Interview with Lizzette Reynolds

There is an interview with Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, the Texas Education Agency member who fired Chris Comer, in the Austin-American Statesman. What comes across in the interview is surprise that it blew up. One of the exchanges goes as follows:

The TEA has received a lot of criticism, especially from scientists, who note that evolution is not a relic or abstract theory, but an important plank in the study of modern sciences and in scientific research. Were you aware of the significance of evolution?

I didn’t recognize the importance of the subject in terms of it being tagged “evolution.” I know now that it has very real importance in modern science and research. I know that it is in our TEKS, and I’ve no reason to believe it won’t continue that way. What I didn’t think about was evolution in terms of a political struggle. That took me by surprise because the science is being utilized in all our schools.

My initial response to this was "how can you be surprised at this? This has been a hotbed issue for decades."

Read the whole thing.