0 comment Wednesday, June 11, 2014 | admin
Why do I ask?? Because there's some asshat on the State Board of Education who is screwing with the science education of kids all over the whole country. This pisses me off, and it should piss you off too.Creationism and Intelligent Design are NOT "alternative explanations" to the Theory of Evolution with respect to how life as we know it came about. They invoke a supernatural being, and that's not science. Therefore it does not belong in the science classroom.So why should you care if you're not voting in Texas? If the Great State of Texas is successful in introducing these "concepts" to science text books, it will effect science education all over the country. Texas is the number one publisher/consumer of classroom textbooks and most other states will buy the ones published for Texas simply because there aren't many others available, regardless of their own Board of Education's position on these non-scientific concepts. Even if your state understands the difference between science and religion and upholds the separation of church and state when it comes to education, chances are their classroom textbooks will not. Won't someone think of the children???Look, I have no problem with people of faith having the freedom to believe in any deity they so choose. That is their individual right. But their deity has no business in the science classroom.Science speaks to and about observable, reproducible, natural phenomenon. It does not invoke the supernatural. If any deity is allowed there, and elevated to the same level as hard, reproducible evidence when trying to teach kids how science comes to understand the world around us, we are in a whole mess of trouble. How confusing must it be for kids just learned about the scientific method, how we use experiments to test hypotheses about natural phenomenon, and then we throw in these "exceptions" to the rules?If these positions are allowed to be taught as "science", then I should be allowed to teach Darwinian evolution in every Sunday school in the country. Fair's fair.Here's some more info:The Texas State Board of Education oversees public school education in Texas. This 15 member board is elected from state districts. Our elected representative is Don McLeroy, a College Station dentist who believes that the earth is only 6000 years old, that humans walked with dinosaurs, and that supernatural explanations for scientific phenomena should be taught.These are not hyperbole -- Mr. McLeroy has repeatedly stated and reinforced these positions.Don McLeroy is a huge detriment to better education in Texas. A group of concerned citizens have formed a PAC to oppose his re-election in the GOP primary on March 2. You can find their web site here:http://sites.google.com/site/smartstateboardofeducation/If you vote in Texas, please, for the love of children and their future and the future of this country, go vote in the primaries. Texas has open primaries, so even if you're an avowed Democrat you can vote in the Republican primary and keep this nonsense off the ballot. If you're not a Texas voter, please check out the link anyway and do what you can, be it a donation to the PAC, or a blog post to spread the word.ETA: Please also check out drdrA's post on this issue at Blue Lab Coats.