Christine Comer

Last updated

Christina Castillo Comer (born 1950) is the former Director of Science in the curriculum division of the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Comer spent nine years as the Director of Science until she resigned on November 7, 2007. [1] [2] Comer's resignation has sparked controversy about agency politics and the debate to teach evolution in public schools versus creationism or intelligent design.

Contents

Prior to her position at the TEA, Comer was a middle school science teacher with San Antonio Independent School District. [3]

Controversy over evolution

Comer was "forced out" [1] of her TEA position following recommendations by TEA officials for "repeated acts of misconduct and insubordination", but Comer and others believe that she was targeted based on religious concerns and the teaching of creationism in Texas public schools. [4] [5]

On October 26, 2007, [6] Comer forwarded to a local online community an email message [7] from the National Center for Science Education promoting a November 2, 2007, talk by Barbara Forrest in Austin, Texas. Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University who served as an expert witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, the 2005 landmark evolution-intelligent design court battle in Dover, Pennsylvania, and co-authored the book Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design . [1]

The call to fire Comer came from Lizzette Reynolds, deputy commissioner for statewide policy and programs. [4] Reynolds, who has a degree in political science and has no teaching experience, joined the TEA in January, 2007. Reynolds previously worked for a Texas state senator, as a lobbyist, as deputy legislative director for former Texas Governor George W. Bush, and in the U.S. Department of Education. [8] In an email to Comer's supervisors, Reynolds called the email "highly inappropriate" and "an offense that calls for termination or, at the very least, reassignment of responsibilities." [4] Reynolds has subsequently backtracked, expressing her surprise over Comer's resignation to The Austin American-Statesman . [9]

Shortly after sending the email, Comer was placed on administrative leave. Agency official Monica Martinez cited the e-mail in a memo [10] recommending her termination, stating, among other complaints, that "Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral." [4]

The TEA is scheduled to review, and possibly revise, its science curriculum in 2008. Some evolution proponents worry that politicization of the TEA may increase the influence of those lobbying for teaching of creationism and intelligent design. [11] The issue is compounded by the recent appointment of Don McLeroy as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education. McLeroy has made past comments supporting the teaching of creationism [4] and intelligent design. [1]

Response

Newspaper editorial boards have been critical of the actions of TEA officials, [12] including The New York Times , [13] Houston Chronicle , [14] Austin American-Statesman , [15] Corpus Christi Caller-Times , [16] Waco Tribune-Herald , [17] and Philadelphia Daily News . [18] and this event has garnered a fair amount of negative press coverage. [19]

Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education stated that this event "underscores the politicization of science education in Texas". [4] University of Minnesota Morris professor PZ Myers wrote that it was surprising that Barbara Forrest's lecture should be viewed as improper for those interested in educating children appropriately. [20] Steven Schafersman of the Texas Citizens for Science suggests that there was a change in policy at the TEA after the appointments of Don McLeroy as Chairman of the State Board of Education and Robert Scott as Commissioner of Education. [21]

Comer described the situation in a December 7, 2007, broadcast of Science Friday on National Public Radio. [22] Comer stated that she has received support emails from teachers across Texas expressing that they have been pressured not to teach evolution. [23]

Over 100 Texas biology professors signed a letter on December 10, 2007 to Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott stating that TEA employees should not have to remain neutral on evolution. [24]

Robert Scott hinted that there was more to the story, but he did not dare speak about it for fear of being sued. "I am really frustrated with the issue, knowing the truth and not being able to talk about it," Scott is reported as saying by the Waco Tribune-Herald . [25] Scott told The Dallas Morning News that, "You can be in favor of science without bashing people’s faith." The New York Times reports that Comer said in response that she wanted the commissioner to indicate where Comer was "bashing anyone’s faith". “He just doesn’t get it,” Comer opined. [9]

The Dallas Morning News drew attention to the possible role in the Comer case played by disappointment of conservative elements of the Texas community at the decision on textbook purchases in 2003. Dentist Don McLeroy, a conservative member of the State Board of Education, was unhappy with the 2003 11-4 vote to purchase biology textbooks that did not champion intelligent design. Afterwards, he is reported to have said to a church group,

How can the materialistic philosophic naturalistic base dependency of Darwinism be brought into the discussion and used for our benefit? We didn't use it. All we did was stay with evidence, and we got run over.

In July 2007, McLeroy was made chairman of the State Board of Education by Texas Governor Rick Perry. [26]

The Washington Spectator suggests that the goal was to remove Comer prior to the meetings to revise the science standards component of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills document, which will influence the design of science textbooks nationwide. The Spectator conjectures that this opportunity will be used by intelligent design supporters to more aggressively press efforts to "teach the controversy", a Discovery Institute program to introduce creationism into the classroom and avoid legal jeopardy. Comer told the Spectator that since she was forced to resign, many teachers in rural Texas have contacted her to tell her that they are already being forced to teach creationism in Texas public school science classes. [27]

Lawsuit

In mid 2008, Comer filed a suit in federal court in Austin, Texas, that stated that the policy she was terminated for contravening (which required employees to be neutral on the subject of creationism) was unconstitutional, as the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that teaching creationism as science in public schools is illegal. Comer also stated in her complaint that she was fired without due process after serving as the state science director for nearly 10 years. Her lawsuit sought a court order overturning the neutrality policy on teaching creationism and declaring that her dismissal was illegal under the Constitution and her reinstatement. [28] A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on March 31, 2009. [29]

In August 2009, Comer appealed the dismissal decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (docket 09-50401). Appeal arguments were heard in April, 2010, [30] and the court ruled on July 2, 2010, that the TEA's policy does not violate the First Amendment's religious freedom clause because it does not advance or inhibit the practice of religion. [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Discovery Institute (DI) is a politically conservative think tank that advocates the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design (ID). It was founded in 1991 in Seattle as a non-profit offshoot of the Hudson Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Science and Culture</span> Part of the Discovery Institute

The Center for Science and Culture (CSC), formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC), is part of the Discovery Institute (DI), a conservative Christian think tank in the United States. The CSC lobbies for the inclusion of creationism in the form of intelligent design (ID) in public-school science curricula as an explanation for the origins of life and the universe while trying to cast doubt on the theory of evolution. These positions have been rejected by the scientific community, which identifies intelligent design as pseudoscientific neo-creationism, whereas the theory of evolution is overwhelmingly accepted as a matter of scientific consensus.

<i>Of Pandas and People</i> Creationist supplementary textbook by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon

Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level supplementary textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, edited by Charles Thaxton and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE). The textbook endorses the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design – the argument that life shows evidence of being designed by an intelligent agent which is not named specifically in the book, although proponents understand that it refers to the Christian God. The overview chapter was written by young Earth creationist Nancy Pearcey. They present various polemical arguments against the scientific theory of evolution. Before publication, early drafts used cognates of "creationist". After the Edwards v. Aguillard Supreme Court ruling that creationism is religion and not science, these were changed to refer to "intelligent design". The second edition published in 1993 included a contribution written by Michael Behe.

The "teach the controversy" campaign of the Discovery Institute seeks to promote the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design as part of its attempts to discredit the teaching of evolution in United States public high school science courses. Scientific organizations point out that the institute claims that there is a scientific controversy where in fact none exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Education Agency</span> Education branch of the government of Texas, United States

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States. The agency is headquartered in the William B. Travis State Office Building in downtown Austin. Mike Morath, formerly a member of the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees, was appointed commissioner of education by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on December 14, 2015, and began serving on January 4, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Forrest</span> American academic

Barbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.

<i>Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District</i> 2005 court case in Pennsylvania

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design (ID), ultimately found by the court to not be science. In October 2004, the Dover Area School District of York County, Pennsylvania, changed its biology teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution theory, and that Of Pandas and People, a textbook advocating intelligent design, was to be used as a reference book. The prominence of this textbook during the trial was such that the case is sometimes referred to as the Dover Panda Trial, a name which recalls the popular name of the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, 80 years earlier. The plaintiffs successfully argued that intelligent design is a form of creationism, and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The judge's decision sparked considerable response from both supporters and critics.

The Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE) was a Christian non-profit organization based in Richardson, Texas, which represented itself as a “Christian think tank”. It published textbooks and articles promoting pseudoscientific creation science and intelligent design, abstinence, and Christian nationalism. In addition, the foundation's officers and editors became some of the leading proponents of intelligent design. The FTE developed close associations with the Discovery Institute, hub of the intelligent design movement and other religious Christian groups. The FTE operated from 1981 to 2016. Foundation for Thought and Ethics Books is now listed as an imprint of Discovery Institute Press. From the outset its aim was to develop a "scientific critique" of evolution, which was published as The Mystery of Life's Origin in 1984, to be followed by "a two-model high school biology textbook".

The intelligent design movement has conducted an organized campaign largely in the United States that promotes a pseudoscientific, neo-creationist religious agenda calling for broad social, academic and political changes centering on intelligent design.

Truth in Science is a United Kingdom-based creationist organisation which promotes the Discovery Institute's "Teach the Controversy" campaign, which it uses to try to get the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design creationism taught alongside evolution in school science lessons. The organisation claims that there is scientific controversy about the validity of Darwinian evolution, a view rejected by the United Kingdom's Royal Society and over 50 Academies of Science around the world. The group is affiliated with the Discovery Institute, the hub of the intelligent design movement, following its strategy and circulating the Institute's promotional materials.

The Discovery Institute has conducted a series of related public relations campaigns which seek to promote intelligent design while attempting to discredit evolutionary biology, which the Institute terms "Darwinism". The Discovery Institute promotes the pseudoscientific intelligent design movement and is represented by Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of intelligent design</span>

This timeline of intelligent design outlines the major events in the development of intelligent design as presented and promoted by the intelligent design movement.

John Donald "Don" McLeroy is a dentist in Bryan, Texas, and a Republican former member of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). The SBOE establishes policy for the state public school system. McLeroy, who represented SBOE District 9, served on the board from 1998 until 2011. He was appointed in 2007 as SBOE chairman by Governor Rick Perry. The term ended in February 2009.

<i>Explore Evolution</i>

Explore Evolution: The Arguments For and Against Neo-Darwinism is a controversial biology textbook written by a group of intelligent design supporters and published in 2007. Its promoters describe it as aimed at helping educators and students to discuss "the controversial aspects of evolutionary theory that are discussed openly in scientific books and journals but which are not widely reported in textbooks." As one of the Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns to "teach the controversy" its evident purpose is to provide a "lawsuit-proof" way of attacking evolution and promoting pseudoscientific creationism without being explicit.

Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds is an American education commissioner. She has served as Statewide Policy and Programs Deputy Commissioner for the Texas Education Agency. She currently serves as the Tennessee Commissioner of Education. She came to public attention in November 2007 over the controversial firing of Christine Comer.

Texas Citizens for Science (TCS) is a Texas-based advocacy group that works to protect the accuracy and reliability of science education in Texas. Its main activity is to oppose organized creationism in Texas, especially at the Texas State Board of Education, Texas Education Agency, Texas Legislature, and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Steven Dale Schafersman is an American geologist and current president of Texas Citizens for Science, an advocacy group that opposes teaching creationism as science in the public schools. He is also known for his blog BadGeology.com.

"Strengths and weaknesses of evolution" is a controversial phrase that has been proposed for public school science curricula. Those proposing the phrase, such as the chairman of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), Don McLeroy, purport that there are weaknesses in the theory of evolution and in the evidence that life has evolved that should be taught for a balanced treatment of the subject of evolution. The scientific community rejects that any substantive weaknesses exist in the scientific theory, or in the data that it explains, and views the examples that have been given in support of the phrasing as being without merit and long refuted.

In American schools, the Genesis creation narrative was generally taught as the origin of the universe and of life until Darwin's scientific theories became widely accepted. While there was some immediate backlash, organized opposition did not get underway until the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy broke out following World War I; several states passed laws banning the teaching of evolution while others debated them but did not pass them. The Scopes Trial was the result of a challenge to the law in Tennessee. Scopes lost his case, and further U.S. states passed laws banning the teaching of evolution.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Official Leaves Post as Texas Prepares to Debate Science Education Standards", The New York Times, December 3, 2007
  2. ↑ Castillo Comer, Chris (2007-11-07). "To Whom It May Concern (resignation letter)" (PDF). Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  3. ↑ REBECCA SPARKS AWARD FOR SCIENCE LEADERSHIP Archived 2007-07-12 at the Wayback Machine , Press Online [ dead link ], Volume 4, January, 2007, Texas Council of Elementary Science website Archived 2007-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "State science curriculum director resigns" Archived December 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Austin American-Statesman , November 29, 2007
  5. ↑ The Associated Press (2007-11-30). "Evolution Debate Led to Ouster, Official Says". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ "Hey Science, Don't Mess with Texas", Zach Marks, December 1, 2007, Huffington Post
  7. ↑ The contents of the email can be found in the article "Texas education official forced to resign over evolution". National Center for Science Education. 2007-11-29.
  8. ↑ On intelligent design, a lesson in Political Science 101, Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
  9. 1 2 Green Light for Institute on Creation in Texas, Ralph Blumenthal, The New York Times, December 19, 2007.
  10. ↑ Martinez, Texas Education Agency, Monica (2007-11-05). "Proposed disciplinary action" (PDF). Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  11. ↑ Barbara Forrest on Chris Comer's forced resignation: Statement Regarding Texas Education Agency's Termination of Chris Comer, Texas Director of Science, Barbara Forrest, National Center for Science Education, December 5, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Reaction to the Comer resignation", National Center for Science Education official website, December 4, 2007, retrieved on December 6, 2007
  13. ↑ "Evolution and Texas", The New York Times, December 4, 2007
  14. ↑ Ouster of science curriculum chief suggests religious doctrine might be infecting education agency, Editorial, Houston Chronicle, Dec. 4, 2007
  15. ↑ "Is misdeed a creation of political doctrine?" Archived 2007-12-04 at the Wayback Machine , Austin American-Statesman , December 1, 2007
  16. ↑ "Official forced out for telling the truth on intelligent design", Corpus Christi Caller-Times , December 4, 2007
  17. ↑ "John Young: Politicization of science" Archived 2008-05-18 at the Wayback Machine , Waco Tribune-Herald , December 04, 2007
  18. ↑ Textbook lesson in creationism, Gloria C. Endres, Philadelphia Daily News, December 17, 2007 [Link out-of-date].
  19. ↑ Heinauer, Laura (2007-11-29). "State science curriculum director resigns: Move comes months before comprehensive curriculum review". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01.
  20. ↑ PZ Myers (2007-11-29). "Fear of Barbara Forrest". Pharyngula (blog). Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  21. ↑ Schafersman, Steven (2007-11-29). "TEA Director of Science Forced to Resign". Texas Citizens for Science. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02.
  22. ↑ Education and Evolution in Texas (broadcast Friday, December 7th, 2007) Archived 2007-12-09 at the Wayback Machine , NPR Science Friday
  23. ↑ "Former science director speaks up about losing her job", December 7, 2007, News 8 Austin
  24. ↑ "Letter from Texas University Biology Professors Defending Biological Evolution as a Central Pillar of Modern Science Education" Archived 2008-01-01 at the Wayback Machine , December 10, 2007
  25. ↑ Eight Baylor professors join peers voicing support for evolution education [ permanent dead link ], Laura Heinauer, Waco Tribune-Herald, Wednesday, December 12, 2007.
  26. ↑ Teaching of evolution to go under microscope: Director's departure opens door for changes in Texas' curriculum, Karen Ayres Smith, The Dallas Morning News, December 13, 2007.
  27. ↑ CREATIONISM IN THE CLASSROOM: Is Darwin Losing the Battle With God? Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine , Lauri Lebo, Washington Spectator Archived 2007-12-27 at the Wayback Machine , January 1, 2008.
  28. ↑ "Former state science director sues over intelligent design e-mail" Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine , Terence Stutz, The Dallas Morning News , July 3, 2008
  29. ↑ "Suit dismissed in firing over creationism e-mail", The Dallas Morning News , April 1, 2009
  30. ↑ "Firing over creationism e-mail leads to appeal" [ dead link ], NBC News , April 26, 2010
  31. ↑
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.