What exactly are students in Kansas’ public schools to be taught about science? That was the question on my mind as I drove home tonight. I finished my dinner and sat down at my laptop, eager to pull up the science standards from Kansas to see if science was everywhere […]
I just went to the Kansas State Board of Ed website and found a link to the “August 9 draft of the standards”:http://www.ksde.org/outcomes/scstdworkingdoc892005.pdf, which are presumeably close to the final version. I’m going to check them out tonight.
It’s a good day, and a miserable day, all at once. This day is like a simultaneous quantum superposition that, once collapsed, remained in a state of indefinite distinction. I awoke this morning a little after 6 so that Jodi and I could hit the polls before she boarded her […]
Ah, political science. Ahem. Well, perhaps I’m just adding more science to politics than I usually see. I’ve wanted to sit down with state education rankings and compare the minimum teacher tenure requirement with the state ranking. Tonight I sat down the Google, OpenOffice, and the ballot initiative documents. I […]
Dover is a wrap. The “New York Times reports on the closing arguments”:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/science/sciencespecial2/05design.html?ex=1288846800&en=c428931f2daa6714&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss, and tries to paint the trial as one where two entities – the school board and the intelligent design movement – are on trial, one where there are scientists who believe ID is a new paradigm shift […]
For many years, there has been a raging argument between engineers, scientists and the general public. This debate doesn’t center over whether humans and monkeys share a common ancestor. The brouhaha has nothing to do with whether God kicked the universe off in a big bang, or even whether God […]
“Kitzmiller vs. The Dover Schoolboard is scheduled to reach closing arguments this Friday, November 4”:http://www2.ncseweb.org/wp/. It’s remarkable to me that this first landmark trial in the new century over the zealous attempt to inject non-science into the science classroom has taken just a few months. Part of me wishes that […]
This is the “last week of the Dover trial”:http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-31/113074333546830.xml&storylist=penn, brought by parents in the school district against the administrators who forced non-science to be injected into the science classroom. The final witnesses are current and former school board members. The central question – whether the required language, which makes the […]
OK, here I totally cross-over into politics. In part, what I’m about to say is based on my deep devotion to data and evidence, and its interpetation based on a rational framework. The rest, however, is just plain human frustration. As you’re well aware, today the President tried to distract […]
In California, this is the week before the November special election to vote on seven ballot measures, several of which modify the state constitution. Trying to revisit my performance from last November as a “good citizen”, I am reviewing the actual text (I hate TV ads and I hate nearly […]
I’m having one of those moments of extreme clarity. Ever have those? I can’t say what sparked it. Perhaps it was a wonderful Braidwood collaboration meeting. Perhaps it was my excellent conversation with my colleague and, perhaps even friend by now, Dr. Herman White. Perhaps it was the wine, dinner, […]
Nice “article in Slate, comparing Michael Behe’s ID testimony to a famous Monty Python sketch”:http://www.slate.com/id/2128755/. Right on target, I’d say…