Monday, Nov 25, 2013 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM PST
What can citizens like you do to respond when science education comes under attack? How can you and other concerned citizens organize to fight back? What can you do to prevent attacks on science education in your community?
Based on the National Center for Science Education’s decades of experience, this workshop will build the skills you’ll need to ensure that evolution and climate change education are safe in your schools. When a parent calls wondering why her child was sent home with a creationist pamphlet, or a teacher needs to respond to pressure from parents or administrators to drop lessons on climate change, or when state legislators threaten to write science denial into state laws, NCSE relies on local voices and local experience to fight back. Throughout this training, we’ll work through such specific case studies to illustrate the skills and resources science education defenders need.
This first webinar training in a monthly series will survey the skills and resources which concerned citizens need in responding to attacks on science education. Topics will include how to build a network of like-minded people before and during a crisis, how to respond to an attack on science education, how to prevent a crisis from emerging in the first place, and how to prepare for a crisis and make the eventual reaction more effective. The webinar is intended for anyone from experienced activists to relative novices.
Session leader Josh Rosenau has been Programs and Policy Director at NCSE for six years, working with parents and teachers to resolve anti-evolution attacks and defuse conflicts over climate change education. Before joining NCSE, he was a graduate student in biology in Kansas and was drawn into the battles over evolution in the state’s science standards. At NCSE he trains scientists to speak about evolution to potentially hostile audiences, testifies before state board of education meetings, and helps local networks of citizens plan their responses to statewide legislation and and local conflicts.