The science of the times
Editorial
Sunday, November 13
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_3211913
Dover, Pennsylvania voters spared their town further disgrace on Election
Day by ousting almost the entire school board that dragged them into the
debate of evolution versus "intelligent design." The school board made the
district the first in the nation to offer up intelligent design - the idea
that the universe is so complex that it must have a creator - against
evolutionary theory in the classroom.
Intelligent design, basically a barely veiled creationism, can't even be
considered an actual theory with academic credibility since it can't be
tested or proved.
But that didn't stop the Dover board from introducing the pseudoscience
into the schools, which has since led to an internationally scrutinized
trial and embarrassed the town.
The court case stemmed from parents who protested the board's introduction
of intelligent design, which they argued was not eligible as part of the
curriculum because it was in essence creationism. The judge in that case is
expected to rule on the matter by January, but the decision could be moot
if the overhauled school board reverses the decision that introduced
intelligent design into the curriculum. The people of Dover made it clear
they don't want to be the poster-town for the teaching of religion as
science and they may have saved themselves the spotlight, especially now
that Kansas has emerged as the next battleground.
The Kansas Board of Education has not only advocated the teaching of
intelligent design, but even decided that the supernatural should be taught
side by side with the natural. The state has redefined science so that it
is not limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena. This
distortion of credible science is a setback for civilization, which has
fought so hard to pull itself from medieval superstition and darkness.
What's next werewolves and vampires being discussed in the same class as
mammals and amphibians? Are witch trials far behind? Can psychics testify
in court?
This is not the only time of late that Kansas officials have made
bone-headed decisions regarding the teaching of evolution. In 1999, the
education board tried to erase the theory entirely from the curriculum,
before two members were voted out and that effort was quelled. In that
instance Kansas voters came to the rescue and ousted members of the board
who were an embarrassment to academics, but since then the board has again
tilted to the loony right. Kansas voters should once again reclaim their
state's dignity and topple the current school board at the next available
opportunity. "This is a sad day. We're becoming a laughingstock of not only
the nation, but of the world, and I hate that," said board member Janet
Waugh, a Democrat from Kansas City. And she's right.
The new standards in Kansas schools give individual school districts the
decision of how to teach evolution and intelligent design, which could mean
some districts decide to instruct heavily about intelligent design but
little about evolution. The latest tests in the state will reflect the new
teaching standards, which means progress in Kansas will depend on how many
students know about some topic completely unrelated to science. This does
not bode well for the country, which is trying to compete in a global
marketplace against countries that are already beating the U.S.
academically in the sciences. This further assault on knowledge is not only
an embarrassment but a detriment to the future of America's standing in the
world.
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http://www.ElmerFudd.US/ http://www.rightard.org/ http://www.thedarkwind.org/
Yes, George W. Bush is a mass murdering Christian butcher. GET OVER IT!!!
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