By Barbara Forrest
In keeping with the November 20 post highlighting Louisiana citizens who have stepped forward to protect science education in our public schools, this post will give a voice to a member of one of Louisiana’s most dedicated groups of citizens: public school science teachers. Our state is blessed with dedicated science teachers, one of whom has stepped forward as a voice of reason with a message to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on behalf of Louisiana students.
That voice belongs to Dr. Jason VanMetre, who teaches Biology II and Advanced Placement Biology II at A. M. Barbe High School in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Dr. VanMetre served on the Louisiana Life Sciences Textbook Adoption Committee, which met in late September and voted to approve the biology textbooks that had been submitted by publishers. Serving as a member of the specially appointed committee in addition to his duties as a teacher, Dr. VanMetre was required to spend a great deal of time reviewing the books, attending meetings, and considering public comments. The public comments, both written and oral, came almost exclusively from followers of the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF) in a coordinated campaign to attack the books because of the content about evolution (and, to a lesser extent, global warming).
The LFF also attacked biology textbooks in 2002. Fortunately, they failed when the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted 7-3 to reject the insertion of evolution disclaimers in the textbooks. (See “Louisiana Rejects Evolution Disclaimer,” National Center for Science Education, December 11, 2002.)
BESE’s Student/School Performance and Support Committee (SSPS) met on October 19, 2010, for what should have been a routine approval of the textbooks. Instead, SSPS deferred approving the textbooks in order to allow the Textbook/Media/Library Advisory Council — which was hastily constituted and convened after not having met for almost a decade — to consider the textbooks. Contrary to the expectations of pro-science advocates, the advisory council approved the books by a vote of 8-4 on November 12. (See “Panel Approves Contested Textbooks,” Baton Rouge Advocate, November 13, 2010.)
However, on October 28, Dr. VanMetre had felt compelled to communicate to BESE his views as a member of the Life Sciences Textbook Adoption Committee after SSPS’s October 19 decision to defer the issue to the advisory council — despite the adoption committee’s previous approval of the books.
Nothing can add to the eloquence of his letter, so, with his kind permission, it is presented below without additional comment. Please add your voice to Dr. VanMetre’s before Tuesday, December 7. To identify your BESE representative, click on your parish on the BESE map. Note that there are three “at large” members who should be contacted regardless of where you live.
From: Jason VanMetre
Date: Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Subject: Concerned Textbook Committee Member
To: sbese@la.gov
Dear BESE Board Members,
My name is Jason VanMetre and I am a biology teacher at A.M. Barbe High School in Calcasieu Parish. I recently served on the Life Sciences Textbook Adoption Committee. I was very concerned when I read that rather than approving the list of life science textbooks immediately, the BESE Board voted to send the textbooks to the Textbook Advisory Council accompanied by public comments.
The Life Science Textbook Committee was charged with evaluating whether or not the textbooks on the list were acceptable for adoption. The committee was comprised of life science teachers from all over the state. Teachers on the committee had anywhere from a few years to over thirty years experience in public education. All committee members spent an extensive amount of time before the fall meetings in an effort to properly prepare for the proceedings. The books voted acceptable by the committee were consistent with the Louisiana Department of Education Grade-Level Expectations (GLE’s). It is my belief that we did our jobs admirably and that our recommendations should be approved as voted on by the Life Science Textbook Committee.
One of the most unique experiences that I encountered at the textbook committee meetings was the opportunity for public comment. These comments came in both written form and oral presentation. Most of the negative comments expressed were related to the coverage of evolution by the proposed textbooks. Many of these public comments expressed the view that evolution should be taught as a controversial theory filled with inconsistencies and problems. While I appreciate the fervor with which the written comments and oral presentations were delivered, I can assure you that the textbooks are completely in line with the current scientific view of evolution as well as our state GLE’s. Many of the public comments contained numerous factual inaccuracies, misunderstandings and a general lack of basic scientific knowledge concerning natural selection.
Natural selection is the most important theory in all of biology. It has been empirically tested and subject to peer-review for over 150 years. To tell the students of Louisiana that natural selection is a controversial idea is ludicrous. Natural selection is supported by every major scientific and educational association. Taking a very strong stand on this issue are the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science Teachers Association, National Association of Biology Teachers, and the Louisiana Academy of Sciences, just to name a few. For a more complete list of scientific, religious, educational and civil liberties organizations who fully support the teaching of natural selection in public schools, I encourage you [to] consult the National Center for Science Education website at http://ncse.com/voices. Statements from state, national and international scientific organizations can be accessed directly at http://ncse.com/media/voices/science. With a small amount of research, I am sure that you will find natural selection to be neither controversial nor hotly debated by the scientific community. It is an idea grounded in scientific fact and is essential for a complete understanding of the biological sciences.
Please don’t make your decision based solely on my comments or the comments of the public. I suggest that you contact a scientist with a PhD in Biology to get their expert opinion on this issue.
I appreciate your time and encourage you to swiftly approve the textbooks recommended by the Life Sciences Textbook Committee.
Thank you,
Jason VanMetre, Ed.D.
Teacher – Biology II and Advanced Placement Biology II
A.M. Barbe High School
