Let's take a moment and reflect on this.
The Kansas State BoE has jurisdiction over nearly 600,000 school
children (based on US census figures; although some of those young
people are not now in the public schools). The Dover Township school
board has jurisdiction over possibly 4000 (a very rough estimate also
based on census data).
talk about hearts and minds...
However, consider the very important difference that in Dover, parents,
students, teachers, scientists, the ACLU, and many other interested
parties mounted a concerted effort to oppose the anti-science school
board, in various forums: the press, the courts, and obviously in
Tuesday's election.
In Kansas, the 'official' scientific community not only didn't make
that kind of effort, major organizations decided to boycott the school
board debate (for reasons that have been explained elsewhere), when
perhaps they could have elevated the issue to a matter of broader
concern. The most recent tactic of refusing the BoE permission to cite
publications continues in that vein. What's obviously required is a
direct and broad response.
It turns on one's perspective. If you think this is an academic
question, the debate is largely confined to the 'academics' (or
boycotted by them -us- as the case may be).
If you recognize the larger societal implications, then, as in Dover,
you realize that the response has to be more broadly societal as well.
Dover is good news, but it doesn't represent the end of the story, even
in Dover...
-L.D.
On Nov 10, 2005, at 8:01 PM, Greenwich wrote:
> Good news. We lost Kansas, but gained Pennsylvania.
>
>> Subject: NYTimes.com: Evolution Slate Outpolls Rivals
>> The Dover School Board has gone the way of the dinosaurs.
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