Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

“His service has not been incompetent, illegal or out of bounds,”

TEXAS UPDATE (Breaking News)

Quote:

Senate removes controversial education leader
(By Gary Scharrer, San Antonio Express-News, May 28, 2009)

McLeroy is a devout Christian who believes in creationism and the notion that the Earth is about 6,000 years old.
(In other words, he's an idiot.)

The Senate seldom rejects gubernatorial appointments. The Senate’s blocking of McLeroy will force Gov. Rick Perry to appoint a new board leader. McLeroy will keep his spot as a board member.
(What if the new guy is worse than the old guy?)

New Website Seeks To Convince Of Darwin's Faults
(By Graeme McMillan, io9.com, May 29 2009)

Do science and faith always have to be at odds? You may not believe so, but the intelligent-design-happy Discovery Institute is ready to teach you otherwise " I mean, "help you explore the question" " with their new website, faith + evolution.

The website itself presents itself as entirely impartial:
"According to noted biologist Richard Dawkins, Darwinian evolution makes it possible to become an intellectually fulfilled atheist. According to Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project, evolution is perfectly compatible with his Christian faith. Who is right? And why does it matter? This website is designed to help you find out. Here you will find articles, debates, video and audio, discussion questions, and other free resources as you explore the issues surrounding faith and evolution."

However, it's the work of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute, a conservative think tank that advocates the teaching of intelligent design in schools (Although they position doing so as a choice that protects academic freedom); according to New Scientist, the site may have been created to stop Christians becoming too enamored with the idea of scientific freedom:

The new website appears to be a response to the recent launch of the BioLogos Foundation, the brainchild of geneticist Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project and rumoured Obama appointee-to-be for head of the National Institutes of Health. Along with "a team of scientists who believe in God" and some cash from the Templeton Foundation, Collins, an evangelical Christian who is also a staunch proponent of evolution, is on a crusade to convince believers that faith and science need not be at odds... The Discovery Institute has now made it crystal clear that they have no interest in reconciling science and religion " instead, they want their brand of religion to replace science. Which makes it all the more concerning when their new website includes resources and curricula for high-school biology classes, and promotes the pseudoscientific documentary film "Expelled" as part of their campaign to introduce non-scientific alternatives to evolution under the banner of "academic freedom".

The faith + evolution site seeks not only to argue against evolution, but those behind the theory as well, linking to articles claiming that Darwin's tacit approval of slavery as "natural" and, oddly enough, sites set up specifically to refute PBS documentaries about Darwin. Links supposedly to sites discussing evolution instead lead to more sites owned by the Discovery Institute, and the educational curriculum offered by the site offers no independent (or even pro-evolution) basis for learning. Here's hoping that those seeking to come to terms with the conflict between faith and science will start somewhere a little less... narrow-minded.

The better theory is the one that explains more (ID explains nothing), that explains with greater precision (ID has nothing to be precise about), and that allows us to make better predictions (ID makes no predictions)." Karl Popper (1902-1994)

What IDers tell us is that god built in evolution in his plans.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry must find a leader for the State Board of Education
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial, June 1, 2009)

It is overly optimistic to say the Senate’s rejection of Don McLeroy as chairman of the State Board of Education will end the missteps and arguments that have plagued the board during the past two years. Still, we can hope.

It’s up to Gov. Rick Perry to find the next board leader. Perry’s the one who has to divine the message of the Senate’s vote Thursday. That’s not as easy as it might seem, because 19 voted to confirm McLeroy’s appointment. That’s a majority, but it’s two members shy of the two-thirds vote needed for confirmation.

Perry can use that vote however he wants. Knowing Perry, he’d probably do whatever he wants anyway " or whatever he sees as most politically advantageous.

Still, we can hope that he will name someone who can work through the deep philosophical and ideological divides on the board, which include not only divergent views on education but also on the role of religion in education. The governor should name a leader who can rise above these divides and, well, lead.

That needn’t require always seeking consensus on the board, but it should mean that all members feel that their arguments are heard and treated fairly. That wasn’t true under McLeroy last year, when the board adopted new English language arts curriculum standards.

The board’s most recent factionalism came during discussions of science curriculum standards, and McLeroy led the faction that pushed for teaching students about adding creationism and intelligent design. That debate exploded into what was taken as inserting religion into public school classrooms.

Some would argue that it wasn’t that at all, that it was an attempt to teach all theories of mankind’s origins. If that’s the case, McLeroy was not effective in getting the message across.

Indeed, he struggled during the debate. His point seemed to be that "experts" are wrong when they say evolution is the foundation of modern biology. He said genetics, the study of heredity and variation in similar or related animals, provides that foundation.

He called evolution "philosophical speculation" that reflects a certain religious viewpoint. Other views should be presented in classrooms as well, he said.

Eventually, the state board said schools should be encouraged to scrutinize all sides of scientific theories. That didn’t really settle anything, because many people who back the teaching of evolution say creationism and intelligent design are religion, not science.

McLeroy’s hometown senator, Steve Ogden of Bryan, said during the confirmation debate last week that rejecting McLeroy’s nomination would send a message that would be interpreted by some Texans as "if you are a conservative, if you believe in the infallibility and the literacy of the Bible, there’s no need to apply to be on the State Board of Education."

That’s an inaccurate interpretation. The message is that, with the record he has established during the past two years, Don McLeroy and his supporters could not convince enough senators that he is the right man for the job.

He wasn’t. The person who leads the board must realize that the job will not be to steer the board but to lead it. There’s a big difference.

The process of setting curriculum standards and the other tasks assigned to the state board can be led efficiently, confidently and fairly by a person who aims to facilitate debate and not fan fires. Perry must pick that person. It’s about helping an important state body set the best policies for public education.

the deep philosophical and ideological divides on the board,

Texas seems to be trying to practice a kind of Sharia law for Christian Fundamentalists. Then they bitch about their Constitutional righst (while walking all over very one elses)

Then they bitch about their Constitutional righst (while walking all over very one elses)