Evolution and the Texas SBOE

This year, as in previous years, there is a debate raging over evolution vs. creation, which to some, myself included, boils down to whether we choose to enfore the separation of church and state. Science curriculum is about to undergo a major change, and the current practice of teaching the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories may not stand. This method, while providing education about theories like evolution, also opens the door for the study of the supernatural. Since schools ultimately have to meet standards set by the government, the separation of church and state applies here. This is not to say that schools should cold and godless places for children, but the rights of religious minorites should be protected. Much of the debate surrounding this year's election of the State Board of Education reflects this.

According to The League of Women Voters part of the SBOE's job is to "establish goals for the public school system and adopts and promotes four-year plans for meeting those goals." Oh, and they don't get paid for it. So, this seems to be a thankless job that doesn't pay the bills, and sometimes involves controversial decisions. Here are the candidates in this year's race:

District 2: composed of Aransas, Calhoun, Cameron, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jackson, Kennedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton, and Willacy counties.

Peter Johnston (R)- supports discussing "strengths and weaknesses" of any theory, and said "let the fittest theory survive." So, has hope that evolution might be disproven.
Mary Helen Berlanga (D)- according to Texas Monthly, once called fellow board member, Don McLeroy "criminally insane." Read more about McLeroy later. She might be right. Says in the LWV Voter Guide," The most pressing issue is how the board is being run by a majority of individuals with a very narrow social conservative agenda."

District 6: composed of Harris county.

Terri Leo (R)- one of the more conservative members of the current board.
Mary Ann Bryan (L)-A true Libertarian, wants all of the decisions to be left to individual schools, saying about the evolution issue, " it's terrible that the State Board of Education even has to consider this question."

District 7: composed of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, and Jefferson counties.

David Bradley (R)
Laura Ewing (D)- Has a well organized website, good and rational ideas, and seems the complete opposite of her opponent, David Bradley, who seems like a total nutjob.
Richard Johnson (L)

District 8: composed of Angelina, Bowie, Cass, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Jasper, Liberty, Marion, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Trinity, and Tyler counties.

Barbara Cargill (R)- East Texas conservative who will probably be reelected. It doesn't look like her opponent is putting up much of a fight. Supports the "strengths and weaknesses" method of teaching evolution.
Kim Stroman (L)

District 11: composed of Ellis, Johnson, Parker, and Tarrant counties.

Patricia Hardy (R)- She seems to be a swing vote on the board. Hardy is a Republican, but not a rabid conservative.
Bruce Beckman (L)- Says that, in addition to supporting the separation of church and state, he also supports the separation of "science and state." This sounds nice; why not keep the government out of science classrooms, but do we really want to keep science out of the government? Isn't that what George W. Bush has done? Let's destroy the environment, deny global warming, and pretend that the earth is 6,000 years old. That idea works both ways.

District 13: composed of Dallas and Tarrant counties.

Cindy Werner (R)- Supports teaching the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories. Hate to keep bringing this up, but this seems to be the Republican State Board of Ed member's equivalent of pleading the fifth.
Mavis Best Knight (D)- Supports sex education, lowering the drop-out rate, is against teaching Intelligent Design, and basically opposes most of what the conservative "bloc" supports. In short, she sounds like a perfectly rational person.

District 14: composed of Archer, Bell, Bosque, Clay, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Denton, Eastland, Erath, Grayson, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, Jack, Lampasas, McLennan, Mills, Montague, Palo Pinto, Somervell, Stephens, Wichita, Wise, and Young counties.

Gail Lowe (R)- Blah, blah, blah, strengths and weaknesses...more on her later...
Edra Bogle (D)- What a cool lady! I would like to meet Edra Bogle. First of all, she actually provides examples for the evolution question, saying that the evidence is everywhere, from fossils to drug-resistant bacteria. She mentions that U.S. students trail the international community in science scores, and that we need to catch up to stay competitive. Is against "teaching to the test," and has a strong educational background. Led the way, as a chair of a local PFLAG chapter, to pass an anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policy at local schools.
Here's a quote from her website:

"Do we want to be like those “scientists” of the Renaissance who rejected heliocentrism—the belief that the earth goes around the sun? What would our understanding of the universe be like if we still taught that the earth is fixed in place at the center of everything, and that the planets and stars revolve around it? Copernicus developed mathematical reasons refuting this belief in the early 1500’s, but was forced to recant. Over a century later Galileo was held under house arrest by the Inquisition for advocating Copernican theory, in spite of the evidence supplied by better telescopes. Not until well along into the 1700’s was the overwhelming evidence that the earth revolves around the sun accepted."

I wish I could vote for her.

John Shuey (L)- He calls evolution the "single most important scientific discovery ever," and seems to have some good ideas, but, if I lived 20 miles to the south, my vote would solidly be for Bogle.

This is the race that is getting the most attention in my area. I am actually not voting for this one, since apparently the District that my county falls under is not being contested this year. However, there have been several letters to the editor that I have noticed about Gail Lowe and her views about evolution.

Here is what she had to say on the topic:

"Evolution continues to be a prevailing theory in science. For almost 20 years Texas has required high school biology students to learn about evolution and the strengths and limitations of this theory. I support that position."--from the LWV Voter Guide

Hmmm. She doesn't seem to be a cheerleader for evolution, but she isn't arguing against it, at least not here. Let's take a closer look.

The SBOE is currently composed of 15 members, 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats, and some of them are running for reelection in this year's race. They are:

District 1: Rene Nunez (D)
District 2: Mary Helen Berlanga (D)
District 3: Rick Agosto (D)
District 4: Lawrence A. Allen, Jr. (D)
District 5: Ken Mercer (R)
District 6: Terri Leo (R)
District 7: David Bradley (R)
District 8: Barbara Cargill (R)
District 9: Don McLeroy (R)
District 10: Cynthia Noland Dunbar (R)
District 11: Patricia Hardy (R)
District 12: Geraldine Miller (R)
District 13: Mavis Best Knight (D)
District 14: Gail Lowe (R)
District 15: Bob Craig (R)

It was mentioned in the Dallas Morning News that there is a "seven-member bloc from the far right" already in place on the board. The election of one more social conservative has some worried that we will begin to see evolution being replaced by creationism in schools, abstinence-only education, and so on. Is this a valid concern?

A little research seems to show that the seven right-wingers are:

• Don McLeroy. His argument for teaching creationism in schools is that "what can stop science is an irrefutable preconception. Anytime you attempt to limit possible explanations in science, it is then that you get your science stopper." So since anything is possible in science, by his reasoning, we could teach any creation story in science classes. Why not teach the Hindu story of creation or a Native American story? The answer is that, while believers of these faiths have...well, faith, there is nothing scientific to study here. Why should we assume that everyone has faith in the Christian story of creation? There are countless creation stories out there, and until we have empirical evidence to support any of them, they shouldn't be taught in science classes.
• Gail Lowe. Her website doesn't offer much substance, but says that she is for traditional values, and so on. So, here are some of her achievements. She was named "Conservative of the Year" by the Lampasas County Conservative Club, a "nonpartisan" organization, which I'm sure is just loaded with Democrats and she supports the First Amendment, but believes that it is not a school's "duty" to teach religion, but also supports elective Bible courses. She does not seem to support the teaching of any other religious text.
• Cynthia Noland Dunbar
• Barbara Cargill
• Terri Leo
• David Bradley. One of his more childish displays was to rip a book apart and "reject" it.
• Ken Mercer

Texas Monthly recently posted a quiz about the SBOE that you can check out here. Check out a few sample questions and answers.

In March the board debated creating a book list of more than 150 literary works that would be recommended for the classroom. After some critics noted the small number of works by authors from different cultures, McLeroy told the San Antonio Express-News, “You really don’t want Chinese books with a bunch of crazy Chinese words in them. Why should you take a child’s time trying to learn a word that they’ll never ever use again?” Which of the following Chinese words or phrases did McLeroy admit could be useful for a child to learn?

A. Chow mein.

B. Kung Fu Panda.

C. Adios, mofo.

D. Ni hao ma? (How are you?)

Why did former Republican board member Cynthia Thornton, who did not run for reelection in 2006, request and receive extra security from the armed Capitol guards at board meetings?

A. She had received death threats from the radical pro-evolution group the Darwinners.

B. A socially conservative Republican member had physically threatened her for not voting in a bloc.

C. She was concerned that the crowds of angry protesters who frequently attend the board meetings were likely to riot.

D. She had become convinced that a gorilla was stalking her.

I did not originally intend for this post to be so long; I just wanted to give a rundown of what I thought was one of the more boring races in this election. However, I found that the races for the SBOE are quite interesting. As a biology major, the evolution issue is near and dear to my heart, and I hope that we will elect board members who will defend it.