NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2014/10/10
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2014-10-10 17:00.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, The Darwin Day Roadshow is back. John Freshwater's appeal to the Supreme Court is rejected. And congratulations are in order for Bruce Alberts.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN WITH NESCENT The Darwin Day Roadshow is returning! The Roadshow is a project of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, in which NESCent staff shares their enthusiasm for evolutionary science with students, teachers, and the general public on the occasion of Charles Darwin's birthday, February 12. According to NESCent, "Our teams talk to students, teachers and the general public about their research in evolutionary science, describe what it takes to become an evolutionary biologist (and what some of the rewards and challenges are), and convey why evolutionary science is relevant to everyone." And the results are delightful: as NESCent's Craig McClain wrote at Pacific Standard (May 15, 2011), "for all of us the Darwin Day Road Show was a gratifying adventure that no one will forget. From the landscapes with their silos, combines, center pivot crop circles, high school gymnasiums, to the indelible interactions we had along the way, we absorbed it all." Applications from schools interested in hosting the Roadshow, especially those who would not be likely to have access to Darwin Day activities otherwise, are now being accepted. Act soon, though; the application deadline is November 21, 2014. For information about the Darwin Day Roadshow, visit: http://roadshow.nescent.org/ For Craig McClain's article in Pacific Standard, visit: http://www.psmag.com/science/scientists-take-charles-darwin-on-the-road-31211/ And for the application for the Darwin Day Roadshow, visit: http://roadshow.nescent.org/apply/ OVER AT LAST FOR FRESHWATER On October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States declined, without comment, to hear John Freshwater's appeal of the Ohio Supreme Court's decision to uphold his termination as a middle school teacher. The decision brings the long and complicated controversy over Freshwater's inappropriate religious behavior in the classroom -- including teaching creationism and misrepresenting evolution as scientifically controversial -- to a final conclusion. The case began in 2008, when a local family accused Freshwater, then a Mount Vernon, Ohio, middle school science teacher, of engaging in inappropriate religious activity and sued Freshwater and the district. Based on the results of an independent investigation, the Mount Vernon City School Board voted to begin proceedings to terminate his employment. After thorough administrative hearings that proceeded over two years and involved more than eighty witnesses, the presiding referee issued his recommendation that the board terminate Freshwater's employment with the district, and the board voted to do so in January 2011. (The family’s lawsuit against Freshwater was settled in the meantime.) Freshwater challenged his termination in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas in February 2011. When the challenge was unsuccessful, he then appealed the decision to Ohio's Fifth District Court of Appeals in December 2011. NCSE filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the appellate court, arguing that Freshwater's materials and methods concerning evolution "have no basis in science and serve no pedagogical purpose." In March 2012, the Fifth District Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's rejection of Freshwater's challenge. Freshwater then appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court in April 2012, and when his appeal was accepted, NCSE filed a friend-of-the-court brief again. In a 4-3 decision issued in November 2013, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld Freshwater's termination. The decision refrained from assessing the constitutionality of Freshwater's teaching of creationism, writing, "Here, we need not decide whether Freshwater acted with a permissible or impermissible intent because we hold that he was insubordinate, and his termination can be justified on that basis alone." The dissenters, however, in effect endorsed Freshwater's claims on appeal, crediting Freshwater's claim, "I do not teach ID or creationism," discounting the ample evidence in the record to the contrary. In early 2014, Freshwater unsuccessfully asked the court to reconsider its decision. On April 22, 2014, Freshwater filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, arguing that the case should be heard in order to address questions about the extent of the applicability of the First Amendment and academic freedom to teachers while they are at work, as well as "to correct the grievous injustice that Freshwater has suffered." In its brief of opposition, the Mount Vernon City School Board argued that, since the Ohio Supreme Court determined that Freshwater's termination was permissible under state law, the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction. The Board also argued in detail against Freshwater's claims about the First Amendment, academic freedom, and the facts of the case. Documents relevant to Freshwater's termination and the subsequent court case areavailable on NCSE's website. Extensive blog coverage of the Freshwater saga, including Richard B. Hoppe's day-by-day account of Freshwater's termination hearing, is available at The Panda's Thumb blog; search for "Freshwater". Hoppe also contributed "Dover Comes to Ohio" -- a detailed account from a local observer of the whole fracas, from the precipitating incident to Freshwater's appeal -- to Reports of the National Center for Science Education 32:1. For the Supreme Court's denial of Freshwater's appeal (PDF, p. 10), visit: http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/100614zor.pdf For NCSE's two amicus briefs (both PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/files/pub/legal/freshwatertermination/20120110_NCSE_Amicus_Brief.pdf http://ncse.com/files/20121004_Amicus_Curiae_of_NCSE.pdf For Freshwater's petition and the Mount Vernon City School Board's brief of opposition (both PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/files/Freshwater-Petition-for-writ-Certiorari-sans-apdx.pdf http://ncse.com/files/Brief_in_Opposition_to_Petition.pdf For The Panda's Thumb blog, visit: http://pandasthumb.org/ For Richard B. Hoppe's "Dover Comes to Ohio" (PDF), visit: http://reports.ncse.com/index.php/rncse/article/view/99/92 And for NCSE's collection of documents from the Freshwater case, visit: http://ncse.com/creationism/legal/freshwater-termination-hearing NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE FOR BRUCE ALBERTS NCSE is pleased to congratulate Bruce Alberts on receiving the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for achievement and leadership in science. In a press release issued on October 3, 2014, President Obama said of the most recent recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovations, "These scholars and innovators have expanded our understanding of the world, made invaluable contributions to their fields, and helped improve countless lives ... Our nation has been enriched by their achievements, and by all the scientists and technologists across America dedicated to discovery, inquiry, and invention." Alberts is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences, and a former editor-in-chief of the journal Science. A member of NCSE's Advisory Council, Alberts received NCSE's Friend of Darwin award in 2004, in recognition of his support of and advocacy for the integrity of science education while at the National Academy of Sciences, when it published bothTeaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science (1998) and the second edition of Science and Creationism (1999). He also received the AIBS Education Award from the American Institute for Biological Sciences in 2009. For the press release, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/10/03/president-obama-honors-nation-s-top-scientists-and-innovators 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: * Stephanie Keep explaining that evolution happens to populations: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/09/misconception-monday-no-one-is-evolutionary-island-0015895 * Ann Reid applauding Natalie Angier's explanation of carbon dioxide emissions: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/10/well-said-carbon-dioxide-made-simple-personal-0015904 * Glenn Branch discussing a ringer in a 1925 evolution essay contest: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/09/ringer-contest-part-1-0015898 http://ncse.com/blog/2014/10/ringer-contest-part-2-0015899 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 x303 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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