NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2016/02/05
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2016-02-05 17:00.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, A Darwin Day resolution in Arizona. The latest on South Dakota's antiscience bill. Congratulations to Sean B. Carroll. And a reminder about Darwin Day.
DARWIN DAY RESOLUTION IN ARIZONA Senate Resolution 1001, introduced in the Arizona Senate on February 2, 2016, would, if enacted, express the Senate's recognition of February 12, 2016, as International Darwin Day. The resolution acknowledges the 207th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, honors his discovery of natural selection, and the theory's role as "the foundation for ongoing advances in science, health, philosophy, art, education, and many other areas of modern life." It also celebrates Darwin's "strength of character" and the "great courage, wisdom and honesty required to explore and publish" his work on evolution, compares Darwin to Newton and Einstein, and deems his birthday "an appropriate day on which to celebrate and to reflect and act on the principles of intellectual bravery and perpetual curiosity and the hunger for truth that contribute to the well-being of all people." The bill's sponsor is Andrew Sherwood (D-26), who cosponsored the similar House Resolution 2002 in 2015; that bill eventually died in committee. For the text of Arizona's Senate Resolution 1001 as introduced, visit: http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/52leg/2r/bills/sr1001p.htm&Session_ID=115 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Arizona, visit: http://ncse.com/news/arizona UPDATE FROM SOUTH DAKOTA South Dakota's Senate Bill 83 -- which would, if enacted, allow teachers to teach "the strengths and weaknesses of scientific information" presented in courses aligned with the state education standards -- received coverage from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader (January 31, 2016). The bill's principal sponsor, Jeff Monroe (R-District 24), told the newspaper that science teachers often take a "unidirectional" approach with regard to the Big Bang and climate change: "In societies those are debates that rage, but in the schools they're taught as fact." As NCSE previously reported, Monroe previously sponsored bills that would have allowed teachers to teach "intelligent design" and that identified "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, [and] human cloning" as scientifically controversial. NCSE's Glenn Branch, however, argued that because the bill prevents educational authorities from controlling teachers who purport to be teaching the weaknesses of scientific theories, it is "a recipe to encourage teachers to go rogue." Julie Olson, the president of the South Dakota Science Teachers Association, added that science teachers are not in the need of the protection ostensibly offered by the bill as long as they're presenting theories based on factual evidence. For the story in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, visit: http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/education/2016/01/31/intelligent-design-science-class/79419240/ For the text of South Dakota's Senate Bill 83 as introduced, visit: http://legis.sd.gov/Legislative_Session/Bills/Bill.aspx?File=SB83P.htm&Session=2016 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in South Dakota, visit: http://ncse.com/news/south-dakota CONGRATULATIONS TO SEAN B. CARROLL NCSE is pleased to congratulate Sean B. Carroll, a member of NCSE's Advisory Council and a recipient of NCSE's Friend of Darwin award, on winning the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science. Carroll's books include Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2005), about evolutionary developmental biology; Remarkable Creatures (2009), about the history of evolutionary theory;Brave Genius (2013), about Jacques Monod and Albert Camus; and his latest, The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters (2016). According to a January 28, 2016, press release from the Rockefeller University, which awards the prize, "Carroll's work as a science communicator embodies the prize's original intent to honor those who inspire others. " Carroll is vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He will receive the Thomas Prize at a March 14, 2016, ceremony. For the press release from the Rockefeller University, visit: http://newswire.rockefeller.edu/2016/01/28/lewis-thomas-prize-to-be-awarded-to-sean-b-carroll/ DARWIN DAY APPROACHES It's time to dust off your Darwin costume again: just a week remains before Darwin Day 2016! 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 12-14, 2016, 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, 351 congregations in forty-eight states (and eleven 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: * Glenn Branch unraveling a confusion among three writers named Balfour: http://ncse.com/blog/2016/02/three-balfours-0016759 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. 1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Oakland CA 94612-2922 510-601-7203 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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