{"id":2849,"date":"2017-07-29T14:02:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T18:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=2849"},"modified":"2017-07-29T14:02:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-29T18:02:09","slug":"this-is-not-needless-fretting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2849","title":{"rendered":"This is not “needless fretting”"},"content":{"rendered":"

An editorial was published in a few papers recently, including the Gainesville Sun, opining that Florida’s new instructional materials law isn’t something to get all worked up about:\u00c2\u00a0Needless fretting over textbook law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The doomsdayers among us believe Scott and the measure\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supporters have thrust open an educational Pandora\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s box, exposing school districts to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anti-science\u00e2\u20ac\u009d whims of flat-earthers and climate-change deniers.<\/p>\n

To them we reply: Deep breaths, folks, deep breaths.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>There are some elements of the editorial I agree with. I agree that this law won’t wipe science subjects like evolution and climate change out of the state’s public schools. I agree that a lot of the news coverage, especially the headlines attached to the stories, are overblown and sensationalist. I believe trouble will likely only pop up in a few spots around the state where small yet vocal groups are already causing headaches.<\/p>\n

But I disagree with the overall tone of the editorial, which is essentially saying don’t worry, this is no big deal.<\/p>\n

This law probably isn’t a big deal when you look at it from a statewide perspective. But it’s a huge deal when you look at it from the local school district perspective. Even if only one school district decides to allow anti-science instructional materials into their school (due to a sympathetic school board majority or relentless pressure that eventually forces a school board into compromise), that’s going to potentially impact the education of hundreds or thousands of students for years. This is not just alarmist hype. I wrote the book on this topic<\/a>. It’s happened before here in the Sunshine State and the chances of it happening again are now very high with the passage into law of the instructional materials bill and the religious liberties in schools bill.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that the group mentioned in the editorial, the Florida Citizens’ Alliance, took credit for writing the bill. They took credit for recruiting legislators to sponsor the bill. They took credit for helping to successfully navigate the bill through all of its committee stops and votes. They took credit for helping it become law.<\/p>\n

Why in the world would they go through all of that effort?<\/p>\n

The law’s authors and supporters said<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Darwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theory is a theory, and the biblical view is a theory, and our kids should be taught both in a balanced way,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d [Florida Citizens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Alliance’s Keith Flaugh] said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that goal was repeated<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The science here is not proven on either side,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Flaugh said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are lots of scientists on both sides of that equation: Creationism versus the theory of evolution. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re both theories. And all we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re asking for is both sides of the discussion in a balanced way be put in front of the students.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And it was repeated yet again<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not trying to ban books,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Keith Flaugh, founder of the Florida Citizens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Alliance, which pushed for that state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bill.<\/p>\n

He said his group is seeking balance in school instruction, including teaching both evolution and creationism and the various arguments about climate change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those quotes lead me to the next point I want to make. The editorial questions why nearly every news story focuses primarily on science education.<\/p>\n

The whole reason why the media is fixated on the science aspect of this law is because we here at Florida Citizens for Science — who specialize in science education, of course — were vigilant and aggressive. We brought the pitfalls of this law to the media’s attention and we made it incredibly easy for them to report on it, having done most of their work for them.<\/p>\n

I’ve lamented to a few reporters that no one has stepped up to defend the other academic subjects under attack. There apparently is no Citizens for Civics organization out there, for instance. And many reporters should shoulder some blame for not bothering to do their own digging and questioning about those other academic subjects. The Alliance is much more focused on civics and history and religion than they are on science.<\/p>\n

But science became the media’s focal point because evolution and climate change lessons in schools are hot button topics and we constantly monitor those topics and immediately take action, such as alerting the media, when problems pop up. Florida Citizens for Science would likely have never been involved in this fight if the Alliance hadn’t included science topics in their long list of “objectionable materials.”<\/p>\n

Whereas I agree that many news stories have gotten some facts wrong and over hyped the impact of the instructional materials law, I disagree that we’re engaging in “needless fretting.” I appreciate that the news coverage has highlighted this issue because now citizen science advocates across the state are aware of the laws and are ready to act if needed. We’ve been flooded with correspondence, membership requests, and social media followers.<\/p>\n

And the interest has led to yet more calls from reporters (I know that a few more stories are currently in the works). I make sure to emphasize to those reporters the facts of this issue, not the hype. We want reality-based awareness of this issue, not the-sky-is-falling screaming.<\/p>\n

This is not “needless fretting.” This is citizen activism provoked by very real attacks on science education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An editorial was published in a few papers recently, including the Gainesville Sun, opining that Florida’s new instructional materials law isn’t something to get all worked up about:\u00c2\u00a0Needless fretting over textbook law. The doomsdayers among us believe Scott and the … 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":[32,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-JX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2924,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2924","url_meta":{"origin":2849,"position":0},"title":"David against the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Goliath","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"October 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida's new Instructional Materials law is now featured in an article in the AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) Explorer:\u00c2\u00a0Science Curricula Under Threat? The problem, according to those who think there is one, is in the first sentence of Florida House Bill 989. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6allowing a resident of a county to\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":2827,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2827","url_meta":{"origin":2849,"position":1},"title":"U.S. Senator from Florida blasts instructional materials law","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"July 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. Senator from Florida Bill Nelson seized upon all of the press generated by his state's new instructional materials law to stand up for science on Monday and accuse Gov. Rick Scott of being anti-science:\u00c2\u00a0In Senate floor speech, Bill Nelson takes aim at Rick Scott and GOP\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwar on science\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\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":2933,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2933","url_meta":{"origin":2849,"position":2},"title":"What’s in store for the next Florida legislative session?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"October 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The creationist, human-caused-climate-change-denying group Florida Citizens Alliance was successful in writing and getting passed a new law that dramatically impacts how instructional materials used in our schools can be challenged and changed -- in a bad way. (See the Instructional Materials bills '17 blog category if you don't know what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Textbooks"","block_context":{"text":"Textbooks","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2793,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2793","url_meta":{"origin":2849,"position":3},"title":"The fight will now be won or lost where you live.","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Unfortunately, the devious Instructional Materials bill, which creationists and climate change deniers absolutely love, is now signed into law by Governor Rick Scott. This means our fight is only just now beginning. Each and every one of us has to be on alert. You must keep an eye on your\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":3147,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3147","url_meta":{"origin":2849,"position":4},"title":"The Florida House’s bad textbook bill now has a Senate companion","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida House Bill 827 (Instructional Materials), filed in November by Rep. Byron Donalds in preparation for the 2018 state legislative session proposes changes to several of our laws that govern the review and selection of instructional materials used in our public schools. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a Senate companion bill for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Textbooks"","block_context":{"text":"Textbooks","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2725,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2725","url_meta":{"origin":2849,"position":5},"title":"Creationist-enabling bill passes; what can you do now?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Florida Citizens for Science membership is dismayed that House Bill 989, a proposed law that will affect how instructional materials for our schools are selected and challenged, passed its final vote in the Senate 19 to 17. We believe that should this bill become law with the governor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s signature,\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":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/textbookskulls-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2849"}],"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=2849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2852,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2849\/revisions\/2852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}