anti-science bill awaiting TN Gov. signature: Please weigh in.

You may already know that HB 368 is in line for Gov. Haslam's signature. I ask you to support excellence in science education for students in TN--call Gov. Haslam now at 1-615-741-2001, give your name and city of record, and ask him to veto HB 368. I don't know when this might reach his desk, so time is critical on this matter.

"As introduced, [HB 368] protects a teacher from discipline for teaching scientific subjects in an objective manner." The bill specifically encourages teachers to present the "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses" of topics that arouse "debate and disputation" such as "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning" (italicized text quoted from a letter from the National Center for Science Education). Instead, HB 368 will allow some science teachers to introduce or reinforce confusion and doubt where little exists in the scientific community. Specifically, it denies the importance of teaching only the best understandings that are supported by peer-reviewed research.

For those of you who reject the theory of evolution, and who might think that subject alone is a good reason to allow HB 368 to become law, please note that many Christians accept the theory of evolution. (See the Clergy Letter Project, which also includes letters from rabbis from the Jewish faith tradition and has signatures from almost 12,000 members of the clergy from different denominations.) Francis Collins, author of The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (Free Press, 2006), makes the case here, as well. As reported in The Telegraph, the Vatican has published an opinion finding no conflict with Darwinian evolution. A geneticist ordained as a Dominican priest, Francisco J. Ayala, also sees no conflict between Darwinian evolutionary theory and faith (see Nov. 2008 article from Scientific American.) There are others, of course.


For this bill, however, it's also important to distinguish science education from general education. Science class should not be used to discuss personal, philosophical, or theological understandings. Instructional time in science class should be used to help future voters become as scientifically well-grounded as possible, to understand the fundamental theories and processes, the latest scientific research, and the nature of science itself. The science education community feels strongly that discussions about policy (what we should do about various situations) and "objective" arguments about the implications of what is known are more appropriately held in a debate or social studies class, but should not be conducted in science class. Science teachers have limited and precious time to adequately explore the information that is expected at each grade level, let alone to spend class time on opinions and points-of-view.


Public pressure to include contradictory viewpoints actually reduces the science teacher's time to offer an excellent background in scientific understanding. It fails to support the fundamental concepts of accepting or rejecting the evidence and the significance of peer-review in research...the true underpinnings of how science works. Furthermore, it is directly contrary to the new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) initiatives that TN is putting in place.

Please urge Gov. Haslam to veto HB 368, and do it today.  (1-615-741-2001)

Views: 47

Comment

You need to be a member of Green Interfaith to add comments!

Join Green Interfaith

Comment by Karen Cisler on March 31, 2012 at 12:34am

I agree the discussion of contradictory viewpoints does not belong in the science classroom.  There are so many concepts to be mastered, the controversy will only confuse younger students--probably causing some to give up on trying. 

We have a serious semantic problem with the concept of scientific "theory".  Most of the public understands this term to mean "hypothesis" or "speculation",  which ignores importance of the scientific process.

Events

© 2024   Created by GINI Account.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service