Evolution Will Not Be Televised. It Will Be Pamphleteered.

The National Academy of Sciences has released a report called “Science, Evolution, and Creationism” on the teaching of evolution in the classroom. It’s a neat look at what’s been going on nationally (hey, Kansas!) and would be a useful resource for anyone who might be dealing with the issue in their classroom or district. You can find it by clicking on the picture above.

Read more here, if any.

The Catch-All

It's the reason for whatever happened. In WWII the catch-all for any problem with an airplane was gremlins, as brilliantly shown in Roald Dahl's book. For those on the left the catch-all the past few years has been our president; more positively, those on the right would tell you all good things came from Reagan.

Go far enough to the right, though, and it seems that the catch-all for all that is wrong with the world is evolution.

The latest Texas tempest is another brouhaha over evolution vs. creationism, as seen in an article in the December 19th New York Times. The lede alone is enough to raise eyebrows:

A Texas higher education panel has recommended allowing a Bible-based group called the Institute for Creation Research to offer online master’s degrees in science education.

The action comes weeks after the Texas Education Agency’s director of science, Christine Castillo Comer, lost her job after superiors accused her of displaying bias against creationism and failing to be “neutral” over the teaching of evolution.

And farther down the page, things get really, really weird. Regarding the institute:

It also says “the harmful consequences of evolutionary thinking on families and society (abortion, promiscuity, drug abuse, homosexuality and many others) are evident all around us.”

I'll almost grant the link between evolution and abortion, especially if you think about it in terms of the more disgusting elements of eugenics. But drug use, promiscuity, and homosexuality? That's a terrible argument from any perspective, and the thought that anyone could genuinely believe that is troubling.

Read more here, if any.

Federal Way and Opposing Viewpoints

The Seattle PI runs one of those articles that make me scream:

This week in Federal Way schools, it got a lot more inconvenient to show one of the top-grossing documentaries in U.S. history, the global-warming alert "An Inconvenient Truth."

After a parent who supports the teaching of creationism and opposes sex education complained about the film, the Federal Way School Board on Tuesday placed what it labeled a moratorium on showing the film. The movie consists largely of a computer presentation by former Vice President Al Gore recounting scientists' findings.

"Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven who also said that he believes the Earth is 14,000 years old. "The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."

Oh, but it gets better when you get down to the school board's reaction:

School Board members adopted a three-point policy that says teachers who want to show the movie must ensure that a "credible, legitimate opposing view will be presented," that they must get the OK of the principal and the superintendent, and that any teachers who have shown the film must now present an "opposing view."

The requirement to represent another side follows district policy to represent both sides of a controversial issue, board President Ed Barney said.

"What is purported in this movie is, 'This is what is happening. Period. That is fact,' " Barney said.

Students should hear the perspective of global-warming skeptics and then make up their minds, he said. After they do, "if they think driving around in cars is going to kill us all, that's fine, that's their choice."

This seems absolutely nonsensical to me. Of course, this is the same school board that bans novels about censorship and jumped the gun on suing the state for more money.

Read more here, if any.