News article about draft science standards

Florida Citizens for Science president, Joe Wolf, had an excellent quote in an Orlando Sentinel story this weekend about the new draft of the state science standards. He did a great job of playing down this “controversy” over evolution by putting it into realistic perspective. Thanks, Joe!

On the other hand, I personally don’t think the reporter should have made evolution the focus of the story. Evolution is just one part of the vast field of science. Because it attracts so much attention, I guess it’s pretty much mandatory for reporters to write about it. So, I understand that evolution needed to be brought up, but the focus should have been on the Fordham report, or Florida student performance on the science FCAT. The desire to make these standards useful to teachers and students is what’s important. Just because some people have heartburn with one concept out of many science concepts doesn’t merit the lead of the story.

Let’s not get distracted from what really matters: kids learning science.

Here’s Joe’s quote from the story:

Joe Wolf, president of Florida Citizens for Science, called the draft standards a “wonderful” blueprint for science education. Wolf, of Winter Haven, said the evolution debate holds little interest to most scientists, who accept it as fact. That’s why the issue did not become controversial during the standards-writing meetings, he said.

“It’s a PR issue,” he said. “And it’s a religious issue. In the scientific community, it’s not an issue.”

If the new standards are adopted, “I think the kids will have a better understanding of science, which is what it’s all about,” Wolf added.

Be sure to read through the reader comments that are with the story. It’s a good, if scary, look at what people are thinking. It’s obvious a lot of people out there desperately need better science education!