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PROFNET WIRE: EDUCATION & SCIENCE: Home Schooling/Teaching Evolution

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 15:00 CST

ROUND-UPS Increase in Home Schooling for Black Families (3 experts) Teaching Evolution (continued, 6 experts) Stem-Cell Research (continued, 2 experts) Hurricane Preparedness (continued, 2 experts) Impact of Hurricanes Katrina/Rita (continued, 1 expert) No Child Left Behind (continued, 1 expert) LEADS 1. Biology: Big Brain Not Key to Evolutionary Success in Bats

2. Education Funding: Apply for Financial Aid -- A Resolution You Can Keep

ROUND-UP: INCREASE IN HOME SCHOOLING FOR BLACK FAMILIES

Following are experts who can discuss the increasing number of black families choosing to home school their children. Home-school advocates say the increase reflects a wider desire among families of all races to guide their children's moral upbringing, along with growing concerns about issues such as sub-par school conditions and preserving cultural heritage. Opponents are worried that decreased parental support for public schools may lead to worse conditions for its remaining students:

1. STEVE PEHA, president of TEACHING THAT MAKES SENSE, INC.: "I believe the increase in home schooling is a positive sign. I have found that parents who home school develop a better respect and understanding for what it takes to educate children well in all situations. Inevitably, virtually all home- schooling families send their kids off to school at some point. So the years of work schooling kids at home simply helps parents become more actively involved in their children's development, regardless of where they end up. The criticism that home schoolers bleed resources from cash-strapped public school systems is a red herring. The number of kids in a given school district who are educated at home is statistically insignificant. And besides, who's to say that if these kids weren't educated at home, their parents would send them to public schools anyway?" News Contact: Margot Carmichael Lester, margotlester@ttms.org Phone: +1-919-967-3712 (12/21/05)

2. GLORIA JOHNSTON, dean of the School of Education at NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: "Taking children out of the schools isn't the answer. The real issue is we need to encourage and support the creation of a more diverse teaching force to ensure children see their own faces, heritage and value of their culture in their journey through school. Increasing parental involvement in schools is a far more effective way to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap." News Contact: Jennifer Crossen, jcrossen@townsendinc.com Phone: +1-858-457-4888, ext. 172 (12/21/05)

3. REBECCA KOCHENDERFER, senior editor and co-founder of HOMESCHOOL.COM: "We receive about 500 e-mails every month from parents and teens who are interested in home schooling. Several years ago, we noticed a shift in the types of e-mails we were receiving, and have noted that we now receive many more e-mails from high-school students. We also noted that we were receiving more e-mails from urban teens who wanted to home school in order to escape a violent school setting." Kochenderfer: rebecca@homeschool.com Phone: +1-530- 887-1684 (12/21/05)

ROUND-UP: TEACHING EVOLUTION (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicI D=9304

1. CHARLES HOLSINGER, retired minister and pastor based in Seven Valleys, Pa.: "A court case in Harrisburg, Pa., pits the strong, peer-reviewed science of evolution against the latest form of creationism, 'intelligent design.' There is no conflict between evolution and belief in God, but evolution belongs in the science classroom, and theology, biblical or not, belongs in philosophy or religious discussions. Belief in God should not stifle curiosity and research by assuming God is the answer to anything. The miracle and wonder of the natural world, including evolution, led me to believe in a god." News Contact: Martha J. Heil, mheil@aip.org Phone: +1-301-209-3088 (12/21/05)

2. FRANCISCO AYALA, Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences and professor of philosophy at the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: "Science is a mode of inquiry into the nature of the universe that has been successful, as in the explanation of the design and diversity of organisms, and of great consequence. But a scientific view of the world is hopelessly incomplete. Matters of meaning, value and purpose are outside science's scope. Science is a way of knowing, but it is not the only way. Knowledge is acquired also from other sources, such as common sense, aesthetic and religious experience, and philosophical reflection. This other knowledge should be taught in the schools, but not in science classes." News Contact: Martha J. Heil, mheil@aip.org Phone: +1-301-209-3088 (12/21/05)

3. BERNADETTE REINKING, school board president of the YORK COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD in Dover, Pa.: "Students in the local high school were told that evolution -- how life changes over time -- was just a theory, not fact. And instead, students should consider a new idea called intelligent design. The idea that a 'designer' made our earth and everything on it enraged many parents -- now a suit has been filed against the school board for introducing the idea. The school board was not listening to the science teachers and what they were saying about evolution." Reinking ran for the school board soon after, and is now its president. News Contact: Martha J. Heil, mheil@aip.org Phone: +1-301-209-3088 (12/21/05)

4. DR. KENNETH MILLER, professor of biology at BROWN UNIVERSITY: "Calls to 'teach both sides' of a controversy that does not exist would lead to the inclusion of non-scientific and anti-scientific doctrines in the classroom, and would dramatically weaken American science education." Miller is the author of widely used high-school biology textbooks, and chair of the Education Committee of the American Society for Cell Biology. Miller recently testified in a trial in Harrisburg, Pa., over whether a school board can encourage students to doubt evolutionary biology and consider 'intelligent design' creationism as an alternative. News Contact: Martha J. Heil, mheil@aip.org Phone: +1-301-209-3088 (12/21/05)

5. RANDY BELL, associate professor of science education at the UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: "I think right now the creationists and folks that are promoting intelligent design are picking those places where they think the political scene is conducive to the goal they want to accomplish. Right now, that's Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas and Ohio." In that atmosphere, Virginia's public school systems have been able to adopt teaching approaches with a minimum of fanfare. The state's Standards of Learning science curriculum calls for students to learn about evolution. News Contact: Carolyn M. Dillard, cdillard@virginia.edu Phone: +1-434-982-3030 (12/21/05)

6. DR. EUGENIE SCOTT, director of the NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION, is an expert on religions' incursions in science classes: "History shows that attempts to push creationism in the public schools don't go away, they just adapt to the legal circumstances. It is already clear that the new slogan for the ID movement is going to be 'Teach the Controversy' -- even though there is no scientific controversy over the validity of evolution in biology." News Contact: Martha J. Heil, mheil@aip.org Phone: +1-301-209- 3088 (12/21/05)

ROUND-UP: STEM-CELL RESEARCH (continued)

ProfNet has added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicI D=4950

1. RON GREEN, head of the Ethics Advisory Board at ADVANCED CELL TECHNOLOGY, INC., a biotechnology company engaged in the development of embryonic stem cell technology, and professor and director of the Ethics Institute at DARTMOUTH COLLEGE in Hanover, N.H.: "There are many ethical issues swirling around the recent news in the Wall Street Journal regarding American scientist Gerald Shatten's withdrawal from South Korea's World Stem Cell Foundation, including the ethics of obtaining human eggs for research purposes. These issues have important implications for the future of stem- cell research in the United States." News Contact: Judy Katz, Jkatzcreative@aol.com Phone: +1-212-825-3210 (12/21/05)

2. NIGEL M. DE S. CAMERON, director of the CENTER ON NANOTECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY, and associate dean and research professor of bioethics at the ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Chicago-Kent College of Law, is a nationally recognized commentator on biotechnology and human dignity, and is available to discuss the ethical and societal concerns related to human cloning and ongoing controversy regarding South Korea's cloning and stem-cell research. News Contact: Thom Karmik, karmik@iit.edu Phone: +1-312-567-5057 (12/21/05)

ROUND-UP: HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicI D=5828

1. MIKE ROSENFELT, executive vice president at MESSAGEONE, which provides affordable applications and services that reduce risk, eliminate complexity and provide enterprise control over business continuity: "If you can't communicate, you can't recover from a disaster. A key element of maintaining employee safety during a disaster, and to recover from disaster is 'communications.'" Rosenfelt can offer deep expertise for businesses on how to prepare for, operate through, and recover from disasters and other emergencies. News Contact: Lisa Hendrickson, lisapr@optonline.net Phone: +1- 516-767-8390 (12/21/05)

2. DONNA GAFFNEY, associate professor of nursing at SETON HALL UNIVERSITY, coordinated Seton Hall's program of sending student nurses to the front lines of the Gulf Coast reconstruction, and has been widely interviewed by news media, including the "Today" show, on health care topics, including crisis preparedness for hospitals and individuals. News Contact: Jill Matthews, mattheji@shu.edu Phone: +1-973-378-2695 (12/21/05)

ROUND-UP: IMPACT OF HURRICANES KATRINA/RITA (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicI D=10923

1. MICHAEL COMEAU is the principal of GREENBRIER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in the East Baton Rouge parish in Louisiana and a Seton Hall University doctoral student. Comeau's school absorbed thousands of New Orleans evacuees, and he can speak about his experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as well as what must be done to continue to provide needed assistance to affected schools and communities as they rebuild. News Contact: Jill Matthews, mattheji@shu.edu Phone: +1-973-378-2695 (12/21/05)

ROUND-UP: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicI D=2261

1. DAVID W. SABA, president of the AMERICAN BOARD FOR CERTIFICATION OF TEACHER EXCELLENCE: "The U.S. Department of Education announced that states can request additional time to meet the provision in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that requires all teachers to be recognized as highly qualified by 2006. Schools across the nation must work to make sure that there is a highly qualified teacher in every classroom by next year. However, many administrators are also juggling teacher shortages and other issues plaguing the nation's schools." News Contact: Colleen Corliss, ccorliss@abcte.org Phone: +1-202-261-2636 (12/21/05)

LEADS

1. BIOLOGY: BIG BRAIN NOT KEY TO EVOLUTIONARY SUCCESS IN BATS. SCOTT PITNICK, professor of biology at SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, says bat species that live in larger groups and have promiscuous females have smaller brains and larger testes than those with faithful females: "This is likely due to the energetic demands of producing both brain and sperm cells. Due to the competition to mate, many bats have evolved to have large testes so that they can produce enough sperm to have the highest chance of succeeding in reproduction." Pitnick conducted the study, which was published by Proceedings B of the Royal Society, with Kate Jones from The Zoological Society of London and Jerry Wilkinson from the University of Maryland. News Contact: Carol Kim, clkim@syr.edu Phone: +1-315-443-5172 (12/21/05)

2. EDUCATION FUNDING: APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID -- A RESOLUTION YOU CAN KEEP. MARTHA HOLLER, senior director of corporate communications at SALLIE MAE: "More than $143 billion in college financial aid was awarded last year. Jan. 1 marks the day when high-school seniors can begin the financial aid application process. This is a New Year's resolution you can keep: Apply now for financial aid, and don't pay a penny more for your education than you have to." Holler can offer tips for completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the student's starting point for accessing nearly all financial assistance programs. News Contact: Erin Korsvall, erin.korsvall@slma.com Phone: +1-703-984-5136 (12/21/05)

PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To submit query by e-mail: profnetquery@prnewswire.com To consult the ProfNet Database: http://www.prnewswire.com/profnet To submit query by fax: 631-348-7906 To submit query by phone: +1-800-PROFNET To share a thought on the ProfNet Wire: leads@prnewswire.com

PRNewswire -- Dec. 21

ProfNet

Source: PRNewswire

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