More on Intelligent Design

[free thinker]

This appeared not long ago on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. This is significant because the Journal is decidedly conservative. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.


ft



http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007726

[peter_mary]

This appeared not long ago on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. This is significant because the Journal is decidedly conservative. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

ft

I DID enjoy it very much! Thanks for posting it! :)

[dogzilla]

Yesterday, Gov. JEB! announced pretty much the same thing. He said basically, "I'm a practicing Catholic and I believe the world is 6,000 years old. However, that's not science and that's not what we're going to teach, so there."

Well, those weren't his actual words... Here's the press release (http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/eogadmin/showPress.jsp?press_id=6862).

Finally, something happened in Florida that I don't have to be ashamed or embarassed about.

[elder_nomo]

Yesterday, Gov. JEB! announced pretty much the same thing. He said basically, "I'm a practicing Catholic and I believe the world is 6,000 years old. However, that's not science and that's not what we're going to teach, so there."

Well, those weren't his actual words... Here's the press release (http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/eogadmin/showPress.jsp?press_id=6862).

Finally, something happened in Florida that I don't have to be ashamed or embarassed about.
Not to rain on your parade, Dogzilla [we are kind of sensitive about that around here after yesterday's wet Rose parade],
but I read this a little differently. Here's my take...

"I am a practicing Catholic and my own personal belief is God created man and all life on earth. However, I do not believe an individual's personal beliefs should be the basis for determining Florida's Sunshine State Standards.
He's saying his belief in God shouldn't be the standard, but ID has nothing to do with God. Yeah, yeah, you and I know it really does, but he's left some room for interpretation here.
The framework provides flexibility to school districts and teachers in designing curriculum, including what specific topics should be taught in each class.
More wiggle room. Each district has latitude (to teach ID? to exclude evolution?)
"Perhaps more importantly, we should encourage the vigorous discussion of varying viewpoints in our classrooms. A healthy debate of issues challenges our students' minds." This is the real red flag to me. Presentation of "varying viewpoints" is typically code for putting evolution and ID side-by-side, as equals.

Unless there was more to it than this press release, I'm still a skeptic.

[free thinker]

This is the real red flag to me. Presentation of "varying viewpoints" is typically code for putting evolution and ID side-by-side, as equals.

Unless there was more to it than this press release, I'm still a skeptic.


Nomo

I am always skeptical of politicians, but I try to keep in mind that when they say something in public they are counting votes. Just the nature of the beast.

I am not carrying water for Jeb or anyone else, but he is a politician first and foremost. If emphasizing faith AND science is possible in one press release, he is gonna go for it.

ft

[dogzilla]

Well, those are good points Elder Nomo, but I should probably give you a little background about that press release. (It has a lot to do with my job, so I haven't been really forthcoming about the details.)

JEB! is referring to the Sunshine State Standards. These are a list of benchmarks that specify what knowledge and skills kids should have in given subject areas at each grade level, for the purpose of state-wide standardized testing. This is really about NCLB and standardized testing. What he's really saying is: we're not going to add ID to the SSS, which means, we won't test ID on the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). So, yes, the districts and individual teachers can introduce any material they want. But if they want state and federal money to get paid, they'll stick to the SSS curriculum so their kids will be well prepared to take the tests, then test scores will be nice and high, so funding will be as well.

And like Fight Club, I've just broken the first rule of FCAT: We don't talk about FCAT.

:: runs and hides from the State of Florida Department of Education ::
:eek:

[elder_nomo]

This is the real red flag to me. Presentation of "varying viewpoints" is typically code for putting evolution and ID side-by-side, as equals.

Unless there was more to it than this press release, I'm still a skeptic.


Nomo

I am always skeptical of politicians, but I try to keep in mind that when they say something in public they are counting votes. Just the nature of the beast.

I am not carrying water for Jeb or anyone else, but he is a politician first and foremost. If emphasizing faith AND science is possible in one press release, he is gonna go for it.

ft
I agree, FT. I just found it interesting that Dogzilla and I read the same thing and came away with very different impressions. She seemed to think he was closing the door to ID, and I thought he left it wide open. [correct me if I misread you DZ].
Did we each hear what we wanted to hear? I suppose it is the mark of a very skillful politician that he could make that possible.

[dogzilla]

I don't exactly think he closed the door -- just closed it for testing on the FCAT. (The other F-word.) I agree with you that he certainly left the door wide open for our many fundy-freak xtian teachers to mold little minds to their liking.

Too bad they can't teach these kids how to count votes... :D We could use some good counters in this state.

[free thinker]

Too bad they can't teach these kids how to count votes... We could use some good counters in this state.


Ah yes, the " Hanging Chad" , who could ever forget? :D


ft

[elder_nomo]

I don't exactly think he closed the door -- just closed it for testing on the FCAT. (The other F-word.) I agree with you that he certainly left the door wide open for our many fundy-freak xtian teachers to mold little minds to their liking.

Too bad they can't teach these kids how to count votes... :D We could use some good counters in this state.
LOL... :D
Thanks for the all the additional info, Dogzilla.
Makes much more sense now.

Hey, do you have to kill us now because you told us about FCAT? ;)