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Melissa Lau, an NCSE Teacher Ambassador from Oklahoma, was featured — wearing her NCSE Teacher Ambassador t-shirt — in a story on climate change education on StateImpact Oklahoma (July 11, 2019). 

When a bill that would require Massachusetts's state science standards to "include only peer-reviewed and age-appropriate subject matter" was discussed in the Joint Committee on Education on July 9, 2019, the sponsor explained that it would keep climate change denial out of the science classroom, according to the Lowell Sun (July 10, 2019).

Understanding how science functions is critical for anyone who engages in science learning. For that reason, we’ve embarked on developing our first cohort of NCSE Teacher Ambassadors who will create a series of lessons on the Nature of Science. This group will be meeting at Clemson University this summer, working with Cynthia Deaton and two NCSE staff: me and Kate Carter, our director of community science education.

Melissa Lau, an NCSE Teacher Ambassador from Oklahoma, was highlighted in a story headlined "Teaching global warming in a charged political climate," which appeared in the Hechinger Report (July 6, 2019) and in the Washington Post (July 6, 2019).

We’re proud to introduce our second cohort of NCSE Teacher Ambassadors focusing on evolution. This group will be meeting at BEACON on the Michigan State University campus this summer, working with Louise Mead, me, and my colleague at NCSE Kate Carter to update our soon-to-be-published evolution lessons and strategize ways to offer effective professional development for teachers in their areas.

Climate change education can feel like a balancing act between two extremes. Activities using data and graphs, crucial for evidence-based learning, often don’t personally resonate, while those featuring polar bears on melting icebergs and sea turtles with plastic in their stomachs can feel emotionally manipulative and overly reductionist.

The theologian Norman Geisler died on July 1, 2019, at the age of 86, according to Christianity Today (July 1, 2019), which wrote, "Described as 'a cross between Thomas Aquinas and Billy Graham,' Geisler was a prolific author, apologist, and professor, as well as the co-founder and former president of Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) in North Carolina and co-founder of Veritas International University in California." He wrote or edited over a hundred books during his long career.

Internet therapy is what everyone seems to talk about these days. If you are going through anxiety and depression, then you might want to try online counseling. It helps you understand yourself better and assist you in achieving your goals. Recently, e-counseling has proved to be quite useful and often preferred to traditional therapy where you have to meet with a therapist. Many people these days prefer internet therapy due to its convenience. This mental health treatment method has proved both helpful and therapeutic. Patients don’t have to worry about whether this treatment will work for them because it actually does. You should check out the benefits (and downsides) described at E-counseling.com and understand why a lot of individuals are now considering it. Here are some of the benefits.

Enhances accessibility to therapy

It’s not everyone that has access to a professional counselor in their locality. You find that some people live in rural areas where it’s hard and sometimes almost impossible to find a single mental health professional. E-counseling provides a platform such that no matter where you are, you can get all the help you need as long as you have a secure internet connection. Mental illness can be quite disturbing, but the good thing is that there are solutions to the same.

Provides convenience and affordability

When going through online counseling, you will be getting your therapy sessions online in the comfort of your home. You don’t have to travel or anything. You only require a secure internet connection and a Smartphone or laptop. Also, you get to decide when to schedule your sessions. You can choose the time that’s best for you that you know you will be at home. Also, online therapists offer affordable treatment options in case you are not covered by insurance

Provides quasi-anonymity

Online therapy allows users to text from their phone or laptop. Usually, there isn’t physical confrontation with the therapist, but same government regulations are followed like with an office-based therapy. When texting, people find it easier to open up much more quickly as opposed to if they were opening up about their issues in person. You feel relieved knowing that there isn’t someone sitting across the room looking at you and as a result, you can talk about anything. Online therapy enables an individual to lessen their sense of shame and divulge in just about anything.

It can be educative

Mental health is not a topic one can take lightly. An e-therapy platform is quite resourceful in helping people discover more about psychological health. Whether you think your mental health is excellent, online therapy can help you become stronger. There is a lot to learn so that you never get troubled by anxiety or depression.

Online therapy is on the rise. However, that does not mean it doesn’t have its downsides. If you are considering this treatment option then you should know that several insurance companies don’t cover E-Therapy. It all depends on your state and the type of insurance you use. Also, there is the issue of confidentiality and privacy. You see with e-therapy, information is transmitted online, which adds yet another layer of complexity. Your data could be subject to privacy leaks as well as hacks, which are a concern brought about by technology.

Regardless, online therapy has provided a solution to many mental health patients. Having someone who is always there to talk to, can be of a considerable benefit than you realize. Knowing you can always reach out for help from the comfort of your home can play a significant role in your recovery process. When going through mental illness, never hesitate to ask for help.

NCSE is pleased to announce that the latest issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education — volume 39, number 3 — is now available online. 

NCSE is seeking to hire a Director of Teacher Support.

The Utah state board of education voted 11-4 to adopt a proposed new set of high-school-level state science standards on June 6, 2019, despite resistance from a few members of the board centering on evolution and climate change.

The attempt to require the teaching of climate change in Connecticut's public schools by law ended — for now — when the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned sine die on June 5, 2019, with House Bill 7083 unpassed by the Senate.

The attempt to require the teaching of climate change in Connecticut's public schools by law is still proceeding.  On May 28, 2019, the Connecticut House of Representatives voted 103-43 to pass House Bill 7083, after it was amended to change a requirement that science be taught to a requirement that science "including climate change consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards" be taught.

The attempt to require the teaching of climate change in Connecticut's public schools by law briefly revived in late May 2019, according to the Connecticut Mirror (May 24, 2019), when the House of Representatives considered adding a provision to require the teaching of climate change to House Bill 7113.

A new report from the Yale Program on Climate Communication offers new data on Americans' beliefs and attitudes about climate change, with a particular emphasis on the influence of political views. "Climate change is now more politically polarizing than any other issue in America," the program's director Anthony Leiserowitz told the Guardian (May 22, 2019).

NCSE is pleased to announce the winners of the Friend of Darwin award for 2019: Jim Krupa, Professor of Biology at the University of Kentucky; Joe Thornton, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago; and Lacey Wieser, the former director of K-12 Science and STEM in the Arizona Department of Education who resigned in 2018 in protest of then Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas's attempt to undermine the treatment of evolution in the state's science standards.

A pair of identical bills in the Washington state legislature aimed at "establishing a comprehensive initiative to increase learning opportunities and improve educational outcomes in climate science literacy," House Bill 1496 and Senate Bill 5576, died in committee when the legislature adjourned on April 29, 2019.