Florida Citizens for Science

[Minnesota's experience in 2003 and 2004 with antievolution efforts to change the state science standards rings a warning bell for Florida, which is currently in the process of revising its science standards, with adoption of new standards scheduled to occur in 2006. The following article provides a first-hand account from two members of the Minnesota science standards writing committee.]

During the summer of 2003, more than fifty classroom teachers, parents, professors of science and education, and business people convened at the Department of Education to create the new Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (see this page). The state legislature overturned the Profile of Learning standards in April of 2003 with the requirement that new standards in five areas (mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, and art) be developed and implemented by the 2004-2005 school year (see this page).

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Howard Troxler’s column in the September 18, 2005 St. Petersburg Times shows that some of the media are getting the point: “intelligent design” is just another label for the same old antievolution content.

How do you feel about this “intelligent design” question? The polls say that most Americans favor teaching it in school.

Maybe our answer to that poll question ought to depend on what it means to “teach” intelligent design, the new label for what used to be “creationism.”

[...]

Ah, well, this has solved nothing. I’m just saying, there’s no sense getting into a yelling match until we know what we’re yelling about. The best policy is this: Let faith be faith, and science be science; let neither make claims on the other.

BuzzFlash
September 6, 2005
Science Becomes Just Another Tool in the Radical Partisan Agenda of the Bush Administration, According to Journalist Chris Mooney
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

New York Times
September 4, 2005
Political Science
By DANIEL SMITH

SFGate
Bush and company blinded by pseudoscience
- David Appell
Saturday, September 3, 2005

Fort Wayne News Sentinel
Aug. 31, 2005
Zealots are determined to create a theocracy
BY RHONDA CHRISS LOKEMAN

2005/08/28: Ron Matus, St. Petersburg Times, Darwin and evolving standards.

Nationally, it’s a raging debate. President Bush weighed in this month. Time magazine devoted its cover story to the subject two weeks ago.

But in Florida, the teaching of intelligent design - the newest, faith-based counterpoint to Darwin’s theory of evolution - is not an issue.

At least, not yet.

Some observers expect the other shoe to drop next year, when Florida education officials revisit state science standards as part of a routine review of what should be taught in Florida schools.

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Antievolution has made headlines nationwide recently. President George W. Bush has recommended that we “teach both sides”, while his science advisor supports evolutionary biology. A combination of circumstances and events makes it likely that Florida will join the ranks of Kansas, Ohio, West Virginia, Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, and Arizona as a victim of antievolution attacks on science education.

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