- Kathy Cox
Kathy Cox (born August 10th, 1964) is the current superintendent of
public school s for theU.S. state of Georgia, and is a Republican. A high school teacher by occupation, Cox also served two terms, from 1998 to 2002, in theGeorgia General Assembly , representing Peachtree City, Georgia, prior to her election as superintendent in 2002. Cox sought re-election in 2006, defeating Democratic challengerDenise Majette (a former U.S. representative), earning almost 60 percent of the vote.Cox is not related to
Cathy Cox , a Democrat who was Georgia's elected secretary of state from 1999 until 2007. The similarity in names became the subject of mostly humorous news stories in 2002, when Kathy Cox's defeated opponent, Barbara Christmas, complained that she had lost because of voter confusion between the two Coxes.Game Show Success
Cox appeared as a contestant on the American television game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" on Friday, September 5, 2008, and was the first million-dollar winner on the show.
Cox intends to donate all her winnings to three schools in Georgia: Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon, Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston, and Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring. All three schools are under the auspices of the Georgia Board of Education. [ [http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/09/05/cox_fifth_grader.html] ]
Evolution Controversy
Cox made national news in 2004 by proposing to strike the word "
evolution " from Georgia textbooks and replace it with the phrase "biological changes over time." In justifying her decision, she claimed evolution was abuzzword that created problems for teachers in conservative and rural areas, and that she had not been attempting to water down the subject matter [ [http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/01/30/striking.evolution.ap/index.html CNN.com - Georgia considers banning 'evolution' - Jan. 30, 2004 ] ] . Former PresidentJimmy Carter criticized Cox, saying he was "..embarrassed by Superintendent Kathy Cox's attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia's students... there can be no incompatibility between Christian faith and proven facts concerning geology, biology, and astronomy. There is no need to teach that stars can fall out of the sky and land on aflat earth in order to defend our religious faith." [ [http://www.nmsr.org/nmsrbest.htm Carter Criticizes Cox] ]External links
* [http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ Georgia Department of Education website]
* [http://www.kathyforeducation.com Kathy Cox For State School Superintendent]
* [http://www.kathycoxevolve.com Kathy Cox, Evolve! - Georgia School Superintendent Proposes Dropping Reference To 'Evolution']
* [http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/01/30/striking.evolution.ap/index.html Georgia Considers Banning "Evolution"]
* [http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/08/20/cox_quiz_show.html Cox to Appear on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader"]References
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