Just Like Evolution. This story may give PZ Myers a stroke. It's about how the Texas textbook adoption process, carefully targeted by conservative groups, is leading to widespread censorship of books not just on the subject of evolution, but also on environmental science, sex education, and even history. One book was successfully opposed because it actually explained how much Americans are contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions--a sin for which the textbook author was labeled "anti-free enterprise." If you believe that a) facts actually exist; and b) they matter, you should be absolutely outraged by what's happening in Texas, and how it's affecting the whole country. [Chris C. Mooney | The Intersection]
Mooney has been tracking the continuing assault on science by the current Administration. Texas has a horrible record when it comes to actually approving textbooks that actually teach science. This scientist is called 'anti-free enterprise, anti-Christian and anti-American' by a group and compared to bin Laden simply because he writes scientific facts these 'people' do not like. Here is what the books that these morons did approve say: Two other books were adopted instead, Chiras said. One, largely funded by the coal-mining industry, contains 62 pages on mining and only four paragraphs on its environmental impact. The other changed a time reference to avoid contradicting some fundamentalist Christians[base '] belief that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago. It amended a reference to ice ages from millions of years ago to read ice ages of the 'distant past.'
It is just not evolution that is a problem for these people. It is any fact that goes against their beliefs. Ignoring reality, disregarding facts, is a sign of insanity. This just confirms in my mind the reasons for such horrible education results in Texas.
There is a group trying to change things: Texas Citizens for Science. There are some recent victories but ignorance never dies, It would be one thing if Texas was really at the forefront of education and science. But, Texas does poorly in many important categories. Read the pdf and wonder what the correlation might be between a poorly educated populace (46th in proportion of populace that graduated high school; 45th in secondary teachers with degrees in the subjects they teach; 47th in SAT scores) and some of the statistics, (first in number of adults incarcerated; 47th in eligible voters who go to polls; 2nd highest teenage birth rate). 40% of the students in Texas drop out. Texas has the highest percentage of children who are uninsured. California has 6 universities listed in US New and World Reports in the top 50, Texas has only one.
After reading this, it is understandable why idiots are able to prevent facts from being taught in school. Actually, not so idiotic. An ignorant population is one that is easy to control. The leaders of Texas have created a populace that has a high proportion of ignorant people who do not vote. Keep them stupid and afraid and you can getaway with almost anything. And this is the model for the country. This is the state we now have leadership from nationally.
I guess if the people of Texas like having such a poor education system, one that seems to be furthered by the current leaders, than whether they want actual facts taught in school is pretty irrelevant. They now want their children of poverty to remain ignorant. I suppose any teacher with any brains, and the ability to go to a state that actually values education, has already done so. Why stick around in a state that treats education so poorly? Or perhaps the wealthy can afford to pay for good teachers to stick around and teach their children. So, is America to become a country where only the rich are allowed to get a good education? Are we working towards a truly class system where the wealthy have lots of opportunity and the poor ares imply kept ignorant? Where the ability to move up to the middle class is out of the reach of most in poverty? Seems like the Texas Model is well on the way there.
It is because of attitudes such as those found in Texas that the US, if it follows the Texas model that seems to be part of this Administration's approach, may find itself struggling to keep up with those countries that actually care about education and science. i know that if I was a starting scientist looking at what this administration is doing to my field, I would either change my focus and leave science, or go some place where science is really appreciated, perhaps another country. (Granted, we are not quite to this level of desperation yet, but we have another 3 years of Bush. It could happen. Canada looks like a good choice and they are actively recruiting Americans for their Universities.)
There are many reasons I don't like Bill Gates, but never let it be said he is not smart or extremely perceptive. Bill Gates explains the meaning of this transformation best. Thirty years ago, he tells Friedman, if you had to choose between being born a genius in Mumbai or Shanghai and an average person in Poughkeepsie, you would have chosen Poughkeepsie because your chances of living a prosperous and fulfilled life were much greater there. 'Now,' Gates says, 'I would rather be a genius born in China than an average guy born in Poughkeepsie.
The Texas Model of the Bush Administration is simply accelerating this. It used to be that geniuses came here. Now they stay and work in other countries. But, this Administration wants to continue gaining power by ignorance. It worked well in texas and may work here. If so, it may not be much longer before our geniuses leave for other places. It is a lot easier for a genius born in Poughkeepsie to move to China. 12:56:36 PM 
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