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Journalism of Courage
For the fourth time in eight years, the Kansas Board of Education is preparing to take up the issue of evolution and what to teach 8212; or not teach 8212; public school students about the origins of life.
After victory at the polls in November, a moderate majority on the 10-member board in the central US state plans to overturn science standards seen as critical of evolution at a board meeting on Tuesday in Topeka.
New standards would replace those put in place in 2005 by a conservative board majority that challenged the validity of evolution and cited it as incompatible with religious doctrine.
The 2005 action outraged scientists across the United States, with the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Teachers Association refusing a request by Kansas to use copyrighted material in textbooks.
Voters in last year8217;s elections then swayed the balance of power on the board to moderates.
The move on Tuesday to rewrite the science standards would come a day after the birthday of evolution scholar Charles Darwin. Some religious groups argue that evolution cannot be proven and is not in accordance with Biblical teachings regarding the origins of life. Teaching evolution misleads and confuses students, opponents say.
But supporters say religion has no valid role in a science class and evolution is the foundation for understanding key concepts in biology and other scientific fields.
Adding fuel to the debate, the Seattle-based Discovery Institute issued a press release on Monday protesting the board8217;s planned move.
8220;You have a board in Kansas that is so extreme,8221; said John West, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a think tank focusing on science education and intelligent design.
That theory holds that an intelligent force 8212; which some proponents would say is God 8212; is probably responsible for some aspects of nature.
Still, some were cheering the board8217;s move to restore standards that anti-evolution forces rewrote in 1999, only to be followed with a rewrite by evolution supporters in 2001 and then the anti-evolution board in 2005.
8220;I8217;m very much hoping that history repeats itself 8230; and the 2007 school board makes the right decision for Kansas students to restore the valid standards,8221; said National Center for Science Education executive director Eugenie Scott.
8220;These are standards that reflect science, rather than a politicised curriculum that miseducates students.8221;
