Defend the teaching of climate change science.
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,430
Here's a great article from realclimate.com on teaching climate change science.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=10793%3Cbr
"So What’s A Teacher to Do?
Filed under:
Climate Science
— group @ 4 February 2012
Guest Commentary by Eugenie Scott, National Center for Science Education
Imagine you’re a middle-school science teacher, and you get to the section of the course where you’re to talk about climate change. You mention the “C” words, and two students walk out of the class.
Or you mention global warming and a hand shoots up.
“Mrs. Brown! My dad says global warming is a hoax!”
Or you come to school one morning and the principal wants to see you because a parent of one of your students has accused you of political bias because you taught what scientists agree about: that the Earth is getting warmer, and human actions have had an important role in this warming.
Or you pick up the newspaper and see that your state legislature is considering a bill that declares that accepted sciences like global warming (and evolution, of course) are “controversial issues” that require “alternatives” to be taught.
Incidents like these have happened in one or more states, and they are likely to continue to happen. Teachers are encountering pushback from many directions as they try to teach global warming and other climate science topics.
The importance of climate change education is, to the RealClimate community, a no-brainer. Numerous professional science organizations, from the American Chemical Society to the American Geophysical Union to the Geological Society of America have stressed the imperative of climate science being an integral part of science education.
So What’s a Teacher to Do?
Long a defender of the teaching of evolution, the National Center for Science Education has recently launched an initiative to support and defend the teaching of climate change science.
The “support” part has challenges all its own. Unlike evolution, which easily fits into biology and other life science courses, climate science spans multiple disciplines and can fall through disciplinary cracks in biology, chemistry and physics, or appear briefly in more specialized disciplines like ecology or Earth sciences. Moreover, climate science is complex and often non-intuitive, and students (and all too often teachers) stumble over misinformation and misconceptions that are hard to overcome. Many educational institutions are wrestling with how to support climate science in the K-12 curriculum.
But the “defend” part is where NCSE will make a unique contribution. Our experience over the decades helping teachers and school boards resolve the problems that have arisen over the teaching of evolution should stand us in good stead in helping them deal with this newer “controversial science”. Of course, there are many perspectives affecting the objections to climate science education, and each requires its own response.
Some of the denial is literal (It’s not happening! The science is bad!), some of it may be interpretive (it’s maybe happening but people aren’t to blame), and some of it stems more from the implications of climate change (it’s happening and maybe humans are responsible, but someone else is to blame and/or there’s nothing I can do about it). We’re going to help teachers understand where pressure against climate science education comes from, as the first step in helping them construct a response. From the evolution education controversy we learned long ago that one does not solve these problems merely by piling on more or better science: the underlying, motivating issues must be addressed. The science is essential, but not sufficient.
Climate change education should be an integral part of science education. Students should graduate from high school and certainly college with at least a basic understanding of the foundational concepts of climate science so they can understand human activities and how they are impacting climate and other aspects of the earth system.
This is no small task, and obviously NCSE as a relatively small non-profit can only do so much. We need your help.
We have been successful because we marshal allies, like scientists, teachers, parents, and other citizens, at the grassroots. NCSE’s success over recent decades in defending the teaching of evolution has been due in large measure to scientists and others who are willing to support good science education locally and at the state level. We also need scientists to provide us with their scientific expertise.
If you are a climate scientist, please give us your contact information so we can consult with you. Also, your contact information will be helpful to us if something occurs in your region or state where we need a scientist to write a letter, testify before a committee, support a teacher, or help in some other way.
Of course, an obvious way you can help is to join NCSE, but even if you don’t, your expertise will be helpful to us.
Visit our website, and contact our new Programs and Policy Director, Mark McCaffrey, who will be helping spearhead the new initiative, to let us know you support our effort. Teachers will thank you."
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=10793%3Cbr
"So What’s A Teacher to Do?
Filed under:
Climate Science
— group @ 4 February 2012
Guest Commentary by Eugenie Scott, National Center for Science Education
Imagine you’re a middle-school science teacher, and you get to the section of the course where you’re to talk about climate change. You mention the “C” words, and two students walk out of the class.
Or you mention global warming and a hand shoots up.
“Mrs. Brown! My dad says global warming is a hoax!”
Or you come to school one morning and the principal wants to see you because a parent of one of your students has accused you of political bias because you taught what scientists agree about: that the Earth is getting warmer, and human actions have had an important role in this warming.
Or you pick up the newspaper and see that your state legislature is considering a bill that declares that accepted sciences like global warming (and evolution, of course) are “controversial issues” that require “alternatives” to be taught.
Incidents like these have happened in one or more states, and they are likely to continue to happen. Teachers are encountering pushback from many directions as they try to teach global warming and other climate science topics.
The importance of climate change education is, to the RealClimate community, a no-brainer. Numerous professional science organizations, from the American Chemical Society to the American Geophysical Union to the Geological Society of America have stressed the imperative of climate science being an integral part of science education.
So What’s a Teacher to Do?
Long a defender of the teaching of evolution, the National Center for Science Education has recently launched an initiative to support and defend the teaching of climate change science.
The “support” part has challenges all its own. Unlike evolution, which easily fits into biology and other life science courses, climate science spans multiple disciplines and can fall through disciplinary cracks in biology, chemistry and physics, or appear briefly in more specialized disciplines like ecology or Earth sciences. Moreover, climate science is complex and often non-intuitive, and students (and all too often teachers) stumble over misinformation and misconceptions that are hard to overcome. Many educational institutions are wrestling with how to support climate science in the K-12 curriculum.
But the “defend” part is where NCSE will make a unique contribution. Our experience over the decades helping teachers and school boards resolve the problems that have arisen over the teaching of evolution should stand us in good stead in helping them deal with this newer “controversial science”. Of course, there are many perspectives affecting the objections to climate science education, and each requires its own response.
Some of the denial is literal (It’s not happening! The science is bad!), some of it may be interpretive (it’s maybe happening but people aren’t to blame), and some of it stems more from the implications of climate change (it’s happening and maybe humans are responsible, but someone else is to blame and/or there’s nothing I can do about it). We’re going to help teachers understand where pressure against climate science education comes from, as the first step in helping them construct a response. From the evolution education controversy we learned long ago that one does not solve these problems merely by piling on more or better science: the underlying, motivating issues must be addressed. The science is essential, but not sufficient.
Climate change education should be an integral part of science education. Students should graduate from high school and certainly college with at least a basic understanding of the foundational concepts of climate science so they can understand human activities and how they are impacting climate and other aspects of the earth system.
This is no small task, and obviously NCSE as a relatively small non-profit can only do so much. We need your help.
We have been successful because we marshal allies, like scientists, teachers, parents, and other citizens, at the grassroots. NCSE’s success over recent decades in defending the teaching of evolution has been due in large measure to scientists and others who are willing to support good science education locally and at the state level. We also need scientists to provide us with their scientific expertise.
If you are a climate scientist, please give us your contact information so we can consult with you. Also, your contact information will be helpful to us if something occurs in your region or state where we need a scientist to write a letter, testify before a committee, support a teacher, or help in some other way.
Of course, an obvious way you can help is to join NCSE, but even if you don’t, your expertise will be helpful to us.
Visit our website, and contact our new Programs and Policy Director, Mark McCaffrey, who will be helping spearhead the new initiative, to let us know you support our effort. Teachers will thank you."
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
My only concern would be how the class is taught. I see nothing beneficial to having and 2 week indoctrination quoting different organizations about how the earth is going to dissolve unless we pass legislation limiting the use of hydrocarbons. I think the greatest benefit would come in teaching these kids the science behind climate change and how these predictions are supported with empirical evidence. The only problem with that is climate is such a complicated issue, it would be like teaching relativity to 9th graders. I'd say the majority(vast) of people that think climate change is a hoax, don't actually understand the science. And I see no benefit of raising the next generation without understanding the science.
I don't think the idea is so much about creating an entire course on climate science at these grade levels (certainly in college though, of course) but more as being integrated into the K-12 science curriculum. From the article:
"Climate change education should be an integral part of science education. Students should graduate from high school and certainly college with at least a basic understanding of the foundational concepts of climate science so they can understand human activities and how they are impacting climate and other aspects of the earth system."
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
They explain later in the movie that oil companies have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the evangelical movement and in return, they have promoted the idea to their mindless flocks that believing in global warming is "against god."
Their ace in the hole, of course, is that they have also pushed the idea of The Rapture. While evangelicals know that the earth is beu destroyed... Jesus is coming for them any day now. So... Why save the earth when it's just the Satan people who are going to enjoy it?
Which sounds good, and if it is worked into an earth science class I'm all for it. I guess my only reservation is some of the logic behind the decision. We are going to implement climate change into the curriculum, but the highest math class we are going to make kids take is Algebra 1(seems to be the most prevalent requirement state to state). If we really wanted to make a difference in the future, we would require a MUCH more stringent math and science curriculum, not just have a section on climate change. But, it is better than nothing, I'm just not sure it will be enough.
And what passes for education in the US (probably in other countries as well) is really just grunt labor training. Do this, do that, punch in, punch out, don't think. Ding ding ding, go home and watch TV. Sad.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
They want fewer people questioning them and more doing what they're told.
Of course, if "no child is left behind" does any child really get ahead?
As my understanding of the whole "no child left behind" goes; it's simply a lowering of educational standards. Unfortunately, getting noticed in a field of mediocrity is pretty difficult. How many talented youth are going to be overlooked because standards have been reduced to the point where everybody is deemed a success because the curriculum has become too basic?
Forget critical thinking skills; teach to the test!
Why panic them. Are we adults in a panic
Most don't give a fuck. They continue to pollute at high levels and say the Chinese are so why can't I
Children take this on board a lot better than adults and can help drive their own families to do better
(Edit out crass comment about Mayan end-of-world commercial with dude in big truck- I'm trying to be nice folks, I'm really trying.)
It's about teaching reality and if critical thinking is included (sorry blueandwhite but I can't picture good education excluding critical thinking) the obvious conclusion is that we should take better care of the planet and discussion on how to do so would logically follow.
Climate scientist are alarmed by the rapid change in global climate as they should be and we should be, but panic in any serious situation is always the worst course of action followed closely by apathy and non-action. Good education should lead to good, logical, clear headed action.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Sorry about that. I'm not a regular poster so I sometimes forget that sarcasm on the internet really doesn't work :oops: .
Honestly, as a teacher I believe that critical thinking skills are pretty much the most important thing a student can take from his or her education. My comment was in direct response to my earlier paragraph which was incredibly pessimistic and perhaps more than a bit sardonic.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Read in that light, I see the sarcasm and can appreciate what you mean! :thumbup:
Thanks for good work, teacher!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"