As a non-profit educational organization, GCISE does not make any endorsements of candidates. It is important for our members and friends to become informed, particularly about the race for State Superintendent of Schools. Information can be obtained at this link:

http://www.thevoterguide.org/v/ajc10/

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Political Insider-Jim Galloway
Kathy Cox’s exit interview: ‘04 attempt to remove ‘evolution’ was a mistake
10:24 am July 6, 2010, by Jim Galloway
[excerpt, full article at:]
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/07/06/kathy-coxs-exit-interview-on-evolution-and-her-bankruptcy/

While she was state school superintendent, Kathy Cox didn’t often mix with members of the fourth estate.

But in an exit interview with Denis O’Hayer of WABE (90.1FM) the state’s former top educator addressed two sensitive topics: Her 2004 attempt to strike references to “evolution,” in favor of the term “biological changes over time,” and her personal declaration of bankruptcy in 2008.

O’Hayer has posted the first portion of that interview here.

On evolution, Cox said:

“It was a great lesson for me….The standards are more than a classroom teacher. They represent something to the larger public. They represent something to the larger entity of the nation. And that was a great lesson for me, that I needed to step out of my shoes as a teacher sometimes and see the bigger picture.

“And even though I was trying to make it so that our science standards could be such that a teacher anywhere in the state could teach what they needed to teach, it wasn’t the right decision from the bigger picture.

“And, boy, did I learn that in a hurry – and kind of had it handed to me in a hurry. We quickly changed….They also saw me stand up as a public official, an elected public official, and say, ‘I messed up. But I’m going to fix it, and I’m not going to waste any time fixing it.’”

© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Forwarded from Georgia Bio:

“Georgia’s gubernatorial primary elections are July 20. There are seven Democrats and seven Republicans competing for their party’s nomination to run in the general election November 2.”

“Georgia Bio asked all the candidates to submit written answers to three questions of critical significance to Georgia’s life sciences industry and the state’s future. The three questions are:”

“1. What is the role of state government in supporting life sciences economic development?
2. How can Georgia ensure that its students will be able to compete for 21st century advanced technology jobs and that our state will have the skilled work force to support life sciences industry growth?
3. What, if anything, is the most critical need for Georgians when it comes to health care reform?”

Responses were received from 8 of 14 candidates. They can be viewed at the links here:

http://www.gabio.org/content.aspx?pageid=137

Georgia Bio (GaBio) is a non-profit organization that promotes the interests and growth of the life sciences industry. Members include companies, universities, research institutions, government groups and other industry associations involved in discovery and application of life sciences products and related services that improve the health and well-being of people throughout the world.

Forwarded from NCSE:
When the Kentucky legislature adjourned sine die on April 15, 2010,
House Bill 397, the Kentucky Science Education and Intellectual
Freedom Act, died in committee. Modeled on the Louisiana Science
Education Act (Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:285.1), HB 397 would, if
enacted, have allowed teachers to “use, as permitted by the local
school board, other instructional materials to help students
understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an
objective manner, including but not limited to the study of evolution,
the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.” A minor
novelty in the bill was the phrase “advantages and disadvantages of
scientific theories,” a variation on the familiar “strengths and
weaknesses” and “evidence for and evidence against” rhetoric. Kentucky
is apparently unique in having a statute (Kentucky Revised Statutes
158.177) on the books that authorizes teachers to teach “the theory of
creation as presented in the Bible” and to “read such passages in the
Bible as are deemed necessary for instruction on the theory of
creation.”

For information about Kentucky’s HB 397, visit:
http://ncse.com/creationism/general/academic-freedom-legislation-kentucky-2010

Genes that don’t themselves directly affect the inherited characteristics of an organism but leave them increasingly open to variation may be a significant driving force of evolution, say two scientists from Johns Hopkins University. Their proposed amended view of evolution is based on observations of genetic patterns outside of a cell’s DNA and may better explain how organisms, including people, have adapted over hundreds of thousands of years to relatively rapidly changing environments. The researchers suggest in the study that the presence of genes that contribute to trait variability might help explain the presence of common diseases.

“In the long run, it might be a good thing to have a large spread of people who handle blood sugar differently. However, in today’s environment, people with a propensity to develop high blood sugar are at a disadvantage,” explains Johns Hopkins professor of medicine Andrew Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., one of the study’s authors.

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 12/15.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/jhmi-ssc121109.php

(from AAAS) Florida’s legislative session came to a close on May 1, and with it the prospects of a bill that would have required teachers to present a “critical analysis” of evolution. This year’s anti-evolution bill seemed to have significantly less momentum than the so-called “academic freedom” bill from last year (which ultimately failed as well).

Tempest in Texas
New York Times, March 27, 2009
Defeat and Some Success for Texas Evolution Foes
By MICHAEL BRICK
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/education/27texas.html?scp=8&sq=&st=nyt

AUSTIN, Tex. — In an evenly split vote, the State Board of Education on Thursday upheld teaching evolution as accepted mainstream science.

But social conservatives on the board, using a series of amendments tailored to particular school subjects, succeeded in requiring teachers to evaluate critically a variety of scientific principles like cell formation and the Big Bang.

The debate over new curriculum requirements, to take effect in 2010, stands to influence educational standards nationwide. Once every decade, major textbook publishers revise their offerings to match the requirements newly set forth by Texas, which is one of their largest bulk customers.

More than 80 years after the biology teacher John Scopes was tried on charges of illegally teaching evolution in Tennessee, the controversy here has played out with more subtlety, involving political code words and efforts to undermine the theory itself.

The debate has centered on a longstanding clause that requires teachers to address the “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories, including Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Teachers quietly ignored the requirements for decades.

The board tentatively decided in January to drop the “strengths and weaknesses” language. On Thursday, Democrats and moderate Republicans on the board blocked a proposal by social conservatives to reinstate it. Even with one moderate board member missing, the measure was blocked with a preliminary 7-to-7 vote.

The full board is set to take a final vote on Friday.

Failing to overhaul the curriculum broadly, conservatives instead attached a series of measures specific to subjects like biology, where teachers would be newly required to “analyze and evaluate the sufficiency or insufficiency of natural selection to explain the complexity of the cell.”

In the earth-science curriculum, conservatives weakened language concerning “the concept of an expanding universe” to address instead “current theories of the evolution of the universe including estimates for the age of the universe.”

With protesters on both sides of the issue carrying signs outside its meetings, the board has heard impassioned testimony from science teachers, parents and others.

A conservative board member, Bob Craig of Lubbock, expressed satisfaction with the overall changes.

“I personally believe that language is good language,” Mr. Craig said in an interview. “It allows for full discussion of all sides of the issue.”

Dan Quinn, a spokesman for the Texas Freedom Network, a nonprofit group that promotes the teaching of evolution, said the vote would not end the debate.

“If they don’t get the political strategy, they’ll go piecemeal,” Mr. Quinn said. “The State Board of Education pretty much slammed the door on ‘strengths and weaknesses,’ but then went around and opened all the windows in the house.”

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

New resource for educators: Understanding Science

About Understanding Science
The mission of Understanding Science is to provide a fun, accessible, and free resource that accurately communicates what science is and how it really works. The process of science is exciting, but standard explanations often miss its dynamic nature. Science affects us all everyday, but people often feel cut off from science. Science is an intensely human endeavor, but many portrayals gloss over the passion, curiosity, and even rivalries and pitfalls that characterize all human ventures. Understanding Science gives users an inside look at the general principles, methods, and motivations that underlie all of science.

This project has at its heart a re-engagement with science that begins with teacher preparation and ends with broader public understanding. Its immediate goals are to (1) improve teacher understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise, (2) provide resources and strategies that encourage and enable K-16 teachers to reinforce the nature of science throughout their science teaching, and (3) provide a clear and informative reference for students and the general public that accurately portrays the scientific endeavor.

The Understanding Science site was produced by the UC Museum of Paleontology of the University of California at Berkeley, in collaboration with a diverse group of scientists and teachers, and was funded by the National Science Foundation1. Understanding Science was informed and initially inspired by our work on the Understanding Evolution project, which highlighted the fact that many misconceptions regarding evolution spring from misunderstandings of the nature of science. Furthermore, research indicates that students and teachers at all grade levels have inadequate understandings of the nature and process of science, which may be traced to classrooms in which science is taught as a simple, linear, and non-generative process. This false and impoverished depiction disengages students, discourages public support, and may help explain current indications that the U.S. is losing its global edge in science. Even beyond the health of the U.S. economy, the public has a genuine need to critically assess conflicting representations of scientific evidence in the media. To do this, they need to understand the strengths, limitations, and basic methods of the enterprise that has produced those claims. Understanding Science takes an important step towards meeting these needs.

from the Dallas Morning News 1/23/09:
Texas Board of Education votes against teaching evolution weaknesses
In a major defeat for social conservatives, a sharply divided State Board of Education voted Thursday to abandon a longtime state requirement that high school science teachers cover what some critics consider to be “weaknesses” in the theory of evolution.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-evolution_23tex.ART.State.Edition2.4e8893c.html

From AAAS’ Policy Alert:
The Louisiana House of Representatives, by a vote of 94-3, last week passed an “academic freedom” bill that singles out evolution and other theories or fields of science and implies that they are controversial. Because of an amendment, the bill must now go back to the Senate, which previously passed it unanimously. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) is expected to sign it. AAAS had sent a letter to all House members last Tuesday, June 10, opposing the bill. Meanwhile, Gov. Jindal defended discussion of intelligent design in schools during a June 15 interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”