Dear Citizens of Missouri,
The Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM) is an organization run by a member- elected board of volunteers that promotes great science teaching and great science teachers in the state of Missouri. In recent weeks and months there has been much discussion and news regarding work groups tasked with writing new Missouri Learning Standards for Math, Science, English Language Arts, and History as part of the passing of Missouri House Bill 1490. The STOM organization would like to convey an educator’s point of view of the happenings regarding this process.
The Process
From the very start, the work surrounding HB 1490 has been a concern of STOM due to the potential for bias and lack of transparency in the make-up and running of the committees. Each subject area is divided into an elementary and secondary workgroup. Some of the workgroups contain very few educators. In most cases, fewer than 10 educators are tasked with writing standards for the entire state of Missouri. Specifically, some content areas within science (such as chemistry or physics) are not represented at all on the committees, which means some standards are being debated and written without guidance from experts in the field. STOM believe parents should always be part of the educational process but a disproportionate percentage of the parents seem to come from a particular special interest group aligned and selected by the HB 1490 sponsors.
Of even greater concern, most recently House Speaker Jones has attempted to remove an educator that he selected for the committee. The House Speaker’s decision seems to be politically motivated since members of the committee unanimously voted to keep this educator as a member of the committee. The bill does not explicitly give any government official the authority to remove a committee member mid-process. Yet the bill’s sponsor, Kurt Bahr, was quoted in one newspaper as saying “The speaker (even) could un-appoint anyone who was qualified and just rubbed him the wrong way if he wanted." STOM believes that this shows that the legislature is not interested in having educators debate what they believe are the best standards for Missouri.
On September 19, 2014, House Speaker Jones sent a memo to workgroup members that stated: “First of all, please understand in HB 1490 nobody is in charge of the work groups, not DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) or the Legislature”…and… “There is nothing in the legislation telling the work groups how to operate. Thus, you are free to operate any way you choose.” These quotes seem to contradict what Speaker Jones and Representative Bahr are now indicating. STOM believes that educators should feel free to voice their opinion on what is best for students without fear of being removed from the committee they were appointed to participate in.
Our Recommendation
Speaking specifically about science education, STOM supports learning expectations that reflect the most current research on student learning within the field of science. STOM believes they should be written as rigorous performance expectations that challenge students to use, apply, and critically think about science rather than memorize content. The current science standards in Missouri lead students who can only regurgitate facts for a state test.
STOM also believes that many educators should be involved in the development of new science standards and not just a handful of educators selected in a politically-driven process. It is the position of STOM that the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed and vetted by over 10,000 science educators, be used to educate and excite Missouri students. The Next Generation Science Standards provide the appropriate content, framework, and integration that will allow our students to develop into citizens capable of understanding and evaluating the world and information around them.
The Science Teachers of Missouri organization is not interested in bringing politics into science education. STOM simply wants a fair, unbiased, and non-politically-driven process to develop a high-quality science program in Missouri.
STOM strongly encourages school districts to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards and the organization is here to help those districts with the professional development, advice, and support to develop a meaningful and high-quality K-12 Science Program.
Sincerely,
Science Teachers of Missouri
Elizabeth O’Day – 2014 President
Carrie Launius -2015 President
Mike Szydlowski – 2015 President Elect
Eric Hadley – Past President
Elizabeth Petersen – Past President
