Readin’, Writin’ ‘n Creatin’ Science
December 17th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Sci·ence /noun/ def: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method.
We had to go to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary to make sure the definition for science had not changed in the past year, whew!
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) might want to check Webster’s too. Last Friday, the Board’s Certification Advisory Committee recommended that the Institute for Creation Research be given the power to grant Master’s degrees in science education.
Dominic Chavez, director of external relations for the coordinating board, says that the Board- appointed panel would give its positive recommendation to Commissioner Raymund Paredes and the Board for consideration at its next meeting January 24th.
“If it were granted it would be an interim step,” says Chavez of the authorization. “It’s a two year window where the the school can work in Texas, but they have to meet a number of criteria.”
Criteria? That might be tough when the Institute teaches that dinosaurs are only centuries old instead of millennia. Were our great great grandfathers dodging flesh-eating theropods in their Model Ts?
The folks that comprise the committee that made the recommendation include: Dr. Judith G. Loredo of Huston-Tillotson University, Dr. Helen Sullivan of Arlington Baptist College, Dr. Robert C. Cloud of Baylor University, Dr. Johanne Thomas of Texas A&M Prairie View, Dr. James P. Duran of UT Austin and Dr. Theodore J. Wardlow of the Austin Presbyterian Seminary.
They are appointed to two-year terms by the coordinating board to make recommendations on whether private institutions should be authorized to issue degrees in Texas.
The Creation Institute has spun off some interesting offspring, including, Ken Ham, founder of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. At Ham’s museum, you can see a naked Adam, his naughty bits covered with a lily pad, reaching out to pet what looks like a mountain lion in the Garden of Eden. Smiling humans are also pictured alongside their dino friends. On the political front, Tim LaHaye, co-author of the apocalyptic “Left Behind” novels and one of the founders of the institute, is stumping for Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign in Iowa.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
[…] on 21 criteria. The report was submitted to the six-member Certification Advisory Council, which recommended on December 14 that the Coordinating Board approve ICR’s application. What happens next is […]
January 16th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
[…] For more backstory on the ICR’s request to grant degrees see this previous Observer blog post. […]
January 24th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Someone in Texas needs to tell the Certification Advisory Council that what we call “science” is really a shorted form for “Natural Science” or “Natural Philosophy”.
Supernatural explanations are covered in other branches of education: mythology, religion, folk tales.
Forrest Erickson