William B. Travis State Office Building, where the Texas
Education Agency and State Board of Education have their
offices. (Wikipedia; released into public domain.)
As the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE) wrestles with curriculum changes and its position with respect to a movement toward a "national" curriculum, its former chairman is preparing for the fight of his career in a Texas primary election--as much on account of his creationist views and his consistent advocacy of them as on account of his handling of any other issues.
John Donald "Don" McLeroy, DDS, representative from Texas Education District 9 on the TSBOE, is an unabashed young-earth creationist. Elected to the board in 1998, he was appointed as its chairman in 2007 by Governor Rick Perry. This appointment was highly significant for one reason above all: every ten years, the TSBOE must revise the textbooks used in the State's high schools, and that time had arrived.
In the two years that McLeroy was allowed to serve as chairman, he engineered a number of curriculum changes to various curricula, including mathematics, science and English. His most important changes were to the science standards. A close examination of the standards reveals no explicit rejection of evolution. Instead, the new standards encourage students to think critically about the still-prevailing theory of evolution, and to "analyze and evaluate" certain evidence (like the complexity of the cell and the sudden appearance and disappearance of species in the fossil record) that speak directly to the evolution theory's most glaring weaknesses.
That alone has been too much for the proponents of evolution, who began immediately to undermine him and have him removed as chairman. On May 26, 2009, McLeroy failed of confirmation as permanent chairman in the Texas Senate, when he came one vote shy of the required two-thirds. Governor Perry appointed one of McLeroy's allies on the board as chairman.
Last month the board postponed a key vote on the social studies curriculum, the last curriculum remaining to be decided, until March. This is significant because on March 2, Texas holds its primary election. McLeroy now faces a primary challenge from one Thomas Ratliff, who yesterday won an endorsement from the Dallas Morning News and has already indicated that he would oppose everything that McLeroy stands for. The Democratic Party has no announced candidates for the District 9 board seat in its primary, so the upcoming vote will determine whether McLeroy keeps his job.
This is a story of national importance, for two reasons above all. First, as goes Texas, so goes the rest of the country, simply on account of the sheer volume of textbooks that Texas schools purchase. Second, Texas is one of two States (the other is Alaska) that have decided not to join a movement, which some say is driven by the federal government despite denials by the National Governors' Association and others, to impose one set of curriculum standards on every State in the Union. McLeroy has been one of the staunchest advocates of continued Texas independence in this regard.
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Comments
Evolution: More evidence supporting in than can be listed here in 1000 characters. Creationism: ZERO EVIDENCE!
Faith is the pillar stone Jeremy.
Good article Terry.
"that speak directly to the evolution theory's most glaring weaknesses"
Forgive me, but the issues you quote have been dealt with repeatedly and in no way constitute a weakness for the evolutionary theory.
As an aside, I doubt the qualifications of anyone ignorant enough to be a young earth creationist to hold any job above that of a Goodwill sales clerk, much less being in charge of the educational standards.
If you can't see the evidence around you Jeremy then you need glasses. Everything is designed, take a little bird and see how magnificently it is made. Be a bird watcher for awhile and you won't deny creation!
Great article Terry.
"Be a bird watcher for awhile and you won't deny creation!"
Be a scientific bird examiner and you won't deny evolution.
A short lesson in biological anthropology: Birds were once reptiles who were driven to live in frigid climate zones during the mesozoic period due to much larger reptiles preying upon them. Eventually their reptile like skin formed into scales that better trapped the heat allowing them to survive in much colder temperatures. Those scales eventually formed into elongated feathers and the bones of those creatures became hollow, allowing them to fly in order to hunt prey and avoid ground-bound predators. When a species changes in order to survive, thats evolution at work. Look up the recent discovery of Ardipithicus. You won't except it as proof, because "To see through faith, one must first shut the eye of reason". Thomas Jefferson said that.
Good article Terry. An important issue to draw attention to.
It's impossible to more stupid than McLeroy. Texas disgraced itself when they let this retard on their State Board of Education. Perhaps the majority of Texans are just as retarded as McLeroy. Just look at the idiot governor they elected.
Another retard left the following comment here: "Everything is designed"
Translation: Everything is magic.
Americans are bloody idiots.
darwin-killed-god dot blogspot dot com
Speaking of retarded idiots look at this: "that speak directly to the evolution theory's most glaring weaknesses."
Terry Hurlbut, you don't know anything about science. The basic facts of evolution are the strongest facts of science. So what glaring weaknesses could you be talking about?
Terry Hurlbut, since you're a know-nothing retard why don't you just SHUT THE **** UP. Better yet, why don't you do everyone a favor and drop dead. This world already has enough uneducated morons.
More crap from Hurlbut: "like the complexity of the cell"
Right mister. It's so darn complex the magic man must have made it. Hurlbut, you're a disgrace to the human race. Just shut up retard boy and go read your worthless Bible.
darwin-killed-god dot blogspot dot com
"Texas creationist fights for his career--and the truth"
And what is the truth Mr. Retard? Your Christian death cult? Your dead Jeebus preacher man? The disgusting evidence-free Resurrection myth (the stinking Jeebus corpse became a zombie that flew up to the clouds).
I'm not sure who is more stupid, the retarded McLeroy, or the uneducated moron Terry Hurlbut who is trying to defend the retarded McLeroy.
Hey Hurlbut, since you think you know more about biology than all the world's biologists, why don't you explain Human Chromosome Two for us. Let's have it, Hurlbut. What is unique about Human Chromosome Two?
Of course you don't know what I'm talking about because, Hurlbut, you're an uneducated god-soaked hick, no less insane and just as worthless as a Muslim terrorist. Just please make the world a better place and drop dead.
darwin-killed-god dot blogspot dot com
"take a little bird and see how magnificently it is made."
So what kind of magic wand did your fairy use? Come on, let's have it, Judy Christian, describe the magic wand. Also, we need to know what magic words your fairy used. Did the fairy say "abracadabra" or "hocus pocus"? Also, we need evidence. We need fantastic evidence that would justify your ridiculous childish idiotic belief in magic.
Of course you don't have one shred of evidence for your magical creation of little birds. All you got is your childishness, your fear of education, your fear of reality, and your hopeless stupidity.
"Evolution: More evidence supporting it than can be listed here in 1000 characters."
Heck Jeremy, there's more evidence supporting the established truth of evolution than can be listed in a thousand books. And the evidence continues to grow every day as molecular biologists compare DNA sequences of different living species to determine evolutionary relationships with extreme accuracy.
Meanwhile uneducated morons like Terry Hurlbut complain about the imaginary "glaring weaknesses" they think evolution has.
Terry Hurlbut, I have a question for you. Are you a compulsive liar for Jeebus, or are you just a stupid hick? I'm betting you're both.
darwin-killed-god dot blogspot dot com
There's no "explicit rejection" of evolution because that's already been proven unconstitutional and illegal. What you do get from a "close examination" of those science standards is a first-hand lesson in creationist trickery, with language specifically designed (hah!) to allow discussion of crationism and ID in the classroom. And if challenged, there are the so-called "standards" to defend the teacher.
While evolution doesn't provide a full and complete explanation for every single known facty of biology (and doesn't claim to), it has no significant weaknesses.
By contrast, Creationism/ID fail to explain teh vast majority of facts of biology, and in fact are outright disproved by many of these facts. As such, they are matters of faith alone, not science by any shape, form or definition.
There's nothing wrong with faith in God(s). But it's important to understand the difference between allegory and history. That's where creationists fall down.
"Human Ape", try politeness.
To take the stance of a 'young-earth' creationist, one must abandon the very principles upon which science stands. Paleontology, physics and my personal field of study - Geology - all must conveniently ignored or their fundamental premises re-written in order for the world to be construed as 6,000 years old.
I find it disturbing that the person in charge of the science ciriculum holds beliefs that require him to reject the tenents of science itself.
I love how the liberal tolerancenics have so much "tolerance" for Christians.
Wow, this article has brought out the extremes in the comments section.. at one end of the spectrum we've got raging hatefulness and at the other some house moms with their happy-go-lucky "arguments".
Candi,
Are you saying there are no liberal Christians?
And no tolerant Christians?
I'm sure a great many of the "liberal tolerancenics" you refer to are, in fact, also Christians.
Personally, I'm a liberal Christian. And very tolerant of all faiths, and no-faiths.
There's a section of Christianity I do have an issue with, and it's precisely the right-wing branch that seems to think if you don't sign up to the profoundly ignorant version of the Bible they believe in, you are a liberal commie atheist!
I agree with others...there is no reason for an evolution v. creationism argument to stoop to name-calling. People are generally more receptive to a message when it is presented in a calm and respectful manner. In my experience, once the evidence is presented calmly and openly, it is much more difficult for a creationist to justify their beliefs. They may not accept it but, it will lay the groundwork for them to do more critical thinking in the future. Once they learn to think critically, it's a matter of time before they recognize the glaring weaknesses in the creationist argument.
Terry, I was once told that you know when a piece of art is successful. If it makes people think and/or talk about it, it is a successful piece, even if those who are talking about it don't like it. It stirs emotion and that is what art is supposed to do. Terry I would say that you, my friend, have created a very successful piece of word art. I am glad to see that you have given people a lot to think about :)
Hi Sherrie,
I think that only applies if the aim is to provoke thought and debate. If it's just to rant about your personal prejudices and delusions, it's not really the same thing.
Terry hasn't set out to provoke debate, he's just set out to lecture on his own misguided beliefs.
"If you can't see the evidence around you Jeremy then you need glasses. Everything is designed, take a little bird and see how magnificently it is made. Be a bird watcher for awhile and you won't deny creation!"
Please justify this assertion. Describe the specific physical processes by which a bird is "made". Explain where these processes may be directly observed and replicated, and show evidence lending credence to the explanation of such processes being responsible for the emergence of a bird.
Faith is making a virtue of not thinking.
I have plenty of tolerance for Christians. What i don't have tolerance for is American society which is bringing up a generation or more of scientific illiterates who fall for the hokum being offered by creationists because a few rogue scientists blinded by dogma choose to exploit that very illiteracy to push a religious agenda. This will be a stake through the heart America's competitiveness, and all they can come up with is, "Gee, it's so complex, it has to be designed!" <forehead, meet palm>
If you meant McLeroy fights the truth (i.e., fights against the truth), we can agree.
"I disagree with these experts. Somebody's got to stand up to experts ..." -- McLeroy
See http : // www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe-DrJaNFc
At the risk of being labelled an “elitist” or “expert” by McLeroy, periods of stasis in the fossil record are no problem for Darwinian evolution. As Darwin noted in Chapter 10 of *On the Origin of Species*:
“It is a more important consideration, leading to the same result, as lately insisted on by Dr. Falconer, namely, that the period during which each species underwent modification, though long as measured by years, was probably short in comparison with that during which it remained without undergoing any change.”
Given Terri Leo’s out-of-context quotes of Darwin in board meetings (I recall her use of one regarding the eye) and McLeroy’s distortions of Gould’s work, it is clear that the creationists have no intention of overcoming their ignorance, but expect their audience to have the same level of ignorance. These are not people that need to be directing the education of the children of Texas.
Another example of McLeroy’s apparently deliberate ignorance:
“Darwin’s critics are likewise highly qualified; they include the founder of the fields of paleontology and comparative anatomy-Cuvier and modern taxonomy-Linnaeus.” – Don McLeroy, http: //home.att.net/~dmcleroy/Textbooks/Historical_Reality.htm
McLeroy is engaging in some historical revisionism. Here’s some information he seems to have overlooked:
Carolus Linnaeus (born May 23 [New Style] 1707 – died January 10, 1778)
Georges Cuvier (born August 23, 1769 – died May 13, 1832)
Charles Darwin (born 12 February 1809 – died 19 April 1882)
McLeroy must believe that someone had a seance with Linnaeus for the taxonomist to have been a critic of Charles Darwin, given that Linnaeus died before Charles Darwin was born. Cuvier’s latter life overlapped with Darwin’s early life, but Cuvier died before Darwin thought of common descent, and long before Darwin published his first peer-reviewed paper on it.
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