Drowning in the Sea of Ignorance: A proposal for a new ngo
sir_toejam
Drowning in the sea of ignorance:
A proposal to form a non-profit organization to provide human resources
to local communities in support of science education, specifically
related to evolutionary theory.
(sorry for the lack of formatting, for a formatted copy, email me @
Preface:
Let me start off by saying that any ideas contained herein are merely
to "get the ball rolling" on the discussion of this issue, and do
not represent any fixed position as to relative content or structure of
any proposed ngo. Comments and suggestions are not only welcome, but
are highly encouraged. From previous experience with several ngo's
the key is participation. I have not put my name to this document, as
there is no way any one of us could ever possibly see something like
this through from beginning to end. Only through cooperation and
participation will any value from this become realized. I hope to see
lots of names attached to any formal proposal when all is said and
done.
Introduction:
I had the privilege of obtaining a graduate degree in what many
consider to be one of the finer institutes of higher learning in the
country, UC Berkeley. Even though I had a decent grounding in basic
evolutionary theory from my days as an undergraduate at UC Santa
Barbara, as a graduate student I learned that what I thought I knew
about evolutionary theory and its application was still inadequate. My
point being, after 7 years of study, under some of the best
evolutionary theorists and biologists, I still am still learning new
things about evolutionary theory every day.
It is no wonder then, that so many educators who teach biology at the
high school and secondary levels feel overwhelmed when attempting to
teach evolutionary theory in a basic biology class.
Now, compound this with many public school educators feeling they are
under attack from many different directions from those who wish them
not to teach evolutionary theory at all. You might begin to see why so
many biology instructors might feel that the headache isn't worth the
effort.
The problem is, evolutionary theory is as important to biology as
algebra is to mathematics, perhaps even more so.
In my thirst for knowledge (OK, I admit, it was more about getting
amusement from throwing rocks at trolls, at least at first), I started
spending time recently at the Panda's Thumb (PT) to check out what
free opinion regarding the political struggle over the ID movement
looked like. Note that there is no free opinion available at the sites
contributing to the ID side of the "debate".
Anyway, on April 7th, 2005, an article was posted on PT with the upbeat
title:
Heartening news from the heartland
In the article, PZ Meyers documented a well-reasoned student response
to creation extremist Paul Nelson's lecture at the University of
Minnesota Morris.
While it is always good to know that at least some students at the
university level are knowledgeable enough to be able to participate in
this debate, I personally don't think the political struggle over
teaching creationism as science, or the general ignorance of
evolutionary theory, will be decided at the university level. Weighing
the current incarnation of creationism (ID) against the current
evidence in support of modern evolutionary theory could be compared to
trying the balance the scales between a pea and an elephant. Actually,
the "pea" would have to be more of an imaginary pea, or a "pea
construct" come to think of it. Indeed, the intellectual
"merits" of creationism-as-science were decided long, long ago, and
current proponents of ID are not focusing on teaching creationism in
science classes at the university level, but rather in areas where they
can more likely "get away with it".
There was an excellent article in National Geographic (Nov., 2204)
titled: "Was Darwin Wrong?" where the evidences for evolution
across multiple disciplines were presented in summary, and a analysis
of why so many Americans seem to reject this was presented. In it we
see that gallup poll information shows that Americans have not changed
their views on creationism much in over the last 20 years! The figure
of 45% in agreement to the question: "Did god create human beings
pretty much in their present form at one time withing the last 10,000
years or so?" has pretty much been constant over all that time. To
quote the article: "In other words, nearly half the American
populace prefers to believe that Charles Darwin was wrong where it
mattered most".
Why is this so? I personally, in all the time I was both an
undergraduate and graduate student, never met anybody who would have
considered themselves in the half of all Americans who believe Darwin
to be wrong. So, the problem, it seems, is not at the university
level. The author of the National Geographic article goes on to
conclude that
while some of the average American's rejection of evolution is
certainly due to literalism (YEC), most of this is attributable to
either plain ignorance, or brainwashing by "proselytizers and
political activists, working hard to interfere with the teaching of
evolutionary biology in public schools." Moreover, he postulates
what the apparent ignorance seems to come from:
"The main sources of information from which most americans have drawn
their awareness of this subject, it seems, are haphazard ones at best:
cultural osmosis, newspaper and magazine references, half-baked nature
documentaries on the tube, and hearsay."
I have to say, I can't disagree with his conclusions. Moreover, it
speaks volumes to me about the lack of good education on this subject
in our public high schools, the very area where the ID movement
proposes the most "changes" to the science curriculum (Think:
Kansas BOE).
Aside from the purely intellectual arguments in favor of providing
better resources (both quantitative and qualitative) to high school
educators involved in teaching evolutionary theory, what really
prompted me to actually begin writing this proposal was a comment from
a real high school educator in the thread on PT posted by PZ Meyers
that is mentioned earlier. In response to a comment I made in that
thread:
"We will lose this battle if all we do is focus on wining in the
islands that are universities."
She responded:
"I float in the sea of high school students that surround those
islands of universities. It would be ever so helpful if the university
and scientific communities increased their activism for science
education. We are under attack from so many directions. Those in my
district are fighting the good fight, but I understand why so many high
school teachers avoid the topic. We need help."
It's one thing to have a discussion about the relative merits of
various tactics to approach the influence of the ID movement, it is
quite another to have such a direct plea for assistance. There is an
obvious need for more activism at this level that is apparently not
being addressed. Despite the presence of excellent online resources
such as talk.origins, and many others, the "gap" is not being met.
Good teachers are still drowning in the sea of ignorance that surrounds
them.
It is my opinion that what is needed is more related to human
resources, than purely intellectual ones. I like the approach Kansas
Citizens for Science (KCFS) has taken, but think it needs to extend
beyond Kansas, and add more human participation; encourage students of
evolution (and educators) to get more involved in the community
personally. It is time to give of ourselves, ladies and gents, if we
want to win this battle.
The Proposal:
This will of course, be of a very rough nature to begin with; I hope
those reading will provide further suggestions, corrections, and input.
I propose the formation of a non-profit ngo (hereafter referred to
simply as "the ngo") whose primary function would be to provide
human resources to local communities and educators at the secondary
school level (both public and private).
Essentially, a small staff of individuals would be responsible for
matching secondary school needs for assistance in teaching evolution,
and in handling related issues, with trained college students who would
volunteer as a resource to meet that need within their local community.
As a prototype, I propose we attempt to test the idea in one community.
I would further suggest the community be one that has already asked
for assistance of this type. I am sure that the educator mentioned as
needing assistance in the introduction would be a good place to start.
There would be multiple approaches to accomplishing this goal (not in
any particular order):
- Advertising the presence of this resource to secondary level
educators.
o This would entail direct contact with secondary schools in the
community of choice, at least detailing in writing what is being
proposed, and what resources might become available and when. It might
also involve staff members giving a presentation at local school
boards.
o Would further advertising be needed? What form would that take?
- Contacting Educators already well trained in science and evolutionary
theory (and the current ID controversy?) to act as "polishers" for
college student volunteers.
o These educators would give a small lecture series in order to
strengthen student volunteer's knowledge of evolutionary theory,
it's value to science and technology (outside of academia) and give
them feedback on how to deal with related issues that secondary school
educators face (e.g., angry parents J )
o Lectures would be given to groups of students at a time, with time to
allow for Q&A.
o Structure of the lectures could be handled by the ngo (what things
critically need to be covered to meet the needs of secondary
educators); the rest could vary with the educator.
o It might be possible to get funding to provide a stipend for
educators to provide time and resources to teach a small lecture series
like this. Do most feel it would be needed, or should it be all
volunteer?
o A "spiel" needs to be developed in order to attract educators to
give their time to begin with. I don't see much difficulty in
selling this, myself, but I might be missing something.
o Should these "polishing lectures" be conducted in house (ngo), at
the university of recruitment, or someplace else?
- Contacting universities within the proposed community to recruit
volunteers.
o A formal presentation of the aims and goals of the ngo would need to
be presented to the administration of each university.
o The ngo would work with the university to develop the best method of
outreach to the student community in order to recruit volunteers.
o The ngo would work with the university to develop the best method of
outreach to professors who would be qualified to teach the "polishing
lectures" mentioned above.
o Once complete, appropriate outreach measures would be taken to get
recruits of both types.
- Getting trained individuals to where they are needed.
o Once volunteers have completed the "polishing lecture" series,
the ngo could create a pool of volunteers to draw on.
o The volunteers would submit a list of available times to act as a
resource for secondary institutions in their area.
o When a request comes in from a secondary public or private
institution, we could match schedules between the request and a
volunteer.
o Everybody's happy?
Staff requirements :
Here is what I can see as needed in-house staff postions for the ngo:
- Executive Director responsibilities:
o Maintaining the mission goals of the ngo
o Create general structure and funding ideas
o Direct media engagements (dealing with the press)
o Coordinating with the board of directors
o Meeting with funding organizations
o Meet with prospective educators
- Operations Director
o Manage the staff and internal mechanics of the ngo
o Translate information between all positions within the ngo
o Refine internal structure through experience
o Collect information for publication
o Facilities procurement and management
- Outreach Coordinator
o Develop and maintain outreach proposals for secondary institutions
and volunteer programs
o Meet with secondary institution and higher education representatives
in order to facilitate outreach programs and proposals.
o Facilitate and manage the production of any outreach materials
needed.
- Treasurer
o In-house economics
o Funding proposals
o Locate funding sources
- Network/IT administrator
o Develop in-house network structure and maintenance protocols
o Develop and maintain ngo website, and related IT issues
o Procure and maintain in-house tech-related equipment (computers,
etc.)
Anything I am leaving out?
Board of Directors:
Last, but certainly not least, there will need to be a board of
directors. Recommend at least 5, but no more than 12. This should be
composed ideally of individuals well known for their contributions to
science education, related technology and business interests. I say
technology and business as we are all involved in promoting better
education, and one of the things that needs to be taught is
evolutionary theory's value to more than just academia. I suggest
nominations from the biotech industry, for one. I leave other
suggestions open to all of you who read this. Time requirements for a
board member would be fairly minimal. After a few initial meetings,
meeting more than once every other month or so (this could be
coordinated over the internet, physical presence not required) should
be sufficient.
Board members should be willing to contribute at least some time
towards publicity and fundraising issues (act as contact references for
grant agencies, for example), and be willing to contribute at least
somewhat to the development of policy within the ngo (meet with the
Executive Director to discuss policy and strategy).
So, with that in mind, I open up the nominations for potential Board
Members. Ideally, initial nominations should be of those individuals
that would most like to see the ngo succeed.
Well, that's about it.
I open the floor.
Anyone have a good idea for a name for this thing?
Cheers
bill.f...@gmail.com
sir_toejam
I missed any comments you were attempting to make.
did something go wrong?
cheers
t
bill.f...@gmail.com
account and stuff set up.
You'd think that after 25 years and having wiped the butts of most
people who have built this stuff that I could use it.
alas.
sir_toejam
I think I'm going to start using a quote from aasimov as my sig:
There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to
brighten it everywhere.
--Isaac Asimov
Perry Mihalakos
I wanted to ask. I'm almost finished reading your proposal. Do you
already have a few possible funding sources in mind? Or, is our first
step going to be seeing what discretionary grants are available for
such a project?
Perry Mihalakos
On Apr 18, 2005, at 10:09 PM, sir_toejam wrote:
>
> ha! I just noticed that when you make a post here, the board scans your
> post and puts up ads on the right that reflect the wording in your
> post.
>
> hmm. interesting. not so sure i care for that. kinda invasive. try
> it yourself: put up a post with very distinctive wording and watch the
> ads on the right panel change to reflect what you typed.
>
> If anyone has a better place to put this discussion group, I'm all
> ears.
>
> cheers
sir_toejam
proposal, but rather fleshing out the details of what I posted above.
before applying for a grant, we need feedback and dedicated individuals
willing to make this happen. So far, regardless of any positive
feedback on the initial idea over at PT, nobody has sent or posted any
constructive feedback yet.
If there still is none after a week, I will have to rethink if this is
possible given the lack of apparent interest.
It doesn't even matter if the idea is a good one, if nobody will commit
to making it happen.
cheers
cub...@aol.com
> Draft #0.01 4/15/2005
>
> Drowning in the sea of ignorance:
>
> A proposal to form a non-profit organization to provide human
resources
> to local communities in support of science education, specifically
> related to evolutionary theory.
[proposal snipped to save bandwidth]
I like it. I do not consider myself to have the necessary
qualifications to take on any of the managerial positions, but I've got
heaps of training and skill with writing and graphics that I've be
willing to put to work for the cause (as it were). If you'd like to see
some samples of my writing ability, surf on over to EvoWiki
[http://wiki.cotch.net/wiki.phtml?title=Main_Page] and do a search for
"cubist".
Name of this NGO: I suggest "Darwin's Posse".
tom neal
I'm working on summarizing the comments i have received so far and will post
them on the google group this week.
after i get more substantive feedback on the proposal itself (hopefully by
the end of next week); i'll begin trying to get feedback from the evoteach
ngo's already out there (e.g., NCSE and NABT) to see if there is a niche for
this thing.
If after that, it appears worth pursuing, I'll start trying to dredge up
volunteers to make it happen.
cheers