D.I. Decries Evil Darwinist Censors

Darwinists Waging War on Kansas Over Evolution, Encouraging Schools To
Disobey State Education Guidelines

There is a concerted effort underway in Kansas to censor science and
undermine the strong science standards adopted there last year. In 2005
the Kansas state board of education (KSBOE) courageously voted to adopt
science standards that require students to learn all about evolution,
including both the scientific evidence and for and against the theory.
That's it. The Board didn't require any alternative theories be taught,
just the evidence for and against Darwinian evolution.

However there are a number of groups both inside and outside of Kansas
that are seeking to stifle discussion in Kansas classrooms of anything
critical of Darwinian evolution. Chief among them is "Kansas Citizens
for Science" (KCFS). Not content with simply complaining about the
Kansas science standards, KCFS is now belligerently telling schools and
teachers to disobey the state-sanctioned standards. Officials of KCFS
are waging a campaign of misinformation and scare tactics in an effort
to make sure that Kansas students never hear about any of the serious
scientific challenges to Darwinian evolution.

Here are a few of the phony reasons why KCFS encourages local school
districts to adopt its own recommended standards rather than the
official state-approved standards:

· Kansas students should be taught science that corresponds to the
consensus view of the community of scientists. They should not be
taught assertions from the creationist anti-evolutionists that are held
by the scientific community to be incorrect.

Contrary to this misinformation put out by KCFS, the official Kansas
science standards do call for students to be "taught science that
corresponds to the consensus view" of scientists. But the standards
also require students to learn about continuing scientific
controversies over Darwinian theory's key claims--scientific
controversies that many evolutionists themselves acknowledge when
writing to each other in their science journals.
If scientists can debate about such issues as the "Cambrian Explosion"
in their peer-reviewed journals, why can't students learn about these
debates in their science classes?

· Kansas schools should not be used to promote one particular view of
religion. Presenting religious arguments in the guise of science does
harm not only to our students, but also to religious communities.

Contrary to this misinformation put out by KCFS, no one is suggesting
that any religious views be presented. The Kansas science standards
call for students to learn about scientific challenges to biological
and chemical evolution straight out of mainstream science literature.
The standards have nothing to say about religion and do not call for
the teaching of any religiously-based information.

· Kansas science teachers are already under pressure to teach bad
science or to omit "controversial" science. School districts need to
send their teachers a clear message that they support the teaching of
mainstream science.

Now this is irony. This claim comes from KCFS, the organization that is
aggressively waging a campaign to censor science, to stifle any dissent
from Darwinian evolution. These are the people who want students to be
taught only some of the information about evolution. It is the KCFS and
their partners who are trying to "omit" material from the curriculum.
Their idea of good standards would severely limit the amount of science
teachers would be allowed to present in the classroom.

· Districts using the state standards may leave themselves open to
costly lawsuits, such as the one in Dover, Pennsylvania. The lawsuit
over their Intelligent Design-inspired standards cost the Dover
district over a million dollars. Should such a lawsuit occur in Kansas,
it is not the state that will be sued - it is the local district that
will be sued.

KCFS officials are trying to frighten school districts with the ominous
specter of a lawsuit over intelligent design. What they fail to mention
is that the Kansas state science standards don't have anything to say
about intelligent design. What is it about this sentence that the KCFS
doesn't get? "We also emphasize that the Science Curriculum Standards
do not include Intelligent Design" -- quoted straight from the KSBOE's
own rationale for adoption of the state science standards.

It's time for people to stand up for science, stand up to Darwinist
censors and bullies, and defend good science standards such as those in
Kansas.

Fortunately, Kansas is not alone. Just last month South Carolina
followed Kansas' lead and adopted similar standards that require
students to learn the strengths and weaknesses of evolution. New
Mexico, Minnesota and Pennsylvania also have such standards already in
place. So, there are other states besides Kansas that are standing up
for "full disclosure" when it comes to teaching Darwin's theory.

For a clear and succinct summary of what the Kansas state science
standards do and do not call for download this FAQ.

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/07/kansas_under_attack.html

(Note:Transmitter of above decries D.I.)


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