Students around the country will soon be exposed to the concepts of evolution and climate change at an earlier age, thanks to the Next Generation Science Standards. The new standards are the result of collaboration among 26 states, and non-profit science and education groups.
Although climate change is already taught in some schools, the Next Generation Science Standards are the first national guidelines to formally incorporate the topic as part of the science curriculum. The guidelines suggest teaching basic concepts of climate change – including the effect of human activities on the warming of the planet – in middle school.
By high school, teachers should introduce more detailed climate change models and policy discussions related to greenhouse gas emissions. The guidelines also recommend that evolution be introduced in middle school science classes rather than high school biology.
The new standards have already been adopted by five states – Rhode Island, Kentucky, Kansas, Maryland, and Vermont – and at least five more are expected to follow suit in the next few months. Of course, the teaching of evolution has been contested in certain states for decades, and climate change has also proven controversial.
In Kansas, legislators barely defeated a measure that would have blocked state funding to implement the guidelines. And although they were unanimously approved by Kentucky’s State Board of Education, the guidelines will still be subject to a public hearing and legislative review.
Overall, though, states have been unexpectedly receptive to the standards, which is encouraging. Educating the next generation on the realities of global warming is not only responsible but a critical component of the fight against climate change.
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Web Links
Evolution and Climate Science Make the Grade in State Education Standards
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=evolution-and-climate-science-education
Evolution makes the grade
http://www.nature.com/news/evolution-makes-the-grade-1.13318
The Next Generation Science Standards
http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Photo, taken on June 9, 2009, courtesy of the Ross School via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.