Citizens
Influence the
Florida Board
of Education's Vote on Evolution as "Fact"
After 22,000
E-mails, Board Hears Citizens Before Voting
by Sheryl Young
Feb 21, 2008
As published and copyrighted by Associated Content:
No portion
of this may be reprinted without permission.
Tallahassee, FL - The
Florida Board of Education voted Tuesday to drop language which leaned
exclusively toward evolution from the new Florida Performance Science Standards,
written last October but not yet in force. This came after five public meetings,
which many Floridians claimed were announced too late for most to attend, and
that citizens who had voiced their opinion at those open meetings had to do so
facing a video screen rather than the board appearing in person.
There was not going to be a chance for the public to speak today before the
vote, but at the Orlando meeting last week, attendees persuaded the Board to
allow yet another opportunity to share views on this volatile issue. After
200,000 citizens wrote in to rate the new standards online, and 22,000 e-mails
poured in to the Board members, the Board succumbed to this request.
Ten people were allowed to speak from each "side" of the debate, for three
minutes each. One group of ten represented the many concerned parents, teachers,
religious leaders and even scientists who found an anti-diverse, anti-academic
freedom aspect to clauses in the new standards which referred to the theory of
evolution as the be-all and end-all of human life's origins.
Another ten represented
many others who wanted evolution to be considered fact, once and for all
squelching any exploratory conversation about creationism or Intelligent Design
in public classrooms, and leaving the faith issue to be taught at home or in
church.
T. Willard Fair, Board Chairman, opened the meeting with a sense of
humor, proclaiming he had personally received 2,000 messages on his Blackberry,
and today the people and the Board members would see the whites of each other's
eyes.
Many presenters with high academic teaching and scientific credentials stated
that "real" science itself is based on having to prove something can happen over
and over again with the same results, and that nobody has been able to reproduce
the slow process of an animal's evolution. Those favoring evolution as pure fact
had just as many professional accolades to their name.
Main points made on the side of allowing students to continue
considering evolution a "theory" included the presentation of Patricia Weeks,
teacher and chairman of Baker County School Board. She opposed the new standards
as written, feeling that critical thinking skills are eliminated from the
standard. "The new standard denies the freedom of critical thinking – it says to
put those skills aside on just this one issue, Darwinian belief. It promotes a
double standard by taking students’ ability to challenge the theory away and
denies teachers’ academic freedom."
Rev Harry Parrott, Baptist Minister for 38 years, favored the new standards. His
children were taught evolution in public school. "The scientific concepts of
evolution are basic to a scientific education. I haven't found that it has been
taught as dogmatism. My sons still see it as an either/or. Let the religious
debate go on, but not in science classes."
Jonathan Smith, a FL resident for 30 years, said some people there were making
“egregious claims about evolution without understanding science – trying to push
religion into the school system." Other speakers favoring only evolution in the
classroom stated that if scientists say it is so, then we should believe it and
teach it.
But still more pointed out that various scientists who have begun to question
evolutionary evidence are often fired from their jobs or threatened with loss
of tenure at their facilities, proving that their freedom to explore and
discover has been denied.
Rich Akin, CEO of Physicians and Surgeons of Scientific Integrity which is
headquartered in Florida, said many scientists don't agree that the theory of
evolution should now be considered fact. He submitted strongly that current
science has disproved Darwinism. Paraphrased: “Consensus science has been a
barrier to scientific progress"...it is a way to avoid debate. Dogmatic overall
statements do a disservice to students. Contrary to Darwin’s theory, the fossil
record shows deterioration not progression. Mutation selection cannot create a
single gene, proving the proposed language is off target. Darwinian evolution is
in a “state of collapse” scientifically."
John Stemberger, President of Florida Family Council and one of the last citizen
speakers allowed, reminded all those in attendance that none of the presenters
in opposition of the new standards asked for the teaching of religion, but were
accused of doing so.
After a break, the Board heard additional professional testimony, including
that from some of the writers of the new standards. Then, to the attendees'
surprise, they stayed in the room to debate and vote the issue. Only four
consenting votes were needed to go either way, and in the end the Board voted in
favor of leaving the word “theory” attached. But they did not specifically add
the “Academic Freedom Proposal” clause included in some other states, as they
said it was implied in other parts of the document.
In a
News Channel 8 poll conducted by Survey USA, 23% of respondents wanted only
evolution taught; 27% wanted a biblical perspective, 27% called for a
combination, 19% for Intelligent Design and the rest undecided (2/19/08 video
presentation on News Channel 8 website, Tampa, http://wfla.com/news/).
All
quotes in this article were taken from the Live Board Meeting Webcast, 8:30
a.m.-10:15 a.m. EST session, Tuesday 2/19/08, accessed through the Board of
Education's website, http://www.fldoe.org/.
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