Science Teachers’ Organization Refuses To Accept Copies of Inconvenient Truth
Science Teachers’ Organization Refuses To Accept Copies of Inconvenient Truth
In tomorrow’s Washington Post, global warming activist Laurie David writes about her effort to donate 50,000 free DVD copies of An Inconvenient Truth (which she co-produced) to the National Science Teachers Association. The Association refused to accept the DVDs:
In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other “special interests” might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn’t want to offer “political” endorsement of the film; and they saw “little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members” in accepting the free DVDs. …
[T]here was one more curious argument in the e-mail: Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place “unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters.”
As it turns out, those supporters already include “special interests,” including Exxon-Mobil, Shell Oil, and the American Petroleum Institute, which have given millions in funding to the NSTA. And while the NSTA showed no interest in helping educators get copies of Al Gore’s movie (which scientists gave “five stars for accuracy“), it has distributed oil industry-funded “educational” content, like this video produced by the American Petroleum Institute:
The first line of “Fuel-less”: “You’re absolutely not going to believe this, but almost everything I have that’s really cool comes from oil!” (Watch a video clip.) As Laurie David notes, an API memo leaked to the media in 1998 explains the motivation behind such videos: “Informing teachers/students about uncertainties in climate science will begin to erect barriers against further efforts to impose Kyoto-like measures in the future.”
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Remember kids: There’s no alternative to petroleum! None!
{this message courtesy The International Petroleum Institute}
November 25th, 2006 at 2:16 pmI am 41 yrs old (okay almost 42) and I distinctly remember a day in 2nd grade (I think it would have been 1973) where we were visited by some slick “guests” who talked to us about nuclear energy and showed us a movie that went to great lengths to leave us with the indelible impression that a nuclear energy plant was clean, safe and harmless.
I can still recall scenes from that movie, and even at an early age, I sensed that I was being “primed” for the future.
What a friggin shame that we let big business invest in brain-washing students in the name of education.
November 25th, 2006 at 2:22 pmAll the cool kids use beaucoup petroleum-based products.
Only losers conserve or even think about alt fuels.
National Science Teachers Association: Bought and paid for…
November 25th, 2006 at 2:23 pmYou know, we could do zero emission buildings and cars and all that gay stuff, but do you want to risk the lives of 2 million oil company workers?
That’s fascism, good sir.
[Signed]
November 25th, 2006 at 2:27 pm- Exxon/Mobile and Friends
Fuel-less. Exactly how the worlds gonna end.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:03 pm#5 Yes, in brainwashing. NO one must escape.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:04 pmTime to start letter writing to NSTA.
Perhaps this thread should reappear during the week when readership is higher?- Get more people informed and writing to NSTA?
http://www.nsta.org/contact
November 25th, 2006 at 3:08 pmIn an index that ranks the 56 countries (they make up 90 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions) that were part of a 1992 climate treaty or that contribute at least 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the USA ranks 53rd. Only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia ranked lower. (AP, 11-14-06)
The Bush-Cheney regime and its enablers in the US mainstream news media and the US Congress have attempted to distort the facts, hide the truth and distract the US electorate. Will it be significantly and substantively different in January when Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) takes over as chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee?
The EU is exploring the option of imposing a “punitive tariff†on any country that refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocols. (Der Speigal, 11-16-06) Bravo.
Three big questions for your elected representatives:
#1: Have you stood on the floor of your legislative chamber to demand urgent action on climate change? Have you introduced or sponsored legislation to compel reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases and the re-tooling of industry, commerce and personal life styles to achieve significantly less destructive carbon footprint?
#2: What have you done in your personal life and in your legislative office to go green? In what ways are you personnally and professionally living and working differently than before? What kind of an example are you setting for your colleagues and your constituents?
#3: Have you gone onto the streets and the airwaves and into community groups to speak directly to your constituents about global warming and climate change? What have you done to raise awareness and educate the citizenry?
Demand answers and accountability.
Richard Power
November 25th, 2006 at 3:25 pmWords of Power
Just sent the following to NSTA. Anyone is free to copy and send more.
Why is it that you would readily accept “educational†material from the oil companies, such as “Fuel-less: You can’t be cool without fuelâ€, and yet reject 50,000 free copies of “An Inconvenient Truthâ€; a film heralded by the scientific community? It seems your reliance on the big oil companies’ funds for your capital campaigns, etc. is getting in the way of your objectivity and hence the credibility of your organization. You truly are violating your Mission statement and Guiding Principles
November 25th, 2006 at 3:33 pm#8 Trueblue- Sorry, I didn’t see your post until after I posted mine. Yes, it’s time to start writing NSTA.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:36 pmWhoops I didn’t intend my entire post to be a link.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:38 pmSO they can’t accept any information from special interests that can be used to educate kids unless a special interest gives them a boatload of money. Nice. Now our children are up for the highest bidder.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:39 pmOne very much doubts that Glenn Beck of CNN and Neil Cavuto of Fox — both of whom have recently gone on record to dismiss and criticize the movie “Happy Feet” as being nothing more than an animated version of “An Inconvenient Truth” — will have anything critical to say about this even though it is every bit as much an attempt (if not considerably more so) to indoctrinate children into a specific viewpoint.
And as for the message that “almost everything I have that’s really cool comes from oil!†— well, it’s not being used in favor of conservation but it damned well ought to be. I don’t suppose that the video also happened to mention the fact that our domestic food production is heavily dependent on oil both in terms of its manufacture (in the form of commercial fertilizers) and its transportation (given that most of our food these days is transported a considerable distance by trucks, trains, and/or planes before it reaches our local grocer)? Abraham Maslow said it best — all those cool things start to seem pretty trivial if and when you ever have to worry about what and when you’re going to eat…
November 25th, 2006 at 3:40 pmNo problem, leftcoast.
I don’t own the idea of writing a letter.
:)
I like your letter, BTW.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:47 pmHow about another “Inconvenient Truth”.
Maybe they think Gore is a whacko. There is just as much evidence the earth is going through a warming phase, and it’s not being cause by Humans, as there is the opposite. The is no final conclusion, by an overwhelming majority of either possibility.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:49 pmbbwwwwaaahhhhaahhaahhaahh!
Wow, Douglas.
Thank’s for the best laugh I’ve had all day!
That was a good one….
November 25th, 2006 at 4:12 pmWhy force kids to watch a crap movie?
November 25th, 2006 at 4:14 pmthanks… oops….
I blame my daughter badgering me to get offline for that faux pas….
:)
November 25th, 2006 at 4:15 pmAnd I suppose you’ve seen it, Kevin?
November 25th, 2006 at 4:20 pm“Gee, I never thought of plastic as natural before!”
November 25th, 2006 at 4:24 pminteresting, the threads that draw the idjit trolls…
i sure hope they are not given any real attention concerning this topic…
david’s article is such an interesting read… it’s so sad the big oil has so thouroghly infiltrated our youth with their self-serving propaganda…
there is so much that could be attained from the benefits of alternative fuels for energy… whole new industries could have already been in the works… better late than never… better hurry though…
November 25th, 2006 at 4:28 pm.
There is hope, katy.
My daughter read the “cool” statement and said, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever read.”
November 25th, 2006 at 4:32 pmSo they aren’t getting everyone. Pretty much that fervent 30%.
Maybe they think Gore is a whacko. — Douglas G.
*******************************
That’s not the damn point, Douglas — and I have a hard time believing that you don’t know that, so stop blowing smoke already. The point is that the NSTA rejected the “Inconvenient Truth” on the ostensible grounds that accepting materials from so-called special-interest groups would set an effective precedent which might oblige them to accept materials from other such groups in the interest of fairness. After all, on the surface, it’s the same sort of “all or none” policy which prevents most public schools from permitting students to set up an after-school Bible study because it would set a precedent opening the door to other religious and/or political groups as well — including some which many people might consider objectionable. However, by accepting funding and materials from the American Petroleum Institute, the NTSA is already accepting materials from a special interest group — so their stated reason for rejecting “An Inconvenient Truth” is not only null and void, but disingenuous and hypocritical.
People like you are always complaining about the supposed lack of fairness and balance in the public schools when it comes to teaching evolution vs. intelligent design — well, you can’t have it both ways! If you think that the public schools ought to be required to present intelligent design as an alternate perspective to evolution — a theory for which there is little if any scientific proof — then you ought to be willing to have “An Inconvenient Truth” or other materials on global warming presented alongside “Fuel-less” in the interest of fairness and balance. Anything less, sir, makes you a self-serving hypocrite!
November 25th, 2006 at 4:34 pmi hear you true… i read a letter to the editor in my local paper recently… it was actually a high school writing assignment, and the subject concerned the brain drain from my little community… the kid listed 3 things needed to keep the young people from fleeing and jobs in the alternative energy field was one of them… i was impressed, and relieved…
maybe the ‘truth’ producers should skip the NSTA and get copies directly to the teachers, somehow…
the whole deal reminds me of when our school sold out to COKE, let them put those damned machines in the halls, in return for cash… there is always a price to pay when you deal with big business - seldom do those relationships benefit any other than b.b. in the long run…
November 25th, 2006 at 4:45 pm.
bluestocking,
November 25th, 2006 at 4:51 pmsince when does hypocrisy stop people from repeating inanities they heard on rush yesterday? I mean, the fact that there is an overwhelming amount of evidence for global warming and these people rely on information supplied by exxon has to tell us something.
[…] Source: Think Progress […]
November 25th, 2006 at 4:52 pmgood job, bluestocking… ‘at’s the way to do it… nuff said…
November 25th, 2006 at 4:53 pmNo child left a mind
November 25th, 2006 at 5:40 pmOne more step closer to the apocalypse. The clock keeps ticking.
November 25th, 2006 at 5:55 pmMost of the high school science teachers have no clue what is going on in the world.
November 25th, 2006 at 5:56 pm#24 You misunderstand, I didn’t say it was right, nor did I defend it. I never said that it was right to accept money/materials from anyone either.
I never complained about fairness or balances, and quite frankly i don’t think either side has a leg to stand on here.
I also don’t care about the intellectual design/dieties or whatever arguement, the schools teach science, the synagogue and myself teach my kids religion.
Nice tirade bluestocking, but directed at the wrong person.
November 25th, 2006 at 6:07 pmSounds fair enough.
After all can you think of any special interest production with more unsold DVDs available to be donated to schoolkiddies than “Obsession” ?
Following your example the complaint would be that since this group accepted Inconvenient Truth , something redundant for those with access to a science class or newspapers, then this group should also accept something like this.
If you believe that Inconvenient Truth would be a valid or even required counterpoint to that oil film you cite then you’d clearly “Obsession” qualifies as the same for every sane production ever made which deals with Islam.
Then when someone produces a movie which suggests the world’s Muslim population isn’t a bloodthursty hoard devoted to the slaughter of the innocent then they can accept that too in the interests of balance.
If you’re happy with that path then you’re probably not smart enough to have any input when it comes to education.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:18 pmReally! Thing is Gore can also produce something resourceful but the right just can’t. So, what is the matter with the right? They have NO rebutal to this subject. It’s “full bore ahead”.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:24 pmlackys? that the term?
#33 I disagree. Education should be left up to the individual localities, not the federal government. Unless you want the federal government to take over education, all the teachers pay, make it all the same across the country, same books, everything.
Right now, education is at the state’s level, leave it there. Let each state make their own decisions.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:28 pmWait a minute, Douglas.
I have a question.
The education of our children is our (the adults’) responsibility, right?
We have no qualm with that statement.
However, if one state says: teach’em to read and write and that’s fine, while another says: they must master Calculus and a mini-thesis, — you’re OK with that, because it’s state by state?
I know I’m using extremes, but it is to drive a point home.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:40 pmWe are all in this together. We need to compete globally. Don’t you think education should be one of those things we all do for the good our our future?
Yes, your extremes are accurate, and yes I agree. If you don’t like the state you are in, and how it does things, you can move to another state. That was the basis behind states rights all the way back to the civil war. In fact that is the idea behind the United STATES of America, each state could do things the way each state wanted, each one can be different than another, and you can go where you are the most comfortable.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:50 pmFortunately, my elementary school education was completed several decades ago, so we didn’t have to contend with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), for it probably didn’t exist back in the 1940s and 1950s, or if it did, it was still in a benign state. The worst propaganda that we kids had to put up with back then was The Weekly Reader. but of course we didn’t know that it was propaganda.
At least now, kids can easily go to the Internet if they want to research most any topic. What is with the National Science Teachers Association, are they headquartered in Oklahoma and are they a subsidary of the Flat Earth Society? Is the NSTA into creationism?
In a side note, I have been checking out http://www.foxnews.com just to see what they are cranking out these days, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have a functioning Science section, and also have a subsection on Evolution and Paleontology! So Foxnews is obviously slightly in touch with the real world… Maybe there is hope for them after all.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:56 pmCheers.
However, Douglas,
Those from traditionally poorer states cannot possibly move themselves to the better educated areas. It’s too expensive.
That is the point I was hoping you’d illustrate by your response.
*caught ‘ya*.
It’s not workable. We need to have a country-wide system of requirements to educate our children, or else we have the differences we have now.
And they are vast.
We will fail to compete globally, unless we straighten our system out.
November 25th, 2006 at 7:59 pmDuring my recent campaign for Congress, I tried to get Gore’s office to allow us to show An Inconvenient Truth here in the Seventh District of Louisiana as a fund-raising tool. They wouldn’t allow it. So, we said we’d make local environmental organizations the beneficiaries; they wouldn’t allow it because the campaign was involved. “It’s not a political film,” I was told. Of course it is a political film because Al Gore told me that climate change is a political issue in one of his emails on behalf of the DNC during the campaign.
Al’s been busy trying to have it both ways on this issue. It’s a damned shame that these science teachers are so obtuse. But Al and his team are, too.
November 25th, 2006 at 9:09 pmAnd these are the people who we want teaching science to our children? I am hardly surprised that more people believe in the Virgin Birth than in evolution. I feel so much safer already.
November 25th, 2006 at 9:36 pmThere is some info on Global Warming on the NSTA site. First, go to http://www.nsta.org/91/ and then choose to go to their SciLinks page (http://www.scilinks.org).
Select the User Type as “Guest”. Then, enter the SciLinks Code - MES260. Note that there are climate change links presented. However, the main Global Warming link is from 1997:
The article is listed like this:
“Global Warming: Focus on the Future
“Do you know about the history of the global warming issue? Why are the recent changes to the atmosphere a problem? How can you help solve this problem? This website is based on a traveling exhibition — Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast.
“http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org/”
Not exactly a lot of information here on Global Warming, but at least it hasn’t been purged completely. It is interesting that I didn’t see any recent scientific articles posted on Global Warming. Perhaps they have a policy of not adding any new Global Warming information - I honestly don’t know.
November 25th, 2006 at 10:06 pmWhy is anyone surprised? Just look at the price of gasoline today.
November 25th, 2006 at 10:22 pmRemember- we are less than one month past the election. And let os all just sit back and watch the price go past 3.00/barrel.
How about a contest to see who can pick the date of the price of oil passing the 3.00 mark!
billjpa
ps- I’d bet Feb 23 2007
#47 - billjpa,
November 25th, 2006 at 11:14 pmI would love to see it go to $3 per barrel. Did you by any chance mean $3 per gallon?
On the other hand, the granddaughter (5) has watched the movie three times and insists that her daddy walks to the market and hardware store.
I knew there was a good reason I let my NSTA membership lapse a few years ago. I just bought my copy of An Inconvenient Truth and my biology students will be watching it just before Xmas vacation, although my Rush Limbaugh tie wearing principal may not be happy about it.
November 25th, 2006 at 11:40 pmHere’s a laugh. Back in the 50’s and 60’s, when I went to school, our so called “science” teachers tried to tell us that the upper midwest of the US was covered in glaciers 10,000 years ago. Then they tried to tell us that the climate warmed up, all by itself, and melted them! What a hoot. As a result, many people in my generation grew up believing that the earth hadn’t changed until AlGore invented Global Warming. Here we thought that the earths climate went in natural cycles and we really couldn’t much about it. We know better now, thanks Al!
November 26th, 2006 at 12:44 amadvertising@nsta.org
bap@nsta.org
symposia@nsta.org
tapestry@nsta.org
sciguideinfo@nsta.org
awards@nsta.org
November 26th, 2006 at 12:46 amAl Gore’s movie is just a propaganda piece. The global warming hysteria is a power grab and a money grab by self-serving interests.
Congratulations to the Science Teachers Org for recognizing the obvious.
November 26th, 2006 at 1:00 amI watched that propaganda film and it hurt my senses, especially that corny music video.
November 26th, 2006 at 1:22 amNSTA Feedback Form. Give em heck!
http://www.nsta.org/feedback
November 26th, 2006 at 1:28 amWell I didnt watch any of the videos here, frankly I don’t care much. Sure, we do use oil to make everyday things like plastics and roads but you know what BIG OIL? There’s a much better way to do it. They can’t keep going on this ‘charge the consumer up the yin yang’ course. It’s not the most sound business model.
November 26th, 2006 at 2:26 amThe education system we have now is completely inept. Living in South Carolina I should no. We have consistently placed in the 48-50 spot for education every year that I can remember. National standards is the only way to ensure an equal education for all. As for Global Warming only the uninformed would believe that it is not on-going and a direct result of our abuse of the earth. The continuing use of fossil fuels and CFCs will lead to the end of the earth as we know it. Only Man can stop and correct the damage we have caused. The very few scientists that disagree are the same ones who believe in Intelligent Design. They are the laughing stock of the community.
November 26th, 2006 at 3:45 am#10– Thanks for the link and the template. I made use of both.
As a Elementary-Ed certified public school teacher, I am appalled by the NSTA’s decision in this matter. But not surprised. Big business seems to drive everything that occurs on the national level–even with [supposedly] independent educational associations.
November 26th, 2006 at 8:40 amI beg to differ Douglas,this is a MULTINATIONAL problem..
So we should make everyone in the WORLD see it, right?
Here is a really radical idea. Al and his buddies can send the movie to every school district and then the School Board(s) can decide to show it or not. Hey, worked in San Francisco with the JROTC. dispite what the students and their parents wanted, a choice was forced upon them.
November 26th, 2006 at 9:22 am[…] ThinkProgress In tomorrow’s Washington Post, global warming activist Laurie David writes about her effort to donate 50,000 free DVD copies of An Inconvenient Truth (which she co-produced) to the National Science Teachers Association. The Association refused to accept the DVDs: […]
November 26th, 2006 at 10:31 amI am a science teacher. I just purchased (out of my own money) a copy of the Inconvenient Truth. I would have loved to have gotten one from the science organization NSTA. My students have asked if they are going to get to watch it since they have heard about it at home. Fantastic changes in the world’s climate is happening to them now - they are hearing about from family, at school, in the news. It is now. It is historic. They want to know more - it is a teachable moment. I will address it - even though I live in a state with the lowest teacher’s salary in the country.
November 26th, 2006 at 11:03 amP.S. I remember getting a free videotape from Exxon-Mobil back after the Exxon Valdez spill showing how they did such a great job cleaning up their oil spill. What a crock.
When I began reading the article, I was like ok, I understand the National Teachers Science Association have a credible if not unfortunate reason to not accept the videos, because other “interests” would want to do the same.
But not 2 seconds later, the article says Big Petro is already a huge contributor and has given “free” copies of their interest to “help” and “educate” students.
Wow.
November 26th, 2006 at 11:32 amMy last unit of this semester addresses the future of architecture… which is dependent upon oil in terms of petroleum based products and HVAC… therefore, I think I can justify showing this film in my class.
If I can, I will - mostly to educate my students, but partly to spite the bureaucrats who don’t really want them educated.
November 26th, 2006 at 12:52 pmHey Teachers.. LEAVE THEM KIDS ALONE!!!
Nope, we don’t live in a FASCIST COUNTRY RULED BY THE RICH/CORPORATE MONOPOLIES.
We’re FREE!!!
November 26th, 2006 at 2:25 pmLaurie David’s plan to give these out to gain support from the scientific community is brilliant. It reminds me of the coup Mel Gibson discovered when he figured out screening the Passion of the Christ to holy rollers. Snag the leaders, and students will step into line.
Now, the National Science Teachers Association is not famous fpr its ultraconversative right wing perspective, and could be (it can happen!) be trying to avoid be the patsy for the scientific promotion of the week. Even if they are card carrying members of antiglobal warming (who isn’t?), they just might want to steer clear of the image they might not be objective.
A. Trendl, HungarianBookstore.com
November 26th, 2006 at 3:06 pmThe NSTA has a forum which allows anyone to register and post. I did my bit to get an internal NSTA debate going on this issue. Everyone should add their two cents. Check it out here.
November 26th, 2006 at 3:07 pm68, So, Bill C., you are opposed to the districts deciding if it should be part of their curiculum? Do we want to force our views? I seem to remember about thirty years ago the issue was Global Cooling. Were they reading the information upside-down or something?
November 26th, 2006 at 5:26 pmIt’s not clear the current generation, led by people like George W. Bush will allow us to survive long enough to find out whether the greenhouse gas buildup would choke us all to death.
But, if we do survive, I wonder if the science-teachers’ children will be choked to death because the kids they’re teaching now were educated by the best propaganda money can guy, rather than by real science.
Doesn’t anybody feel a responsibility to the future, rather than to ‘current funding sources’?
When will Americans stand up and act like adults?
November 26th, 2006 at 5:37 pmI wasn’t as pleasant (tactful) as leftcoast when I sent a message to the NTSA:
You have actually prostituted yourselves to the oil industry? Is that video posted all over the internet real? You have a young girl saying: “All the really cool things I have come from oil” !!!??? And you won’t accept donated copies of a film that received five stars from the scientific community, which might inform these children of what is not only “cool” but necessary if the planet is to survive, because you have been purchased by Exxon? Are you not ashamed of yourselves? Well, as this spreads across the internet, you certainly will be! Teachers?
November 26th, 2006 at 5:48 pmScience teacher, huh? I bet these “science teachers” also “teach” creationism and that the world is less than 6,000 years old…
November 26th, 2006 at 5:49 pmMy wife and I are both NSTA members… we both wrote letters expressing our outrage.
November 26th, 2006 at 6:11 pmThis is a form of censorship for big oil.Give the children two points of view,let them do the research and then DECIDE!
Comment by Bill C`s alter ego — November 26, 2006 @ 8:58 pm
Sadly, not how school works.
This is how it basically works:
Teacher lectures theory, facts and trivia based on having studied but never applied a subject.
The students memorize this information for a multiple-guess test.
After taking the aforementioned test, the kids forget the information because it is not presented in a relevent or useful manner.
I discovered this after having to show AP Calculus students how to use basic algebra to solve for unknown dimensions on a drawing in which you know at least one dimension. They were truly stunned that it was real world applicable.
The high school drop-out rate in my state is around 40%. Irrelevency is the main reason the students say they leave.
Appalling, isn’t it?
Read Noam Chomsky’s “Propaganda and the Public Mind”, he beautifully explains the real purpose of the public education system.
November 26th, 2006 at 9:41 pmHow much you want to bet that the top NSTA officials have ties to Big Oil, possibly even receiving monthyly or yearly stipends, for consultant work for Big Oil.
Thus, a conflict of interest does exist, which is why the top NSTA officials refused to accept “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Have the Republicans, the Bush family, and Big Oil corrupted all of our society?
November 26th, 2006 at 10:47 pmI am sending it to my kids. It is very instructive. I have been trying to tell them the same thing for a while. This country is run by Big Oil, and everything is made of plastic for the same reason.
November 26th, 2006 at 10:51 pmI told the NSTA they should change their name to the “NSPA”–the Nationial Science Prostitutes Association
November 27th, 2006 at 1:04 amLet’s take it all to the next, logical step… let the “South” leave the Union and let all the Rethugs and their believers move there if they want the State’s to decide their education … What a great idea! I’m sure the National IQ of the “North” would immediately jump 30-40- points on average!
November 27th, 2006 at 2:06 am[…] The National Science Teachers Association would love to tell you why they’re more than willing to show a video called “Fules-less: You Can’t Be Cool Without Fuel” to millions of kids but quickly rejected a donation of 50,000 copies of An Inconvenient Truth, but it’s hard to talk when you’ve got a mouthful of greasy, sweaty oil-company ballsack. […]
November 27th, 2006 at 7:54 amI agree with Bill C.’s comments about showing both sides of the issue. I used an earlier example of the JROTC in San Francisco to illustrate the point that you either need to let the districts decidd ALL of the ciriculum or NONE of it. You can not allow them to pick and choose.
November 27th, 2006 at 8:23 amThe Science teachers association must think that in order for them to teach the information must be paid for.
An Inconvenient Truth is just too inconvenient for the assocation.
The friends of exxon/mobile believe that they live on oil. 2 million oil workers should be able to find better ways to make a living.
November 27th, 2006 at 9:06 amPeace!
I saw the movie with my wife and we were so impressed with the content that when we had a chance to see Al Gore in Syracuse, New York we jumped at the chance to hear him in person. The venue was completely sold out and he received a standing ovation both before and after his presentation. His presence was sponsered by Syracuse University. If the content of his presentation is not welcome by the National Science Teachers Association or, if they are willing to exchange oil money for educating our children about sigificant events that will impact their lives, then it speaks volumes about the quality of our educational system and the character of the people that influence it’s content. We need to change now or we are sure to become a third-world country in the near future.
November 27th, 2006 at 9:58 am“You’re absolutely not going to believe this, but almost everything I have that’s really cool comes from oil!”
Could that be because anything with Plastic is made from oil. Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-Boxes, Computers, Cars, Airplanes, Appliances, Televisions…do I need to go on?
The reason Plastic is so widely used is because it’s light, inexpensive to make, and it doesn’t conduct electricity. Have you ever thought how miserable of an idea a steel television would be? Not to mention the fact that you can’t touch it if it’s plugged in since it would be a giant electircal conductor.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:17 amThe high school drop-out rate in my state is around 40%. Irrelevency is the main reason the students say they leave.
Appalling, isn’t it? Maybe the reason they drop out is teachers like u?
Read Noam Chomsky’s “Propaganda and the Public Mindâ€, he beautifully explains the real purpose of the public education system.
More lefty propaganda Teach don’t preach.
Comment by unbelievable
November 27th, 2006 at 10:31 amI’d like some data on how much the oil company promos are used by teachers. There’s plenty of stuff on their web site that promotes the dangers of Global Warming and that we need to try to fix it and everything. Pretty standard stuff. It might be just that they don’t want to touch something as ‘inflamatory’ as “An Incovenient Truth”
Not saying they’re right, but from what I’ve seen the NTSA is far from anti-GW. There’s obviously something else going on here.
November 27th, 2006 at 11:13 amMaybe education isn’t really what the school system is for. We don’t have the best educated population for all of the money we have and the money we spend. The NSTA should be very embassed by how we stand with the rest of the world.
November 27th, 2006 at 11:16 amMaybe education isn’t really what the school system is for. We don’t have the best educated population for all of the money we have and the money we spend. The NSTA should be very embassed by how we stand with the rest of the world.
Comment by Laurie — November 27, 2006 @ 11:16 am
Apparently, education is a political battleground. Censorship, creation vs evolution and now Global Warming. What we’re teaching our children is become more important than how they are taught.
Education should be about teaching children to learn and providing them with the proper environment to learn. Anything the school system does to promote that atmosphere is good and anything that takes away from that is bad. The mark of a successful school is not how many kids graduate or pass tests, but how much the kids learn and how prepared they are for life on their own. Age 18 hit’s everyone, no matter how little they know.
Unfortunately when you say something true that agrees with what people already believe, they call it education. When you say something that is true but clashes with what they believe, they call it propaganda. Intelligence is knowing the difference. This is why I’m often called a Liberal.
November 27th, 2006 at 11:56 amYou know… If they hadn’t have accepted those free videos from the oil company, I would have defended their decision to remain “politics free” despite the accuracy in Mr. Gore’s movie. But since they already have taken the sanatized video from the oil companies, they have no excuse to turn away An Inconvenient Truth.
So if their donations from oil companies could be offset, they’d take it?
Is there anything left that money cannot buy?
November 27th, 2006 at 12:35 pmThis is a clear illustration of why science cannot be funded by private “donations”. If this science group is deemed as being important to eductation then it needs to be fully funded by the public sector rather than being compromised in this manner.
If, on the other hand, this group is not deemed important to education then it needs to be labeled for what it is, i.e., a front organization for big oil.
November 27th, 2006 at 1:07 pmThis is a clear illustration of why science cannot be funded by private “donationsâ€. If this science group is deemed as being important to eductation then it needs to be fully funded by the public sector rather than being compromised in this manner.
If, on the other hand, this group is not deemed important to education then it needs to be labeled for what it is, i.e., a front organization for big oil.
Comment by DallasNE — November 27, 2006 @ 1:07 pm
Then the problem becomes: Who decides what is “important to education”?
November 27th, 2006 at 1:21 pmLooks like the “Truth” was a little too “Inconvenient” for the National Science Teachers’ Association.
Money talks, education walks…
N.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:41 pmI think the decision stinks - even if one wants to say the science is debatable then by all means allow both sides in and debate something that can provide an educational discourse in hwo teh science is conducted.
The idea that global climate science is itself too hot a political issue for science teachers to teach is tantamount to a victory for the “faith in place of science” crowd or the “we hate hippies” geezers listening to Dimbaugh everyday and can’t seem to drag there sorry butts into the new century.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:56 pm[…] Think Progress » Science Teachers’ Organization Refuses To Accept Copies of Inconvenient Truth: In tomorrow’s Washington Post, global warming activist Laurie David writes about her effort to donate 50,000 free DVD copies of An Inconvenient Truth (which she co-produced) to the National Science Teachers Association. The Association refused to accept the DVDs: […]
November 27th, 2006 at 3:28 pm#42. no caught you, what I said still holds true. Those states that are traditionally poorer also have a lower cost of living, You can still get quality teachers with pay commensurate to the areas they are in, and while I was in school, books, paper, pencils are what was needed to learn.
I know, what about computers? They are being donated all the time to schools, so all schools should have them now. And if they don’t, all they need to do is contact the right organizations, like the Bill and Melinda organization.
If someone WANTS to learn and better themselves, there is always a way.
November 27th, 2006 at 4:18 pmI teach my kids, never say, “I can’t” find a way to say, “I can”.
[…] (via Pharyngula via Think Progress) […]
November 27th, 2006 at 6:41 pm[…] Think Progress pointed out this little Washington Post story about Laurie David trying to donate 50,000 DVD copies of An Inconvenient Truth to the National Science Teachers’ Association. They refused to take the DVDs, ostensibly because other special interests might also ask them to distribute materials. This is a fair enough objection, at least at first blush. After all, I certainly wouldn’t want to see the NSTA accepting donations of anti-evolutionary theory DVDs from the Intelligent Design people, nor would most science teachers. […]
November 27th, 2006 at 7:38 pmSo let them know how you feel:
National Science Teachers Association.
http://www.nsta.org/contact
(703) 243-7100
November 27th, 2006 at 8:30 pmI sent emails to various people at NSTA (national & my home state branch) last night. Received this back from the president:
November 28th, 2006 at 9:51 amwhoops need to fix that …here is the email quote from the president that didn’t make it into my previous post:
NSTA does not mass distribute any outside organization’s products and/or messages to all of its members. We receive hundreds of requests for such distribution and we do not believe that this blanket distribution is desired by members.
NSTA does receive support from corporate America and other organizations (Total corporate support is 16.4% and total support from energy companies is 3.77%) As a condition of this support we have always made it clear that NSTA is solely responsible for developing, directing, and implementing the programs we offer to teachers. We provide materials and resources for science educators that are scientifically accurate and of the highest quality.
The op-ed Science a la Joe Camel is misleading. NSTA has always supported sound environmental education as a way to instill environmental literacy in our nation’s pre-K-12 students. Global warming is a very important science/societal issue. This current media challenge should not be about that. In fact, NSTA has always supported sound environmental science education. You might want to review the NSTA position statement adopted by the Board of Directors in February, 2003.
November 28th, 2006 at 10:22 amLet’s see what we can learn from all of the above:
(1) Teachers are pretty much like most people — that is, in weighing what actions, ideas, thoughts to advocate, they generally give first consideration to their own short term well-being. You can’t expect teachers to advocate an agenda that might take money out of their pockets, no matter how important that agenda might be. So, there are and always will be holes in our educational system.
(2) Everyone in our society needs education, and sometimes the education we need doesn’t benefit teachers or the educational establishment.
Bottom line: The NSTA (and/or our schoolteachers, the NEA, the local school district, the US Department of Education) is not responsible for educating us, our children, or our community. That responsibility is OURS.
I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it.
WE have to educate our children and each other about the realities of our world! I was encouraged by Laurie David’s attempt to donate the 50,000 copies of “An Inconvenient Truth” to the NSTA — it means someone cares, and I think the film is a good educational tool. But, the fact that she was rebuffed by the NSTA just means that she and others with similar good intentions will have to focus their efforts more sharply. Invite your kids and their friends over for movie night! Show them the flick and ask them what they think. Give your neighbors a copy — but don’t mail it, knock on the door and look them in the eye and ask them to watch it, then pass it on. Most of all, don’t give up if someone says they’re not interested…press on, like one of those annoying telemarketers. You are “selling” something everyone needs!
November 28th, 2006 at 3:52 pm[…] This is pretty awful stuff. Not that they refuse the free 50000 dvds of ‘An Inconvenient Truth‘, its the fact that they accept dvds from the fuel, oil, and petroleum industries without question - and the refusal looks a lot like they are hesitant to offend these groups. This is the education your kids get. Think Progress » Science Teachers’ Organization Refuses To Accept Copies of Inconvenient Truth […]
November 28th, 2006 at 7:50 pmEverybody should pressure the NSTA directly. Add a message to this discussion on the NSTA discussion board: http://www.nsta.org/ main/ forum/ showthread.php?t=1867. You can also register a complaint at http://www.nsta.org/feedback.
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:14 amDvD rejection aside, it sickens me to see the word ‘gay’ being used inappropriately in comment 4. This type of language helps foster insensativity and foster an unwelcoming and unsafe climate for our students. I sincerely hope this comment was not made by a teacher.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:15 pmThe thing that hurts your-all’s (well, most of youse) argument is the wise adage that the shrillness is inversely proportional to the truth….
December 14th, 2006 at 9:30 pmWhat are those kids doing watching movies in school, anyway? What are we paying those teachers for?
If we’re serious about No Child Left Behind, what they need is some back-to-basics drills and skills work! (And big money textbooks contracts for Texas publishing conglomerates.)
December 17th, 2006 at 6:38 pmIf Al Gore Really wanted to promote his movie, he would send out a free DVD to everyone in America to get this truth out about the politians hold on life without oil.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:39 amThere is little or nothing that humans do to the environment that is not harmful. It is best to err on the side of safefy and assume that what we are doing is not a good thing. The oil industry clearly is not an innocent bystander in this issue. If we can manage to rid ourselves of our dependency on petroluem the damage we are doing will be lessened and theis can only be a good thing. Why will George Bush not wish to see the Gore movie? Because he lives within the bubble of his own version of the truth and will not allow other versions to intrude. He is an intellectual coward.
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:23 pmthis is very sad! how can SCIENCE TEACHERS keep the truth from their students. even in my college earth science class global warming was only mentioned. this is very reminiscent of the battle over whether or not evolution should be taught in the classroom. scientific theories should be taught, and then should be used in developing students’ critical thinking skills. one cannot pick and choose which scientific theories should be taught, as well as which historical facts versus “happy endings” deserve to be taught and pondered by students. only in america do we jeopardize our children’s learning and future because of political agendas. i guess we’re only allowed to teach our students one thing: CONSUMERISM. shame on our government and shame on the national science “teachers” association!
December 25th, 2006 at 12:36 pm[…] Crooks and Liars sitesine göre pek çok meseleye el atan Simpsons yapımcıları bu konuya da deÄŸinmiÅŸler. Böylece listeye Gardner’ın kitabının yanı sıra, Al Gore’lu küresel ısınma DVDsi de eklendi: An Inconvenient Truth. Bu film ve petrol ÅŸirketlerinin şöyle de bir mevzusu varmış: Science Teachers’ Organization Refuses To Accept Copies of Inconvenient Truth. Ah propaganda ah, sen ne kadar inceliklisin, sen nelere kadirsin… […]
January 13th, 2007 at 1:47 pmDouglas G. - You are nothing more than Zionist/NWO mouth-piece. Take your #%# elsewhere.
Soothsayer
February 21st, 2007 at 1:18 am[…] 50,000 copies of the DVD to schools for free. The National Science Teacher’s Association refused to accept the […]
March 12th, 2007 at 1:53 pm