Eric Madrid teaches advanced sciences, including topics on climate change and evolution, to high school students in the deep-red Texas Hill Country.
As one might expect in this conservative bastion of the nation, some of the students say it’s all lies or fake news.
“But that’s usually in the beginning of the semester,” said Madrid, who left a Ph.D.-level research gig to go into public education. “As I show them data and evidence, that tends to go away.”
In fact, Madrid isn’t so worried about his students. It’s the other teachers who concern him: “I get much more pushback from other teachers than students. Adults have already pretty much made up their minds, and we also don’t have the time to sit down and discuss the issues.”
Nationally, there continue to be tensions surrounding climate change, with the Trump administration expressing doubts about its validity and seeking cuts in climate research programs. This conflict has trickled down to the state level too — even in the schools.
A bill in the Texas House of Representatives would allow science teachers to teach “the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories,” namely theories around subjects such as climate change, evolution, the origins of life and cloning.
The Texas measure mirrors efforts in Idaho and West Virginia, where objections to the inclusion of climate change in state education standards have met with varying degrees of success. There is also a bill in Florida that would make it easier for residents to challenge school textbooks, including those that discuss topics such as climate change and evolution.
This year, 11 bills designed to alter science education standards have been unsuccessfully introduced across the United States, by sponsors who perhaps have been encouraged by the Trump administration’s stance on climate change.
Meanwhile, 18 states and the District of Columbia have approved the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed with the help of several national science organizations and unveiled in 2013.
“When we do climate science sessions at our conferences, it’s standing-room only,” Evans said. “Teachers are anxious to learn the science so that they can take it to their kids.”
Click here to read the full article on CNN (June 14, 2017)