Kansas school board redefines science

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http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/11/08 ... index.html

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.

I hope they remember to teach about the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so that the curriculum may be touched by his noodly appendage also....

And the US is one step closer to becoming a theocracy.

*sigh*

What I find most disturbing is how proponents of ID knew they had to break the definition of science itself to get their ideas to fit in a classroom. You'd think anyone in a position of power would be responsible enough to take a step back for a moment and realize that the hypothesis doesn't even approach scientific truth on any level when attempting something like this.

A thread by ghotistix.

Hey evolution is not 100% proven yet so what is the problem people. Anyway it changes when the people that vote them in then change their minds and vote them out. Though I think we need some diversity being taught in the the school system.

What a surprise!! !

I agree with you, ghotistix, that changing the definition of science is the most disturbing part. Could you imagine attempting to change the meaning of science? The word 'pretentious' comes to mind.

Umm... Yeah... And?

Not to mention theres always the tornado through the lumberyard theory (saying that happening and building a house is just as likely as organisms comeing out of nowhere.)

Yes it is, actually.

Do You really Think these United States of America is becoming a THEORCRACY come on. Not even!! !

Then how to organisims come into existance?

Also shortterm evolution has been proven, long term not even close.

Uggh
What really irritates me about all of this is that the "intelligent design hypothesis" basically consists of people saying that evolution hasn't been proven. They don't offer an alternative.

Intelligent design doesn't explain anything.
Where did the intelligence come from?

It truly baffles me.

We have remember science is just theories even theories get debunked or expanded over time. We are Living in a great technology age where there are more theories out there that try to explain it all. Science may explain it well but the more it explains the more questions We as a Society have. Even God might have created evolution We just don't know. We must remember science can not explain everything in the most minute way, for it is just theories.

I'd say a country turning against its own constitution in enforcing the teaching of religious beliefs in government-supported institutions is a pretty big leap in that direction.


The theory of evolution has nothing to do with the origin of life. It describes how existing organisms change.


I think there are a bit too many transitional fossils to ignore long term evolution.


Shall we stop teaching science all together then? Let's start by ignoring the theory of gravity.

Apparently the University of California at Berkeley has declared that they will refuse to grant credit for high school biology courses that teach Intelligent Design. I can see this spreading quickly, so kids in Kansas may be in a tight spot if they try to get into higher education.

Yes, but there is SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE to support evolution, LOTS AND LOTS of it. There is a tiny 0.1% chance that the theory of evolution will be debunked someday but it is one of the most well supported scientific theories out there today! There is NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE to support the theory of "Intelligent Design" so we should not be teaching that 'theory' in our SCIENCE classes!