The
National Center for Science and Education conducted a study of the newly proposed textbooks the Texas Board of Education plans to adopt for the start of the 2015 public school year. There are some problems with the new textbooks. For example:
McGraw(Hill Education, World Cultures & Geography [Teacher Version] (Grade 6)
Overall Description: This book has a deeply concerning section comparing the Heartland Institute with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in relation to climate change. This misleads students as to good sources of information, pitting an ideologically driven advocacy group (Heartland Institute) that receives funding from Big Tobacco and polluters against a Nobel Peace Prize Winning scientific body (IPCC). The IPCC reports utilize hundreds of scientific experts and reviewers, as well as thousands of peer reviewed articles. The Heartland Institute has no such expertise nor do they utilize the depth of research available in this area. Independent of the content area, this is a completely inappropriate presentation of the information or comparison of sources.
Classic Tobacco. Get them while they're young. What does an insidious passage look like?
Is Global Warming a Result of Human Activity?
Scientists agree that Earth’s climate is changing. They do not agree on what is causing the
change. Is it just another natural warming cycle like so many cycles that have occurred in the past? Scientists who support this position cite thousands of years’ worth of natural climatic change as evidence. Or is climate change anthropogenic—caused by human activity? Scientists who support this position cite the warming effect of rapidly increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases occur naturally, but they also result from the burning of fossil fuels. Which side’s evidence is more convincing?
You'll notice the educationally familiar question at the end of the paragraph asking students to apply analysis of the arguments in the lesson. That's a good educational technique. It's what teachers in elementary, middle, and high school are trying to develop in the children they are charged with. However, this "teaching" question is trying to blanket the idea that climate deniers are on equal footing in terms of evidence and argument.
They are not.
Here is an example of how this might look in another context. (Example all mine):
Abraham Lincoln was a president during the civil war. However, there is no consensus as to whether or not he was a really important figure in American history. Some people say that in both keeping the Union together and emancipating African Americans by abolishing slavery, Lincoln is clearly an important figure in the history of America. Others say Abraham Lincoln was an over-rated fatty head. He was in love with himself (which is why he took so many photos) and really only cared about his fat headed hats. They point to the fact that he wore a stovepipe hat. Do you know what a stovepipe hat is? Do you know there were other Presidents before Lincoln?
It's ludicrous. The only reason for the rewording is to obfuscate already known facts concerning climate change and its causes.