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Victory for evolution in Texas
My thanks to debzilla for telling me about the wonderful news!
Victory for evolution in Texas
July 22nd, 2011Pop the champagne corks. The Texas Board of Education has unanimously come down on the side of evolution. In a 14-0* vote, the board today approved scientifically accurate high school biology textbook supplements from established mainstream publishers — and did not approve the creationist-backed supplements from International Databases, LLC.
"This is a huge victory for Texas students and teachers," said Josh Rosenau, NCSE programs and policy director, who testified at the hearings this week. In his testimony, Rosenau urged the board to approve the supplements — recommended by a review panel largely composed of scientists and science educators — without amendments, and to reject International Databases' creationist submission. The board did just that, and asked for only minimal changes to the approved supplements.
Read the rest here.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Madhukar Kulkarni on -
The Creationists are neurotics. There is no point in trying to convince them on any issue. The battle should be taken in to their territory and they should be chllenged to prove that Adam, with all "Irreducible complexiies" within him, was created from the dust of Israel. They should be told that it was ridiculous on the part of their god to have even tried this trick.
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Permalink Reply by booklover on -
Once our neighbors asked us to get their mail for a week. They were all excited to be going on vacation to see first Sean Hannity, and then to the creationist museum. I almost laughed and asked them if they were joking. They brought our kids back pencils that said creationism on them. After I gave them their mail and shut the door, I broke the pencils in half and threw them in the garbage.
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Permalink Reply by booklover on
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VikingDon, they REALLY would not have gotten the reference. Good neighbors, but NOT the sharpest tools in the shed at all! lol
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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on -
Hey Booklover! I would have thrown them in the garbage too! Way to go!
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Permalink Reply by Beth KZ on -
I hope that it's a typo of it being a 2011 date, rather than 2012.
If it is, it's great news! If it really was 2011, it hasn't had much effect. :(
Do you have a link to this article?
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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on
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Beth are you from Texas like me? I'm from Austin, TX. The link is above - click on the word Here.
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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on
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http://ncse.com/news/2011/07/victory-evolution-texas-006802
Here's the link -
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Permalink Reply by Beth KZ on
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No, I'm not from Texas.
I do have a brother who is a middle school science teacher in Texas though. Some of the stories he's told make my hair stand on end!
My concern is that for quite awhile now, since TX buys the most textbooks, textbook publishers write in accordance with TX school guidelines. That may be changing, since there is a coalition of states who demand that their textbooks contain real history and science.
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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on
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Yes, I am hoping for change for the educational system.
I teach evolution and Natural Selection in Biology labs and I still have students who resist learning that - and they are college level.
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Permalink Reply by James Kz on -
Actually (to a comment above), evolution has -not- won the fight. This fight has been going on since the Scopes trial, and the Creationist opposition has not given up - note the recent Kansas Board of Education fight, the Dover school fight, &c ad nauseum.
And the Creationists have far more money to hash out scientific questions in a court with lawyers and juries rather than by the scientific method, and they get to use tax-free monies for the fight as well, and can call on millions of believers in their tax-free churches to donate for said fights.
And with a political party now that believes as they, and twists science to support their political agenda rather than using science to advise their policy, things do not bode well for science in the USA (not just evolutionary biology).
Aside from atheists, one group that gets an awful lot of discrimination but has not been singled out in studies is the intelligentsia. To be a member of that group just about guarantees a large portion of the population will believe you to be subversive or anti-religious, aiming at undermining the moral fabric of the country, and unworthy of friendship or consideration (except when they want some technological whiz-bang toy from you).
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Permalink Reply by Dan Harkins on
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I am surprised but delighted.
Does any one think the real problem, the thing that gives IDer's and Creationists wings, are the theistic evolutionists? I love Ken Miller, he was instrumental in the Dover case, but he says he's a Christian that believes in the resurrection of Jesus. To me, that is Intelligent Design. A less crazy version for sure, but nonetheless if you believe Jesus was born of a virgin and resurrected, then how is evolution not part of god's plan or god's mechanism for creating humans and different "kinds" of species?
Bottom line, if you believe in god and evolution, you are a proponent of ID. The vast majority of sane people accommodate scientific facts into their religious superstitions and I think these are the minds we need to change. We attack fundies but really we need to put the logical screws to the theistic evolutionists. They are the people who enable and empower fundamentalists because they admit that a portion of the fundy insanity is true.
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