New Science Standards - A Trojan Horse?

The furor caused by fundamentalists on the Kansas State Board of Education (KBOE) by their changes to the science standards is portrayed as creationism versus Darwinism, an attack on public schools, introducing religious education into public schools, and a slew of other cultural controversies. However, because fundamentalists prefer home schooling their children or sending them to private fundamentalist Christian schools, why would they care about the content of science standards for public schools in Kansas? For those fundamentalists who believe the Holy Bible's creation story and who seek no further scientific explanations of the origin of life, why would they change the definition of science itself to include the study of non-observable supernatural phenomenon? Is this really action of the KBOE about evolution versus creationism or about public school students learning about the so-called theory of intelligent design?

Could it be that the real reason behind the new science standards is to pave the way for school vouchers? The science standards as proposed by the KBOE are not mandatory for local school boards. But, for the Kansas legislature to approve a bill enabling a system of vouchers to pay for students who attend private schools of religious instruction with public funds, it is conceivable that students receiving vouchers would be required to receive instruction that conforms to the state educational standards. Science standards that did not include supernatural causes would not be acceptable to fundamentalist Christian religious instruction. Thus, changing the science standards would remove a barrier for school vouchers, and perhaps even create the impression that the money would be used for a public purpose, i.e. meeting state educational standards.

The actions of the KBOE members who have made a mess of the science standards don't seem to be about science at all. They have demonstrated by their public remarks that they lack an understanding of science. Rather, their actions appear to be merely a means to an end, namely, paving the way for the use of public funds to pay for religious instruction. The real effort in opposing the actions of the KBOE should be directed toward defeating the proposed school vouchers. The reasons for opposition should be based on the defects of the school voucher proposal - misuse of public funds, inappropriateness for rural Kansas, damage to public education, and other problems it would create for our social and economic welfare.