State Board of Education [Alaska] adopts revised standard

[hyphenate]

State Board of Education adopts revised standards
Original science standard failed to note importance of evolution

the associated press

ANCHORAGE - The Alaska Board of Education adopted new education standards Friday after revising science study guidelines that had been criticized as dismissive of evolution.
<snip>

The action Friday followed testimony Thursday, much of it focusing on proposed science standards, which initially called for for wording that some speakers said failed to acknowledge that biological evolution is the unifying principle for all the life sciences.

The proposed guideline stated: "A student should ... develop an understanding of changes in life forms over time, including genetics, heredity and the process of natural selection (evolution)."

Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau told the board the standards seemed to deliberately avoid saying "evolution" with that parenthetical approach.

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/061205/sta_20050612013.shtml

[jkarabias]

1. a growing trend

This coupled with the news of a revised science curriculum in Kansas that includes "intelligent design" and other religious elements is very disheartening. (quote from Zoolander "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills) Am I the only one who thinks science should teach....uh FREAKING SCIENCE!!! The incorporation of these ideas into our children's textbooks and more broadly, science paradigms. is very scary not only to our childrens education but to a democracy that claims to have seperation between C&S.

[hyphenate]

2. Welcome to DU!

The most telling example of how this is going to turnout will be 50 years from now, when many of us will no longer be here. When stunted students from backwards states like Oklahoma and Kansas, and large fundie communities across the country find that lacking science credentials will keep them from having good paying jobs, and especially seeing all those who DID learn science, especially from foreign nations with secular governments getting the good jobs, suddenly the RRR will find "science" and "evolution" acceptable somehow and will finally get with the program.

As it is now, these assholes are on the verge of turning our country into one big, bigoted, intolerant, ignorant and paranoid nation with nothing good for anyone down the line. I've had it with them. And to be quite honest, it's our own fault for letting them get to this point where they have the power to stop both progress and evolution in its trackes.

[enlightenment]

3. Actually, I think what they're saying is

"make it clearer."
The complaint was that the word evolution was in parentheses -- and they managed to change it to fully incorporate the word.

In other words, this seems to be a tiny win for the good guys (science), although it is troublesome that the article failed to include the revised-revised wording -- and indicated that it's still up to the state and the Governor to sign off on the new wording.

And hey, Welcome to DU!

[newyawker99]

4. Hi jkarabias!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[hatrack]

5. I'll take whatever good news I can find on this these days

And in Alaska - weird! That place is frothingly drippingly red.

[msmcghee]

6. Are you sure about that?

Many Alaskans move back and forth between the Pacific NW and Alaska for work, etc. As a longtime NWesterner I've known many Alaskans over the years. The big majority of them were decidedly liberal. Alaska did legalize pot for a while.