Here’s a good guest opinion column in the Orlando Sentinel: Free Florida’s students from lagging behind
Some 422,000 Floridians remained out of work in February, the housing market continued its downward spiral, and less than two-fifths — just 37 percent — of all 11th-graders across Florida had mastered science-learning goals as of May 2007. Though K-12 students are improving statewide and locally, too, fewer than four in 10 Orange County 11th-graders, or 36 percent, were hitting their science-learning marks last year.
Yet, despite such serious educational and economic challenges, state lawmakers recently spent time reviewing a veiled proposal to wedge one religious viewpoint into science classrooms, which would weaken science education. By allowing teachers with a religious agenda to recast well-documented scientific facts as questionable, the deceptively named Academic Freedom Act could leave Florida’s K-12 students confused about the nature of science, and hamstring them when it comes to competing for future jobs.
Well, done, Orlando Sentinel! This is a major reason to maintain academic integrity in science instruction, instead of muddying it with anti-scientific nonsense from a sect of religious fundamentalists. It’s pro-science vs. anti-science, not science vs. religion.
Teach the accuracy!
Teach th Accuracy 🙂
I LOVE IT!!! 😎
Well, you know that Larry will be here in 5-4-3-2-1 to tell us that….. By allowing teachers with a religious agenda to recast well-documented scientific facts as questionable, the deceptively named Academic Freedom Act could leave Florida’s K-12 students confused about the nature of science, and hamstring them when it comes to competing for future jobs.…..
There are NO well documented facts that support the teaching of evilution.
Thanks S.S., I figure two can play at the slogan game! 😉
Generally good, but room for confusion with the statement “A cornerstone of modern biology, evolution describes how our solar system formed 4.55 billion years ago, followed by the gradual emergence of Earth’s earliest life forms, beginning with one-celled organisms around 3.5 billion years ago.” Eh, stellar evolution is well outside the field of biology, and the beginning of life isn’t necessarily part of evolution theory.