NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2017/05/12
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2017-05-12 23:05.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, NCSE discusses the fifty years since the repeal of the Butler Act at Scientific American. And good news from Texas but bad news from Florida.
NCSE'S BRANCH AND REID IN SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN NCSE's Glenn Branch and Ann Reid contributed a column -- "50 Years Ago: Repeal of Tennessee's 'Monkey Law'" -- to Scientific American's Observations blog (May 10, 2017). Taking the fiftieth anniversary of the repeal of Tennessee's Butler Act in 1967 as their cue, Branch and Reid warn, "the schools are still not entirely safe for evolution. From Scopes through [Gary] Scott [a teacher whose lawsuit contributed to the repeal] to today, science teachers have been in the trenches of the evolution wars, bearing the brunt of conflicting forces from science and society." "Fortunately, the treatment of evolution in state science standards is, on the whole, improving, which means that textbooks, curricula, and ideally teachers are following suit. But scientific knowledge and pedagogical knowhow aren't the only equipment that teachers need in order to teach evolution forthrightly. They also need the confidence to persist, even in the face of doubt and denial." Branch and Reid added, "Creationists are as active as ever, with a few even in the bully pulpits afforded by high political office. ... So the evolution wars are by no means over." For Branch and Reid's column in Scientific American, visit: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/50-years-ago-repeal-of-tennessees-monkey-law/ ANTISCIENCE LEGISLATION DIES IN TEXAS House Bill 1485, which ostensibly would have provided Texas science teachers with the academic freedom to teach "the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesseses of existing scientific theories" covered in the state science standards, died in committee on May 8, 2017, when a deadline for bills to pass committee expired. The bill specifically identified four controversial "subjects required to be taught under the curriculum framework developed by the State Board of Education" -- namely, "climate change, biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, and human cloning" -- although "human cloning" is not in fact included in the standards. HB 1485 received a hearing in the House Public Education Committee on May 2, 2017. At the hearing, the bill's sponsor, Valoree Swanson (R-District 150), was reluctant to describe what teachers would be allowed to present in their classes that they are not already allowed to present in their classes, if her bill were to pass. But not all of the supporters of HB 1485 were so reticent. Tom Maynard, a member of the Texas state board of education testifying on his own behalf, referred approvingly to the bill's allowing the presentation of creationism, and a middle school science teacher testifying on his own behalf offered a number of climate change denial talking points. Those testifying against the bill or registered to do so included representatives of the League of Women Voters of Texas, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Texas American Federation of Teachers, the Texas Freedom Network, the Texas PTA, and the Texas State Teachers Association. For the text of Texas's House Bill 1485 as introduced, visit: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/85R/billtext/html/HB01485I.htm And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Texas, visit: https://ncse.com/news/texas ANTISCIENCE BILL PASSED IN FLORIDA A bill aimed at empowering taxpayers to object to the use of specific instructional materials in the public schools, with climate change and evolution clearly among the targets, is now headed to Governor Rick Scott's desk for a signature. The bill in question is House Bill 989, which the House of Representatives passed in April 2017. A similar bill, Senate Bill 1210, was making its way through the Senate, but was abandoned in favor of HB 989, which the Senate then passed on a 19-17 vote on May 5, 2017. Supporters of the two bills submitted affidavits that complained, "I have witnessed students being taught evolution as fact ... rather than theory ... I have witnessed children being taught that Global Warming is a reality," as Brandon Haught of Florida Citizens for Science, writing in the Tallahassee Democrat (April 14, 2017), observed. Haught warned there that if the bills became law, "school boards will become inundated with demands that certain books be banned and that schools must discontinue using textbooks that don't mesh with a vocal minority's ideological views." Assuming that a gubernatorial veto is not forthcoming, Haught told Motherboard (May 2, 2017), it will be up to Floridians concerned with the integrity of science education "to keep an eye on your local school board." For information about Florida's House Bill 989 and Senate Bill 1210, visit: https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=58685 https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/1210/?Tab=BillText For Brandon Haught's column in the Tallahassee Democrat, visit: http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2017/04/14/haught-anti-science-education-bill-benign/100456818/ For Motherboard's story, visit: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/florida-bills-would-let-citizens-ban-textbooks-that-mention-climate-change-and-evolution 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: * Stephanie Keep pondering the implications for science teachers of The New York Times's decision to hire a columnist fostering misconceptions about climate change: https://ncse.com/blog/2017/05/worrying-signs-times-0018534 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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