# Texas Finally Enters 20th Century **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 7, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851 "2003-11-07T07:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/1 "2003-11-07T07:31:24Z")
And only three years too late! [Lookie here](http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/11/06/evolution.textbooks.ap/index.html): > [@](#): > > The State Board of Education voted Thursday to approve biology textbooks, despite criticism from religious activists who say the books as written fail to present the anti-evolution point of view. Civilized World: 1 Dumbass Fundies: A billion. We’re gaining on them. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/2 "2003-11-07T07:46:29Z")
So Texas didn’t have any biology textbooks until now!? Good God, I’m glad I didn’t grow up in Texas. (Nitpick: They’re 3 years late for the 21st century. They’d be 103 years late for the 20th century.) ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/3 "2003-11-07T07:48:49Z")
I went to school in Texas from 1983-1990, and I don’t recall any of our Biology texts having anything about Creationism or other ‘evolution alternatives’ in them. ---
**Author:** ![thatDDperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@thatDDperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatDDperson)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/4 "2003-11-07T08:11:29Z")
Texas had biology texts in the late 60’s with nothing about Creationism, other than the statement that is was one of many theories. Which it was. And is. Superior attitudes notwithstanding, there are more than a few errors made about Texas and Texans on a regular basis. I think i’ll untie my horse from the oil well in the back yard and mosey on down to the country club with all the other Oil Barons, so we can laugh at the benighted redneck fundies. Amazing how a state that is that full of ignorant people can have so many institutions of higher education that are harder to get into than many of the Ivy League. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/5 "2003-11-07T10:37:07Z")
Wow, and to think while I was in high school, I was just imagining that Biology textbook the whole time. Maybe they were holographic or something. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/6 "2003-11-07T11:07:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thatDDperson \* > Texas had biology texts in the late 60’s with nothing about Creationism, other than the statement that is was one of many theories. Which it was. And is. Uh, no. Creationism is not one of many scientific theories. It’s not even a theory; it’s a religious tenet. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/7 "2003-11-07T11:33:08Z")
Creationism is a dogma espoused by religious groups. It is not testable and cannot be proven false, so it is not a scientific theory. There’s no more place for creationism in a science textbook than there is place for an elephant in the deep sea vents at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Siegfried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Siegfried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siegfried)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/8 "2003-11-07T13:49:55Z")
I was just in high school biology ten years ago this year. Our textbook dedicated a chapter to the theory of evolution and related concerns (Darwin, survival of the fittest, adaptation, etc). There wasn’t anything about Creationism in the book, and the teacher never even brought it up. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/9 "2003-11-07T13:51:30Z")
As a recovering Texan, my heartfelt joy at being from Texas has never wavered. Operative word being “from”. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/10 "2003-11-07T14:26:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thatDDperson \* > **Superior attitudes notwithstanding, there are more than a few errors made about Texas and Texans on a regular basis.** Amen! (That’s a completely secular “Amen”, I swear). I moved to the Dallas area a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised: I was expecting a desert wasteland filled with cowboy-boot wearing ultrafundies just looking for heathens to beat with their big-ass gold-plated belt-buckles. But it’s actually green, and, though definately conservative, it feels conservative in an agreeably libertarian way. Oh, and **Friedo** , how the hell do you get “Texas Finally Enters the 20th Century” from that article? **Nothing** in that article implies that the textbooks currently in use stress creationism or don’t present evolution. It merely says that creationists unsuccesfully fought to put their garbage in the latest set of books. There’s something saddly ironic about bashing fundies (presumably people whom you’d consider “unreasonable”) when you can’t see the logical fallacies in “There was a fight in Texas over evolution in biology text books, therefore, Texas previously didn’t have evolution in biology texts and wasn’t in the 20th Century”. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/11 "2003-11-07T14:43:35Z")
Wouldn’t they be 103 years late to enter the 20th century? It’s not that they entered the modern times, they avoided being dragged back in time by the fundies. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/12 "2003-11-07T14:48:13Z")
No, no, no. You’ve got it all wrong! If your fundamentalist Grandfather steps out of a time machine and gives you a textbook that says evolution ain’t so, you will cease to exist, or, more properly, you will not have ever _existed_. This stuff is complicated. You probably shouldn’t think about it without checking with me first. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/13 "2003-11-07T15:01:25Z")
A bunch of creationists came from in and out of state to appeal to the board regarding textbook selection this year. Some were from the Discovery Institute ([discovery.org](http://discovery.org)), a very ‘sciency-looking’ pro intelligent design group. Thye are hoping that since creationism cannot be included in science books, ID can. To Texas’ credit, most were not allowed to address the board during the actual meeting(s), but were allowed to make presentations afterwards. There were quite alot of pro-science speakers ([http://www.txscience.org/about.php](http://www.txscience.org/about.php)). The ‘Texas Citizens for Science’ group motto is “That Texas Schools Need is a Moment of Science”. Go Texas! ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/14 "2003-11-07T15:04:49Z")
Uh… that’s “What Texas Schools Need…” carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/15 "2003-11-07T17:52:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thatDDperson \* > **Superior attitudes notwithstanding, there are more than a few errors made about Texas and Texans on a regular basis.** Everything I know about Texas I learned from Molly Ivins. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/16 "2003-11-07T18:15:11Z")
If Texas has recently entered the twentieth century, could it be because they are headed in the wrong direction? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/17 "2003-11-07T18:42:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KJ \* > \*\*So Texas didn’t have any biology textbooks until now!? Good God, I’m glad I didn’t grow up in Texas. > > (Nitpick: They’re 3 years late for the 21st century. They’d be 103 years late for the 20th century.) \*\* I went to school in Texas from 1987 and graduated in 1994. I don’t recall our biology books including anything about creationism or intelligent design. It did talk about evolution, natural selection, and sexual selection. Marc ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/18 "2003-11-07T18:47:26Z")
What this is about is just one battle in a war between the extreme right and extreme left over the content of textbooks. In this case it would seem reason won out, but it was only one battle. > [@](#): > > _from **The Language Police** by Diane Ravitch_ > **"So long as books and stories continue to be strained through a sieve of political correctness, fashioned by partisans of both left and right, all that will be left for students to read will be thin gruel."** ---
**Author:** ![HeartOfGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@HeartOfGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeartOfGold)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/19 "2003-11-07T19:05:07Z")
Yeah, I just graduated from a Texas high school. I went through bio 1 & 2 without hearing anything notable on creationism. I do distinctly remember studying evolution though. I don’t see how this changes anything at all. I will note that even though evolution is taught and creationism is not, most of the people I encounter around here believe firmly in either intelligent design or full-blown creationism. These same people, mostly, reject evolution as “merely a theory.” There’s no reasoning with some people. Most people are force-fed the church’s doctrine for years and just can’t conceive that it might not be so. It irritates me that I am the one portrayed as unreasonable. So it goes. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851/20 "2003-11-07T19:07:17Z")
This fight happens almost every year because of the way textbook review is done and the enormous share Texas has of the national textbook market (along with California); and as **Ca3799** rightly points out, folks from both side come from far and wide. The reason all us Texans are checking in saying we’ve never seen creationism in any incarnation in a schoolbook is because they always lose. Since publishers are not likely to print different editions for different states, what Texas and California decide will hold for all states. It’s not (just) that we’re conservative, it’s that we’re so damn big. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-finally-enters-20th-century/211851.md?page=2)