, whether you believe the theory is being pushed through by the religious right.