Mark Loewe's responses to voters guide questionnaires and newspapers
Mark Loewe's responses to the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area
Mark Loewe's responses to the League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund
Mark Loewe's responses to the Liberty Institute
Mark Loewe's responses to the Atheist Community of Austin
Mark Loewe's responses to the Community Impact Newspaper
Will physicist Mark Loewe defeat Ken Mercer and Rebecca Bell-Metereau?
Mark Loewe's responses to the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area
Dr. Loewe's responses (12 September 2010) to the State Board of Education items on the
Voters Guide Questionnaire of the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area are provided below. Voters are encouraged to compare Dr. Loewe's responses to those of his opponents, available on Page 14 of the
Voters Guide.
1. Please describe what combination of education, motivation and/or experience qualifies you for this office. (50 words)
2. How can the State Board of Education influence the drop out rate and increase the graduation rate? (75 words)
Texas pays excessively high prices for mathematics, science, and other textbooks. I wrote
House Bill 2959 (81st Legislature) and would lead the SBOE to acquire
inexpensive textbooks for children to keep permanently.
Progressive vouchers (school choice) would attract billions of additional private dollars yearly into Texas' education system, increase public education funds received by government schools per weighted child, and allow children to be better matched to schools according to their needs, abilities, and interests.
3. There continues to be considerable controversy surrounding the selection of textbooks in Texas. What do you think the basis of selection should be and what would you suggest to alleviate the controversy? (75 words)
Bases of textbook selection should include cost, alignment with curricula, accuracy and importance of scientific and historical facts, simplicity and success of methods of analysis and prediction, effectiveness for knowledge and skills acquisition, promotion of abilities to successfully predict consequences of actions and evaluate benefits (science and reason are immensely successful), and promotion of high achievement, good citizenship, limited government, free enterprise, science, useful arts, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Visit
markloewe.org.
Mark Loewe's responses to the League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund
Dr. Loewe's responses to the 2010 General Election
Voters Guide Questionnaire of the League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund are provided below. Voters are encouraged to compare Dr. Loewe's responses to those of his opponents, available in an
English Version of the 2010 General Election Voters Guide. The League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund gave Dr. Loewe less than five hours to read the questions and to draft and deliver his responses (all on 12 August 2010). The League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund
failed to publish any of Dr. Loewe's responses in a
Spanish Version of the 2010 General Election Voters Guide, in which the League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund
falsely states "
No hay respuesta" (that is, "
No reply received").
Background: What training and experience qualify you for this position? (50 words)
Curriculum: What criteria should be used in developing and approving curriculum standards for courses? (75 words)
Criteria for use in the development and approval of curricula should include promotion of students' abilities to successfully predict consequences of actions and evaluate their benefits (science and reason have been immensely successful), accuracy and importance of scientific and historical facts, simplicity and success of methods of analysis and prediction, effectiveness for knowledge and skills acquisition, effectiveness for directed and independent study, and promotion of science, useful arts, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Other Issues: What are the two most serious public education issues facing the State Board of Education during your term, and how would you address them? (75 words)
Mark Loewe's responses to the Liberty Institute
Dr. Loewe's responses (20 August 2010) to issues on the 2010 VOTERS GUIDE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION CANDIDATES of the Liberty Institute are provided below. Dr. Loewe was asked to circle the response (
SF=Strongly Favor,
F=Favor,
U=Undecided,
O=Oppose,
SO=Strongly Oppose) that most accurately reflects his position on the issues.
Voters are encouraged to compare Dr. Loewe's responses to those of his opponents, apparently available in the
FREE VOTERS GUIDE 2010 GENERAL ELECTION.
1.
Biology textbooks which do not teach both the scientific strengths and
weaknesses of the theory of evolution should be rejected by the Board.
Strongly Favor
2.
School choice vouchers in inner-cities which allow parents of children in
failing schools to choose a public or private school for their children.
Strongly Favor
3.
A law protecting students from sexual orientation discrimination.
Favor
4.
Require at least 70% of taxpayer education spending to be used in the classroom.
Favor
5.
Curriculum should include not just English immersion, but bilingual education as well.
Undecided
6.
Public school employees should be penalized if they do not let parents
review all instructional materials and records of their children.
Strongly Favor
7.
Texas schools should teach comprehensive sex education, which includes
teaching abstinence, and should not just teach abstinence only.
Strongly Favor
8.
Regulation of private schools or homeschools.
Strongly Oppose
9.
Do you support the current law which says the Board may reject a
textbook if it believes the book is unsuitable?
Strongly Favor
10.
Display the Ten Commandments in public school buildings.
Strongly Oppose
11.
School counseling or teaching about homosexuality.
Oppose
Mark Loewe's responses to the Atheist Community of Austin
Dr. Loewe's responses (14 September 2010) to statements on the 2010 Candidates Questionnaire of the Atheist Community of Austin are provided below. Dr. Loewe was asked to indicate the strength of his agreement or disagreement with the statements by entry of one of the following initials at the beginning of each statement:
SA=Strongly Agree,
A=Agree,
U=Uncertain,
D=Disagree,
SD=Strongly Disagree. Voters are encouraged to compare Dr. Loewe's responses to those of other candidates, available in the
2010 Voter's Guide Results.
Strongly Agree
1.
If I am (re-)elected, then I will listen to and fairly represent the interests of atheist constituents.
Strongly Agree
2.
I will not consider religion in any decision to hire, promote, demote, or fire a member of my staff.
Strongly Agree
3.
I would sooner resign from office than allow a religious consideration to cause me to break my oath of office to support our nation's Constitution.
Strongly Agree
4.
Our Constitution's provision that "The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts," which was adopted unanimously at the Federal Convention of 1787, stands as convincing evidence that the Framers, including Benjamin Franklin and James Madison, considered science and technology to be of fundamental importance.
Strongly Agree
5.
Public schools should provide age-appropriate, scientific information on methods of birth control and ways to reduce health risks of sexual activities.
Strongly Disagree
6.
In public school science classes, it is appropriate to teach alternatives to established scientific theories without regard to the extents to which the alternatives are supported by scientific evidence.
Strongly Disagree
7.
The age of the Earth is closer to 6 thousand years than to 4 billion years.
Strongly Agree
8.
Speciation and the diversity of life are best explained by evolution through natural selection.
Strongly Agree
9.
Our Constitution's provision that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States," which applies to all divisions of government (legislative, executive, judicial, military, federal, state, and local), should never be violated.
Strongly Agree
10.
Public school teachers should never be required to respond to religious tests, including to utter "under God" during the Pledge of Allegiance.
Strongly Agree
11.
Whenever children in public schools are free to proclaim "under God" during the Pledge of Allegiance they are free to remain silent or to proclaim alternatives.
Strongly Disagree
12.
"E Pluribus Unum" or "In Science We Trust" would be a more divisive national motto than "In God We Trust," "In Allah We Trust," "In Shiva and Vishnu We Trust," or "Gott Mit Uns."
Strongly Agree
13.
Our Constitution's provision that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" requires strict government neutrality in matters of religion and forbids government promotion of ceremonial Deism and monotheism.
Strongly Agree
14.
A government employee who promotes, rather than accommodates, religion in his/her official capacity should be reprimanded or fired.
Strongly Agree
15.
Tax exemptions given to religious organizations are discriminatory and/or burdensome to the public and should be either opened to atheistic organizations or eliminated altogether.
Strongly Agree
16.
Values of properties owned by religious organizations should periodically be appraised and made a matter of public record, along with values of associated property tax exemptions.
Strongly Disagree
17.
A religious leader who learns of a commission of a felony should be immune from prosecution for failure to report the crime.
Strongly Agree
18.
A prison inmate should not be paroled or granted prison favors on account of religion.
Uncertain
19.
A licensed pharmacist who, on account of religion, chooses not to dispense a prescription drug to a customer should have his or her license revoked.
Strongly Agree
20.
Parents who, on account of religion, prevent their children from receiving life-saving medical treatment should not be immune from prosecution or from loss of custody of their children.
Strongly Disagree
21.
Given a system under which parents direct public education funds to schools (as with vouchers), schools that deny admission to children on account of the religions of the children or their parents should remain eligible to receive public education funds directed to the schools by other parents.
Strongly Agree
22.
An employer who discriminates based on an employee's religion should be ineligible to receive public funds.
Uncertain
23.
The legal definition of marriage should be restricted to one man with one woman.
Strongly Agree
24.
Public high schools should be allowed to provide appropriate warnings about religious laws and practices in foreign lands that put at risk visitors' lives, liberty, or property.
Mark Loewe's responses to the Community Impact Newspaper
Dr. Loewe's responses to questions asked by the
Community Impact Newspaper are provided below. Voters are encouraged to compare them with the responses of Dr. Loewe's opponents that appear in "
State Board of Education, District 5", by Mary Tuma,
Community Impact Newspaper, 14 May 2010. Dr. Loewe's use of the phrase "government imposed" is
misquoted in the article as "government-opposed".
How does your experience and background suit you for a position on the State Board of Education?
What are your top priorities?
My priorities include to acquire
low cost mathematics, science, and other textbooks for Texas children to keep permanently, to make wise investments for Texas' Permanent School Fund, to improve Texas' mathematics, science, and other curricula, to make curricula for Texas' Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available on the Texas Education Agency website, to promptly release statistical results and all questions used to determine student scores after statewide exams, to promptly correct incorrect scores issued on statewide exams, and to promote school choice (especially "
progressive vouchers") over government imposed, high stakes sanctions based on government defined performance thresholds on government prepared minimum proficiency tests.
What is your position on sex education in public schools?
Age-appropriate, scientific information on methods of birth control and ways to reduce health risks of sexual activities should be provided in government schools.
What is your position on the teaching of evolution?
I will not weaken our existing Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) student expectations in regard to the coverage of evolution.