Kathy Martin, creationist, re-files for State Board of Education

Four years ago, Kathy Martin, an elementary school teacher, was elected to the Kansas State Board of Education. Since then, she has been a veritable font of ridiculous misinformation about science and evolution in particular.

Now she has filed for re-election to the Board. There is no way this woman should be allowed anywhere near a position affecting what Kansas students learn in public schools.

Kathy was one of three creationists who presided over the so-called "Science Hearings" on the public school science standards (which determine what Kansas kids will learn in science classes from grade school through high school). Here's a NY Times story from May, 2005, during the hearings, aka the "Kansas Kangaroo Kourt," just to jog your memory. The first time the science standards were mauled by creationists was in 1999. Hence, the "once more" of the headline.

In Kansas, Darwinism Goes On Trial Once More
NY Times - 5/6/2005

TOPEKA, Kan., May 5 - Six years after Kansas ignited a national debate over the teaching of evolution, the state is poised to push through new science standards this summer requiring that Darwin's theory be challenged in the classroom. . .

During the Kourt, Ms. Martin distinguished herself by making such appallingly ignorant statements as the following:

Newly elected member Kathy Martin gave religious conservatives a majority on the board.
PBS "Religion & Ethics Weekly"

KATHY MARTIN (Kansas State Board of Education): What we're saying is that the neo- Darwinism and some of the materialistic explanations of evolution have led young folks away from Christianity and their beliefs. They're a lot of different theories out there, and I don't think teaching creationism in a science class -- no, that's definitely not what we want to do, but just to allow critical analysis and more than just one point of view. . . .

KC Star 5/4/2005

"It (evolution) has a lot of fallacies, and it's been disproven or remains unproven, but it's presented as fact,” she said. “It was a good idea back in 1859 when it came out. Darwin and some of his cronies had some great ideas, but it can't be proven."

The Pitch - 5/5/05

If there were ever any question what a farce the "trial" is, Kathy Martin removed all doubt a couple of weeks ago, when she gave an interview to the Clay Center Dispatch.

"We are not going to give up until the standards say what we want them to say," Martin told the paper. "Evolution has been proven false. ID is science-based and strong in facts."

Zwire.com - 4/20/05

While Martin was unable to provide examples of scientific facts that back up Intelligent Design Theory, she did explain that ID believes in "microevolution," but not "macroevolution."

Okay, then, here's the latest...

State board member files for re-election

By Barbara Hollingsworth

The Capital-Journal

Published Thursday, February 21, 2008

Veteran teacher Kathy Martin is seeking election to another four-year term on the Kansas State Board of Education.

Martin, a Clay Center Republican and one of the board's four conservative members, is the first to file for election to the District 6 seat, which she took on three years ago after retiring from a long teaching career.

The move from teaching children to implementing policy has been a sometimes frustrating one, Martin said. In her classroom, she noted, she could quickly make changes to help students.
"If we want to encourage something new with state policy, it's like pulling teeth sometimes," she said.

Some of the policies that Martin has advocated riled some scientists and health workers. Among them was a board policy encouraging districts to have parents opt their children into rather than out of sexual education. And the board's changes to the state science standards being more critical of evolution drew a circus of media to Kansas.

"That was a real shame to me when things were changed right back," she said of moves made last year when a moderate faction claimed control of the state board following elections.
Beyond the issues that tend to get the most attention, Martin said it is important to continue work removing barriers that prevent people from going into teaching. Also, she said she is interested in ways to allow teachers to advance in their field and earn more money without leaving the classroom. Currently, many teachers can only advance by becoming an administrator.

"A lot of us, especially myself, did not want to do that," said Martin, who was named Clay County Teacher of the Year in 2000. [Ed: OMG, what must the rest of Clay County's teachers be like???]

The general election will be in November.

But here's the important thing: the primaries are in August. If you live in Senate district 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, you must register as a Republican so you can vote for a candidate who supports 21st century education. In other words, so you can vote AGAINST the "social conservative" running for BOE in your district. It's fairly certain there will be one for every open seat this year.

I know, you Dems and Independents, the thought of turning GOP sounds as appealing as eating poison. But suck it up and be pragmatic, just for the primary. Then change your registration back to Dem or Indep. See?

To watch Kathy and other ID creationists spout utter nonsense, buy "Flock of Dodos" by Kansas City-born Randy Olson and "Kansas vs. Darwin" by Kansas City's own Jeff Tamblyn.