Important note from Texas Freedom Network

Calling all Texans: Let's keep creationism out of our kids' science classes.

It is time for the public comment period on the state's science curriculum standards. The draft looks very good, by the way. But that doesn't mean the anti-science conservatives on the Board can't wreck it. As many of us as possible need to make our voices heard and follow these steps helpfully supplied by TFN:

1. Click here to go to the comments form on the TEA Web site.
2. Scroll down to "Directions for Using the Feedback Forms." You will find a list of links to feedback forms for Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and high school courses. Forms for Grades K-8 are in Microsoft Excel. You have a choice of formats for the high school form: Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word.
3. Select whichever grade levels on which you want to comment. PLEASE CLICK ON THE HIGH SCHOOL LINK TO COMMENT ON THE TREATMENT OF EVOLUTION IN THE BIOLOGY STANDARDS.
4. Once you have completed a feedback form (each is short), you may save the file on to your computer. Then you have three options for sending the form to TEA:
- Attach the saved file of the completed form to an e-mail and send it to TEA at curriculum@tea.state.tx.us. Please put SCIENCE COMMENTS in the Subject Line.
- Print out the completed form and fax it to TEA at (512) 463-8057; Fax to: SCIENCE COMMENTS
- Mail the completed form to TEA at the following address:
Texas Education Agency
Division of Curriculum, Science Comments
1701 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, Texas 78701-1494

Thanks be to God (and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board)

The Academic Excellence and Research Committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted unanimously to deny the request of a creationist group to offer a masters degree in science.

This sets up the vote by the full Board today.

“Religious belief is not science,” Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said. “Science and religious belief are surely reconcilable, but they are not the same thing.”

Bingo.

Neanderthal Man to State Board of Education: Don't Fence Me In!

Apparently I neglected to pick up a copy of the Dallas Observer a couple of weeks ago, and I missed a well reported story by Jesse Hyde about the ultra-right wing creationists taking over our State Board of Education. Luckily I found the article online yesterday. For those who are keeping score, the creationists hold 7 out of 15 seats and Gov. Perry appointed one of them to the chairmanship. Creationist Barney Maddox lost a bid to unseat incumbent Pat Hardy in the Republican primary in Fort Worth in March, so we’ve narrowly avoided giving these folks complete control, but it’s a little too close for comfort for this future public school parent.

Science textbook adoption is to occur this year, so there is a critical battle being waged to keep real science in the textbooks and not allow the board to sneak their “weaknesses in evolutionary theory” into the text.

I was pleased to learn from Hyde’s article that the board will not be able to blatantly put creationism into the textbooks due to a 1987 Supreme Court ruling. It seems that ruling is what spurred the rise of sciency-sounding intelligent design as a “wedge” the creationists want to drive into our science classes to make room for creationism.

In the article, Hyde revisited the incredible decision the board made last year to reject a highly successful math text, part of a program that has raised scores dramatically in Dallas schools – 11 to 47 percent improvements at various grade levels. I had a visceral reaction as I read how the RWNJs used this issue as a test case to see how far they could go in rejecting perfectly good, possibly excellent, textbooks for whatever reasons they chose. These folks, some of whom didn’t even send their own children to public schools, are playing games with Texas’ future. Geraldine Miller, board member from Dallas, fought to keep the math textbook. Here’s what she ran up against:

Miller argued passionately for the books. The state math review panel recommended them, as did the state's commissioner of education, and several top-notch private schools in Dallas were using the book. But for reasons Miller didn't understand, the seven far-right members of the board were arguing against it.

"They said the multiplication tables didn't go high enough. They said it introduced calculators too early and that was a crutch," Miller recalls. "So I turned to the publisher and said, 'Here are the concerns they have, are you willing to work with the board and make these changes?' And they said, 'Absolutely.' They stayed up all night working on it, and in the morning they made this beautiful presentation on how they would make the changes."

Miller says the publishers then asked the board if they had any other requests. None was given. The vote was called. And the book was rejected 7-6.

"You know what that was? That was a display of power. That's when I realized the direction the board had gone and became very worried," Miller says.

Like others, Miller now thinks the main reason the book was rejected was to set a precedent.

"If they can reject a math book and not give a reason, then they can do the same thing to a science book," [board member Mary Helen] Berlanga says. "It was very clever how they got rid of that book in November, and they will use the same tactics to get rid of books that don't say what they want about intelligent design."

Can we please stop the madness already?

Scientists and businesses are speaking up that we need to make sure Texas science classrooms stick to real science, and to educate the public that there is no controversy in the scientific community about evolutionary theory. And that belief in God is not at odds with evolutionary theory. I don’t know that they can change the minds of the creationists on the SBOE, but they need to keep it up and get this issue out in front of the public. Only with public pressure and accountability can we retain credibility, reason, and real science in Texas classrooms.

Creationism politics invade Austin

This story should have been on Page 1A of the Dallas Morning News, but alas the Cowboys played last night (very exciting game by the way) so that was splashed across the front page. But on page 8A is an Associated Press article about the resignation of Chris Comer, the state's science curriculum director.

The Austin American-Statesman covered the story so the News didn't have to be bothered:

Comer was put on 30 days paid administrative leave shortly after she forwarded an e-mail in late October announcing a presentation being given by Barbara Forrest, author of "Inside Creationism's Trojan Horse," a book that says creationist politics are behind the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools. Forrest was also a key witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case concerning the introduction of intelligent design in a Pennsylvania school district. Comer sent the e-mail to several individuals and a few online communities, saying, "FYI."

Agency officials cited the e-mail in a memo recommending her termination. They said forwarding the e-mail not only violated a directive for her not to communicate in writing or otherwise with anyone outside the agency regarding an upcoming science curriculum review, "it directly conflicts with her responsibilities as the Director of Science."

The memo adds, "Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral."

How can this happen in the 2nd most populous state in the US? In 2007? Based on this Comer didn't even advocate against teaching intelligent design in science class. Let's say she did, though. She's the "curriculum director." Sounds like part of the job to me. And keeping non-science intelligent design out of the science class would be doing the students of the state of Texas a service.

Let's examine that last line quoted from the memo: this is "a subject on which the agency must remain neutral." Why is that? What part of the mandate of TEA requires their curriculum people to be neutral regarding the content of what is taught? That is ridiculous. They need to remain neutral because its politically expedient and ticks the fewest people off. Here's an idea, have scientists develop the science curriculum. Leave the flat-earth people off the committee, no matter how loud they are.

Apparently the Austin Bureau of the News was busy finding a bar to watch the Cowboys game last night rather than writing this story. I can't even find it on their web site. The News is supposed to be "Texas' Leading Newspaper," by the way. And no, I'm not ready to cancel my subscription yet, but I think of it often.