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By Dr. Charles Bolgiano: Senior Advisor for Environmental Affairs to The Lincoln Heritage Institute.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Recently it was reported that a reporter from ABC news conducted an interview of elementary school children and simply asked them open ended questions about what they had learned about the state of the environment. There responses reflected what some have discribed as what can only be a taught bias favoring positions reflective of environmental zealots and anti free market positions. Because of what the interview indicated about what is going on in our classrooms and what young minds are being force fed ABC was pressured into not running the interview. In light of this event, the Lincoln Heritage Institute is rerunning an article that appeared in the Lincoln Log, a publication of the Lincoln Heritage Institute.
Two issues, the environment and education, occupy the interest of the majority of Americans more than any other two topics. Coupling such concerns with the differing interests of vested environmental groups, both liberal and conservative, has rung the bell of alarm among educators, parents and protectors of quality-education.
Critics are saying that too much fear and too few facts have brought the weight of the world on the shoulders of our children. Environmental messages aimed at children in the classroom deliberately predict excessive doom and disaster, and promote concepts of anti-individualism and anti-business. There is a vacuum for accurate information in the classroom to address children's concerns about the health of the planet. Instead, extremists have seized upon the education process to thwart a balanced discussion and presentation of environmental issues.
The National Environmental Education Act, passed by Congress and singed into law in 1990, gave environmental activist school teachers the tools they needed to create "politically correct" students when it comes to environmentalism. The Problem with programs implemented by many states because of this act is that control over the curriculum was undefined and environmental zealots celebrated knowing they now had the upper hand along with education liberals that were already in place in the school system.
Similar scenarios developed in other states. The Clinton Administration⥙s liberal Goals 2000, and Outcome Based Education supporters had exactly what was needed to further pursue "politically correct" liberal curricula.
"Many of those who shape the environmental curriculum believe that the purpose of liberal environmentalists is not to weigh conflicting facts, values, aid theories, but to instill a sense of crisis, "writes Jo Kwong a Virginia parent and business consultant. Not to be denied is a growing group of MOMS who call -themselves the "Kitchen Militia".
Armed with alarming documents and information on Outcome-based Education(OBE), Goals 2000 and other socialist or elitist education programs that threaten to dumb down our children or subject them to behavior modification, the "Kitchen Militia" is focusing in on bringing some truth and awareness to the forefront. They partially blame gloom and doom, crisis driven environmental teachings as cause for once-happy children becoming rebellious, angry, quiet and withdrawn once they are released from home into the public education system.
Parents, educators, and politicians must make the issue of fact and not myth the standard and guideline in teaching environmental science at all grade levels. If it can't be supported by science or fact, its not science and must not be used.
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