NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2018/01/12
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2018-01-12 17:38.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Sad news of the death of Richard B. Hoppe III. And a fourth bill of concern in Florida.
RICHARD B. HOPPE III DIES Richard B. Hoppe III, a psychologist and pro-evolution education activist, died on January 3, 2018, at the age of 76, according to a notice from Kenyon College. The notice quoted a colleague who described him as "a problem-solver, a person of deep intellectual curiosity in a variety of areas, and a dedicated member of the community," and noted, "Hoppe was widely published in professional journals, with articles on subjects ranging from parapsychology to statistics, from aircraft control designs to the battles between creationism and evolution in the nation’s schools." Hoppe was active in defending evolution in the Ohio state science standards during a protracted dispute from 2002 to 2006 and was also a cofounder of The Panda's Thumb blog, bringing his extensive experience and excellent judgment to both endeavors. In 2008 he found himself with a front-row seat to a local controversy in Mount Vernon, Ohio, when a middle school science teacher was accused of inappropriately bringing his religion into the school -- including by branding crosses into the arms of his students with a high-voltage electrical device, displaying posters with the Ten Commandments and Bible verses in his classroom, and teaching creationism. Hoppe carefully and thoughtfully chronicled the ensuing fracas -- which stretched over six years and included no fewer than three lawsuits -- in a series of posts at The Panda's Thumb and a 2012 article for Reports of the NCSE. Ultimately, the teacher was dismissed and his lawsuits over his dismissal were unavailing. When the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the teacher's final appeal in 2014, Hoppe exclaimed, "I'm simply glad that the damned thing is over." Hoppe was born in Winona, Minnesota, on May 19, 1941. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1964, and then attended the University of Minnesota, receiving his B.A. in anthropology and psychology in 1968 and his Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1972. He taught psychology at Kenyon College from 1971 to 1991, returning occasionally as a visiting faculty member in the biology department. In 1993, he co-founded Intellitrade, a firm using artificial intelligence methods to model financial markets. He was active in his community, especially with the volunteer fire department. For the obituary notice from Kenyon College, visit: http://www.kenyon.edu/middle-path/story/kenyon-mourns-richard-hoppe/ For The Panda's Thumb blog, visit: https://pandasthumb.org/ And for Hoppe's article for RNCSE (PDF), visit: http://reports.ncse.com/index.php/rncse/article/view/99/92 A SECOND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS BILL IN FLORIDA Senate Bill 1644, introduced by Tom Lee (R-District 20) on January 5, 2018, would, if enacted, revise the procedures for adopting instructional materials to permit members of the public to recommend instructional materials for consideration by the state or their district school board, which would then be required to get in touch with the publisher of those materials and allow it to submit a bid for evaluation. The bill is similar but not identical to House Bill 827, introduced by Bryon Donalds (R-District 80); the divergences are listed in a January 6, 2018, blog post by Florida Citizens for Science's Brandon Haught. Donalds was the main sponsor of HB 989 in 2017, which, as NCSE previously reported, was intended to make it easier for creationists and climate change deniers to pester their local school districts. HB 989 was passed and enacted in 2017. Writing about HB 827, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel (December 5, 2017) connected the dots: "Last session they passed a law to empower activists who want certain books out of classrooms. And now, a new bill would allow activists to suggest new books students read instead -- and require school boards to solicit bids for the book, no matter how nutty it is." The result, he argued, would be a waste of time. In addition to HB 827 and SB 1644, House Bill 825 and Senate Bill 966, both prefiled in November 2017, are also of concern. These bills would, if enacted, require "[c]ontroversial theories and concepts ... [to] be taught in a factual, objective, and balanced manner," while allowing local school districts to use either the state science standards or alternatives "equivalent to or more rigorous than" them. For Florida's Senate Bill 1644 and House Bill 827 as introduced, visit: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/1644/BillText/Filed/HTML http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0827__.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0827&Session=2018 For Brandon Haught's post at Florida Citizens for Science's blog, visit: http://www.flascience.org/?p=3147 For the column in the Orlando Sentinel, visit: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-florida-book-banning-suggestions-scott-maxwell-20171204-story.html And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Florida, visit: https://ncse.com/news/florida WHAT'S NEW AT NCSE'S BLOG? Have you been visiting NCSE's blog recently? If not, then you've missed: * Claire Adrian-Tucci reporting on the fruits of one of NCSE's microgrants: https://ncse.com/blog/2018/01/giving-literal-roots-to-stem-0018681 For NCSE's blog, visit: https://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. 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