Science Textbook Battles in Texas

Once again, a fight is brewing over what will appear in the science texts of Texas public schools. Will those texts, and thus also the classroom instruction, emphasize the place of evolution in biology or will they instead gloss over evolution and pretend that it doesn't exist? The stakes are high - Texas is the second largest textbook purchaser in the country, coming in only after California. Publishers tailor their books to meet requirements in those states which means that if creationism wins and evolution lose there, then students everywhere will lose as well.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, the primary opponents of the use of evolution in science classes now comes from proponents of "Intelligent Design," now that traditional creationism has been so discredited:

Though intelligent design theorists and creationists may be a minority in the scientific community, the most recent Gallup poll shows that nearly half the American public leans more toward creationism than evolution. ...Clay Smith and Nicole Sorto, both biology teachers at McCallum High School, say the controversial nature of evolution affects how they teach it. Both try to accommodate children who say they are uncomfortable learning it.

Evolution is the central organizing principle of biology; without an understanding of evolution, students can't really learn the fundamentals of biology itself - they may learn isolated facts, but they won't be able to organize those facts into a coherent whole. Proponents of Intelligent Design, however, are more interested in pushing their religious and metaphysical dogmas than in educating about science.

Read More:

• What is Intelligent Design?
• What is Balanced Treatment?
• What is Science?