[cobrausn]

So, as someone who went to a private (Catholic, even) high school in Texas that taught evolution, I'm often pretty frustrated by this. Aside from just waiting for those who set these kinds of policies in place to fade away, is there any specific voting pattern that would stop this? I don't live in areas that vote in people who set these policies, so I'm not sure I can actually even affect this.

[herge]

Why would a Catholic high school teach anything else other than evolution?

[tomswartz07]

I went to a private school in PA, and we were taught evolution. The teacher made a passing remark that creationism is a 'competing hypothesis' and left it at that.

[MartinCron]

A hypothesis implies falsification via observation or experimentation. Creationism does not (and cannot) meet that definition. Calling creationism a "competing hypothesis" is an insult to science.

[stonemetal]

If you are still in Texas you have some control. The state board of education determine Curriculum and instructional materials. Board members are elected so your vote and campaign contributions would have an effect.

[singlow]

I don't think that board's decisions are directly affecting this charter school though. The decisions they make effect the curriculum used by public schools.

While this school receives public funding, it operates largely as a private school, with curriculum chosen by its own board. There are certain mandates that they must fulfill, and a general plan which must be approved by the state education board in their initial charter. In order to rescind their charter, the board would need to determine that their curriculum does not meet the plan outlined in their charter or that the students are not be prepared adequately for college. It appears from the information in the article that the science of evolution is taught and the students would, presumably, be able to answer test questions regarding it. They just aren't asked to believe it is fact.

[fnordfnordfnord]

But the idiots are so many. At least we finally got rid of that idiot Don McLeroy.

[vezzy-fnord]

Catholics are in general more accepting of scientific evidence than Protestants, the latter being far more concerned with dogma and traditionalism. Evolution is officially supported by the Catholic Church.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_evolution

[mnw21cam]

> Catholics are in general more accepting of scientific evidence than Protestants

In my experience, the opposite is true (in the UK, at least).

Consider the condom issue.

[jonesetc]

I think the only way to do it is to move out of Austin and start converting.

[cobrausn]

Don't live in Austin. Austinites are pretty good at marketing themselves as progressives surrounded by the 'rest of Texas', but the reality is, as always, a bit more complicated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston

[jonesetc]

Sorry, that was mostly a joke.

I have never lived in any of the other major cities in Texas, so I certainly don't understand the full dynamics of their politics. I do understand that at the heart of the major cities they tend to be more liberal, which is expected of just about any major city. However, as an Austinite I can say it feels like the liberal bleeds more into the suburbs here than in the other major cities. This may be because of Austin's relatively small size or just bad anecdotal evidence. Take that as you will and I hope I didn't rustle too many jimmies.

[cobrausn]

I think that's mostly due to Austin's small size and exclusivity, but it's also a lot of 'image' that Austinites like to reinforce. I also find it entertaining that the self-described most 'progressive' city in Texas is actually the least diverse major city in Texas, with ~70% white population. Don't worry too much about the regional politics of Texas, especially if you don't live here - it's often quite maddening. :-D

[techpeace]

I agree that central Texas also has its fair share of conservatives, but how does the Wikipedia article about Houston prove this? Houston is 2.5 hours from Austin.

Election results alone bear out the fact that Austin is still one of the few Democratic strongholds in Texas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Texas#Current_situa...

[cobrausn]

So, I generally don't equate 'Democratic Party' with 'Progressive' anymore, but at the state level I'll admit that one is at least closer than the other.

Did you read the rest of that paragraph? The cities tend to vote Democratic in state elections whereas the rural areas overwhelmingly vote Republican, and Texas has a lot of rural space. I'll also point out that the largest city in the U.S. to elect an openly gay mayor (reelected twice) is Houston, which I found entertaining because of the two Democratic candidates, she was the more 'conservative'. Austin isn't as 'weird' as it thinks it is.

[stephenhuey]

It's the Houston suburbs that are Republican, whereas the rest of our vast spread-out city) leans Democrat. Houston has one of the first openly gay mayors of a major U.S. city. From the Wikipedia article: "The cities of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and El Paso all presently have elected mayors with Democratic ties, and have voted Democratic in recent statewide and federal elections. However, the suburbs of these cities remain heavily Republican."