Words matter, science matters

The proposed revision to New Mexico science education standards is shameful. We are told that this reflects the “diversity of perspectives” in New Mexico. This is untrue. It reflects the perspectives of one group.

Secondly, just what are “perspectives,” exactly? Science is science, not opinion. If one prefers to teach the biblical version of creation, that should be done at home or in church. If one prefers to deny the overwhelming research on climate change, then one must submit equally convincing research to the contrary. Science is based upon fact, not belief.

This is part of an effort to allow religious opinion and the self-serving views of industry to dominate our educational process and our laws. It is shameful to let these wildly opinionated groups take over. It brands our state as backward, unthinking and just plain stupid. This is happening all over the country. And every state that has adopted such standards has branded itself as all of the foregoing, plus anti-reality. Denial of reality is one of the principal definitions of insanity.

A final point: Whose brilliant idea was it to set the public hearing for 9 a.m. on a Monday (Oct. 16), when most of the public is at work? Sounds like members of this group are trying to railroad through their agenda. They have never been a group of open-minded people who encourage honest debate. They want it their way and only their way. This is a concerted effort to silence those of us with different “perspectives” (like reality).

Jane Baskin is a clinical social worker and author living in Santa Fe. She has worked for school systems around the state.