Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

Seven of the 15 seats - five held by Republicans and two by Democrats - are up for grabs Nov. 4.

With Republicans currently holding a 10-5 majority on the board, the election has at least the potential to change control of the body.....

Freedom Communications, Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California, owns more than 75 publications newspapers in the US, with a combined daily circulation of more than 1.2 million subscribers, and also operates over seventy local news websites. The broadcast division includes eight television stations, including five CBS network affiliates, one CW Television Network affiliate and two ABC network affiliates.

"We should teach students 21st-century science, not some watered-down version with phony arguments that nonscientists disingenuously call ‘weaknesses,'" coalition member Sahotra Sarkar, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin, said recently. "Calling ‘intelligent design' arguments a ‘weakness' of evolution is like calling alchemy a ‘weakness' of chemistry, or astrology a ‘weakness' of astronomy."

But the differences between Berlanga and Johnston aren't limited to the subject of science education. They also have different views on what should be included in history books.

Evolution can’t be ignored in board of ed race
(By Scott Rothschild, Lawrence Journal-World, October 21, 2008)

The race for the District 4 seat on the State Board of Education heated up Monday over the issue of teaching evolution during a debate.

Democrat Carolyn Campbell said she supports the current science standards that teach evolution and would not change them. The 10-member State Board of Education has been embroiled in battles over evolution and intelligent design for years.

Republican Robert Meissner also said he supports the current science standards. He said he would consider allowing other theories of origin to be taught only if the scientific community came to a consensus.

“The litmus test for me is scientific credibility,” Meissner said.

Later in the forum at Free State High School, Campbell implied Meissner was open to the idea of putting intelligent design in the science curriculum.

“With Carolyn Campbell you never get a hidden agenda. It is always what is best for the children,” she said. After the debate, she noted Meissner received a contribution from the Free Academic Integrity and Research Committee, which has supported critics of evolution in past education board contests.

But Meissner denied having a hidden agenda. “My only agenda is serving kids,” he said.

He said he has had no contact with the group or filled out a questionnaire for it. He said he concludes it contributed to his campaign because it determined he was the best-qualified candidate.

Both candidates have served on area school boards for 12 years " Campbell on the Topeka school board and Meissner on the Shawnee Heights school board.

The contest is for the position that includes most of Lawrence.

Meissner ran for the same position in 2004 and lost in a close vote to Democrat Bill Wagnon, who is not seeking re-election.

Both candidates said providing adequate funding for education and retaining and recruiting teachers would be their top priorities.

Asked whether they would support taxpayer-funded vouchers for students to attend private schools, Meissner said he would consider the proposal only if the private school provided the same level of services to all students as the public schools. Campbell said she opposed the idea.

It seems that Republican Meissner has the same standards as Democrat Campbell, but being Republican he can't come down so hard on creationism, (since so many Republicans are creationists, IDers, etc).

So Meissner doesn't slam the door on creationism, he only says he'll teach it when scientists come to a consensus that it's true. Which essentially means never, but Meissner can't say that.

The Republicans really make life hard for whatever reasonable people they have in their party, don't they?

There is also the possibilty that Meissner is articulating a new "stealth" strategy when he said, “The litmus test for me is scientific credibility.” Loosely speaking, Intelligent Design can be described as having scientific credibility.

Suppose you were a Republican who believed in evolution and not abandoning the public school system. How would you phrase it to your fellow GOPers?

Education, sex ed hot topics in school board races
(By MATT FRAZIER, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 22, 2008)

Should science textbooks include the possibility of a supreme creator when evolution is taught?

Should students learn about contraceptives in sex education and health classes?

Should the state’s science curriculum be changed?

Your vote in the State Board of Education contests will help decide.

On Nov. 4, voters will elect almost half of the 15-member State Board of Education, which approves textbooks, creates the state’s curriculum and approves and determines passing scores for the state-mandated assessment program.

Three of those seats represent areas in or near Tarrant County.

The board, which now has 10 Republicans and five Democrats, has drawn national attention recently for its decisions on public school instruction.

These have included:

Continuing an abstinence-only sex education curriculum when the state has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation.

Approving a Bible-study curriculum.

Throwing out a teacher-suggested language arts curriculum in favor of another, which board members say they had only an hour to read before voting on it.

Earlier this month the board appointed three critics of evolution to review new science curriculum standards for the coming decade. One is an official of the Discovery Institute, which promotes teaching doubts that natural selection is responsible for the existence of humans. Critics say that not including such weaknesses in curriculum is censorship of unresolved issues in the theory of evolution.

Teachers and experts who drew up the proposed curriculum say no weakness of evolution should be included.

The Texas Freedom Network says state board members intend to exploit the wording of the existing standards, which requires coverage of "strengths and weaknesses" to introduce religious ideas into classrooms.

This year, some Texas scientists and educators formed the 21st Century Science Coalition to fight any discussion of weaknesses, saying there is no room for the supernatural in science.

District 11
Includes most of Tarrant County as well as Ellis, Johnson and Parker counties. No Democrat entered the race.

Patricia "Pat" Hardy, Republican (incumbent)
Hardy, 59, of Weatherford, spent 30 years teaching social studies at Castleberry High School and five years as a social studies coordinator for the Weatherford school district. She is now coordinating core subject staff development for Weatherford schools.
Evolution: Hardy has described herself as a devout Christian but said that a religious point of view doesn’t have a place in the classroom. She said that textbooks should be clearer on the weaknesses of evolution. She once predicted that the "far right" contingent would try to teach creationism in schools.
Sex ed: She has said she supports abstinence-based education, but not abstinence only.
Curriculum: She has worked to increase requirements in the crucial areas of high school math and science. Voted against the new language arts standards, saying that teacher opinion has not been respected enough.

Bruce Beckman, Libertarian
Beckman, 33, of Haslet, is a recruiter for a small firm specializing in aviation and aerospace. Before that, he worked as a sales representative for Lufthansa German Airlines and United Airlines and as a banker.
Evolution: He opposes teaching any theory because he is opposed to "dogmatic indoctrination" in public schools and believes it unnecessary to address the origins of humanity in biology classes at the elementary, middle or high school level.
Sex ed: He says a school-choice voucher program would allow parents to send their child to a school which teaches a curriculum that meets the needs of their family.
Curriculum: He says more input from teachers and parents should be sought and incorporated into these standards, while input from lobbyists and consultants should be limited or eliminated.

District 13
Includes parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties.

Mavis Best Knight, Democrat (incumbent)
Knight, 62, of Dallas, has served on the board since 2002 and is a community volunteer. She is a member of the North Texas Conference of Bishops Committee, the North Texas Conference of Methodist District Superintendents committee and is active on local, state and national councils of PTA.
Evolution: Knight contends that science should be strictly limited to observable data that can be examined and that intelligent design, if it must be addressed, should be taught in a Bible course. She believes that social conservatives on the board want creationism to be taught in science and biology textbooks.
Sex ed: "I think we need a more comprehensive approach. The abstinence message does not resonate with all students. We need to address the needs of students who need to hear a contraception message as well as an abstinence message so students can make wise choices," she told the Star-Telegram.
Curriculum: "Based on the English arts and reading disaster, I hope the social conservatives have learned that this is not a way to set curriculum standards."

Cindy Werner, Republican
Werner is a Duncanville school board member and has seven children. She is a member of several organizations including the NAACP, NRA, Autism Society of America and Christian Coalition of America.
Evolution: She would vote for textbooks that discuss the weakness of evolution. "In teaching the strengths and weaknesses of evolution such a discussion will open up the possibilities to and would allow for the discussion of intelligent design or creationism."
Sex ed: Werner says reports have shown that an abstinence-only approach does not work unless it is taught more than what is now offered.
Curriculum: "Enhancing the curriculum of all subjects can only help, especially in math, reading and science. A push has been done to start a stronger science curriculum for our elementary students, which would be something I would support." She said she would like to have more time to review curriculum standards than the hour offered recently for the language arts curriculum.

District 14
Makes a 'C’ around the Metroplex, from Sherman to Wichita Falls to Waco. Includes Denton, Hood, Palo Pinto, Somervell and Wise counties.

Edra Bogle, Democrat
Bogle, of Denton, was an English professor at the University of North Texas who retired in 2002. She is a member of the Texas Retired Teacher’s Association, Science Fiction Research Association, American Association of University Professors, American Federation of Teachers and the Gay Academic Union.
Evolution: Bogle says religious beliefs have no place in the public school curriculum.
Sex ed: "Of course abstinence is ideal, but facts show that it is one not appreciated by a fair number of teenagers," she writes on her Web site. "Should they be punished for departing from that idea by a death sentence through HIV or cervical cancer, or for a likely life of poverty due to an unplanned pregnancy?"
Curriculum: She says she saw the average grades of her students fall during the last half of her career and blames it on a weak state curriculum. "I believe in high standards " very high," she says on her Web site.

Gail Lowe, Republican (incumbent)
Lowe, of Lampasas, was first elected in 2002. She is a former trustee of the Lampasas school district. She is an editor for the semi-weekly Lampasas Dispatch Record.
Evolution: Lowe has been quoted in Texas Monthly as incorrectly stating that the National Academy of Sciences does not consider evolution a fact. She supports teaching the strengths and limitations of the theory of evolution, according to information provided to the League of Women Voters.
Sex ed: She supports abstinence-only education and says local school leaders should decide which approach is best for their community.
Curriculum: She says she has helped strengthen the graduation requirements and curriculum standards to ensure that what is being taught in public schools sufficiently prepares students for post-secondary pursuits.

John E. Shuey, Libertarian
Shuey, of Carrollton, is retired from sales and marketing management. He is on the Texas State Libertarian Party Executive Committee, works as a community coordinator for Americans for Fair Taxation and is a member of the NRA.
Evolution: On his campaign Web site, Shuey mocks board members’ attempt to question evolution with a fake news story about the board seeking balance in the teaching of the theory of gravity. He says he opposes teaching "pseudoscience" or "unfounded claims of weakness in evolutionary theory."
Sex ed: He says abstinence doesn’t work very well. He favors giving information about sex, pregnancy and prevention at an age-appropriate level, along with information about where to get more information. He says we need to give kids the ability to cope in a not-so-easy world.
Curriculum: He supports a greater emphasis on science and math beyond the recently mandated four-year high school requirement.

Cindy Werner, Republican
Evolution: She would vote for textbooks that discuss the weakness of evolution. "In teaching the strengths and weaknesses of evolution such a discussion will open up the possibilities to and would allow for the discussion of intelligent design or creationism."

Five ladies and two chaps eh? and one chap retired.

I hope they know that such a bunch messing with evolution is like playing with an asp that's had its venom glands removed and pretending it's daring.