Evolution in Education -- Kansas Style

I lived in Kansas for 3 years and enjoyed it. There are lots of good people there -- smart ones even. But in recent years the state's reputation has been sullied by efforts by religious conservatives to rewrite the science curriculum by diminishing the role of evolution in that curriculum.
The good news is that recent political changes (coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats have gained a majority in the state Board of Education) has allowed a reversal removing religiously motivated limiters on the science curriculum.

The board Tuesday removed language suggesting that key evolutionary concepts — such as a common origin for all life on Earth and change in species creating new ones — were controversial and being challenged by new research. Also approved was a new definition of science, specifically limiting it to the search for natural explanations of what is observed in the universe.

"Those standards represent mainstream scientific consensus about both what science is and what evolution is," said Jack Krebs, a math and technology teacher who helped write the new guidelines. He is also president of Kansas Citizens for Science.

All well and good, but across the nation there are teachers teaching science who covertly undermine the science standards either by not teaching evolution at all or by presenting it in such negative light that students are bound to reject it out of hand.
Is evolution a challenge to religious faith --- an honest answer is yes it is. Is it an overwhelming challenge, I'd answer no. But instead of creating straw men, let's deal with the real issues.

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