Arizona State Superintendent Diane Douglas has hired a creationist who believes that dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark to help schools decide how best to teach evolution in science classes across the state.
As the Arizona Republic reported, the creationist that Douglas hired is of the opinion that the Earth is just 6,000 years old, and that dinosaurs were saved when they fled on Noah's Ark. According to this creationist, Joseph Kezele, "Plenty of space on the ark for dinosaurs - no problem."
While Diane Douglas is alleged to be leaving her position as superintendent soon, Kezele will be staying firmly put and will be part of a group that will be reviewing science standards in Arizona schools now.
Joseph Kezele currently teaches biology courses at Arizona Christian University and, as interviewer Joseph Flaherty for the Phoenix New Times asserts, is a "a staunch believer in the idea that enough scientific evidence exists to back up the biblical story of creation."
Diane Douglas is reportedly very excited to have creationist Joseph Kezele at the helm of Arizona's science curriculum and when reviewing new science standards, is alleged to have taken the word evolution out of much of the curriculum in schools. She has also suggested that creationism should be taught in conjunction with evolution and is a strong proponent of intelligent design.
"Should the theory of intelligent design be taught along with the theory of evolution? Absolutely. I had a discussion with my staff, because we're currently working on science standards, to make sure this issue was addressed in the standards we're working on."
