An earlier post here includes a video with this line from Ben Stein (whose movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which purports to “document” a truth-and-evidence-defying regime of “neo-Darwinist orthodoxy” dogmatically supressing an abundance of evidence against evolution, was cited to that end by creationist members of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) in their [...]
Author Archives: Tony Whitson
fair, or “balanced”?
November 23, 2008 – 2:54 pm
Some observers have commented that nothing new or noteworthy emerged from the November 19, 2008 session of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE).
Well, maybe this isn’t new, but I think it deserves notice:
Despite the overwhelming imbalance of testimony favoring standards that would support the teaching of real science in Texas, newspaper stories have managed [...]
“strengths & weaknesses” — harmless in Texas?
November 22, 2008 – 2:26 pm
On the website of the Texas Freedom Network, “africangenesis” comments:
Ed Darrell, I doubt you can trace the failure of Texas schools to the “strengths and weaknesses” language which has been around a couple of decades.
Jonathan Saenz (identified by TFN as “director of legislative affairs for Plano-based Free Market Foundation, the Texas affiliate of James Dobson’s [...]
TX Gov names (fundamentalist?) Chair of Higher Education board
November 16, 2008 – 10:40 pm
Texas Governor Rick Perry has appointed A. W. “Whit” Riter III of Tyler (TX) chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).
Does this have repercussions for the attempt by the Institute for Creation Research to get accreditation for its distance education masters degree program for certification for “science education” teachers?
fruit flies, & Creationist Palin’s science ignorance
October 26, 2008 – 9:52 am
Palin’s non-understanding of science was dramatically displayed in her first policy speech of the campaighn Friday, Oct. 24. Her subject was federal policy to provide for children with special needs, for which she pledged:
Obama team’s support for portfolio assessment
October 23, 2008 – 5:56 pm
Thanks to Checker Finn’s shop (where they’re not wild about this), we have this news:
Tuesday morning on the Diane Rehm Show … Obama staffer Melody Barnes expressed her candidate’s openness to using portfolios to assess student achievement under No Child Left Behind .
I don’t have time to blog more now ( I’m turning around my pre-service [...]
new Texas ELAR standards available
September 23, 2008 – 3:09 pm
The hotly contested new Texas standards for English Language Arts & Reading are now available from the Texas Education Agency.
Texas science standards drafts posted
September 23, 2008 – 2:54 pm
Drafts for revised science standards in Texas are now available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/scienceTEKS.html .
A press release by the Texas Freedom Network notes that the work groups that prepared the drafts for the various science disciplines “removed unscientific language about `strengths and weaknesses’ of scientific theories for biology and other high school science courses.” That language is still [...]
Why should anybody care what Palin thinks about creationism?
August 30, 2008 – 3:48 pm
The trouble with Palin’s remarks on science teaching is NOT that she, as VP or even P, would somehow insert creationism into “science” curriculum: The problem is it shows a lack of understanding of science itself, which COULD be dangerous — even in a VP.
Beware of (VIDEO !!!) posts on Palin & creationism
August 30, 2008 – 9:55 am
Warning on (VIDEO !!!) posts in WordPress.com “creationism” category.
[Clicke here for my (text only) post on the topic, with links to other sources.]
== Update: WordPress has removed most of these posts. I see one that’s still there now, and I’ve reported it. ==
There were warning signs, but I went ahead trying to see the video. [...]
VP candidate Palin supports teaching “creation science”
August 29, 2008 – 10:05 pm
Click here for post on wired.com.
Here’s what she said, as reported by the Anchorage Daily News:
Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter [...]
evolution — “I spent ages on that.”
August 26, 2008 – 8:48 pm
I don’t have any comment on this;
it’s just too good to not share.
Teaching evolutionary life science in Florida (NYTimes)
August 24, 2008 – 9:53 am
Amy Harom has a great piece in the August 23, 2008 New York Times on a Florida teacher engaged in teaching evolutionary life science to a high school class that includes religiously committed skeptical students. The article is unusual in looking at the issues as matters of curriculum, requiring knowledgeable responses by educators, and not [...]
ID debate: Meyer & Gilder versus Shermer & Bailey
August 21, 2008 – 6:52 pm
A debate that was held Saturday July 12 at FreedomFest 08 in Las Vegas will be aired on BookTV (CSpan-2) on Sunday August 24 from about 6:15 am to 7:30 am EDT. The program is described here at booktv.org. The page title says: “Debate on Intelligent Design with George Gilder, Stephen Meyer, Michael Shermer, and [...]
DI’s legal eagles & the “Academic Freedom” legislation
August 18, 2008 – 1:37 pm
Commenting on an earlier post, Ed Darrell writes:
It seems quite clear that whoever drafted the law has very little experience in drafting laws, and less experience in trying to carry out such laws.
From a press release by the Louisiana Coalition for Science, we learn that
DI senior fellow and legal advisor, Gonzaga University law professor David [...]
Louisiana anti-science law: 3 questions, 1 suggestion
August 17, 2008 – 10:48 pm
The Sensuous Curmudgeon has been providing yoeman service keeping us all posted on developments in Louisiana with the immanent implementation of Louisiana’s new “science education” law. From him we learn, for example, about the scheduled meeting Tuesday, August 19, of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).
I have a suggestion (below) for [...]
TX Ed Agency defense in evolution case
August 16, 2008 – 12:08 pm
The Texas Education Agency [TEA] has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Chris Comer, who lost her job as the TEA’s top science education specialist after forwarding an email announcement of a talk by Barbara Forrest. ‘a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University, a co-author of “Inside Creationism’s Trojan Horse” and [...]
