Third state education board vote mandates teaching students challenges to evolution
The State Board of Education this afternoon rejected efforts to continue to require Texas children to learn the “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories including evolution. But a narrower challenge to evolutionary theory was approved.
Two motions to leave the “strengths and weaknesses” language, or similar phrasing, in place failed. It was a defeat for a group of conservative board members who have been pushing to keep the phrase, which has been part of the Texas science curriculum for all public school students since 1988.
The latest little skirmish in the culture wars.
nigels Commentary, Texas, USA creationism, darwin, evolution, intelligent design, religion, Texas
As reported by the Austin American Statesman and Texas Freedom Network, the religous right have nominated several evolution deniers to a curriculum review panel.
“It’s simply stunning that any state board members would even consider appointing authors of an anti-evolution textbook to a panel of scientists,” she said. “Are they coming here to help write good science standards or to drum up a market for their lousy textbook?”
The textbook, Explore Evolution, is intended for secondary schools and colleges, according to its U.S. distributor, the anti-evolution Discovery Institute in Seattle. Because of that, the State Board of Education could consider it for the state’s approved list of science textbooks in 2011.
The decisions made by the curriculum review panel may well affect what is taught to our daughter in biology class here in Texas.
Nigel Stewart Commentary, Texas education, evolution, science, Texas
New legal threat to teaching evolution in the US
…The new legislation is the latest manoeuvre in a long-running war to challenge the validity of Darwinian evolution as an accepted scientific fact in American classrooms…
…The act is designed to slip ID in “through the back door”, says Forrest, who is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University and an expert in the history of creationism. She adds that the bill’s language, which names evolution along with global warming, the origins of life and human cloning as worthy of “open and objective discussion”, is an attempt to misrepresent evolution as scientifically controversial…
Slashdot: Louisiana Passes Intelligent Design Law
Nigel Stewart Commentary, USA creationism, evolution, intelligent design, science
