Texas School Board Set to Vote on Challenge to Evolution

[ihavebeenseen]

The chairmen (Dr. mind you) of the Texas school board believes that the earth was created 10K years ago. The earth went through dinosaurs, massive extinctions and massive tectonic shifts in 10K years. Are these people mental? What ******* huge step backwards if this happens.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123777413372910705.html



The Texas Board of Education will vote this week on a new science curriculum designed to challenge the guiding principle of evolution, a step that could influence what is taught in biology classes across the nation.

The proposed curriculum change would prompt teachers to raise doubts that all life on Earth is descended from common ancestry. Texas is such a huge textbook market that many publishers write to the state's standards, then market those books nationwide.

"This is the most specific assault I've seen against evolution and modern science," said Steven Newton, a project director at the National Center for Science Education, which promotes teaching of evolution.

Texas school board chairman Don McLeroy also sees the curriculum as a landmark -- but a positive one.

Associated Press
Rev. Carl W. Rohlfs of the University United Methodist Church in Austin, left, talks with Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller, right, Thursday in Austin. The State Board of Education is voting on science-curriculum standards on the teaching of evolution.
Dr. McLeroy believes that God created the earth less than 10,000 years ago. If the new curriculum passes, he says he will insist that high-school biology textbooks point out specific aspects of the fossil record that, in his view, undermine the theory that all life on Earth is descended from primitive scraps of genetic material that first emerged in the primordial muck about 3.9 billion years ago.

He also wants the texts to make the case that individual cells are far too complex to have evolved by chance mutation and natural selection, an argument popular with those who believe an intelligent designer created the universe.

The textbooks will "have to say that there's a problem with evolution -- because there is," said Dr. McLeroy, a dentist. "We need to be honest with the kids."

The vast majority of scientists accept evolution as the best explanation for the diversity of life on earth.

Yes, they say, there are unanswered questions -- transitional fossils yet to be unearthed, biological processes still to be discovered. There is lively scientific debate about some aspects of evolution's winding, four-billion-year path. But when critics talk about exposing students to the "weaknesses" or "insufficiencies" in evolutionary theory, many mainstream scientists cringe.

The fossil record clearly supports evolution, they say, and students shouldn't be exposed to creationist critiques in the name of "critical thinking."

"We will be teaching nonsense in the science classroom," said David Hillis, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Polls show many Americans are skeptical of or confused by evolution; in a recent survey by Gallup, 39% said they believe the theory, 25% said they didn't, and 36% had no opinion.

The Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank that challenges evolution, cites a recent Zogby poll that found a strong majority of Americans supports letting teachers explore both "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution. Otherwise, students see only "cherry-picked evidence that really amounts to propaganda," said John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute.

The Texas school board will vote after taking public testimony in a three-day meeting that starts Wednesday. Dr. McLeroy leads a group of seven social conservatives on the 15-member board. They are opposed by a bipartisan group of seven, often joined by an eighth board member considered a swing vote, that support teaching evolution without caveats.

Neither side is confident of victory. All members of the board have come under enormous pressure in recent months, especially three Republicans who support teaching evolution without references to "weaknesses." The state Republican Party passed a resolution urging the three to back Dr. McLeroy's preferred curriculum. A conservative activist group put out a news release suggesting all three were in the pocket of "militant Darwinists."

One of the three, former social-studies teacher Pat Hardy, said she has received thousands of impassioned calls and emails.

Ms. Hardy says she intends to stand firm for evolution, but she has learned not to predict what her colleagues might do. Curriculum standards critical of evolution won preliminary approval in January, but several board members said later that they hadn't understood the issues.

"Anything can happen," Ms. Hardy said.

Write to Stephanie Simon at stephanie.simon@wsj.com

[eirin]

I don't really understand what the board would have to gain by changing it now. It'd pull as backward in rankings as far as science goes. Where evolution is the standard, we'd be teaching kids something else...and they'd be the ones being left behind. Our schools are already some of the worst in the nation.

Hopefully they'll be considering that.

[portyhead]

The textbooks will "have to say that there's a problem with evolution -- because there is," said Dr. McLeroy, a dentist. "We need to be honest with the kids."

I'd really like to hear what problems with evolution he's found. "Because there is" just sounds desperate and very unconvincing.

[eirin]

^ Especially considering creationism is not explicable in the least. The only thing you can quantify it on is faith. And even after that, how can you back it up scientifically? That's the argument I'd like to hear.

[darkblood]

So does this mean we can require churches to say in each sermon that their religion may not be entirely factual?

[Matt777]

Leading Texas scientists urge state board to reject anti-evolution effort


WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Leading members of the Texas scientific community, in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), have urged the Texas State Board of Education to reject amendments to the state's draft science standards that would undermine sound science teaching.

The board is to take a final vote on the standards on Friday after taking public testimony in a three-day meeting that starts Wednesday.

In a letter to Chairman Don McLeroy, who believes that God created the earth less than 10,000 years ago and the other members of the Texas board on Monday, the scientists said certain amendments, introduced and approved during the January 2009 board meeting, "would mislead students should they make it into the final standards."

Among the concerns, the scientists say, is an amendment to the biology standards that attacks one of evolution's key principles: that all living organisms on Earth are descended from a common ancestor.

The pending amendment says students should "analyze and evaluate the sufficiency and insufficiency of common ancestry." But scientists say there is no real argument about common ancestry, one of the foundational concepts of evolution.

"The scientific consensus is that evolution is the backbone of modern biology and many other fields of science, underlying advances in areas such as agriculture and medicine," the scientists write. They note that the board "did the students of Texas a great service" when it earlier rejected insertion of language in the science standards that spoke of the "weaknesses" of evolution.

Critics fear that the amendment, using the terms "sufficiency and insufficiency," is little different from the earlier effort to raise questions about evolution. Downplaying evolution's place in science "only serves to confuse students," the scientists say in their letter to the board.

The letter also notes that pending revisions to the Earth and Space Science standards "introduce unwarranted uncertainty to long-settled scientific issues" such as the processes of planet formation.

"We urge you to vote for removing anti-science changes to the draft standards and protect the future of science education and technology-based industry in Texas," the scientists write.

The letter was signed by Alan Leshner, chief executive officer of AAAS, and David Daniel, president of the University of Texas at Dallas. They were joined by 23 others, including Francisco Cigarroa, chancellor of the University of Texas System, and Robert Curl, a Nobel laureate in chemistry at Rice University.

Evolution has become a polarizing topic in the United States in recent years. A recent poll conducted by Gallup shows many Americans are skeptical of or confused by evolution: 39 percent said they believe the theory, 25 percent said they didn't, and 36 percent had no opinion.



There are plenty of people who won't let this happen.

[orthr]

I'd really like to hear what problems with evolution he's found. "Because there is" just sounds desperate and very unconvincing.
First of all, There is such a low chance that the right elements would combine to create a strand of DNA or even a cell. It is so small, that it is impossible. Second of all, It is a theory. that means that scientists have the idea, but they can't actually prove all of it. If scientist were to come up with enough evidence, then they would be able to prove that evolution is true. Lastly, If we force all the students to believe that we all evolved from a single cell of bacteria, then that would violate the Constitution of the U.S. It would violate our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Those are some of the problems with evolution.

[aisforadam]

First of all, There is such a low chance that the right elements would combine to create a strand of DNA or even a cell. It is so small, that it is impossible. Second of all, It is a theory. that means that scientists have the idea, but they can't actually prove all of it. If scientist were to come up with enough evidence, then they would be able to prove that evolution is true.

A scientific theory is different from a the vernacular use of the word, othr. In everyday language a theory means a hunch or speculation. In science, the word "theory" refers to a comprehensive explanation of an important feature of nature supported by facts gathered over time. I.E. in science, gravity is a theory but we're pretty darn sure it exists.


Lastly, If we force all the students to believe that we all evolved from a single cell of bacteria, then that would violate the Constitution of the U.S. It would violate our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Those are some of the problems with evolution.

It's not any more a violation than forcing them to make students learn math, history, or grammar.... or making an atheist sit through a "moment of silence" or making any student stand for the pledge. Making someone "learn" is not the same as forcing someone to "believe."

There is a simple solution for all of this.

*Cut out any references to any religion in science class, it has no place there.
*Evolution should be taught in HS only, b/c elementary and most middle school kids wouldn't understand
(I mean come on, most adult social conservatives don't even understand it).
*Lastly in high school, those who believe in creationism, should have an opportunity to take a religions class, where they can study major world religions and their views on creationism and other things. B/c lets be fair, if they're gonna learn the Abrahamic religions versions, they should learn the other religions versions as well

[incrediculous]

First of all, There is such a low chance that the right elements would combine to create a strand of DNA or even a cell. It is so small, that it is impossible. Second of all, It is a theory. that means that scientists have the idea, but they can't actually prove all of it. If scientist were to come up with enough evidence, then they would be able to prove that evolution is true. Lastly, If we force all the students to believe that we all evolved from a single cell of bacteria, then that would violate the Constitution of the U.S. It would violate our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Those are some of the problems with evolution.

Please don't take this the wrong way. Does reading and thinking scare you? I'm really asking.

[aisforadam]

First of all, There is such a low chance that the right elements would combine to create a strand of DNA or even a cell. It is so small, that it is impossible. Second of all, It is a theory. that means that scientists have the idea, but they can't actually prove all of it. If scientist were to come up with enough evidence, then they would be able to prove that evolution is true. Lastly, If we force all the students to believe that we all evolved from a single cell of bacteria, then that would violate the Constitution of the U.S. It would violate our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Those are some of the problems with evolution.

othr, a scientific theory is not the same as a theory it's common usage. In science even gravity is a theory, although it's existence is undeniable.

as for "forcing to believe" making someone learn something is not making them believe it, and as far as it goes against freedom of speech and religion, 1 forcing any kid to learn anything they don't want to goes against those rights, 2 teaching creationism violates freedom of religion, b/c everyone knows that only the judeo-chrisitian view will be taught, so you are forcing anyone of another or no religion to learn someone elses religion.

If christian parents want their childern to learn the bible, they should take their kids to church and bible study. A major world religions elective class in all texas hs is also an option

[portyhead]

First of all, There is such a low chance that the right elements would combine to create a strand of DNA or even a cell. It is so small, that it is impossible. Second of all, It is a theory. that means that scientists have the idea, but they can't actually prove all of it. If scientist were to come up with enough evidence, then they would be able to prove that evolution is true. Lastly, If we force all the students to believe that we all evolved from a single cell of bacteria, then that would violate the Constitution of the U.S. It would violate our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Those are some of the problems with evolution.

Well, science has given me an INCREDIBLE AMOUNT of factual information and proof to where we as civil, critical thinking humans can, at the very least, surmise possibilites and probabilities. Religion has given me a bunch of hearsay and mysticism. I'll go with science. :Banana09:

[tamtagon]

I don't think any kind of special or extra-emphasized disclaimers should be iterated to children when they are taught about the Theory of Evolution in science class. I also think World Religion should be a subject in public schools.... maybe not mandatory, but I think American school children would benefit from -- I think our children need -- a general awareness and comprehension of the various religions used by people around the world to express belief in God(s).