Posted on 08/20/2003 6:24:57 PM PDT by new cruelty
The debate continues over what information Texas biology books should present.
The Texas Board of Education is looking to pick the best science book for students.
Members of a campaign called "Stand Up For Science'' said it's meant to protect the accurate teaching of evolution in Texas high school biology textbooks.
The push was unveiled on Wednesday by some religious leaders, scientists and parents. It comes as the state Board of Education prepares to adopt new biology textbooks this fall.
Terry Maxwell, a professor of biology at Angelo State University, doesn't believe creationism should be in biology textbooks.
"Science uses evidentiary reasoning and it uses no other approach," he said.
Creationists generally believe earth was formed supernaturally by God.
Reverend Tom Hegar said while he believes in God's powers, those ideas need to stay at home or in the church.
"Faith and science are complimentary. Don't use faith to build your science. Don't use science to try to destroy or shrink my faith," he said.
Seattle-based Discovery Institute believes the theory of intelligent design should be in Texas biology books. According to the Institute, intelligent design is the hypothesis that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.
Science backers say that's the same thing as creationism.
"Textbooks should fix embarrassing factual errors and tell students about the scientific weakness of neo-Darwinism as well as its strengths," Discovery Institute officials stated in a faxed memo.
Maxwell said two different ideologies make it harder for students to learn science.
"If you interject ways of knowing other than the way science is practiced by mainstream science you confuse children," he said.
Austin biology teacher Amanda Walker said evolution is the cornerstone for understanding the living world, and influences medicine such as prostate cancer, heart disease and AIDS.
The evolution proponents also criticized what they said are attempts to teach creationist theories.
The Board of Education can reject books because of errors or failure to follow the state curriculum.
The board will make its final decision on the biology textbooks in November.
People have until Thursday, Aug. 21, to sign up to speak at the final public hearing Sept. 10.
In July, the first public hearing brought 42 speakers who offered their opinions at the public hearing on biology, but only half of them were familiar with the particular books.
Board member Gail Lowe said then she was disappointed that many of the people who testified for or against certain textbooks hadn't actually read them.
"They seem to be here to express a viewpoint, but it doesn't seem to relate to the textbooks we're actually considering," she said.
No. Check out some of these items: The General Anti-Creationism FAQ .
Shrug, no kidding. But I figured it would be a good compromise to let kids listen to an hour of highly allegorical Jewish mythology, and then settle in to the alternate explanation of evolution.
Nobody seems much interested in compromises, though.
Er... then doesn't that mean that it's incoherent and rather unuseful as a practical attempt to explain the origin of the various creatures?
Do they get each other in the end?
"Textbooks! We don't need no stinkeen' textbooks!"
Why don’t they just teach Intelligent Design vs. stupid design?
You have obviously picked your “creation” story…
Well those people aren't scientists, and aren't particularly well informed about science. Evolution is not a force, and it's not sentient. And it only works with biological organisms, so no cars or power plants.
That's a myth. Not that it would matter. Science is about ideas, not the people who propose them.
I suppose you believe in the big bang theory too!! If that is the case, then let's blow up a printing company and see if a book is produced in the rubble!!
That's not a particluarly good analogy. But at least you recognise that evolution and the Big Bang are two different things.
This should really be off-topic for this thread - strangely, it probably isn't...
Yep, and creationists are right there with the lefties, demanding "alternative views" be taught in the interest of "balance," "fairness" or "diversity," rather than standing for high and hard-nosed academic standards, like they should (and as the same individuals generally do wrt to history, mathematics, and any other subject). It does not represent "fairness" or "balance" to teach a doctrine which has failed to earn standing in professional scholarship as on a par with one that has. It represents intellectual affirmative action.
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