The battles continue in Florida...Evolution versus Creationism.

[madfloridian]

I am finding the letters to the editors fascinating. Just this week there have been some real gems on both sides of the issue. I knew there would be resistance. I knew the creationism/intelligent design view was deeply embedded in this area of Florida with a Southern Baptist Church on every corner and four bible colleges, one turned university. Nonetheless I have been amazed.

Some of the recent letters refer to the Polk County School Board which is becoming quite famous.

Polk County, Florida: "Shaping children's minds to meet the demands of the 19th century."

No need to quote from the post, the picture from the Ledger article says it all.



Some excerpts from the recent letters, pro and con. I am impressed at the quality of most of them, some not so much.

Backward Education

It looks as if Polk County School Board members Fields, Harris, Lofton, Sellers and possibly Cunningham would have us return to those dark days of yesteryear when the old men who wove the creation fairy tale believed Earth was the center of the universe and that it was flat.

...."I ask the creationists to go back to the second verse of the Bible. "And the Earth was waste and void and darkness was upon the face of the Earth." If God created it all, as they think, why did he go through the trouble of creating an ugly mass that had to be improved upon? Who was he trying to impress with the improvements noted in Genesis?

Why did the writers of Genesis give him human frailties such as being so worn out he had to rest, or that he stepped back from each of his tasks and pronounced it good? If he was God, would he tire, or would he expect anything but good? If the answer to these questions is the old standby canard called faith, then it doesn't belong in a classroom.

A letter from December 5th.

Intelligent Design Doesn't Fit

Before we include Intelligent Design (ID) in our science curriculum, let's imagine other subject areas and wonder what it would be like to include disparate ideas therein. For example, we wouldn't expect our mathematics classes to teach George Washington's farewell address, because we would see the ideas presented there are not mathematical (though he does caution us against the multiplying ills of a two-party political system). And we would rightly cry foul if our language arts classes mandated the teaching of chemistry: The two ideas are like apples and Buicks.

This is one of my favorites. Short and to the point. Devastatingly accurate.

A Pattern of Ignorance?

Why does it seem that those who ignore the overwhelming evidence for evolution and global warming seem to accept the "weapons of mass destruction" myth? Is there a pattern here? It's a good thing that we have pictures from space showing the shape of Earth.

I hope that our future survival does not depend on some individuals losing their voter registration card.

And one more that caught my eye.

Road Map to Hillbilly USA

Dirty Harry understood that "a man's got to know his limitations." In that vein, we should ask since when are School Board members qualified to say what should be taught in science classes? None has expertise in this area. Don't get me wrong- I am sure each is competent in their own field. But none of the seven has a degree in a pure science discipline, Lori Cunningham coming closest with a B.S. in electrical engineering.

While I am sure they all have had some training in science, they have lost sight of its essence and scope. Because of this they cannot see why evolution is science and intelligent design is not. Indeed intelligent design is a compelling concept and if they want to include it in a philosophical or (gasp) religious context that is fine. Just keep it out of the science curriculum. Look out Polk County- as long as our School Board considers flouting science standards, we will remain Hillbilly USA.

I knew we had some smart folks around these parts. I guess it took finding out their own school board was opposed to teaching the scientific view to get them to speak out.

[JBoy]

1. Holy crap!

That Tim Harris guy is actually Ned Flanders!

[Richard D]

4. I saw that . . .

. . . the second I saw his picture!

[insanad]

10. Church of the Flying Spagetti Monster

http://www.venganza.org/

[BOYLANE]

2. IDIOTS

When are these creationist fools, yes I said it, going to stop trying to force their religion down the throats of children in public schools? If they believe in creationism, that's fine. If they want their kids to be taught such nonsense, they need to put them in a private religious school where there kids will get the best 19th century education money can buy. This is not an alternative view, as our glorious leader says. Evolution is as ironclad as anything in science and it is NOT up for debate. Evolution happened, it is happening, and it will continue as long as life exists on this planet. Creationist have no evidence...NONE! I know they twist the work of legitimate scientists to try to make their work fit the conclusions of creationists, but real science doesn't work like that. If it did, it wouldn't be science. Their garbage may sound plausible to their flock, most of whom have no idea how science works or even what science is, but that doesn't make it any more factual. If their faith can't stand up to facts, maybe they need to fit those facts into their belief system. Evolution isn't going away, but hopefully the ignorance characterized by the creationist zealots will.

[alarimer]

3. Exactly

ID is simply religious doctrine dressed up. It is not science; it is religion. The judge (appointed by a Republican, if that matter) in Kitmiller v. Dover said as much when he threw the case out. The documentary on that case was very eye-opening.

I cannot believe that we are still arguing over evolution.

I swear this country is so stupid. Ignorant pieces of shit run our school boards. In Texas, they ran off someone from the board that approves school textbooks simply because she forwarded an email regarding a talk by a prominent scientist. The talk was about evolution. I forget the details but it is a recent case.

[and-justice-for-all]

5. creationism is a sunday school activity..

it is not even a hypothesis, it is just a wish-thinking idea based not on anything scientific.

ID is pseudoscience bullshit.

[madfloridian]

6. Florida and Texas and evolution....one going forward, one is not.

There is an interesting comparison in this article.

A Florida Education Department official used her position to oppose the science standard.

Selena "Charlie" Carraway, program manager for the department's Office of Instructional Materials, recently used her personal e-mail on personal time to send a missive urging fellow Christians to fight the proposal to include evolution as a "key idea" in the science curriculum.

But she invoked her position as a way to, in her words, "give this e-mail credibility." And that, it turns out, is a no-no.

"It is inappropriate for any department employee to use their public position to advocate their personal positions," department spokesman Tom Butler said Friday. "Ms. Carraway has been counseled."

Now on to Texas. From the same article:

That's quite a different result than the one that befell the Texas Education Agency's director of science for a similar situation.

Last month, Christine Comer was forced to resign from her job in Texas after forwarding an e-mail announcement of a speech by an author who favored teaching evolution. In several articles, Comer blamed evolution politics for her fate in Texas, which also is reviewing its science standards.

I found more of what Ms Comer said because I found it interesting. Florida "counseled" a creationist at state level, while Texas "fired" a teacher of science who stood up for evolution.

From the NYT:

Official Leaves Post as Texas Prepares to Debate Science Education Standards

HOUSTON, Dec. 2 — After 27 years as a science teacher and 9 years as the Texas Education Agency’s director of science, Christine Castillo Comer said she did not think she had to remain “neutral” about teaching the theory of evolution.

“It’s not just a good idea; it’s the law,” said Ms. Comer, citing the state’s science curriculum.

But now Ms. Comer, 56, of Austin, is out of a job, after forwarding an e-mail message on a talk about evolution and creationism — “a subject on which the agency must remain neutral,” according to a dismissal letter last month that accused her of various instances of “misconduct and insubordination” and of siding against creationism and the doctrine that life is the product of “intelligent design.”

[pingzing58]

7. And U.S. students lag behind other countries in Math and Science!!!

[ladym55]

9. Gosh!

I wonder why that would be??? Hmmm. Let's think about this ....

[wizstars]

8. Obviously some of the monkeys just didn't make the jump.....

...or landed on their heads coming out of the trees..