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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Despite Governor Perry's assertion that both evolution and creationism is
taught in Texas schools (
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/another-republican-disses-evolution-claims-that-nobody-knows-the-age-of-the-earth-and-osculates-conservative-rump
)
the Texas State Board of Education rejected creationists complaints of
"errors" in the state standards for teaching evolution and activities about
evolution from several book publishers who are vying for the largest
textbook market in the country (or is it the second after California).
Nonetheless a significan step forward.
Why should politicians be different from the rest of the US population?
Because they make or influence education policy through decisions or
appointments..
Dear Friends of NCSE,
Good news from the Lone Star State!
A FINAL VICTORY IN TEXAS
When the Texas state board of education voted on July 22, 2011, to
approve scientifically accurate supplementary material from
established mainstream publishers, there was a loose end hanging. A
creationist member of the review panel released a list of supposed
errors in the submitted Holt McDougal material involving evolution.
While the board approved the material, it directed Commissioner of
Education Robert Scott to review the list of supposed errors and to
develop amended language for the publisher to incorporate.
Now a memorandum from the Texas Education Agency to the board dated
August 11, 2011, indicates that Commissioner Scott determined that
Holt McDougal "has sufficiently addressed all eight of the reported
errors." Particularly noteworthy was Holt McDougal's response to the
complaint (about a lab activity comparing hominid skulls) that "it is
erroneous to pretend that common ancestry is the cause" of the
similarity of human skulls with those of other hominids: "This lab
activity was not changed."
In a post at its blog dated August 15, 2011, the Texas Freedom Network
observed, "Here's the head-exploding part for the creationists. Not
only does the final version of Holt not include creationist arguments
against evolution, but they also include language explicitly affirming
Darwin's theories," adding, "With Holt's materials finalized, we can
now say with certainty that all of the materials approved from the
nine publishers are in line with fact-based science and free of
creationist attacks seeking to undermine science."
Video from the board's July 21, 2011, meeting, during which the
supplementary material was discussed, is now available at NCSE's
YouTube channel. Among those testifying on behalf of good science
education in the Lone Star State are the Reverend Kelly Allen, Steve
Bratteng, the Reverend Albert Clayton, Andrew Ellington, Vera
Preston-Jaeger, Rebecca Robertson of the Texas ACLU, NCSE's Joshua
Rosenau, Lorenzo Sadun, Steven Schafersman of Texas Citizens for
Science, Jennifer Steele, and Bernardino Villasenor.
For the TEA's memorandum (PDF), visit:
http://www.tfn.org/site/DocServer/HoltMcDougalEdits.pdf?docID=2741
--
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Martin Weiss, PhD
New York Hall of Science
mweiss at nyscience.org
cell 347-460-1858
desk 718 595 9156
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