Liberal Darwin Activists Spin Push-Poll in Attempt to Water Down Science Standards

The liberal Darwin lobby group Texas Freedom Network has just published a push-poll of scientists titled, “Survey of Texas Faculty: Overwhelming Opposition to Watering Down Evolution in School Science Curriculum.” You might think this is good news, that there are a majority of scientists and professors who support the current TEKS which require students to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories.
Instead, TFN means exactly the opposite. Let me point out that THEY are the ones who want gut the state’s science standards and water down the teaching of evolution. They want to remove the strengths and weaknesses language, language that has been in the TEKS for over a decade.
What is stunning is the TFN’s jackbooted thuggery of threatening parents! Parents reading this should be enraged that liberal anti-science censors are now making veiled threats against any student that doesn’t toe the Darwin party line.

“Many of these science faculty members almost certainly help determine who gets into our state’s colleges and universities,” Eve said. “Their responses should send parents a clear message that those who want to play politics with science education are putting our kids at risk.”

Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?
As for TFN’s “findings,” there’s nothing new here. As usual it’s misleading, misrepresentative and misses the point.
The report highlights five key findings from the survey:

1. Texas scientists (97.7 percent) overwhelmingly reject “intelligent design” as valid science.

Misleading: Intelligent design has nothing to do with the current discussion of proposed science standards.

2. Texas science faculty (95 percent) want only evolution taught in science classrooms

Misrepresentative: Actually, they only want half of evolution taught. They are seeking to limit the free flow of information and censor science.

3. Scientists reject teaching the so-called “weaknesses” of evolution, with 94 percent saying that those arguments are not valid scientific objections to evolution.

Misses the point: A majority of scientists rejected the Big Bang, too, but it turned out they were wrong. There are valid and significant scientific challenges to Darwinian evolution that students need to know about. Evidence is not contingent on a consensus.

4. Science faculty believe that emphasizing “weaknesses” of evolution would substantially harm students’ college readiness (79.6 percent) and ability to compete for 21st-century jobs (72 percent).

Misleading: What harms students is withholding information. How can students compete for 21st-century jobs learning only half the story?

5. Scientists (91 percent) strongly believe that support for evolution is compatible with religious faith.

Misses the point: Who cares? This has nothing to do with religion.
The TFN is trying to gut the TEKS, in order to advance their own political agenda in the classroom. The current standards with the strengths and weaknesses language have been successfully in place for the past decade, and there’s no good scientific or educational reason to remove that language.

Robert Crowther, II

Robert Crowther holds a BA in Journalism with an emphasis in public affairs and 20 years experience as a journalist, publisher, and brand marketing and media relations specialist. From 1994-2000 he was the Director of Public and Media Relations for Discovery Institute overseeing most aspects of communications for each of the Institute's major programs. In addition to handling public and media relations he managed the Institute's first three books to press, Justice Matters by Roberta Katz, Speaking of George Gilder edited by Frank Gregorsky, and The End of Money by Richard Rahn.

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