NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2013/08/16
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2013-08-16 14:47.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Encouraging news about biology textbooks in the Lone Star State. A peek at Robert Martin's How We Do It. A poll of Georgia voters suggests that creationism is popular in the Peachtree State. And NCSE is returning to the Grand Canyon in 2014.
HOLDING THE LINE IN TEXAS TEXTBOOKS "Science scholars in Texas are giving thumbs up to coverage of evolution in proposed new high school biology textbooks,"according to a press release from the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund dated August 13, 2013. As NCSE previously reported, when the Texas state board of education last revised the state science standards in 2009, the result was a flawed set of standards. Although creationists were unsuccessful in inserting the controversial "strengths and weaknesses" language from the old set of standards, they eventually prevailed with a requirement that students examine "all sides of scientific evidence." Additionally, the board voted to add or amend various standards in a way that encourages the presentation of creationist claims about the complexity of the cell, the completeness of the fossil record, and the origin of life. The state board of education is presently in the process of evaluating science textbooks and other instructional materials, with a final vote expected in November 2013. The worry, for those concerned with the scientific integrity of Texas's textbooks, is that publishers would be pressured to compromise their treatment of evolution in order to comply with the flawed standards. The worry was compounded, as the TFN Education Fund's press release explains, by the fact that "[s]ome of the country's most prominent evolution deniers got influential positions on official state review panels examining the next textbooks and online materials." The TFN Education Fund commissioned a detailed review of the treatment of evolution in the textbooks and instructional materials submitted by publishers. The reviewers discovered that "creationists on the State Board of Education have failed to pressure publishers into including 'junk science' that questions evolutionary theory in the new high school biology materials. Indeed, all of the publishers have submitted biology instructional materials that honestly address and support the science of evolution and that do not include pseudoscience intended to water down or 'disprove' evolution." Kathy Miller, the president of the TFN Education Fund, commented, "It appears that publishers have done a good job resisting political pressure to weaken instruction on evolution with junk science in their new textbooks ... That should be reassuring for parents who want their kids to get a science education that prepares them for college and a 21st[-]century economy." "But," she added, "we’re already seeing signs that the pressure on publishers will increase in the coming months.” The board is expected to hold at least one and perhaps two public hearings on the proposed instructional materials. The board is expected to receive the official reports on the proposed instructional materials before its September 18-20, 2013, meeting, during which the first public hearing will be held; Appendix B to the TFN Education Fund's report explains the process. For the TFN Education Fund's press release and report (PDF), visit: http://www.tfn.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7609 http://www.tfn.org/site/DocServer/TFNEF_TXScienceAdoptionReview.pdf?docID=4041 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Texas, visit: http://ncse.com/news/texas A PEEK AT HOW WE DO IT NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of Robert Martin's How We Do It: The Evolution and Future of Human Reproduction (Basic Books, 2013). The preview consists of chapter 5, "Growing a Large Brain," in which Martin discusses the connection of brain evolution and reproduction, commenting, "Brain evolution in mammals, in particular regarding the outstanding size of the human brain, has been much studied. Yet despite all the attention, the strong connection between reproduction and brain development has often passed unmentioned." Robert Martin is the A. Watson Armour III Curator of Biological Anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago, as well as a member of the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago. Neil Shubin writes, "“Robert Martin is one of our leading researchers on human biology and evolution, having made a career of generating novel and game-changing conclusions about why our bodies and organs look the way they do. In How We Do It, he brings his authoritative voice to a compelling, readable, and enlightening account about human reproduction." For the preview of How We Do It (PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/book-excerpt For information about the book from its publisher, visit: http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/basic/book_detail.jsp?isbn=0465030157 POLLING GEORGIANS ABOUT CREATIONISM A new poll of Georgia voters suggests that creationism is popular in the state. Asked "Would you say you believe more in creationism or evolution," 53% of respondents preferred creationism, 29% preferred evolution, and 18% were not sure. Acceptance of creationism was stronger among political conservatives (those who voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, 68%; Republicans, 70%; and those describing themselves as very conservative, 77%), stronger among women than among men (59% to 47%), and stronger among older respondents (preferred by 46% of those 18 to 29, 47% of those 30 to 45, 54% of those 46 to 65, and 58% of those older than 65). Race played little difference, with 54% of white respondents and 52% of African-American respondents preferring creationism. The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling, using automated telephone interviews, of 520 Georgia voters between August 2 and August 5, 2013; the margin of error for the survey was +/- 4.3%. For the report of the poll (PDF), visit: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_GA_080813.pdf And for NCSE's collection of polls and surveys, visit: http://ncse.com/creationism/polls-surveys NCSE AND THE GRAND CANYON 2014 Explore the Grand Canyon with NCSE! Reservations are now available for NCSE's next excursion to the Grand Canyon -- as featured in the documentary No Dinosaurs in Heaven. From July 3 to July 11, 2014, NCSE will again explore the wonders of creation and evolution on a Grand Canyon river run conducted by NCSE's Genie Scott, Steve Newton, and Josh Rosenau. Because this is an NCSE trip, we offer more than just the typically grand float down the Canyon, the spectacular scenery, fascinating natural history, brilliant night skies, exciting rapids, delicious meals, and good company. It is, in fact, a unique "two-model" raft trip, on which we provide both the creationist view of the Grand Canyon (maybe not entirely seriously) and the evolutionist view -- and let you make up your own mind. To get a glimpse of the fun, watch the short videos filmed during the 2011 trip, posted on NCSE's YouTube channel. The cost of the excursion is $2550; a deposit of $500 will hold your spot. Seats are limited: call, write, or e-mail now. For further information about the excursion, visit: http://ncse.com/about/excursions/gcfaq For information about No Dinosaurs in Heaven, visit: http://www.nodinos.com/ For NCSE's YouTube channel, visit: http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd And for contact information for NCSE, visit: http://ncse.com/contact 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 and climate education and threats to them. -- 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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