Every year in the United States, state legislatures contemplate bills regarding the teaching of evolution, climate change and other allegedly “controversial subjects”. Known generically as “Academic Freedom Acts”, these proposed bills direct teachers to “critically analyze” these scientific disciplines, or to present the “full range of scientific views”. Although these bills are couched in terms of academic freedom and critical thinking education, these bills have a history – and that history shows that bills of this sort are the current manifestations of the old creationism and evolution controversy that has dogged science education for over 100 years.

The subject of origins – of where we, Earth, and the universe come from – is one that has been considered by many religions since time immemorial. Science, as a relatively recent actor on the intellectual stage, also considers these topics, coming up with answers at variance with those of most religions, including Christianity. How do these two approaches differ? Are there similarities? And is there an uncrossable divide between the two? The answer is not just philosophically interesting, but directly relevant to decisions being made about what to teach in public school science courses.

In the spring of 2012, the Tennessee legislature passed SB 368/SB 893, and Gov. Haslam signed it into law. The bill is one of a series of bills classified as “academic freedom acts”, and purports to provide critical thinking education to students, and to encourage academic freedom for teachers. In reality, the bills, which call for compromising the teaching of evolution, global warming and other alleged “controversial subjects”, are the descendents of a long line of antievolution approaches. The other approaches (mandating creation science, mandating intelligent design) have failed, but AFA bills have not yet been tested in court. How can scientists, teachers, parents, and other citizens ensure that their children are taught good science, rather than false “weaknesses” of well-accepted scientific ideas?

Each year, thousands of school aged children in the US are taught "both sides of the climate change controversy," with school boards in over a dozen states having passed policies categorizing climate change along with evolution and human cloning as "controversial science."

There are, however, some bright spots in the fog surrounding climate change education. The Alliance for Climate Education has reached over one million students around the country through multimedia presentations famous for exciting students so much that they crowd at the front of the room at the presentation's end. EarthTeam uses peer-to-peer education, student led action projects, and a TV show on environmental issues, The Green Screen.

Join us for a panel discussion with leaders in the field of climate change education. We'll explore the many challenges to climate change education in public schools, and how parents, teachers, students, and other concerned citizens can take action.