{"id":2684,"date":"2017-04-17T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T15:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=2684"},"modified":"2017-04-17T17:22:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T21:22:04","slug":"the-truth-is-going-to-be-different-based-on-your-own-experience-and-your-own-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2684","title":{"rendered":"“The truth is going to be different based on your own experience and your own bias”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seal_of_Collier_County,_Florida\"<\/a>An article in today’s Naples Daily News reports on the textbook selection process going on right now in Collier County:\u00c2\u00a0Committee presents new textbooks, Collier school board to vote next month<\/a>. Keep in mind that the Instructional Materials bills that we here at Florida Citizens for Science are fighting against in our state legislature were conceived in Collier County. There have been battles over textbooks there for several years, featuring “opposing ideological forces,” as the reporter puts it. The bill sponsor in the House is Byron Donalds, from Naples. And his wife, Erika Donalds, is the Collier County school board vice chairwoman.<\/p>\n

With that background in mind, I think you can see why there was a reaction to something Mrs. Donalds said:<\/p>\n

She applauded the residents who had read and reviewed hundreds of pages of textbooks \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because they want to make sure that the truth is heard.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Erika Donalds caused the audience to stir when she added, “The truth is going to be different based on your own experience and your own bias, and everyone has it, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fine.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What biases are Mrs. Donalds referring to? I think this guy nails it:<\/p>\n

Bill Korson, a Naples resident who sat on the district\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s U.S. history instructional materials committee, cautioned that many people hold opinions that are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153based on unique interpretations of American history or unique belief systems.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Korson brought up House Bill 989, an instructional materials bill introduced by state Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, in February, that would allow all Collier residents such as Doyle to file formal objections \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to arbitrarily question the appropriateness of content.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Deniers of global warming with no connection to the school district can file costly complaint after complaint,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Korson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Creationists who place cave dwellers with dinosaurs and rely on their beliefs with no scientific evidence can file complaints.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

House Bill 989<\/a> will be debated tomorrow (Tuesday) on the House floor. It would be nice if some lawmakers pressed Mr. Donalds about our very real, substantiated concerns. Please call your representative and demand they not rubber stamp this awful bill.<\/p>\n

Update: The Senate version of the bill, SB 1210<\/a>, will be considered during the April 20, Thursday, Appropriations Committee<\/a> meeting. Start calling senators now. We can’t let our voices be ignored any more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An article in today’s Naples Daily News reports on the textbook selection process going on right now in Collier County:\u00c2\u00a0Committee presents new textbooks, Collier school board to vote next month. Keep in mind that the Instructional Materials bills that we … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-Hi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2393,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2393","url_meta":{"origin":2684,"position":0},"title":"Yet more examples of what we’re up against","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We here at Florida Citizens for Science are tracking two instructional materials bills filed in the Florida legislature that could have wide-ranging negative impacts on textbooks in our state's classrooms, especially\u00c2\u00a0science classes. Please see our previous post for the details about the bills (Time to talk about textbooks). One of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '16"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '16","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3274,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3274","url_meta":{"origin":2684,"position":1},"title":"Press Release: Balancing Evolution & Creationism in Schools Unconstitutional","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida Citizens for Science News Release (May 13, 2018) --------------------------------------------- BALANCING EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM IN SCHOOLS UNCONSTITUTIONAL Attempts to alter science textbooks in Collier, Martin and Nassau Counties are a waste of school boards\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 time, money and could lead to costly lawsuits --------------------------------------------- Contact: Brandon Haught \/\u00c2\u00a0bhaught@flascience.org \/ www.flascience.org Citizens\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3312,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3312","url_meta":{"origin":2684,"position":2},"title":"Road trip to Collier County: Speaking up for science education","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I'll be on the road tomorrow morning (Monday) headed to Naples on a mission to help speak up for science education. I hope to see some of you folks there so we can finally meet in person. Why do science defenders need to converge on Collier County? Because a coordinated\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3312#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2628,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2628","url_meta":{"origin":2684,"position":3},"title":"Who will determine what is noninflammatory, objective, and balanced?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The bad Instructional Materials for K-12 Public Education bills are both seeing action this week. In the Florida House: On Monday at 12:30 the House version (HB 989) will be considered by the\u00c2\u00a0PreK-12 Quality Subcommittee. However, the bill might change. A proposed committee substitute has been filed, which, if approved,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '17"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '17","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2567,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2567","url_meta":{"origin":2684,"position":4},"title":"It’s baaaaack: Instructional Materials bill filed","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, Florida Citizens for Science voiced our opposition to bills filed in the Florida legislature that would have made significant changes to how textbooks and other instructional materials are selected and reviewed at the local school district level. The good news is that the bills died. The bad news\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '17"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '17","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2645,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2645","url_meta":{"origin":2684,"position":5},"title":"These dangerous bills need to be disarmed","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"An op-ed I wrote was published in today's Daytona Beach News Journal:\u00c2\u00a0Bills threaten science education Of concern to science advocates like us is the Collier group's vociferous opposition to established, accurate science concepts. Among their targeted objectionable materials are lessons about evolution and climate change. The single most alarming statement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '17"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '17","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2684"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2689,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684\/revisions\/2689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}