Monday, December 12, 2005
Elect or Appoint?
Writing in the Kansas City Star, Scott Canon observes that states such as Kansas with elected boards of education tend to be the ones that go for intelligent design or creationism. With only a few exceptions -- duly noted by Canon -- appointed boards tend to rely more on expert opinion, which favors evolution.
In Kansas, embarrassment over the yahoos who've been elected to the state board has given rise to a good deal of discussion about whether or not the state should move to an appointed board.
In RSR's opinion, that's not the solution. There is no substitute, in our opinion, to having, and winning, the public discussion over the nature of science. In the long run -- as the Bush administration's appointments to the federal courts clearly demonstrate -- convincing the American people that top-notch science education, including evolution, is critical to the future of the country, is far more important than whether the board is appointed or elected.
In Kansas, embarrassment over the yahoos who've been elected to the state board has given rise to a good deal of discussion about whether or not the state should move to an appointed board.
In RSR's opinion, that's not the solution. There is no substitute, in our opinion, to having, and winning, the public discussion over the nature of science. In the long run -- as the Bush administration's appointments to the federal courts clearly demonstrate -- convincing the American people that top-notch science education, including evolution, is critical to the future of the country, is far more important than whether the board is appointed or elected.
