Misleading our students will leave them behind

YET AGAIN — New Mexico Left Behind?

Thanks to current science, meteorologists were able to provide residents of Caribbean islands and Florida advanced warning of the impending hurricane last week. The residents were able to escape Irma’s onslaught to stay out of harm’s way due to the warnings based on proven science.

The (Gov. Susana) Martinez Public Education Department has recently proposed teaching standards that would omit references to evolution, rising global temperatures and the age of Earth from the state’s science curriculum. The proposed standards are based on a science curriculum called the Next Generation Science Standards. Christopher Ruszkowski, Susana’s new secretary-designate for the agency, further stated, “We don’t want New Mexico to be left behind…”

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is composed of thousands of scientists from around the world. Since 1990 they have published their collaborative Assessment Reports on Climate Change that affects our shared planet . ... None of them is paid by the IPCC. The work of the IPCC is guided by a set of principles and procedures that follow accepted scientific protocol of preparation, review, acceptance, adoption, approval and publication.

In their last Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers they found: “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal…” plus “Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of green-house gases are the highest in history.” ...

Choosing to adopt these Next Gen standards will intentionally mislead and misguide our next generation of students, guaranteeing that when it comes to education and specifically science, they will be left behind. LISA SILVA Rio Rancho