What Texas REALLY Teaches About Creationism and Evolution
From TPM:
Gov. Rick Perry’s claim to a child in New Hampshire Thursday that Texas public schools teach both Creationism and evolution would come as a surprise to educators and students across the country. The Supreme Court had the last word on this in the 1980s when seven justices ruled that teaching Creationism as fact violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
But Perry’s precise words — “in Texas we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools” — weren’t exactly spoken in error. Texas biology teachers must teach evolution, can’t teach Creationism, and can’t teach Intelligent Design or any other forms of crypto-Creationism. But the state’s curriculum does require schools to teach students to analyze and critique all scientific theories. And that means conservatives like Perry can pretend a loophole exists.
Asked for clarification, Perry’s spokesman Mark Miner emails, “It is required that students evaluate and analyze the theory of evolution, and creationism very likely comes up and is discussed in that process. Teachers are also permitted to discuss it with students in that context.”
Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency issued TPM a similar statement “Our science standards require students to analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations, so it is likely that other theories, such as creationism, would be discussed in class,” she said. “Our schools can also offer an elective course on Biblical history and it is likely that creationism is discussed as part of that class too.”
That’s a far cry from the image Perry conveyed Thursday of science teachers offering “on the one hand” versions of the origin of species.
So did Perry accidentally reveal a secret hidden in plain sight, or was it a misleading dog whistle aimed at the religious conservatives who have tremendous influence over the Republican primary?
Experts and educators suggest the latter.