There is almost no chance that the Kansas State Board of Education’s six controlling conservatives won’t approve new science standards hostile to evolution theory and other time-tested concepts. If the vote doesn’t happen this week, it surely will happen as soon as legally possible, in the wake of two national science groups’ refusal of the use of their copyrighted material. In injecting religiously motivated criticism of evolution theory into science standards, the state board is only inviting more criticism of itself.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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21 Comments
Well, at least we know who to blame when all of Kansas suffers because six people can’t seperate their personnal beliefs from their jobs of doing what is best for Kansas students.
Bumper sticker seen the other day:
“My kid is an honor student at a school that teaches junk science.”
Perhaps this is the new strategy to stop the “brain drain” inKansas.
Here’s how it works. See, having exposure to ID in high school science classes will make students MORE attractive to the types of things in Kansas and LESS attractive to the outside world. Makes sense to me.
Did any of the BOE ever go to school? I bet, yep I gamble, that none ever had a job where scientific standards were used.
This is what happens when ignorant people run for office and there are too many apathetic citizens who don’t care and don’t vote. We are our own worst enemy.
You got that right, Damoon. Elections are decided by those who show up….those who get involved and actually DO something.
Am outta here for the day…am helping raise a few thousand dollars for the Salvation Army.
This is what we get from the ultra-conservative wing of the Kansas republican party. Like it or not, they know how to play to the lowest common denominator. They did this to us a few years ago, result being the 1999 fiasco provided by a previous right-wing dominated BOE that tried to downplay evolution. Yes, we voted them out, but Kansans have such short memories. The far right wing insinuates that by voting for their candidates (Connie Morris, et.al.) we’re casting a vote for Christian principals. And once again, we have a BOE dominated by a group of people who can only be described as fundamentalist ideologues determined to shove their close-minded uneducated ideas down our throats.
The make-up of the BOE will change in the next election, but a lot of damage has already been done. How many more times can we go through this before the damage is permenant? The welfare of our kids is at stake here. They need the best education they can get (with a strong foundation in REAL science) to compete in the real world. Our track record for porviding such an education is pretty spotty.
We need to get the religious kooks off the BOE and get back to the business of providing a first class education for our kids.
After we get them off the BOE, then we REALLY need to focus on getting them OUT of state and federal government.
Let me know when everyone wakes up and realizes that the core problem here is the control of education by a central authority. It’s all fine and dandy when they do what you want, but at some point it goes in a different direction than you wish and you discover you are powerless to resist.
Proudman, not everybody is rich enough to send their kids to private school. I know that a “central authority” doesn’t garrantee equality in education, but it does bring some semblance thereof. We know what your answer is for you and your rich friends; what about poor communities? Vouchers? get real! When private schools have some standard to which they’re held, I’ll be glad to listen. As long as they can discriminate, I’m not interested.
The real problem with Kansas isn’t evolution, it’s devolution. You see, the kansas board of education(sic) has devolved to the point they are in danger of becoming the very thing they fear the most: Monkeys.
If I were a visitor to the sanctuary housing the board, I would go prepared with bananas, grapes, some squeeky toys, and flash cards.
If we feed them a healthy diet and start teaching them how to read and write, so they can understand real science, we may be able to save them from extinction . . . Oh, wait . . . never mind. Some cases are just too hopeless.
Would someone please list the Kansas State Board of Education members and their education, business and political connections. I should know but don’t. This would help on blog conversations. And when will they again be up for election?
It seemes that the Eagle editorial staff is absolutely obsessed with this issue.
Kansas public school kids will continue to get the same teaching on evolution as they have before. The most that will happen is that they will also be informed that, while evolution is a well supported theory, there are other theories. No one is even proposing teaching alternative theories.
So, if it’s not about the kids, who is it about?
XXX, I’m not rich.
I’m always disheartened when someone obviously thinks that nothing can happen with a ‘central authority’ to make everything all right. We should look to ourselves to provide for our own children.
Proudman,Should we also look to ourselves to provide roads to travel on? By your logic, if not why not? I only drive 4 miles to and from work. Why should I have to help support an interstate highway system? How about defense? I’m certanly capable of defending myself and my property and I have combat experience. Why should I pay for a military or a police force to protect you?Just how far does your belief go when you say we should “look to ourselves?”
JWink, you need to learn to google.
http://www.ksde.org/commiss/bdaddr.html
Dudley,
You keep equating the colloquial use of the word “theory” with the scientific usage. They are not the same. ID is not just another scientific ‘theory’ explaining the origins of the diversity of life.
As used in science, a theory is an explanation or model based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning, especially one that has been tested and confirmed as a general principle helping to explain and predict natural phenomena. It MUST be falsifiable.
A fact is something that is supported by unmistakeable evidence. For example, the Grand Canyon cuts through layers of different kinds of rock, such as the Coconino sandstone, Hermit shale, and Redwall limestone. These rock layers often contain fossils that are found only in certain layers. Those are the facts.
Facts may be interpreted in different ways by different individuals, but that doesn’t change the facts themselves.
Theories may be good, bad, or indifferent. They may be well established by the factual evidence, or they may lack credibility. Before a theory is given any credence in the scientific community, it must be subjected to “peer review.” This means that the proposed theory must be published in a legitimate scientific journal in order to provide the opportunity for other scientists to evaluate the relevant factual information and publish their conclusions.
I did a search of the science citation indexes mfrom 1989-present and found only 1 peer reviewed article dealing with ID. However, I found over 50,000 dealing with evolution. It just ain’t science.
XXX,
I’m not an anarchist who believes in no government. I believe in limited government.
Roads, yea you should only pay what you are willing to pay. Multiple free market solutions to the roads question have been laid out already.
National defense is a common problem and something our central government is charged with. Similarly, you are in charge of your personal protection. Even in this country the police only show up after the crimes have been committed and investigate. They don’t stand on every street-corner waiting to protect you. You have to protect yourself in the moment and that is a good balance between personal responsibility and government rule.
Well, here you go. http://www.ksde.org/commiss/bdaddr.html…but the biographies are generic and don’t show the true facts.
Sputter! Hack!Proud,I hate it when we agree, even if partially. “National defense is a common problem”? Not my problem…I don’t have any beef with Iraq, never have. Why are my taxes paying for it?I find your opinion on self defense and the police absolutely agreeable.
XXX,
We never should have invaded Iraq, in 1991. The current ‘action’ is just a continuation of that war. I don’t blame G.W. Bush for the mess over there, I blame H.W. Bush. He started it, Clinton was content to try to keep a rat in a cage, and G.W. decided to shoot the rat. The Iraq problem in my opinion really goes back to the U.N. sanctioned actions of Desert storm. We made an enemy and it was only a matter of time until he struck back.
In a nutshell, the US should not be out there trying to play a live version of ‘Team America, World Police’.
Now there you go again, Proud! You gotta stop saying things I agree with! (except that I DO blame Bush for the war)