Opposing Common Core Next Generation Science Standards

To provide a bit of context regarding my activities opposing Common Core Next Generation Science Standards and its supporters, I offer up the following “look back” at my appearance before the Wyoming Education Committee in 2014.


As of 28 January 2015, the adoption of NGSS in Wyoming has not been determined.

Friday, April 25, 2014


TESTIMONY (REVISED) GIVEN BEFORE THE JOINT EDUCATION INTERIM COMMITTEE


On the general topic of the organization of state administration of public education.
(From memory – casual comments made the day of testimony: “Mr. Chairman, I’m Jim Nations and I live in Casper. Before I begin with my prepared statement, I want to explain that I am three weeks into this whole process of trying to understand what is going on with education in Wyoming. I will be offering observations, some may say complaints and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with them. I’m sure you don’t like it when people come to you without solutions; I don’t like it either. I like solutions and that’s part of why I’m here. I will continue with my prepared comments.”)


Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, and all others in attendance today,
My name is Jim Nations. My family and I have lived in Casper since returning here from Los Angeles in 1994. Some of you know me from personal acquaintance, some from my time serving the people of Wyoming as an employee of WYDOT, and others may know of my involvement with STEM education, including FIRST LEGO Robotics, FIRST Tech Challenge, Skills USA Wyoming and other STEM activties. My education includes a Masters of Science in Space Studies and hours towards a Doctorate in Education. I have worked for NASA at Johnson Space Center (From memory – casual comments made the day of testimony: “and as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma State in Aeronautics and Space education.”) the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech, at WYDOT, the Department of Energy and as a private consultant.


I am in Cheyenne today for two reasons: First, to appear here today and second, to learn more about the residents of Wyoming and the non-residents who will (are) gather(ed) at the Capitol Building to protest both the Keystone XL pipeline and Wyoming’s decision to reject the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).


These two motivations for my travels today are directly connected. It is my understanding from news reports that along with the usual suspects who protest against carbon-based anything, including human beings, there will be present at the Capitol protest a group headquartered in Berkely, Calif. That group is Climate Parents, which produced the petition reportedly signed by 14,000 “concerned parents” supporting adoption of the NGSS in Wyoming. Climate Parents is directly associated with the Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL), also headqurtered in Berkeley, Calif. and New York City. CEL’s website lists its founders’ connection to progressive entities such as George Soros and MoveOn.org. I hope all of you learn more about Climate Parents and CEL.


These groups concern me because they are working hard to influence decisions made in this state regarding our education system and the energy industry that serves our country. Because of that desire to influence events outside of their own states to the detriment of ours, I encourage you to put into place procedures or statutes, to reduce the impact these interlopers have on decisions that must come from the residents of this state. Perhaps making the Board of Education an elected body is a solution; perhaps another type of structure would serve better. I don’t have specific recommendations at this time.


My job is not to educate the young citizens of Wyoming; that was supposedly the rationale for having a Department of Education. I can, however, provide my observation that the current system has failed. I found out yesterday that my son’s class was exposed to YouTube clips of Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth this week, with no counterpoint discussion or materials presented.


This is pathetic. This propaganda has been discredited for years, even to the point that British High Court Judge Michael Burton ruled that, and I quote from the UK Telegraph story of October 11, 2007, “the “apocalyptic vision” presented in the film was politically partisan and thus not an impartial scientific analysis of climate change. It is, he ruled, a “political film”.” His ruling was based on nine significant misrepresentations of science in the movie, “in the context of alarmism and exaggeration”. Quoting again from the Telegraph, “The judge declined to ban the Academy Award-winning film from British schools, but ruled that it can only be shown with guidance notes to prevent political indoctrination.”
I, probably like most people in this state, assumed that education was being handled properly, professionally and with the betterment of our children in mind. After attending the Board meeting in Casper on April 11, I see there is a clear need for more accountability in our education system to the people who pay the bills and salaries in this state. I say this particularly for those parents whose children are being exposed to inappropriate and unscientific influence from these groups who don’t know our young people, who certainly wouldn’t have their parents as friends or neighbors and who come here to shut down the very jobs that many of those parents have.


We are the ones who truly put our children first. Our children and their education are not political chess pieces for these groups’ tabletop games of climate justice and social engineering. Our children must be allowed to question, to investigate, to confirm to their own satisfaction, to truly understand their world. Please hear me on this: Teaching junk science produces junk scientists.


It is our duty to see that education prepares our children for the uncertain future every generation faces. Therefore, it is our duty to ensure that the people we pay, with our taxes, are held accountable for what is being taught in our schools. I ask that you help us accomplish this for our children.


I close with two quotes:


The first is from Robert Heinlein, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. Heinlein was a very keen observer of the human condition relative to scientific discovery and wrote the following:


“One can judge from experiment, or one can blindly accept authority. To the scientific mind, experimental proof is all important and theory is merely a convenience in description, to be junked when it no longer fits. To the academic mind, authority is everything and facts are junked when they do not fit theory laid down by authority.”
(From memory – casual comments made the day of testimony: “Our presenter from earlier this morning, Ms. Christie, said we are essentially level in education in this country, that other countries are surpassing us. I have to disagree. My next quote is from Glenn Seaborg.”)


The second quote is from Glenn T. Seaborg, by way of author Jerry Pournelle. Seaborg was a member of President Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education. This commission produced the landmark 1983 report, “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” which exposed a crisis in the country’s mathematics and science education programs.


“Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world … the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and as a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur — others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments.


“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves … We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.”


(Casual comments made the day of testimony: “I agree with Bob, the gentleman from Newcastle, I’m sorry I don’t have his last name. I think having public notices in newspapers and other media will help the citizens of this state better understand what is happening to education. I hear a lot about transparency; I prefer the concepts of visibility and accessibility when it comes to bring people together and finding out what’s going on.”)


(“As far as providing notice and access for the public on these matters, when I was with WYDOT and we redid Second and Wyoming Boulevard intersection on Casper’s east side, we started having public meetings two years before that project started nine years ago. We then had weekly public meetings a year before we started. I was available every Wednesday to hear from the public. Anytime we used Federal or state money, we were required to hold public meetings to let the public know what we were doing with their money. As the Public Involvement Specialist at WYDOT headquarters, well, the District 2 headquarters in Casper I told people they can call me, they can come by the office. We wanted to hear from the public. We actually changed some of the project because of public input. People came to the meetings to learn about the project, learn about schedules, just to find out what was going on.”


(“I’ll close with this: In addition to other jobs in my past, I am also a communicator. Everyone is better served we we get together on topics of importance and communicate openly with each other. Our children’s education is worth much more than any intersection, road, highway and we should be able to at least hold public meetings on education as often as we do on highway projects.”)


Thank you for your time.
Jim Nations
Casper, WY