NMSR/CESE Science Teachers Workshop

On August 28, 2003, the New Mexico State Board of Education approved a new set of science standards, acclaimed by many as among the best in the nation. But late in the writing and approval process, the NM Intelligent Design Network led a fight to make major changes in the standards, especially in the life sciences. Although the ID people were unable to make any substantive changes, they reinterpreted their defeat as a success. To further promote their anti-evolution ideas, they have proposed to conduct workshops to espouse their own Intelligent Design views.

To assist NM teachers in understanding and teaching the new science standards, the Coalition for Excellence in Science and Math Education and the New Mexicans for Science and Reason hosted a Science Teachers Workshop on April 14, 2004, with presentations by the people at the State Department of Education who guided this process, and teachers and professors who understand the science content and the issues. In addition, materials from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Science Teachers Association, NM organizations, and the presenters were distributed. Most of these materials and presentations are now available on this website.

Our organizations stand ready to assist New Mexico's science teachers in their extremely important tasks of educating our children in the wonders and workings of science.

Marshall Berman