Don Neilson, the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design
Don Nielson
Don Nielson recently had yet another op ed published by the Seattle Times, a newspaper which has provided many wealthy (white) men with a platform and microphone to share their opinions with the rest of us on public education. This time Mr. Nielson wanted to state that a lack of adequate funding for public schools is not the problem, it’s having an elected school board among other things.
What came to my attention, thanks to my co-editor’s sleuthing, was the fact that the same Don Nielson is also a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute and “chair of the Institute’s program on public education reform.”
That wouldn’t be too shocking except for two items. First, Don Nielson has had a great influence over Seattle Public Schools in the past and continues to try and influence the public conversation now, and also because the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture is “dedicated to the reinvigoration of traditional Western principles and institutions and the worldview from which they issued” and is “the institutional hub for scientists, educators, and inquiring minds who think that nature supplies compelling evidence of intelligent design. We support research, sponsor educational programs, defend free speech, and produce articles, books, and multimedia content.” And here’s another good one: “Discovery Institute has a special concern for the role that science and technology play in our culture and how they can advance free markets, illuminate public policy and support the theistic foundations of the West.”With all this in mind, let me take you back a bit.
In 2010 I wrote the first in a series of posts titled “The Battle for Seattle” which provides a history of the Broad Foundation in Seattle and the attempt at a corporate takeover of Don Neilson, the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design | Seattle Education: