NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2015/01/16
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2015-01-16 15:14.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Antievolution legislation in Missouri. News and more news from West Virginia. And a word about Darwin Day!
ANTIEVOLUTION LEGISLATION IN MISSOURI Missouri's House Bill 486, introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives on January 13, 2015, would confer "academic freedom to teach scientific evidence regarding evolution" to teachers. If enacted, the bill would in effect encourage science teachers with idiosyncratic opinions to teach anything they pleased, and discourage responsible educational authorities from intervening. The bill specifically cites "the theory of biological and hypotheses of chemical evolution" as controversial. HB 486 would require state and local educational authorities to "assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies and permit teachers "to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of the theory of biological and hypotheses of chemical evolution"; it would prevent such authorities from "prohibit[ing] any teacher in a public school system of this state from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of biological or chemical evolution whenever these subjects are taught." A further section of HB 486 attempts to immunize it against constitutional scrutiny, insisting that the bill "shall not be construed to promote any theistic or nontheistic religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of theistic or nontheistic religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against theistic or nontheistic religion." The sponsor of HB 486 is Andrew Koenig (R-District 99); he is currently the only sponsor of the bill. Koenig was the sponsor of a string of similar bills: HB 1587 in 2014, HB 179 in 2013, HB 1276 in 2012, and HB 195 in 2011. All failed. Koenig was also a cosponsor of a series of bills that would have required equal time for "intelligent design" in Missouri's public schools, including introductory courses at colleges and universities: HB 1472 in 2012, HB 291 in 2013, and HB 1227 in 2012. All failed. For the text of Missouri's House Bill 486 as introduced (PDF), visit: http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills151/billpdf/intro/HB0486I.PDF And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Missouri, visit: http://ncse.com/news/missouri PROGRESS IN WEST VIRGINIA "The West Virginia Board of Education voted Wednesday to withdraw changes proposed to the state's science education standards," reports the Charleston Gazette (January 14, 2015). Following a recommendation from the state department of education, the board agreed to revert to the original version of the sections addressing climate science. After a public comment period, the board is expected have a final vote in March 2015. As NCSE previously reported, before the Next Generation Science Standards were offered for public comment in the state, Wade Linger, a member of the state board of education, asked for changes to downplay the scientific consensus on climate change. The compromised standards were then adopted in December 2014. Linger later told the Charleston Gazette (December 28, 2014), "We're on this global warming binge going on here." Condemnation of the changes came from NCSE -- whose Mark McCaffrey contributed a column to the Charleston Gazette (January 4, 2015) charging that "the board's revisions to the standards undermine the quality of West Virginia's public education system" -- as well as from the West Virginia Science Teachers Association, faculty at West Virginia University, Citizens Climate Lobby, Climate Parents, and the National Science Teachers Association. For the stories from the Charleston Gazette, visit: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150114/GZ01/150119623 http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141228/GZ01/141229489/1419 For Mark McCaffrey's column in the Charleston Gazette, visit: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150104/ARTICLE/150109890/1103 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in West Virginia, visit: http://ncse.com/news/west-virginia WEST VIRGINIA TO REVISIT SCIENCE STANDARDS West Virginia's board of education is to reconsider its decision to undermine the treatment of climate science in its new state science standards at its January 14, 2015, meeting, according to The New York Times (January 13, 2015). As NCSE previously reported, before the Next Generation Science Standards were offered for public comment in the state, Wade Linger, a member of the state board of education, asked for changes to downplay the scientific consensus on climate change. The compromised standards were then adopted in December 2014. In a January 8, 2015, statement, the West Virginia Science Teachers Association complained that the board's unilateral revisions compromised the scientific integrity of the standards "specifically by casting doubt on the credibility of the evidence-based climate models and misrepresentation of trends in science when analyzing graphs dealing with temperature changes over time." NCSE's Minda Berbeco told the Times that the board was "changing the composition of the science to match their own personal views," explaining, "That defeats the purpose of having standards developed by scientific advisory boards." (The NGSS are based on a framework devised by the National Research Council.) Amy Hessl, a professor of geography at West Virginia University who studies climate change, indicated that the board's changes were misguided, and compared the idea that the board's changes brought balance to the standards with the idea of "bringing someone into the classroom who says smoking is actually good for your health." According to the Times, "the board could decide to go back to the original language of the curriculum, to do nothing or to drop the new standards altogether" at its January 14, 2015, meeting. Information about taking action is available at NCSE's website. For the story in The New York Times, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/us/west-virginia-revisits-science-standards.html For the statement from the West Virginia Science Teachers Association, visit: http://www.wvsta.org/ For information about taking action from NCSE, visit: http://ncse.com/taking-action/stop-climate-change-denial-west-virginia-standards And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in West Virginia, visit: http://ncse.com/news/west-virginia DARWIN DAY APPROACHES It's time to dust off your Darwin costume again: less than a month remains before Darwin Day 2015! Colleges and universities, schools, libraries, museums, churches, civic groups, and just plain folks across the country -- and the world -- are preparing to celebrate Darwin Day, on or around February 12, in honor of the life and work of Charles Darwin. These events provide a marvelous opportunity not only to celebrate Darwin's birthday but also to engage in public outreach about science, evolution, and the importance of evolution education -- which is especially needed with assaults on evolution education already under way in state legislatures. NCSE encourages its members and friends to attend, participate in, and even organize Darwin Day events in their own communities. To find a local event, check the websites of local universities and museums and the registry of Darwin Day events maintained by the Darwin Day Celebration website. (And don't forget to register your own event with the Darwin Day Celebration website!) And with Darwin Day comes the return of Evolution Weekend! Hundreds of congregations all over the country and around the world are taking part in Evolution Weekend, February 13-15, 2015, by presenting sermons and discussion groups on the compatibility of faith and science. Michael Zimmerman, the initiator of the project, writes, "Evolution Weekend is an opportunity for serious discussion and reflection on the relationship between religion and science. One important goal is to elevate the quality of the discussion on this critical topic -- to move beyond sound bites. A second critical goal is to demonstrate that religious people from many faiths and locations understand that evolution is sound science and poses no problems for their faith. Finally, as with The Clergy Letter itself, Evolution Weekend makes it clear that those claiming that people must choose between religion and science are creating a false dichotomy." At last count, 288 congregations in forty-four states (and nine foreign countries) were scheduled to hold Evolution Weekend events. For the Darwin Day registry, visit: http://darwinday.org/events/ http://darwinday.org/events/community/add For information about Evolution Weekend, visit: http://www.evolutionweekend.org/ 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 applauding the decision to rethink the misguided changes to West Virginia's science standards: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/01/science-won-west-virginia-0016123 * Stephanie Keep explaining the difference between weather and climate: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/01/misconception-monday-whether-weather-climate-0016110 * Josh Rosenau analyzing the applicants for NCSE's Grand Canyon scholarship for teachers: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/01/break-out-grand-canyon-sorting-hat-0016112 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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