Iowa’s department of education released proposed changes to the state’s science education standards.
The proposed update replaces mentions of climate change with ‘climate trends’ or phrases like ‘change over time.’
State science standards set the goal for what students should be achieving in their academics. One expert says changing the wording on subjects like climate change and evolution won’t stop teachers from teaching them, but it could make it more challenging.
“We expect science teachers to be teaching their students about science in the way scientists understand it. Scientists simply don’t mince their words like this,” said Glenn Branch, National Center for Science Education deputy director.
A public comment session is scheduled Wednesday in Iowa City and online through February 3rd. Click here for details or to comment.
Tuesday the Iowa Department of Education released proposed updates to the state’s science education standards to the public.
Among the changes, the phrase ‘climate change’ now is not included in the standards at all. Instead, you see ‘climate trends.’
The National Center for Science Education says the wording change won’t stop teachers from teaching about climate change, but it could discourage it.
Don’t say ‘climate change’, say ‘climate trends’? Am I right in guessing ‘The Party of Free Speech’ is behind this nitpicking yoke on the shoulders of Iowa’s teachers?
They should go back to calling it Global Warming. Its effect on weather events is more immediate and not a trend. To change the climate you need to change the averages that define it. That could take decades of extreme weather events.