Hardly a mention of human-caused climate change in new PA standards

Written by Katie Modic - Executive Director

Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities. Global climate change has already resulted in a wide range of impacts across Pennsylvania and in many sectors of its economy. Yet, Pennsylvania is one in only four states with no mention of human-caused climate change in its formal science standards, which haven’t been updated since 2002. In September 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) began the process of modernizing Pennsylvania's science standards to include the most up-to-date seminal research. Just last week, on June 5, 2021 the new standards were released for a 30-day public comment period.

Yale Climate Opinion Maps of 2020

Now is the opportune time to include academic standards that focus on climate change. 78% of adults in Pennsylvania believe schools should teach about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to climate change. More importantly, all students need to have a basic understanding of the climate system, including the natural and human-caused factors that affect it. The underpinnings of climate change span across physical, life, as well as Earth and space sciences. The goal is for students to understand climate science as a way to inform decisions that improve quality of life for themselves, their community, and globally and to know how engineering solutions can allow us to mitigate impacts, adapt practices, and build resilient systems. At each grade level in which systems thinking, managing uncertainty, and building arguments based on multiple lines of data are included, there are opportunities for students to develop essential knowledge and skills that will help them understand the impacts of climate change on humans, animals, and the environment.

The National Research Council's (NRC) ''A Framework for K—12 Science Education, Standards for Technology and Engineering Literacy'' is one of the listed publications that the PDE used to draft its new standards. The mention of human-caused climate change naturally arises in the framework. For example, the NRC’s framework mentions on page 197, “Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.”

It is concerning, therefore, that in the over 380+ newly proposed standards that the PDE presented for public comment, the words “climate change” in that order are seen only once. Substitute terms, like “sustainability”, “environment,” or “natural systems” overwhelmingly take their place. For example, in the 3rd - 5th-grade Environment and Ecology Standards under the subcategory Environment and Society (pg. 12) the first standard says, “Describe human-caused changes that affect the immediate environment as well as other places, other people, and future times.” Worded as is, this standard is asking students to brainstorm human-caused changes and describe them. Climate change may come up as an example and students could describe it, but it may not. By including the term “climate change” the standard would read, “Describe how human-caused climate change affects the immediate environment as well as other places, other people, and future times”. By acknowledging climate change in the language of the standard, we shift the focus from describing changes to describing the effects of the phenomena, opening them up to rich conversations about real-world, relevant topics like local and global impacts on natural and human systems.

Sadly, by avoiding the term climate change, the PDE is not giving a name to an issue that profoundly affects all of our children. To not name something is to deny its existence. Denial enables people to create mechanisms that maintain the status quo. In a state of denial, it is easier to blame others or create doubt that a problem exists than to accept the obstacle and become part of the solution. I’m not interested in raising my own children this way. If you feel the same, comments on the proposed rulemaking may be submitted to the Board in writing at ra-stateboardofed@pa.gov until July 5th.

Additional examples of where the term “climate change” would naturally fit but isn’t included in

PA’s proposed science standards

3-5 Environment and Ecology - subcategory Skills for Analyzing and Investigating Environmental Issues

Apply their knowledge of ecological and human processes and systems to describe the short- and long-term consequences of selected environmental issues on sustainability.

3-5 Environment and Ecology - subcategory Personal and Civic Responsibility

Explain the rights and responsibilities of community membership and their role in addressing environmental quality and sustainability.

Possess a realistic self-confidence in their effectiveness as community members to make changes in their community that address environmental quality and sustainability.

6-8th Environment and Ecology - subcategory Weather and Climate

Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.

6-8th Environment and Ecology - subcategory Human Impacts

Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.

Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems

9-12th Environment and Ecology- subcategory Interdependent Relationships In Ecosystems

Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate the adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity.

9th - 12th Environment and Ecology - subcategory Weather and Climate

Use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth’s systems result in changes in climate.

Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.

9th - 12th Environment and Ecology - subcategory Human Sustainability

Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, the occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.

Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces the impact of human activities on natural systems.

Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity