Some educators and parents are pushing back on proposed changes to Iowa’s K-12 science standards that changes the phrases “biological evolution” and “climate change” to “biological change over time” and “climate trends.”

During a recent forum on the issue Panorama science teacher Mark Dorhout says teachers in small schools like his use the standards to make their own curriculum. He says new teachers might be more likely to follow them word for word. “If you choose to teach the fossil record correctly, you’re going to be using the word evolution on a repeated basis. And if you were a younger teacher, all of a sudden there is fuel to the ‘Well, that’s not in the standards. You shouldn’t be doing that,” he says.

Drake professor Jerrid Kruse is one of the original committee members and says he’s concerned about the shift in language. “I guess my concern then is that they don’t want to live in a state where the legislators are afraid of science words, because that’s really what this comes down to. Not changing the concepts. We’re just changing the words,” Kruse says.

The standards will be reviewed by another committee made up of parents and educators before getting final approval by the State Board of Education. You can submit feedback on the changes through the Board of Ed’s online survey through February 3rd.

(By Isabella Luu, Iowa Public Radio)

Share this:
Radio Iowa