Joshua Rosenau spends his days defending the teaching of evolution at 
Disco. Inst. frontman Rob Crowther wonders: Why isn't anyone talking about the 2/3 of teachers who aren't hassled for teaching basic science?
You doubt that anyone could be so silly? Gaze in wonder:
the results are cleverly communicated with misplaced emphasis to imply that teachers are under overwhelming pressure to not teach evolution. It just isn't so. Here they report that, according to the poll, 31% feel pressured to avoid teaching evolution or to include other theories. What they don’t report is that the vast majority, more than 2-to-1, 69% don't feel pressured to teach other theories.First, Rob, this wasn't an opinion survey, it was a survey of what happens in the classroom, and the appropriate amount of political interference in science education is 0. Not 1/3, or 1/10, but zero. That some teachers teach their subject without interference is a dog-bites-man story. The man-bites-dog story is that some are being harassed for teaching according to the best advice of their professional societies, of the overwhelming majority of scientists, of their state's science standards, and their textbooks.As I pointed out originally, usually, a newspaper leads with the majority numbers when a survey is reported. Most people tend to want to know what the prevailing opinion is. The news in a poll is almost always what the majority is, unless the minority view is so incredibly surprising as to warrant a headline of its own. These polls aren’t that.
Crowther dismisses the reporting done by Ron Matus and Donna Winchester as anecdotes and hearsay. Here's the passage Crowther picks to illustrate the claim:
Once, when he and another teacher were coordinating lesson plans, they got to the part on evolution and she said, "I'm going to skip that one," Campbell said. Baylor, the teacher at Palm Harbor Middle, said she knows of two teachers who have avoided evolution because they're unsure how parents will react.I think that it's shameful if there are even three teachers who want to teach good science, but don't because of political fears. I think it's even more shameful that a third of teachers fall into that category. If Crowther cared about science or education, he would, too.
Comments
So, the next time we have a "survey" on the number of murders in New York City, we should start with the number of city dwellers who weren't illegally dispatched?
ID must cause brain damage.
Posted by: John Pieret | February 11, 2008 8:08 PM
Hardly anyone talks about all the countries we didn't invade during the current term. The press is just liberally biased.
Posted by: decrepitoldfool | February 12, 2008 6:22 PM
It might have been instructive if the 2005 NSTA survey had asked some additional questions. For instance, how many chemistry teachers are pressured to eliminate/dilute discussions of atomic theory? After all, the Bohr model is notoriously incomplete . . . where's the call the teach that controversy? Likewise, how many earth/space science teachers are pressured to teach that the earth is the center of the solar system?
It's shameful that so many teachers are pressured to hide their evolution teaching under a basket. IMHO, that neglect is a big part of the current problem.
Posted by: Cheryl Shepherd-Adams | February 13, 2008 7:45 AM