[Evolidaho] Fwd: [AIBS-Evolution-l]Evolution education update: August 3, 2007

[Resources for teaching evolution]

----- Original Message -----
From: Holly Menninger <hmenninger at aibs.org>
Date: Friday, August 3, 2007 11:03 am
Subject: [AIBS-Evolution-l]Evolution education update:  August 3, 2007
To: evolution-l at aibs.org

>  From the National Center for Science Education:
>
> Dear Friends of NCSE,
>
> The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology denounces Answers in Genesis's
> creation "museum" for its scientific inaccuracy.  Norma
> Gabler, who fought
> against evolution in Texas textbooks for years, is dead. 
> And only a week
> remains in NCSE's logo contest!
>
> PALEONTOLOGISTS DENOUNCE CREATION "MUSEUM"
>
> The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology expressed its concern
> about the
> misrepresentation of science in Answers in Genesis's creation
> "museum" in a
> press release issued on July 17, 2007.  "The Creation
> Museum's fossil
> exhibitions, though artistically impressive, include a vast
> number of
> scientific errors, large and small," the SVP explained. 
> "These errors
> range from implying that the Earth's sedimentary rocks were
> deposited by a
> single biblical Flood, to claiming that humans and dinosaurs lived
> alongside one another, to denouncing the reality of transitional
> fossils."
> Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at the University of California,
> Berkeley,and president of NCSE's board of directors, said, with
> reference to Answers
> in Genesis's president, "Ken Ham is not recognized as a
> scientist or
> educator among experts in the fields of geology and
> paleontology, and his
> views on the interpretation of Biblical texts are
> extremist.  Visitors to
> his 'museum' may arrive knowing little about these sciences, but
> they will
> leave misled and intellectually deceived."  Kristi Curry
> Rogers of the
> Science Museum of Minnesota added, "the Creation Museum is using the
> disguise of science museums and centers without including an
> iota of
> science inside."
>
> Catherine Badgley, a professor at the University of Michigan and
> presidentof the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, further
> lamented the
> misinformation presented at AiG's museum, commenting, "according
> to the
> Creation Museum, the history of life is short, sin-ridden, and
> laden with
> moralizing imperatives.  In contrast, the real fossil
> record shows that
> this long history is brimming with discoveries of new kinds of
> animals,plants, and environments, inviting people to use their
> unusual minds to
> question, to reason, and to wonder at life's remarkable variety."
>
> Founded in 1940, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology is the leading
> North American scientific and educational organization concerned with
> vertebrate paleontology.  According to its position
> statement on evolution
> education, "Evolution is fundamental to the teaching of good
> biology and
> geology, and the vertebrate fossil record is an excellent set of
> examplesof the patterns and processes of evolution through time.
> ... The record of
> vertebrate evolution is exciting, inspirational, instructive, and
> enjoyable, and it is our view that everyone should have the
> opportunity and
> the privilege to understand it as paleontologists do."
>
> For the SVP's press release, visit:
> http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2007/07/17/PRESS-
> RELEASE---SVP-on-the-Creation-Museum
>
> For the SVP's statement on evolution education, visit:
> http://www.vertpaleo.org/education/index.cfm
>
> For NCSE's previous coverage of the creation "museum," visit:
> http://www.ncseweb.org/pressroom.asp?state=KY
>
> NORMA GABLER DIES
>
> Norma Gabler, the conservative textbook activist, died on July
> 22, 2007, at
> the age of 84, in Phoenix, Arizona.  Born Norma Elizabeth
> Rhodes in
> Garrett, Texas, on June 16, 1923, she married Mel Gabler (1915-
> 2004) in
> 1942.  The couple was known for their critiques of
> textbooks used in
> Texas's public schools.  They began to scrutinize textbooks
> for hints of
> "secular humanism" in 1961, after finding errors in one of their son's
> textbooks.  The Gablers formally incorporated the nonprofit
> EducationalResearch Analysts in 1973, which presently describes
> itself as "an original
> contribution to the Christian conservative intellectual
> renaissance."  Norma Gabler was the public face of ERA --
> the obituary in
> The New York Times (August 1, 2007) noted, "Mrs. Gabler, always
> with a
> smile and careful, precise diction, usually testified at
> textbook hearings
> rather than her shyer husband, Mel" -- although the current
> president of
> ERA told the Times, "Mr. Gabler wore the pants in that family,
> and Mrs.
> Gabler wanted it that way."
>
> Evolution, of course, was among ERA's targets.  The Times
> obituary quoted a
> 1982 article in Creation/Evolution by Steven Schafersman
> describing the
> Gablers as "the most effective textbook censors in the
> country."  In 1969,
> the Gablers convinced the Texas Board of Education to remove the
> BiologicalSciences Curriculum Study textbooks from the list of
> textbooks approved by
> the state, and in 1974, the Texas Education Policy Act adopted their
> suggestion that biology texts prominently display a description of
> evolution as theory rather than fact.  Thanks both to
> changes in the Texan
> political landscape and opposition from groups such as the Texas
> Councilfor Science Education, ERA's influence waned somewhat in
> the 1980s.  Yet
> Norma Gabler herself was on hand during the latest round of biology
> textbook adoptions in 2003, and the organization is expected to be
> similarly active during the next round, presently not expected
> to begin
> until 2009 at the earliest.
>
> For the obituary in The New York Times, visit:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/education/01gabler.html
>
> For the Creation/Evolution article, visit:
> http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/8966_issue_10_volume_3_number_4__3_20_2003.asp#Censorship%20of%20Evolution%20in%20Texas
>
> DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE NCSE LOGO CONTEST
>
> Get cracking!  Only a week remains to submit your entry in
> the NCSE logo
> contest.
>
> NCSE's board of directors is considering a replacement or re-
> imagining of
> our logo.  Currently, our logo is an abstract symbol (see
> the header on our
> website for an example).  We are inviting our membership
> and other
> interested individuals to submit designs for a new logo for the
> board'sconsideration.
>
> Perhaps the new logo will be a reworking of the original logo;
> perhaps it
> will be a brand-new image.  It could contain NCSE's full
> name National
> Center for Science Education, our initials NCSE, our slogan
> Defending the
> teaching of evolution in the public schools, or some combination
> thereof.  Preferably, a new logo would convey NCSE's
> mission to the world:
> supporting the teaching of evolution.  On the other hand,
> nonrepresentational logos (such as that of the AAAS -- or Coca-
> Cola, for
> all of that) can be striking and memorable.
>
> Be careful using motifs that are misleading, even if suggestive, about
> evolution and related areas of science.  For example, the
> hackneyed image
> of marching hominids is scientifically misleading -- evolution
> is a
> branching process!  Try to avoid images that are overused,
> like dinosaurs;
> skeletons in general evoke the image of death as much as or more than
> evolution, and are thus unsuitable.
>
> If you would like to submit a logo design, e-mail your design to
> logo at ncseweb.org by August 10.  You are welcome to submit
> more than one design.
>
> Guidelines:
>
> Don't use copyrighted or trademarked material in your
> logo!  All material
> must be original.
> Submit the logo in true vector art (EPS or Adobe Illustrator)
> for scaling
> purposes.
> The logo should look good in both color and black-and-white.
> All submissions become the property of NCSE.  Submissions
> may be modified
> and altered to fit NCSE's needs at its sole discretion. 
> NCSE reserves the
> right not to accept any submission.
> Contest void where prohibited by law.
>
> The lucky -- and obviously talented -- winner will get not only public
> recognition and our praise and gratitude, but also five gift
> subscriptionsto Reports of the NCSE, or an extension of his or
> her subscription for five
> years.  We'll even throw in a coveted NCSE
> "Creationism/Evolution Grand
> Canyon Raft Trip" t-shirt, normally available only to raft trip
> participants.
> Let a thousand flowers bloom!
>
> For the logo contest announcement on-line, visit:
> http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/ZZ/883_new_ncse_logo_contest_7_10_2007.asp
>
> Thanks for reading!  And as always, be sure to consult
> NCSE's web site:
> http://www.ncseweb.org
> where you can always find the latest news on evolution education and
> threats to it.
>
>
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