NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2017/08/11
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2017-08-11 14:56.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, The treatment of climate change and evolution in Nebraska's proposed new science standards is exciting controversy.
UPDATE FROM NEBRASKA The Nebraska state board of education heard from the public about a proposed set of new state science standards, according to the Omaha World-Herald (August 7, 2017) -- and climate change and evolution were front and center. "Michael Fryda, a science teacher at Westside High School and 2010 Nebraska teacher of the year, said climate change is 'established scientific fact,'" the newspaper reported, while a former member of a local school board described global warming as a hoax. Yet while a previous draft of the standards treated climate change as settled science, the World-Herald noted, the current draft expects students to "evaluate the reliability and validity" of climate models. The same former school board member expressed his preference for "intelligent design" to be taught alongside evolution, though the draft standards expect students to understand how "multiple lines of evidence" support evolution. The draft science standards in Nebraska are similar, although not identical, to the Next Generation Science Standards, so far adopted in eighteen states and the District of Columbia. The board is anticipated to vote on the standards in September 2017. For the story in the Omaha World-Herald, visit: http://www.omaha.com/news/education/overflow-crowds-argue-for-against-proposed-science-standards-for-nebraska/article_7eed2121-3c47-520e-acdd-34088846d08f.html For the current draft of the standards (PDF), visit: https://www.education.ne.gov/science/2016%20Standards/Nebraska_Science_Standards_DRAFT_8_3_2017.pdf And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Nebraska, visit: https://ncse.com/news/nebraska WHAT'S NEW AT NCSE'S BLOG? Have you been visiting NCSE's blog recently? If not, then you've missed: * Guest blogger Robyn Witty discussing her experience on the NCSE Grand Canyon rafting trip: https://ncse.com/blog/2017/08/grand-canyon-wanderlust-0018586 For NCSE's blog, 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 510-788-7971 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's blog: 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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