Science has taken a beating in recent years at the hands of politicians and religious ideologues trying to discredit it.
The U.S. government discounts science about global warming. Religious conservatives discounted medicine's diagnoses of brain-dead Terri Schiavo. Creationists discount evolution. Industries hostile to environmental laws discount the need for stricter air and water pollution standards. Stem cell research is rejected.
And, as enmity to science in the United States has increased, a whole new generation of science whiz kids has rapidly grown in other countries where science as a helpmate to successful national economies is a priority.
In a stunning 74-page report, "The State of State Science Standards," the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found inexcusable indifference to science education in half the 50 states and insufficient attention in others.
Idahoans will be shocked. Along with a dozen or so other states, Idaho's science ed curricula in public schools were graded a resounding "F."
How could this happen in a state aspiring to national prominence as well as being home to major corporations and a federal installation that are utterly dependent on science—Hewlett Packard, Micron and the Idaho National Laboratory?
The team of authors that researched science education in the 50 states found documents outlining Idaho's approach to science to be fundamentally lacking in vision and energy.
They found it to be "content-shallow" with "pervasive vagueness." "Luxuriance of the prose" was offset by "scant clarity."
Out of a possible 100 points covering seven benchmark measurements such as expectations of programs, organization, science content, quality, seriousness, inquiry, and evolution, Idaho's science education received a miserable 34 points.
Perhaps the only consolation is that Idaho was third from the bottom of the 50 states and not as low as F-rated Wisconsin (29) and Alaska (19).
Science education is not inexpensive. Teachers of college-level proficiency are required. Students need technological equipment and raw materials for inquiry. Field trips are needed.
These essentials can only be delivered by state legislators, the keepers of the purse, along with strong marching orders to the state's Department of Education to lift Idaho from something less than mediocre to something nearing exceptional.
If Idaho wants to share in a global economy where science is a driving force, we can't forever consider cutting trees and digging for minerals as major pillars of our economic base.
