NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2014/01/10
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2014-01-10 17:01.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, A preview of The Monkey's Voyage. The first antiscience bill of the year surfaces in Virginia. And a welcome to NCSE's new executive director Ann Reid.
A PREVIEW OF THE MONKEY'S VOYAGE NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of Alan de Queiroz's The Monkey's Voyage: How Improbable Journeys Shaped the History of Life (Basic Books, 2014). The preview consists of the introduction, "Of Garter Snakes and Gondwana," in which de Queiroz engagingly explains his project: "to tell the story of this recent sea change in biogeography, from a view dominated by vicariance to a more balanced outlook recognizing that the natural dispersal of organisms across oceans and other barriers is also hugely important." Reviewing The Monkey's Voyage at The Panda's Thumb blog, Nick Matzke (whose dissertation involved historical biogeography) described it as "destined to become a classic of science writing," praising de Queiroz for successfully combining "a scientific review with an engaging journalistic style, complete with humorous asides and witty quotes from the participants ... Under his pen, a topic that seems at first rather dry and academic becomes one that underlies everything you see when you’re on a hike or at a zoo." For the preview of The Monkey's Voyage (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=0465020518 And for Matzke's review at The Panda's Thumb, visit: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2014/01/the-monkeys-voy.html ANTISCIENCE BILL INTRODUCED IN VIRGINIA House Bill 207, prefiled in the Virginia House of Delegates on December 27, 2013, and referred to the Committee on Education, is the first antiscience bill of 2014. The sponsor (or "chief patron") of the bill is Richard P. "Dickie" Bell (R-District 20). The bill calls upon the state board of education and local school boards to "create an environment in public elementary and secondary schools that encourages students to explore scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills, and respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinion about scientific controversies in science classes" and to "assist teachers to find effective ways to present scientific controversies in science classes"; they are forbidden to "prohibit any public elementary or secondary school teacher from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in science classes." Presumably attempting to immunize the bill against the accusation that it is religiously motivated, the bill also provides, "Nothing in this section shall be construed to promote or discriminate against any religious or nonreligious doctrine, promote or discriminate against a particular set of religious beliefs or nonbeliefs, or promote or discriminate against religion or nonreligion." No specific supposed scientific controversies are mentioned in the text of the bill, but press reports on the bill, such as WHSV's (January 7, 2013), suggest that Bell was thinking about evolution. For the text of Virginia's House Bill 207, visit: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?141+ful+HB207 For WHSV's story on the bill, visit: http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/Bill-In-the-Works-To-Protect-Teachers-When-Discussing-Creation-and-Evolution-239154441.html WELCOME, ANN REID NCSE's incoming executive director Ann Reid began her new job on January 6, 2014, succeeding the outgoing executive director Eugenie C. Scott. "I've been looking forward to today," Reid commented. "I feel privileged to be at the helm of the National Center for Science Education as it continues to defend the integrity of science education -- a task as important as it is necessary." "There are a lot of challenges ahead for us at NCSE," she added, citing a likely spate of state legislation aimed at undermining the teaching of evolution and of climate change, attempts by creationists and climate change deniers to prevent the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in their states, and the need to equip science teachers to resist ideological pressure to compromise the integrity of their classes. Scott expressed confidence that Reid would be up to the challenges. "She's a sharp scientist and a gifted administrator, plus she's got a crackerjack staff to back her up. I have no doubt that she'll do just fine." Scott added, "But I'll be on speed-dial, just in case!" On her retirement, Scott became the Chair of NCSE's Advisory Council, a group of eminent scientists and scholars who support NCSE's activities. WHAT'S NEW FROM THE SCIENCE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Have you been visiting NCSE's blog, The Science League of America, recently? If not, then you've missed: * Minda Berbeco interviewing a teacher who presents climate science to elementary students: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/01/teaching-climate-science-it-s-elementary-0015288 * Glenn Branch fact-checking Steven Spielberg's Lincoln: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/01/darwin-lincoln-0015285 * Steve Newton continuing his series on creationism and the Grand Canyon: http://ncse.com/blog/2013/12/top-5-creationist-claims-grand-canyon-4-grand-canyon-rocks-0015276 And much more besides! For The Science League of America, visit: http://ncse.com/blog 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 Check out NCSE's new blog, Science League of America: http://ncse.com/blog 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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