Texas Science Standards Under Attack

[curiosityandthecat]

...again? That sounds right, but I'm not sure.

Saw this today in the Discover Magazine website section "Bad Astronomy":

Texas Board of Education creationist Barbara Cargill today proposed an amendment to the science standards saying that teachers have to tell their students there are different estimates for the age of the Universe. This is not even a veiled attempt to attack the Big Bang model of the Universe, which clearly, and through multiple lines of evidence, indicates the Universe is 13.7 +/- 0.12 billion years old.

So Ms. Cargill is right, if she means that "different estimates" range from 13.58 to 13.82 (given one standard deviation) billion years old.

But she doesn’t mean that at all, does she? If you read her website, you’ll see she’s an out-and-out creationist. She has a large number of, um, factual errors on her site that are clearly right out of the Creationist Obscurational Handbook.

Anyway, her antiscience amendment passed 11 - 3.

So tomorrow that will go to the final vote on whether it will be added to the standards or not. With such a majority voting to pass it along, it looks like it will pass, and Texas students will get their chance to learn that the Universe is 6000 years old, and when they try to get a job or do anything later in life, they will be routinely laughed at.

That’s great, Texas! Keep on keepin’ on.

I know we have a strong Texan contingency here... you guys know anything about this? Or at least an address to send nasty letters to?  

[karadan]

Good grief! That is simply ridiculous!  

Is there a face-palm emote? I think this topic warrants one...

[Ninteen45]

Related: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badas ... ahahahaha/

[VanReal]

I am so glad my son is graduating next year, just in case.

Yes, the TEA can be reached through http://www.tea.state.tx.us and I haven't received any notification for curriculum changes required by the state as of yet.  There were a group of science educators in protest last week in Austin.  

I think the state has more pressing issues like figuring out how to handle school finance since Robin Hood was rules as unconstitutional.  Hopefully the other members will get this nutter back into reality and on the real issues like state testing and finance reform.  Argghh.

[VietnamVet-BRIGHT]

...again? That sounds right, but I'm not sure.

Saw this today in the Discover Magazine website section "Bad Astronomy":

Texas Board of Education creationist Barbara Cargill today proposed an amendment to the science standards saying that teachers have to tell their students there are different estimates for the age of the Universe. This is not even a veiled attempt to attack the Big Bang model of the Universe, which clearly, and through multiple lines of evidence, indicates the Universe is 13.7 +/- 0.12 billion years old.

So Ms. Cargill is right, if she means that "different estimates" range from 13.58 to 13.82 (given one standard deviation) billion years old.

But she doesn’t mean that at all, does she? If you read her website, you’ll see she’s an out-and-out creationist. She has a large number of, um, factual errors on her site that are clearly right out of the Creationist Obscurational Handbook.

Anyway, her antiscience amendment passed 11 - 3.

So tomorrow that will go to the final vote on whether it will be added to the standards or not. With such a majority voting to pass it along, it looks like it will pass, and Texas students will get their chance to learn that the Universe is 6000 years old, and when they try to get a job or do anything later in life, they will be routinely laughed at.

That’s great, Texas! Keep on keepin’ on.

I know we have a strong Texan contingency here... you guys know anything about this? Or at least an address to send nasty letters to?  

What a moron this lady is ... of course in her fundamenatist Christian mind, she and others like her will not be satisfied until we are one large third world nation of backward fundamentalist morons which to her doesn't matter because its all going to end sometime soon with the Second Coming of the Jesus character.

Looney-tunes are in charge of Texas government!

.