This is scary. Really really scary. Every 10 years, major textbook publishers update and republish their books. And they use Texas’ state standards as their benchmarks because demand for textbooks in that state is so high. Next year is revision time, and depending on the outcome of today’s State Board of Education vote, textbooks distributed across the nation (for the next 10 years!) might include evaluations of the legitimacy of certain scientific theories like the theory of evolution. Say what?!?

According to today’s NY Times, yesterday’s preliminary vote on whether to uphold teaching evolution as is, without the clause requiring teachers to address the theory’s “strengths and weaknesses” (what weaknesses?!), was split 7-7 with one board member missing. That missing board member is a moderate, so chances are the “strength and weaknesses” clause won’t be reinstated. But the board’s 7 social conservative members did succeed in making the following amendments to the state’s official curriculum:

In biology, teachers will be required to “analyze and evaluate the sufficiency or insufficiency of natural selection to explain the complexity of the cell.” In earth-science, teachers will have to address “current theories of the evolution of the universe including estimates for the age of the universe.” I suddenly feel very nauseous.

Especially since, according to the Washington Post, the chairman of the State Board of Education Don McLeroy is a “young earth creationist” who believes that the earth was created by God no more than 10,000 years ago – a far cry from the billions of years suggested by science. Is young earth creationism going to be added as a legitimate scientific theory in our national textbooks? How about throwing in a chapter on the chemical changes occurring within the body when God turns a human into a pillar of salt? Or a page on the unique ability of whales to swallow humans beings whole and then spit them back out?

Please don’t misunderstand me here – I’m not poking fun at anyone’s religious beliefs. I appreciate the importance of religion in many people’s lives. But that doesn’t mean it belongs in textbooks! I thought that’s what Sunday school – and not public school – was for. As far as I can tell, there is still a separation between church and state. Even if that state is Texas!

When I was in high school, we read the play “Inherit the Wind” which is based on the trial of Tennessee biology teacher John Scopes prosecuted in 1925 for illegally teaching the theory of evolution. Even as a high school student, I remember thinking how crazy it was for a teacher to actually be denied the right to teach legitimate science. I just can’t believe we’re still debating this issue over 80 years later. Sigh….When will we evolve already?

takepart in reading Clay Burell (of Beyond School) take on the issue. And don’t forget to read (or reread) Inherit The Wind. Then enjoy the movie!

(Photo: latvian’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons)