Dive Brief:
- A bill before the Ohio Assembly suggests prohibiting the teaching of the scientific process in the state's schools.
- Primarily looking to overturn the state's adoption of the Common Core State Standards, the bill's additional language on science has naturally garnered a significant amount of attention, as it also includes a prohibition of the "political or religious interpretation of scientific facts in favor of another.".
- While that last line makes it seem as though the bill would keep both faith and politics separate from science teaching, one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Andy Thompson (R-Lima), suggested to The Columbus Dispatch that it could open the gateway for creationism in the classroom before later telling the Cincinnati Enquirer that it would do no such thing.
Dive Insight:
There is perhaps no subject in schools today as controversial as science. Despite the push to focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects so American students have an advantage at landing in-demand jobs over those from overseas, outside influences still seek to influence how science is taught. This arguably impacts the quality of the education students are receiving — especially when it comes to something like the scientific process, which lays out how scientists test hypotheses, conduct experiments and studies, and ultimately arrive at conclusions. It's a method of critical thinking (yet another thing many argue should be a focus in schools).
Ohio is, of course, not alone when it comes to science education controversy. Wyoming, for example, has seen backlash over the Next Generation Science Standards due to their teaching of man-made climate change as scientific fact — a detail that critics say could harm the state's fossil fuel industry.
