Texas in Turmoil Over Teaching Creationism vs. Evolution in Public School

The director of science education in Texas is now unemployed after she forwarded an email questioning creationism. Her bosses say she didn’t remain neutral on this contentious issue, but Christine Castillo Comer wonders if there's more to the story. Digital Journal — “I’m for good science, and I don’t think it’s any stretch of the imagination where I stand.” Christine Castillo Comer is speaking about teaching evolution, a position she’s holding firm even after she lost her job as a science teacher and director of science at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Comer is calling the situation a forced resignation. Comer’s departure is the prelude to what many believe will be a lengthy battle to rewrite Texas’s science curriculum. Should Texas teach evolution and intelligent design, or merely one or the other? The controversy began on Oct. 26 when Comer forwarded an email about a lecture on creationism that argued how intelligent design is often taught in public schools through high-pressure public relation tactics rather than through scientific research. Shortly after sending the email, Comer was put on administrative leave. Comer told the New York Times: "I don’t see how I took a position by F.Y.I.-ing on a lecture like I F.Y.I. on global warming or stem-cell research. I send around all kinds of stuff, and I’m not accused of endorsing it." Comer said that Tom Shindell, director for organizational development at TEA, had advised her to resign or be terminated for a series of unauthorized presentations at professional meetings. She resigned last month, and a dismissal letter stated Comer shouldn’t have sided one way or the other on evolution, “a subject on which the agency must remain neutral.” A spokeswoman for the state’s education agency in Austin told NY Times: "Our job is to enact laws and regulations that are passed by the Legislature or the State Board of Education and not to inject personal opinions and beliefs." Do you think Comer resigned under just circumstances? Should the TEA approach their curriculum differently in the new year, in light of the creationism controversy?