In an earlier post, I reported that two of the six people recently appointed to review the science curriculum in Texas are co-authors of an anti-evolution textbook. This lead to the obvious question of whether such involvement represents a conflict of interest on the part of the co-authors who stand to benefit financially from the outcome of that review process.
The conflict of interest charge was originally raised by the Texas Freedom Network:
The inclusion of the two textbook authors raises serious questions about conflicts of interest and whether political agendas took priority over giving Texas students a 21st-century science education, [Kathy] Miller said.
"It's simply stunning that any state board members would even consider appointing authors of an anti-evolution textbook to a panel of scientists," she said. "Are they coming here to help write good science standards or to drum up a market for their lousy textbook?"
"It's simply stunning that any state board members would even consider appointing authors of an anti-evolution textbook to a panel of scientists," she said. "Are they coming here to help write good science standards or to drum up a market for their lousy textbook?"
At the Discovery Institute's Evolution News and Views blog (EN&V), they responded in their customary "I'm rubber you're glue" way:
What the TFN doesn't reveal is that another of the expert reviewers co-authored a one-sided, Darwin-only textbook! David Hillis, a biology professor at UT Austin co-authored the 2008 edition of Life: The Science of Biology, a textbook whose previous editions have been approved for use in Texas high schools. Hillis also serves as a spokesman for a pro-evolution lobbying group that is trying to remove language in the Texas science standards requiring students to study the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories. Gerald Skoog, another expert reviewer, has signed a statement issued by the same pro-evolution group, and he too has been a science textbook author and has a long history as a pro-Darwin activist.
"If being a textbook author really is a 'conflict of interest,' then why isn't TFN attacking Hillis and Skoog?" asked Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal affairs at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture.
"If being a textbook author really is a 'conflict of interest,' then why isn't TFN attacking Hillis and Skoog?" asked Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal affairs at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture.
Perhaps that question was rhetorical. Unfortunately for Luskin, Dr. Hillis went ahead and answered it.
Dr. David Hillis
Picture from UT
Picture from UT
(quoted at Thoughts from Kansas)
Incidentally, despite the implication from the DI, Gerald Skoog has not co-authored a textbook since 1999. That book, Science insights: Exploring living things, is written at a middle school level and therefore not appropriate for use in the regular high school biology curriculum. Once again, there is no conflict of interest.
And once again, we see the folks at EN&V are living up to the first line of their mission statement:
The misreporting of the evolution issue is one key reason for this site.
Hat-tip: Josh Rosenau at Thoughts from Kansas
posted by Jeremy Mohn
