NCSE Evolution Education Update for 2011/10/14
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2011-10-14 12:42.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear Friends of NCSE, A landmark for NCSE's Facebook page. A deserved honor for long-time NCSE member Mark Terry. And NCSE's Steven Newton discusses creationist participation in scientific conferences in the pages of New Scientist.
NCSE ON FACEBOOK: N > 15,000 A milestone: there are now over 15,000 fans of NCSE's Facebook page. Why not join them, by visiting the page and becoming a fan by clicking on the "Like" box by NCSE's name? You'll receive the latest NCSE news delivered straight to your Facebook Home page, as well as updates on new evolution-related scientific discoveries. Or if you prefer your news in 140-character chunks, follow NCSE on Twitter. And while you're surfing the web, why not visit NCSE's YouTube channel, with over 200 videos for your watching pleasure? It's the best place on the web to view talks by NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott and the rest of the staff! For NCSE's Facebook page, Twitter feed, and YouTube channel, visit: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://twitter.com/ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd CONGRATULATIONS TO MARK TERRY NCSE is delighted to congratulate Mark Terry on being named the 2011 recipient of the Evolution in Education Award. The award, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, is awarded by the National Association of Biology Teachers to recognize innovative classroom teaching and community education efforts to promote the accurate understanding of biological evolution. The NABT's News and Views blog (September 17, 2011) observed that Terry is "well known within the evolution education community for giving a strong voice to secondary school teachers through keynote presentations, articles, and service on committees and advisory groups, including his role as a Teacher Advisor for the UCMP websites Understanding Evolution and Understanding Science." Moreover, it added, "A keen observer of the activities and strategies used by the anti-evolution movement, Mark has worked to help teachers, scientists, and the public address challenges and counteract efforts to limit the teaching of evolution." (Two examples: his 2005 essay "Intelligent Design, or Not," published by New Horizons for Learning, and his 2007 essay "What's Design Got to Do with It?" published in Independent Schools.) Terry is Science Chair as well as cofounder of the Northwest School in Seattle. For the NABT blog post, visit: http://www.nabt.org/campaigns/index.php?r=jreevespepin%40nabt.org&a=1&c=120&m=1 For the two cited essays by Terry, visit: http://home.avvanta.com/~building/trans/terry.htm http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?Itemnumber=149392&sn.ItemNumber=145956 NCSE'S NEWTON IN NEW SCIENTIST NCSE's Steven Newton contributed "Geology will survive creationist undermining" to New Scientist (October 8, 2011), again reporting on creationists participating in meetings of the Geological Society of America. "Nothing in their presentations revealed that they thought the Grand Canyon's upper rocks were deposited in a year and that dinosaurs and humans once lived together," Newton explained. "The point is to be able to claim legitimacy. Creationists have used their participation in conferences to argue that their ideas are taken seriously by real scientists." Although there are geologists who have reacted by proposing a ban on presentations by creationists, Newton demurred: "if scientific societies impose bans," he argued, "they will be able to make a plausible claim of censorship and discrimination." In the absence of a ban, he predicted, "[s]cientific organisations will continue to experience creationist infiltration." He emphasized, as he also emphasized in his report in the July 2011 issue of Earth magazine, "it is important for scientists not to overreact and to remember that science is far stronger than any creationist attempts to undermine it." For Newton's essay, visit: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128335.100-geology-will-survive-creationist-undermining.html For Newton's report in Earth, visit: http://www.earthmagazine.org/earth/article/456-7db-6-a Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution education and threats to it. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x305 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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