Here is my letter.... I just finished writing and tweeking.... I hope this helps others....It doesnt paste well... Sorry... I hope it sounds ok. It was brought to my attention that there are three pieces of legislation that are currently before the general assembly regarding science education. The bills are HB 207, HB 930 and HB 1054. I am very confident that if all or any of these bills were to pass, they would harm the education of our precious youth. The bill that concerns me the most is HB 930 that would eliminate the Science 3 and Earth Science SOL. If this happens, Earth Science could become uncertified as a science credit for high school graduation. This would result in a huge disservice to our students Earth Science affects everyone’s lives in some fashion, whether it is the weather, our use of natural resources, our water usage, the possibility of an earthquake happening again, or other natural disasters. Earth Science covers a large variety of topics that are not covered in the other sciences, but are important for students to understand. Students need to understand how the earth works to learn to become aware of the problems currently facing the Earth which unfortunately are many. Earth Science is one of a few classes that bring these problems to the attention of our students. Once a student is aware, then they can actively think of what they might be able to do to fix theses problems currently facing our planet. In Earth Science, we study the past to understand what may or will happen to the Earth in the future. Uniformitarianism is a “doctrine in geology that physical, chemical, and biologic processes now at work on and within the Earth have operated with general uniformity (in the same manner and with essentially the same intensity) through immensely long periods of time and are sufficient to account for all geologic change. In other words, the present is the key to the past.” (merriam-webster/dictionary/uniformitarianism) This idea is shown through out the course of Earth science. We look at rocks, fossils, and landscapes to understand how climate changes, whether colder or warmer, and other events have affected life on Earth in the past, to understand how it may in the future. If our students do not learn this in school, they probably will never be aware of these issues. The Geological Society of America recognizes the importance of Earth Science in our current education system. Below is the Geological Society of America’s position statement on promoting Earth Science Literacy for Public Decision Making: “A healthy democracy, or any representative or direct‐election form of government, relies upon an informed and educated citizenry to guide the country. This need becomes greater or intensifies as populations increase, resources become more scarce, the social and economic impacts from natural hazards increase, and human impacts on the environment increase. However, making informed choices about energy and natural resources, preparing for natural hazards, and mitigating and adapting to climate change requires an understanding of geoscience processes and timescales. An informed and educated citizenry can guide decision makers as they develop regulations through the legislative and rulemaking process and put in place infrastructures that can protect citizens and communities, safeguard the environment, ensure access to energy, and preserve natural resources.” As a current Earth science teacher, I would dearly LOVE to see fewer tests required of our students. However, I do not feel the SOLs are tests that should be removed. I moved to Virginia from New York State, where I needed to pass various Regents exams to graduate from high school. I feel that an end of the course test is a way for students to be accountable for their learning, and I think that is very important. The unintended consequences of removing the Earth Science SOL, would eventually be that schools would stop teaching Earth Science. If you remove the test, it would indicate that Earth Science is not worthy of study. This would put many teachers jobs at risk. It would remove the only real opportunity that Virginia high school students have to learn about our planet, and its place in the universe. PLEASE vote against bill 930 to remove SOL testing in Earth Science. There are many other ways to reduce the testing requirements for students.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 01:30:22 +0000
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