Kansas: Science Takes Another Beating

[Crapshoot]

Kansas BOE rewrites definition of science
New standards question accuracy of evolutionary theory

Tuesday, November 8, 2005; Posted: 7:05 p.m. EST (00:05 GMT)


TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- At the risk of re-igniting the same heated nationwide debate it sparked six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.

The 6-4 vote was a victory for "intelligent design" advocates who helped draft the standards. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.

Critics of the language charged that it was an attempt to inject God and creationism into public schools in violation of the separation of church and state.

All six of those who voted for the standards were Republicans. Two Republicans and two Democrats voted against them.

"This is a sad day. We're becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that," said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat.

Supporters of the standards said they will promote academic freedom. "It gets rid of a lot of dogma that's being taught in the classroom today," said board member John Bacon, an Olathe Republican.

The standards state that high school students must understand major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that some concepts have been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology.

The challenged concepts cited include the basic Darwinian theory that all life had a common origin and the theory that natural chemical processes created the building blocks of life.

In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.

The standards will be used to develop student tests measuring how well schools teach science. Decisions about what is taught in classrooms will remain with 300 local school boards, but some educators fear pressure will increase in some communities to teach less about evolution or more about intelligent design. (Read how Kansas came to this point)

The vote marked the third time in six years that the Kansas board has rewritten standards with evolution as the central issue.

In 1999, the board eliminated most references to evolution, a move Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould said was akin to teaching "American history without Lincoln."

Two years later, after voters replaced three members, the board reverted to evolution-friendly standards. Elections in 2002 and 2004 changed the board's composition again, making it more conservative.

Many scientists and other critics contend creationists repackaged old ideas in scientific-sounding language to get around a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1987 that banned teaching the biblical story of creation in public schools.

The Kansas board's action is part of a national debate. In Pennsylvania, a judge is expected to rule soon in a lawsuit against the Dover school board's policy of requiring high school students to learn about intelligent design in biology class. (Read about the Dover debate)

In August, President Bush endorsed teaching intelligent design alongside evolution.

Great. Can we teach the "Spaghetti Monster Theory " Now ?

[panerd]

But these same idiots will be first in line for a bird flu vaccination if the bird flu mutates (which it doesn't sound like it is possible according to them) into a human strain.

[sabotai]

In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.
Ok, to sum up:

Changing the definition of the word "marriage": Not OK
Changing the definition of the word "science": OK

Update your scorecards. That is all.

*points and laughs at Kansas*

[st.cronin]

Their football team is still superior to the one from Nebraska.

[Solecismic]

In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.

Well, that is essentially what's necessary to teach Intelligent Design. At least they understand that much.

Now, if they can only get every university in the country to make a similar change, people might take Kansas high school graduates seriously again.

[DeToxRox]

Ok, to sum up:

Changing the definition of the word "marriage": Not OK
Changing the definition of the word "science": OK

Update your scorecards. That is all.

*points and laughs at Kansas*

Hahaha. Gold.

[sachmo71]

There isn't anything wrong with trying to find holes in scientific theory. There is something wrong with closing your eyes to all science in the name of faith. That's my only concern here.

[panerd]

There isn't anything wrong with trying to find holes in scientific theory. There is something wrong with closing your eyes to all science in the name of faith. That's my only concern here.

Agreed. Some very smart people believed the world was flat and the sun revolved around the Earth and lobotomies could help psychopathic people, etc. In the future they will probably look back at our theory on cells or how diseases are formed and spread and laugh. But just because you don't think something is plausible you can't introduce an even more unbelievable theory in its place. At least scientists attempt to prove and disprove theories instead of the ludicrous argument that you must have faith.

[st.cronin]

I'm glad some people (sachmo, panerd) are being open-minded about this. There are lots of open questions and inconsistencies regarding evolution that certain types want us to ignore. On the other hand, intelligent design has NO place in a science class.

[CamEdwards]

Ok, to sum up:

Changing the definition of the word "marriage": Not OK
Changing the definition of the word "science": OK

Update your scorecards. That is all.

*points and laughs at Kansas*

:D Excellent point.

[NoMyths]

Grew up in Kansas. Yes, it can be grim.

[sabotai]

Grew up in Kansas. Yes, it can be grim.
*sees Location: Charleston, SC under NoMyths*

I see you escaped. :)

[Solecismic]

Carry on, my wayward state...

I close my mind, only for my lifetime, and my child is gone.
All his dreams, college deans are laughing at his SATs.
Trust in the apes, all they want is trust in the apes.
Same old faith, just a drop of witchcraft in their DNA.
All we are, defined by Darwin, though we will refuse belief.

Trust in the apes, all they want is trust in those apes.

[Neon_Chaos]

*shakes head in disbelief and astonishment*

[NoMyths]

*sees Location: Charleston, SC under NoMyths*

I see you escaped. :)Twice over, in fact. Melancholy place to grow up.

[SackAttack]

Twice over, in fact. Melancholy place to grow up.

Better place to be from than to be?

First thing they taught me at Mizzou: don't capitalize kansas, because it's neither a proper name, nor a proper place.

[Calis]

Maybe I shouldn't have bitched so bad about in Utah afterall.

Sad.

[NoMyths]

Better place to be from than to be?Word.

First thing they taught me at Mizzou: don't capitalize kansas, because it's neither a proper name, nor a proper place.Almost went to school there a couple of times. Couldn't bring myself to do it (go Wildcats!). ;)

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Agreed. Some very smart people believed the world was flat and the sun revolved around the Earth and lobotomies could help psychopathic people, etc. In the future they will probably look back at our theory on cells or how diseases are formed and spread and laugh. But just because you don't think something is plausible you can't introduce an even more unbelievable theory in its place. At least scientists attempt to prove and disprove theories instead of the ludicrous argument that you must have faith.
Have you ever been up in space, I havent therefore the world is flat! ;)

[sterlingice]

Better place to be from than to be?

First thing they taught me at Mizzou: don't capitalize kansas, because it's neither a proper name, nor a proper place.
Say, isn't this coming from the state that elected a dead guy?

SI

[NoMyths]

Say, isn't this coming from the state that elected a dead guy?

SITrumped by a nation that supported the loser of that race's appointment to Attorney General. *shakes head*

[the_meanstrosity]

Hey, if George Bush believes in it...it's got to be good right?

Oh...and pix plz thx.

[SackAttack]

Say, isn't this coming from the state that elected a dead guy?

SI

Yeah, well, better to elect a dead guy than to have the dead guys doing the electing (Hi, Illinois)!

[sachmo71]

Yeah, well, better to elect a dead guy than to have the dead guys doing the electing (Hi, Illinois)!


Or folks with dementia (Hi Detroit!)

[Subby]

The news is not all grim:

Pa. Voters Have Different 'Design'
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/09/tech/printable1027359.shtml)
Nov. 9, 2005(CBS/AP) Voters came down hard Tuesday on Dover, Pa., school board members who ordered a statement on intelligent design read in biology class, ousting eight Republicans and replacing them with Democrats who want the concept stripped from the science curriculum.

The election unfolded amid a landmark federal trial involving the Dover public schools and the question of whether intelligent design promotes the Bible's view of creation. Eight Dover families sued, saying it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

Dover is about 20 miles south of Harrisburg, the state capital.

A similar controversy has erupted in Kansas, where the state Board of Education on Tuesday approved science standards for public schools that cast doubt on the theory of evolution. The 6-4 vote was a victory for intelligent design advocates who helped draft the standards.

The standards cast doubt on Darwinism and redefine the word "science" so that it's not limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.

"We can have an opportunity to have critical analysis of evolution. Prior, it was taught as dogma," Kansas School Board chairman Dr. Steve Abrahms told CBS affiliate KWCH.

"I'm very saddened by the fact that Kansas is, frankly, being mocked, when in fact we have one of the most outstanding educational systems in the United States, but yet, by doing things like this, we are simply looked at, quite frankly, as yokels," board member Janet Waugh told CBS Radio News.

Dover's school board adopted a policy in October 2004 that requires ninth-graders to hear a prepared statement about intelligent design before learning about evolution in biology class.

Eight of the nine school board members were up for election Tuesday. They were challenged by a slate of Democrats who argued that science class was not the appropriate forum for teaching intelligent design.

"My kids believe in God. I believe in God. But I don't think it belongs in the science curriculum the way the school district is presenting it," said Jill Reiter, 41, a bank teller who joined a group of high school students waving signs supporting the challengers Tuesday.

A spokesman for the winning slate of candidates has said they wouldn't act hastily and would consider the outcome of the court case. The judge expects to rule by January; the new school board members will be sworn in Dec. 5.

School board member David Napierskie, who lost Tuesday, said the vote wasn't just about ideology.

"Some people felt intelligent design shouldn't be taught and others were concerned about having tax money spent on the lawsuit," he said.

Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by some kind of higher force. The statement read to students says Charles Darwin's theory is "not a fact" and has inexplicable "gaps."

"I'm not talking about religion. The founders said that we are endowed by our creator, capital "C." They had it on target. We're getting off target," said Rev. Jerry Falwell Wednesday on CBS News' The Early Show.

Critics say intelligent design is merely creationism — a literal reading of the Bible's story of creation — camouflaged in scientific language, and it does not belong in a science curriculum. They worry that the Kansas vote will encourage attacks on evolution in other states.

"They are not conducive to good education in the state of Kansas, and it sets a very bad precedent for other states which will be revising their standards in the coming years," Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education in Oakland, Calif., told CBS Radio News. "We can predict this fight happening elsewhere."

"I think that most Americans are right," said Falwell. "All the polls show just what Christians have always believed, that in the beginning, God created and the chicken came first, as did all the species. Reproduction followed."

[kcchief19]

I still blame Missouri's losses to Kansas in football on Gary Pinkel's decision to stay in Overland Park, Kan. the night before games. Norm Stewart had a policy where when the team played in Lawrence he would stay in Missouri the night before and go over to the game just in time to warm up and then leave immediately. The team would dress at the hotel and then return to the hotel to shower. He told the team he wanted to go and take care of business, spend as little time in Kansas as possible and get the hell out. Gotta love that man.

Quite honestly, the approved text by the board was somewhat watered down than what had been considered in the past. This battle has been waged back and forth for several years now. The intelligent design supporters won a majority a few years ago, then the other side rallied and won a majority the following year, now it's reversed course again and I'm sure it will reverse again in the next election because now the opposition is sufficiently rallied.

But this is exactly why any state that allows its state board of education to be directly elected is just asking for trouble.