Another policy reversal in Kansas
Transcript of today's show: Sound Off: Science & Faith. Our point/counterpoint regulars Shelley (the voice of science) and Peter (the voice of faith), comment on the story.
Kansas has repealed public-school science guidelines that questioned the theory of evolution and brought the state international ridicule, but educators are not sure how long it will be before the decision is overturned. The State Board of Education approved new, evolution-friendly science standards with a 6-4 vote last month. Other states have been embroiled in legal debates over the issue, but none has inspired comedians' jokes like the long-running and wildly vacillating battle in Kansas. [source: John Hanna/Associated Press]
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The Voice of Faith: Peter Williamson, M.Div., comments:
Great victories are often not won in a single engagement, nor in neat and tidy packages. Those who do not believe in the supremacy of Darwin’s theories are tenacious, fearless, and afire with their convictions. I do not see this policy decision as a defeat, but as a small event in a long journey toward a righteous goal.
The Voice of Science: Shelley Greene, Ph.D., comments:
Kansas has been at this for years. We will be naïve to believe that this issue has come to some sort of resolution. Those who support teaching creationism and Intelligent Design to Kansas schoolkids have shown no signs of throwing in the towel. Still, of course I’m pleased at this development! For the time being, the side of sanity has won this epic battle. If nothing else, it puts off into the future the next reversal, a policy choice of grand stupidity such as we saw in Kansas’ last round of battle in the State Board of Ed.