When I last wrote about Texas, things were improving. A set of science standards for schools had been drafted that removed creationist weasel words about academic freedom (creationist code for letting them teach religion in the classroom).
I said then that these standards were up for a vote in March, but I was just told the actual vote is next week! The Texas State Board of Education will vote on these standards during their meeting from January 21 - 23, so we need to take action NOW. Creationists hold 7 out of 15 seats on the BOE (and some of them are, how do I phrase this? Rabid), so they basically need to sway one member to further destroy science and allow religious teachings in the classroom.
What can you do? If you live in Texas, go to the Teach Them Science website. There is a lot of info there to help you and guide you on what to do. You can also go to the Texas Freedom Network site where there are people who want to help fight the good fight. They have a special section called Take Action that will help.
You can also educate yourself on who sits on the BOE.
Again, if you live in Texas, do something. Because you are definitely not out of the woods yet. Your state could easily go the way Kansas did a few years ago, making them the laughing stock of the world. But this is no laughing matter: Texas has a HUGE influence on textbook publishing across the entire country, and if they adopt creationist standards – which would be in force for the next decade – other states could fall as well.
Do something. Or else you know what happens:
Tip o’ the ten gallon hat to BAbloggee John Kingman.
