Texas Educators, Textbook Publishers Wrangle Over Alternatives to Evolution
by Fred Jackson and Jody Brown
November 5, 2003
(AgapePress) - A textbook showdown is set to get under way in Texas on Thursday. The outcome of the debate could have a major impact on how evolution is taught in schools across the nation.The Texas State Board of Education begins a two-day session on Thursday with 11 textbook publishers. A final decision is expected on science books the state will use -- and because the Lone Star State is the second biggest purchaser of textbooks in the nation, the books sold there are often marketed by publishers nationwide.
Religious activists and proponents of alternative science have been lobbying publishers to revise some of the 10th-grade books and to reject others. They say those that should be rejected contain factual errors on the theory of evolution, a theory that mainstream science considers a cornerstone of modern research and technology.
As Associated Press notes, among those questioning the textbooks are about 60 biologists from around the country who signed a "statement of dissent" about teaching evolution as fact -- and who say both sides of the issue should be taught.
A vocal advocate of changing the textbooks is the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based non-profit think tank which promotes the teaching of Intelligent Design, a belief that life did not evolve randomly but progressed according to a plan. Institute officials claim they are not advocating that textbooks include the Intelligent Design theory -- but they do point out a state requirement that an issue's strengths and weaknesses be presented in textbooks. Bruce Chapman, president of the Institute, maintains that his group simply wants publishers to comply with that requirement.
At least one publisher, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, reportedly has submitted a textbook change the directs students to "study hypotheses for the origin of life that are alternatives" to those in the book.
According to AP, textbook sales for public schools constitute a $4 billion market. Almost one-third of those sales originate from the states of Texas, California, and Florida.
