[Evolidaho] Fwd: [AIBS-Evolution-l]Evolution education update: November 9, 2007

[Resources for teaching evolution]

----- Original Message -----
From: Holly Menninger <hmenninger at aibs.org>
Date: Friday, November 9, 2007 12:05 pm
Subject: [AIBS-Evolution-l]Evolution education update:  November 9, 2007
To: evolution-l at aibs.org

>  From that National Center for Science Education:
>
> Dear Friends of NCSE,
>
> Judgment Day, the special documentary about Kitzmiller v. Dover
> to air on
> PBS on November 13, 2007, received a glowing review in
> Nature.  Meanwhile,
> a governor who vocally supported creationism is out of office, the
> president of NCSE's board of directors was elected as a Fellow
> of the AAAS,
> and NCSE has a new logo at last!
>
> JUDGMENT DAY PRAISED IN NATURE
>
> Reviewing Judgment Day:  Intelligent Design on Trial -- the
> new documentary
> about Kitzmiller v. Dover -- for the November 8, 2007, issue of Nature
> (450:  170), Adam Rutherford was impressed, not least with
> the way in which
> the filmmakers met the challenge of retelling the story. 
> "The makers of
> Judgment Day inject tension with eyewitness accounts from the
> people of
> Dover," he writes, "and home-video footage of raucous school
> board meetings
> shows how passionate and divided this small community
> became.  It
> works:  it is inspiring to hear parents and educators, such
> as Sunday
> school and physics teacher Bryan Rehm, recount how they refused
> to be
> steam-rollered into bringing religion into the science classroom."
>
> "Judgment Day gracefully avoids ridiculing intelligent design
> for the
> pseudo-intellectual fundamentalist fig-leaf that it is, by
> simply showing
> how the protagonists shot themselves in the foot," Rutherford
> adds.  Acknowledging that the "intelligent design" movement
> is still alive
> in the wake of the trial, he nevertheless concludes that "the
> Kitzmiller vs
> Dover verdict, matched this September with the outlawing of
> intelligentdesign in the UK national curriculum, marked the
> official neutering of this
> unpleasant, sneaky movement in much of the western world. 
> Judgment Day is
> just the sort of thoughtful programming that celebrates how
> sensible people
> -- faithful and otherwise -- can use science and reason to combat
> fundamentalism."
>
> Judgment Day airs on PBS stations nationwide at 8:00 p.m. on
> November 13,
> 2007.  (Schedules for local affiliates can be checked on-
> line via the PBS
> website.)  Be sure also to visit the generous website,
> featuring interviews
> with Kenneth R. Miller on evolution, Phillip Johnson on "intelligent
> design," and Paula Apsell on NOVA's decision to produce the
> documentary;audio clips of Judge John E. Jones III reading
> passages from his decision
> in the case and of various experts (including NCSE's Eugenie C. Scott)
> discussing the nature of science; resources about the evidence for
> evolution and about the background to the Kitzmiller case; material
> especially for teachers, including a briefing packet for
> educators; and
> even a preview of the documentary.
>
> For Rutherford's review in Nature (subscription required), visit:
> http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7167/full/450170a.html
>
> For information about Judgment Day, visit:
> http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/
>
> For the preview, visit:
> http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/preview/i_3416.html
>
> For PBS schedules across the country, visit:
> http://www.pbs.org/tvschedules/
>
> FLETCHER LOSES KENTUCKY GOVERNORSHIP
>
> Kentucky's incumbent governor Ernie Fletcher (R) was soundly
> defeated in
> the November 6, 2007, election, by Steve Beshear (D), a former
> lieutenantgovernor of the state, who took 59% of the vote. 
> A Baptist minister,
> Fletcher was perhaps the most outspoken supporter of creationism
> to serve
> as a governor anywhere in the country in recent years.  He
> expresseddisappointment about the verdict in Kitzmiller v.
> Dover, for example,
> saying that local school districts ought to be able to teach
> "intelligentdesign" if they wish (Cincinnati Enquirer, December
> 25, 2005).
>
> Subsequently, in his State of the Commonwealth address in
> January 2006,
> Fletcher contended that under Kentucky law, teachers already
> have the
> freedom to teach "intelligent design" in the public
> schools.  He was
> apparently referring to a portion (KRS 158.177) of Kentucky's
> EducationCode authorizing teachers to teach "the theory of
> creation as presented in
> the Bible" and to "read such passages in the Bible as are deemed
> necessaryfor instruction on the theory of creation."  The
> Louisville Courier-Journal
> (January 11, 2006) reported that according to a November 2005
> survey of the
> state's 176 school districts, none were teaching or discussing
> "intelligentdesign."
>
> Reaction to Fletcher's comments on the part of the state's
> newspapers was
> negative.  For example, a Kentucky Post (January 11, 2006)
> editorialresponded, "His plug for teaching intelligent design in
> public schools is
> manifestly unwelcome, if what he meant was that science teachers
> ought to
> incorporate it into their curriculum.  If schools offer
> comparativereligion classes as electives and teachers wish to
> address intelligent
> design in such classes, that's another matter.  But this is
> instructionthat most families can take care of just fine in
> their own homes or churches."
>
> The topic of "intelligent design" arose again during a televised
> debatebetween the gubernatorial candidates at Northern Kentucky
> University on
> October 3, 2007.  According to WKYT (October 3, 2007) in
> Lexington,Kentucky, Fletcher commented, "I think there's nothing
> wrong with teaching
> that, in fact, I think to teach that is part of our founding
> heritage and I
> think it's very important," while Beshear retorted, "I believe
> that science
> ought to be taught in schools and religion ought to be taught at
> home and
> in the churches and in the synagogues."  Beshear takes
> office on December
> 11, 2007.
>
> For section 158.177 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (PDF), visit:
> http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/158-00/177.PDF
>
> For WKYT's coverage of the debate, visit:
> http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/10215651.html
>
> And for NCSE's coverage of previous events in Kentucky, visit:
> http://www.ncseweb.org/pressroom.asp?state=KY
>
> NCSE PRESIDENT ELECTED TO AAAS
>
> Kevin Padian, the president of NCSE's board of directors, was
> elected as a
> Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
> Science in
> October 2007 "for distinguished contributions to the study of the
> vertebrate evolutionary adaptations and especially for his
> leadership in
> science education," according to an October 26, 2007, press
> release from
> the University of California, Berkeley.  Padian is
> Professor of Integrative
> Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Curator
> at the
> University of California Museum of Paleontology.  He
> testified for the
> plaintiffs in Kitzmiller v. Dover, the 2005 case in which teaching
> "intelligent design" in the public schools was found to be
> unconstitutional, and the transcript of his testimony, together
> with the
> slides he used, is available on NCSE's website.
>
> Members of NCSE who were also elected Fellows of the AAAS in
> October 2007
> include Carl A. Maida of the University of California, Los
> Angeles; Sally
> McBrearty of the University of Connecticut; Lawrence M. Schell
> of the
> University at Albany, State University of New York; Sara Stinson
> of the
> City University of New York, Queens College; Linda D. Wolfe of East
> Carolina University; J. David Archibald of San Diego State
> University; Tom
> A. Ranker of the University of Colorado; Randy W. Schekman of the
> University of California, Berkeley; Andrew D. Miranker of Yale
> University;Naomi Oreskes of the University of California, San
> Diego; and Adrian L.
> Melott of the University of Kansas.  (Let the NCSE office
> know if we
> overlooked your name on AAAS's list!)
>
> For the press release from the University of California,
> Berkeley, visit:
> http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/10/26_AAAS.shtml
>
> For Padian's testimony in Kitzmiller v. Dover, including his
> slides, visit:
> http://www.sciohost.org/ncse/kvd/Padian/kpslides.html
>
> For AAAS's list of new Fellows, visit:
> http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/fellows/new_fellows.shtml
>
> NCSE LOGO CONTEST WINNER
>
> NCSE is pleased to announce that we've selected a winner in our
> logo contest.
>
> The winning entry is by graphic artist Andrew Conti.  He
> describes his
> entry as follows:  "I have taken Charles Darwin's original
> notebook sketch
> of the tree of life and reworked it with rounded and more organic
> lines.  By doing so, it is my intention to give a sense of
> open-minded and
> creative playfulness, while at the same time tying a direct link
> to the
> science and history of scientific understanding that is the
> focus of the NCSE."
>
> NCSE offers our congratulations to Andrew and our deepest thanks
> to all our
> participants for their continuing support of NCSE and science
> education.  Expect our new logo to replace the old logo
> over the next few
> months.
>
> For the new logo, visit the version of this story on our website:
> http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/ZZ/238_ncse_logo_contest_winner_11_8_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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