ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

I agree with you that "objective" itself is subjective, that we should be
encouraging visitors to negotiate controvery and think critically, and that
the NTSA's reasons are terrible.

>>> She just wants to know why her movie is considered political and not
worthy of dissemination, but that the oil company funded materials aren't.

You seem considerably less skeptical than I.   :)

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew White [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 1:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ISEN] Op Ed in Today's WaPost

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*

Maybe it's because I come to this profession from the History of Science
angle, but I don't see that at all. There is practically  NO SUCH THING as
purely objective materials and we as informal educators should be helping
our visitors negotiate the various sources of science information that is
"out there." Including our own exhibitions. I find visitors becoming more
and more distrustful with received authority in both history and science
and they know full well that experts rarely agree.  The more we can present
scientific controversy and give our visitors the tools to think critically
about them, the more they seem to appreciate it. And, I might add, the more
we can present these disagreements as the strengths they are and not the
weaknesses critics of science and proponents of various pseudo- science
would like to present them.

I find the NSTA decision upsetting not because they refuse to offer the film
INSTEAD OF the more allegedly oil friendly curriculum that NSTA seems to
prefer, but that they seem to refuse to offer it  IN ADDITION to the other
materials. I would think they would be interested in providing a balanced
set of materials along with critical thinking skills to equip students to
think for themselves. I think that is the point of the article in question.
She just wants to know why her movie is considered political and not worthy
of dissemination, but that the oil company funded materials aren't.

Remember, this is a major motion picture that got wide theatrical release
and was very popular.  Don't we owe it to our visitors to give them the
tools to judge it critically? I would argue the same for that movie "What
the #$@%#$#^ Do We Know?" a couple of years back and it isn't even in the
same league as the "Inconvenient Truth."

Take a lesson from your history cousins. We are constantly recommending
popular movies with history themes to class rooms, and we pass along the
tools and information so viewers can judge its accuracy on their own. We
would be remiss in our mission if we did not.

Sorry for the continued ranting. I am presenting this article to my museum
studies class tonight and I am really excited about discussing this with
them.

Matt White



On Nov 27, 2006, at 1:23 PM, Evan Koblentz wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology 
> Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and 
> related institutions.
> **********************************************************************
> *******
>
>>>>>> It says that there are thousands of DVDs sitting in a warehouse. 
>>>>>> Why
> don't we, ASTC and science centers, see if we can get them and 
> distribute them? We are also leading advocates for balanced science in 
> this country. We should discuss the position of the NSTA as a leading 
> science education organization, but we should also take action as 
> another leading science education group. This is one way for us to 
> remain relevant and important resources for our communities. What do 
> you think?
>
> I have some concerns about this.  I love to give away free educational 
> materials, I recognize that global warming is a real scientific 
> problem, and hey, I'm a bleeding-heart liberal.  But I also recognize 
> that Gore's film is, in fact, slanted to one side of the story.  
> Science centers, nor science teachers, nor governments, nor any other 
> group that exists by and for "the people" should be distributing 
> anything but purely objective materials.  So if we accept and 
> distribute this film, doesn't that make us just as hypocritical (or at 
> least, open to controvery) as the NTSA?
>
> **********************************************************************
> *
> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the 
> Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http:// 
> www.astc.org.
> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the 
> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to 
> [log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at
http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the message
SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]