Hey Science, Don't Mess with Texas

It can't be a good thing when a state fires its head of science education for promoting science education. But that's what happened when the Texas Education Agency put its science curriculum director Chris Comer on administrative leave in late October, leading to what she calls a forced resignation.

We begin our story on October 26 when Comer forwarded an e-mail announcing a presentation titled, "Inside Creationism's Trojan Horse," by Barbara Forrest. Forrest co-authored a book arguing that creationist politics are advancing the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools, and are doing so through public relations rather than through scientific research. Shortly after forwarding the e-mail, Comer was put on administrative leave.

"Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral," according to the author of a TEA memo calling for Comer's firing.

The memo also criticizes Comer for failing to get permission to give a presentation at a conference and for suggesting there was a lack of leadership at the agency, but these offenses hardly seem grounds for a pink slip so let's focus on the statement above.

Does forwarding an e-mail really "impl[y] endorsement of the speaker?" Every day I forward more event-promoting e-mails than my Microsoft Outlook outbox knows what to do with. If I "endorsed the speakers" at half of them, you wouldn't be able to tell whether I was voting for Barack Obama, Ron Paul or Raffi. Comer's in charge of science education, so it makes sense that she'd forward an e-mail about a science education event. She sent the e-mail with the subject line, "FYI." For all we know, she does the same for hundreds of e-mails announcing presentations by intelligent design theory advocates too. That wouldn't make her an advocate of intelligent design theory, just an avid e-mail forwarder.

Does forwarding an e-mail really "impl[y] that TEA endorses the speaker's position"? We don't know whether Comer signed the e-mail "Sincerely, Chris Comer, Director of Science Curriculum, Texas Education Agency" or "xoxo, your old college girlfriend chrissy wissy," so even if Comer did privately endorse the speaker's position, we can't say whether she did so in her professional role. Although she did use her TEA e-mail account, it's still too big a jump to claim this implies agency endorsement of the speaker.

My third beef is the degree to which the agency's desire for "neutrality" stifles educational inquiry. Actually in this case it seemed to stifle Comer's effort to stay informed about current topics of controversy in her field. I understand it's the TEA's policy to "remain neutral" on the evolution-intelligent design debate, but the only thing this policy seems to do is politicize science education. "In most states, the department of education takes a leadership role in fostering sound science education. Apparently TEA employees are supposed to be kept in the closet and only let out to do the bidding of the Board [of Education]," Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education.

This of course leads us to the Board of Education. (Thanks for the segue, Eugenie.) Comer had held her position for nine years, so what might have motivated the TEA to clear her office now? Perhaps the fact that next year the Texas Board of Education will review the state science curriculum and set standards for classroom instruction and textbook selection. My little conspiracy theory gets even better when you hear that the woman who led the charge to get rid of Comer just joined the TEA this year to become "senior adviser on statewide initiatives." (That woman, by the way, is Lizzette Reynolds, former deputy legislative director for Dubya when he was Texas guv and later a Bush appointee at the US Department of Education.) Might one of those statewide initiatives be inundating Texas children with intelligent design theory?

One closing note (thanks to my friends at The Great Beyond): In a recent international examination by the OECD of the performance of 15 year-olds in science, the United States scored significantly below average, finishing just behind Latvia. You might find it interesting to compare this chart showing where countries stand in the OECD rankings with this chart showing how much of their population believes in evolution. I'm not endorsing the position that people who believe in evolution are smarter. Just consider this a forwarded e-mail with the subject "FYI."

Comments

[unclebucky]

Hey.

This is what we get when christianists, fascists, and even mormonists get "critical mass" in state school boards, local school boards, and classrooms. There is a problem when Romney or Huckabee get approval from moderates. That they do not understand the issue is clear.

Sure, not having evolution part of the curriculum is hard, but we can do without it for a short time. The problem is that along with this comes a short circuit in scientific thought, including a fogging of the concepts of cause/effect, probability, statistical inference, null hypothesis, and assertions­/evidence.

Once those quintessential concepts are blunted, we have will hear our kids blurting belief, fact, truth, spirit, and so on, in science, history, social studies, and civics classes.

Don't believe them when they claim they will keep their hands off science and be agnostic about religion mixing with government.

The word AGNOSTIC is not in their vocabulary.

Ugh.

--UB.

[GawdFraud]

Since the fundamentalist religious fringes want to substitute religious dogma for science wouldn't it be appropriate for the bible to be subjected to the stricutures of scientific investigation of its claims since there is almost no physical evidence to support any of its wild-eyed stories.
At least modern day scientists can offer fossilized remains of earlier species that go with current DNA evidence to support evolution. Perhaps the fundies could come up with a fossilized Jesus, Mary and Joseph as proof of their position.
Then we could call it the theory of christianity and it could be taught in all religion classes.

[Frederic]

Looking at this idiocy one almost starts doubting evolution: It hasn't arrived in Texas yet, lol! Well, there are millions of years at evolution's disposal, so let's stay optimistic!

Dawkins is right: These fossils poison the development of our children.

In the 15th century in Europe superstition was the only available world view, even for the reformers. Luther was an avid witch hunter!

But today, when reason and scientific thinking is available, fighting it is criminal: These people are to be regarded as terrorists, no less than the Islamist terrorists. It is the same mindset.

[nowaterboardUSA]

Well having lived in Texas my whole life, I've made this observation. 1)Texas has always been ultra-conservative even under the reign of the racist dixicrats of the pre-1960's. 2)In the past 25 years (at least) you cannot be elected or appointed to any position of power in this state without having your nose firmly planted in some neo-cons ass!

[duggie]

As an employee of a major textbook publisher in the 1970s, I can tell you that the TEA is responsible for setting off the big slide of American education into 3rd world status and below. Since they purchased big, big quantities of texts for systems statewide, they "leveraged" their buying power to get anything they wanted excluded and eventually edited not only science texts, but English Literature. Anything their warped minds didn't like was thrown out. Many older editors simply retired.


Other states complained about getting "Texas" texts, but the publisher couldn't print versions for each state or afford to cross the viral TEA: Religion has been eroding education ever since.

[factanonverba]

Where is Molly Ivins when you need her? She would have had a field day with this sad episode. May her soul rest in peace.

[nfsbrrpkk]

This is part of a plan to replace knowledgeable educators at TEA with political appointmen­ts/friends of Perry and Bush. TEA has been outsourced and politicized with taxpayers paying their salaries.
TEA Organizational Chart
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/org_chart.pdf
What are the credentials, education, work history, and background of the TEA employees?

[NorCalNative]

Zach, after reading your story I checked out some other versions on the internet and you are the only one making the link between the Board member and her ties to our President. I don't think it is a dangerous step to suspect conspriacy here. Even without direct communication there remains a similar World View that desires radical change in government. That is, that creationism and religion are more important than science.

President Theodore Roosevelt said something like "Knowledge of the Bible is more important than a University education.­" He also said "A great Democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great Democracy.­"

The question of whether we are progressive and thus Great, is probably answered by the chart showing what percentage of the U.S. believes in evolution. The most remarkable thing about that chart was that in the United States there were almost the exact same percentage of people that believed in evolution as did not.

The big question is this: Does Empire require dumbed-downed drones to man the fortress and not ask why ONLY military hardware and goods matter and people do not? Does Religion futher the goals of the Military Industrial Complex? We are less than 4% of the population yet we spend more on War and soldiers than all other countries combined.

Keep up the good reporting. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your stuff in the futre.

[olephart]

"next year the Texas Board of Education will review the state science curriculum and set standards for classroom instruction and textbook selection.­"


Texas and California are the two largest markets for textbooks. They usually set the standards and other states must pick what's available. Thus it is not just the junk science of creationism it's big money.

[ChiGuy]

It's Texas.
'Nuff said.

[DemandTruth]

"Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral," according to the author of a TEA memo calling for Comer's firing.

Ah, well I can help you out with your disconnect. They don't mean real honest-to-goodness neutral neutrality. They mean Fox "News"-like fair-and-balanced neutrality.

Now the decision makes perfect sense, no?

[luziannagirl]

Message to the American Mainstream Science Community from deep in the heart the Gumbo Gallery:

Maybe it's time for the creation of some kind of scientists' bar association, like doctors and lawyers and even social workers have successfully done.

Want to call your backdoor du jour merger of religion with tax-supported public school curriculum " science ", and mandate its teaching alongside real science in public schools?

Want to influence the publishing of major science school textbooks that leaves out and distorts keystone concepts like evolution to the point we the public end up with a worthless piece of trash and our children could get a better science education just by watching dvds of Nature, Nova, and sitting down with a good encyclopedia and studying on their own?

Fine. Just be a paid-up member in good standing of the AAAS or find your ass slapped with a lawsuit for science quackery, practicing science without a license, impersonating a scientist, whatever you want to call it.

You can believe all you want, that the Earth is 6,000 years old and no more, because all the numbers in the Old Testament totalled up prove it.

You can believe that all species living were created as is by a Great Creator, and you don't have to buy that changes over time eventually can and do lead to the development of new and distinct species (a.k.a, "evolution").

If you have to, you can believe that there are biological "proofs" that life has to have been created purposefully by some intelligent creator.

It won't bother me. Go ahead, be my guest. Believe whatever you want. It's a free country, and there's certainly no law against stupidity and ignorance.

Just don't call it science, and keep it the hell out of my tax-supported public schools, and keep it the hell away from my children who go to those schools.

We the public are protected by law from charlatans and cheats posing as physicians, lawyers, and even social workers. Why not scientists?

Scientists, where's your "bar association"?

[mbaty]

This is an injustice; that said, the entire Intelligent Design vs. Evolution argument is a red herring. Evolution IS an intelligent design, wouldn't you agree? All of nature is constantly changing, and those adaptations that are built into the design of all organisms are--say it with me, "a really smart idea," as in, intelligent.
Also, while some fundies may want to sneak creationism into the schools, the idea of there being intelligence in the design of life is hardly far-fetched. It's consciousness, after all, that directs life, awareness that signals the need for adaptation. To say that "god created the world in six days several thousand years ago" is obviously not scientific in the slightest, and most stories in the bible were not meant to be scientific; they were creative non-fiction stories and metaphors of humankind's relationship with the divine, not a science textbook. It should not be used as proof of anything, but admitting that intelligence exists in the design is not the same as calling the bible "true." Wouldn't it really piss off the creationists, the ones who are trying to get the bible taught literally in schools, if we embraced the concept of "intelligent design" and completely separated it from religion?

[Frederic]

Some think 2+2=4

Some think 2+2=5

Please, let's stay neutral.

ID = Institutionalized Dementia.

[docmandingo]

I am a professor in the Texas A&M system; I followed my spouse, who is also a professor, here. It is a temporary stop as I can't wait to get the stink of this provincial backwater off of me.

Take it from me, the majority here consists of knuckle-dragging, chicken-fried, homophobic, evangelical bigots. They care little for the pursuit of truth or science. The ruling "elite" in Texass seeks to perpetuate their outmoded 19th century racist, elitist, homophobic ideals, damn the consequences.

I now strongly support the concept of a border fence, only it should be constructed at the Red River rather than along the Rio Grande in order to keep the right-wing cowboy stupidity that dominates this bunghole from spreading to the rest of the country.

P.S. The stereotype about Texas Aggies being stupid could scarcely be more accurate. I have several that are colleagues and they are uniformly the most poorly educated academics that I have ever encountered.