Kansas is another one of those places where too many of the people running the schools would like to inject religion into the science curriculum. Even so, I’m not sure this is the best way to fight the trend.
In an escalation of the nation’s culture war over the teaching of evolution, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Teachers Association announced yesterday that they will not allow Kansas to use key science education materials developed by the two organizations.
But at least the executive director of the National Science Teacher’s Association knows what he’s talking about.
"Science is not a dance card or jukebox where you can choose the songs you want," Wheeler said. "It’s about what is the best explanation for the observations and the data we have. It’s about the facts."
Update (10/29): Being wiser than I, Cory Doctorow has put into words the uneasy feeling I have over this move by the science teachers association and the Academy of Sciences.
Ah yes, we will soon have the 21st Century version
of a “Monkey trial”.