[Kansas Gov. Kathleen] Sebelius criticizes State Board of Education's move [new science standards]

Kansas City Star via Kansas.com ^ | 12 November 2005 | DAVID KLEPPER

[PatrickHenry]

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday called the state's new science standards a "step in the wrong direction."

Her comments follow a week in which the Kansas Board of Education adopted new science standards Tuesday that portray evolution as being in doubt and change the definition of science to allow for supernatural explanations.

In her lengthiest public comments yet on the controversy, Sebelius said she worries the changes will undermine science education and send the message that Kansas doesn't welcome high-tech firms and research. She pointed to the state's efforts to recruit bioscience companies, while the board votes to move "away from well-known, proven facts in science class."

Her comments also came as more candidates have stepped forward to challenge Board of Education members who approved the standards earlier this week.

Though the standards make no mention of creationism or intelligent design, they were sought by members of the intelligent design movement, which believes scientific evidence shows that nature was designed by a creator.

Four of the six conservative board members who voted to approve the changes are up for election next November. Moderate Republicans and Democrats are aiming to unseat conservatives, take control of the board and remove the new science standards before they go into effect in 2007.

In a closely watched race in Pennsylvania, voters in the town of Dover on Tuesday did what opponents of the intelligent design standards hope will happen here.

Voters there ousted most of that city's school board, which had voted to put intelligent design in the curriculum.

The latest two people to announce campaigns for state school board are Don Weiss, an Olathe resident, and Kent Runyan, a Pittsburg State University education professor.

Weiss will run as a Democrat against board member John Bacon, an Olathe Republican. Runyan will run as a Democrat against Republican board member Iris Van Meter. Bacon and Van Meter supported the standards.

Olathe resident Harry McDonald has already announced his plans to challenge Bacon in the primary election. Other candidates have popped up in other districts as well.

Bacon, who hasn't announced his re-election plans, said he's not concerned about his challengers and doesn't believe any political lessons from Dover, Pa., are relevant to Kansas. He said the Kansas school standards do not mandate the teaching of intelligent design like the ones in Dover. And he said he believes most Kansans will support the board's decision.

"There are holes in evolution," he said. "Any good scientist will admit to that."

Sebelius said she was "baffled" by the Board of Education's yearlong debate about evolution, and that as a Catholic who attended religious schools, she sees no contradiction between faith and scientific explanations of nature.

"I was taught that God created the universe," she said. "I was also taught science in science class."

Bacon said Sebelius doesn't understand that the board changed the standards to allow students to make up their own minds about evolution. He said worries about the changes' effects on the economy, public education and the state's reputation amount to "scare tactics."

[RunningWolf]

False Wrong distorted and oversimplified. Dont know about marxists or creationists believing education and science leading people to marxism.

But the ChiComs are using the tenets of darwinistic evolutionism the “natural sciences” (so that people have “the basic knowledge about life, the universe, the origin of life, the rule on human evolution).
This is just one part of their secret directives on how to eradicate religion and ensure the victory of marxist atheism, and to to stop the growth of religion and spirituality among the Chinese.
These things will be replaced with the with the norms and dogmas of “scientific thought”.

The ChiComs have clearly adopted the tenets of darwinistic evolutionism as part of their plan to eradicate religion and ensure the victory of marxist atheism.

Wolf

[Dimensio]

From your article:

The paper stresses the importance of good health and healthy bodies

Clearly staying healthy is part of a communist plot. Beware: doctors only want to indoctrinate you into an anti-religious communistic mindset!

[TheForceOfOne]

Still waiting for someone to tell me how something can be created from nothing.

Its as probable as starting a fire under water bare naked with nothing but water around you.

[Dimensio]

Still waiting for someone to tell me how something can be created from nothing.

What has this to do with the theory of evolution?

[shuckmaster]

Its as probable as starting a fire under water bare naked with nothing but water around you.

have you tried it lately?

[Dane]

Clearly staying healthy is part of a communist plot. Beware: doctors only want to indoctrinate you into an anti-religious communistic mindset!

Well duh, too bad communist countries don't practice what they preach, such as North Korea where tree bark is a dinner treat. Oh that's right the communists have to make sure that religion(especially Judeo-Christian religions) are verboten since they are, "the opiate of the people".

Tree bark good, Judeo-Christianity bad.

[TheForceOfOne]

You cannot create something from nothing, yet it happened.

Until someone can explain this I couldn't care less whether someone says it was God or the Big Bang Theory.

[Dimensio]

You cannot create something from nothing, yet it happened.

Who said that it happened? And again, what does this have to do with the theory of evolution?

[TheForceOfOne]

Trying to be funny?

[TheForceOfOne]

Life has to start before it can evolve.

[Dimensio]

Life has to start before it can evolve.

Yes, but how it starts is a subject outside of the theory of evolution. It's certainly of interest to biologists, but that doesn't mean that it's part of the theory of evolution.

Are you suggesting that evolution not be considered a worthwhile science until there's a solid answer on where the first life forms came from?

[TheForceOfOne]

No, evolution is a natural progression but without knowing how it started it is useless.

[Dimensio]

No, evolution is a natural progression but without knowing how it started it is useless.

By that reasoning all of science is useless until we can explain exactly how the universe originated.

[TheForceOfOne]

Not useless, just incomplete and lacking solid evidence for all conclusions reached.

[TheForceOfOne]

I do think that science is the most likely method to eventually explain life. Religious beliefs are set in stone.

[Dimensio]

Okay. Three possible scenarios.

The first life forms emerged as a result of molecules forming the right chains over a period of time. The chains formed as they did primarily as a result of the chemical properties of the molecules themselves, not simply "random chance" as some creationists claim.

The first life forms were zap-poofed into existence by a divine agent.

The first life forms were planted on earth by time-travelling humans from the future.

Assume in that the resulting life forms are identical for all scenarios.

Is the theory of evolution directly affected based upon any one of the above being true? What if identical life forms were produced by some other process?

[Oztrich Boy]

I have stated earlier that I believe that there has been an intelligent beginning to this world/universe,

Please provide some evidence for that.

[Coyoteman]

I have stated earlier that I believe that there has been an intelligent beginning to this world/universe

...a position for which there is no evidence at all.

the stage is now yours to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the differentiation of species(life) has been created in random chaos and or chance.

So, you get to put forth your position with no evidence at all, but you expect scientists to prove their position--"prove beyond a reasonable doubt the differentiation of species" etc. etc.

Tell me, what is your background in science? Did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express, last night?

[jennyp]

Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Probably one of the best hard rock/classical/Christmas music bands in existence. Odds are you've heard at least one of their songs ("Christmas in Sarajevo") though their "Christmas Canon" has also gotten a bit of airplay in the last few years.

Now that's freaky! Here's my favorite pop Christmas album.

[PatrickHenry]

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