NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2016/12/09
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2016-12-09 19:13.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Ann Reid discusses the implications for science education of a Trump administration with Scientific American. And a Facebook milestone for NCSE.
NCSE'S REID ON TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS NCSE's executive director Ann Reid was featured in Scientific American's report "Trump's First 100 Days: Science Education and Schools" (December 5, 2016). After noting the existence of evolution and climate change denial among members of the incoming administration, the report observed, "Science education advocates warn [that] the legitimization of such nonscientific views at the highest levels of government could trickle down to local policies. Education boards in several states, such as Louisiana and Texas, have already been battling over how evolution and climate change should be taught, as have state legislatures considering bills that would allow teachers to treat these subjects as controversial. Nearly all of this legislation has emerged in states that were won by Trump. 'We see 10 to 12 of the bills every year, and their intent is clearly to give teachers cover to teach nonscience in science classrooms,' says Ann Reid, executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). 'None have passed recently, but there's a danger that the people introducing these bills and school boards trying to change standards will be emboldened.' According to Reid, NCSE surveys suggest that many teachers avoid teaching evolution and climate change, concerned that parents will complain. She predicts community pressure around these issues will only increase." Areas outside curriculum and instruction in which the Trump administration might also affect science education were also discussed in the report. For the story in Scientific American, visit: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-first-100-days-science-education-and-schools/ FACEBOOK: N > 180,000 A milestone: there are now over 180,000 fans of NCSE's Facebook page. Why not join them, by visiting the page and becoming a fan by clicking on the "Like" box by NCSE's name? You'll receive the latest NCSE news delivered straight to your Facebook Home page, as well as updates on evolution-related and climate-related topics. Or if you prefer your news in 140-character chunks, follow NCSE on Twitter. And while you're surfing the web, why not visit NCSE's YouTube channel, with hundreds of videos for your watching pleasure? It's the best place on the web to view talks by NCSE's staff. For NCSE's Facebook page, Twitter feed, and YouTube channel, visit: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://twitter.com/ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd WHAT'S NEW AT NCSE'S BLOG? Have you been visiting NCSE's blog recently? If not, then you've missed: * Glenn Branch discussing a pseudo-Darwin quotation from William Bell Riley: https://ncse.com/blog/2016/11/pseudo-darwin-quotation-0018354 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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