Banning term 'evolution' from school curriculum constitutes a grave sin

[flaminbats]

From the Athens Banner-Herald...
It's bad enough Georgia school children consistently score at or near the bottom of the list of national scholastic performance measures. We don't need spineless state officials making things worse with asinine actions that, in our book, border on educational malpractice.
That's exactly what first-year State School Superintendent Kathy Cox has done with a proposal to abolish the word ''evolution'' from middle and high school science class discussions.
Under standards proposed by Cox for adoption by the state school board, references to evolution would be stricken and replaced with the words ''biological changes over time.''
Apparently, Cox is kowtowing to an outspoken group of Georgians, known as Creationists, who object to the teaching of evolution, arguing it conflicts with their literal interpretation of the biblical version of how the world was created.
Viewing her actions as political pandering is the most benign interpretation we can apply to what Cox has done. The only other possible explanation is that she doesn't think the theory of evolution is a necessary component of science education. If that's the case, our education system is in even more trouble than we thought.
Since the proposed changes came to light last week, Cox has been evasive when pushed for an explanation about her recommendation.
A Georgia Department of Education spokesman said the school superintendent did not have a stance on the issue, and in Cox's statement released by the spokesman, the superintendent refused to address the issue head-on. "The discussion of evolution is an age-old debate,'' Cox stated, ''and it is clear that there are those in Georgia who are passionate on both sides of the issue - we want to hear from all of them.''
During a Thursday news conference, Cox did speak and repeatedly called evolution a ''buzzword'' which generates controversy in socially conservative areas. Still Cox was uncommitted in her stance and said she expects the citizens of Georgia to tell the school system what to do.
It's ironic a proposal that would further inhibit the education of Georgia's children came out of a year-long study aimed at boosting their academic performance by requiring greater depth of study on essential subjects.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/020204/opi_20040202001.shtml