A riddle I remember from childhood asks: When is a door not a door? The answer, which should be heard rather than read, is: When it's ajar. That inspired the title of today's post, and for more than one reason. First of all, as I've mentioned repeatedly, what many people call blue, I often see as shades of purple or similar colors at that end of the visual spectrum. As a recent example, take my May 19th post, which featured Salvia farinacea, a plant often called mealy blue sage, but whose flowers seem purple or blue-indigo to me.
Secondly, quite a few plants with flowers in the blue-purple color range have white variants. On June 6th around the Arbor Walk Pond I noticed a young mealy "blue" sage whose inflorescence was pretty much white. How much color was going to develop later, as hinted at in the lower right, I don't know. I do know that dewdrops enhanced the view that morning.
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June 18, 2024—The National Association of Scholars (NAS) and Freedom in Education (FIE),organizations dedicated to improving America’s science education, have created The Franklin Standards: Model K-12 State Science Standards. NAS and FIE want to inspire America’s state education departments to provide science standards that teach American students to claim their country’s scientific and technological heritage as scientists, engineers, and informed citizens—much like Benjamin Franklin himself.
“State standards are the single most influential documents in America’s education system,” said NAS Director of Research David Randall. “State education departments use them to provide guidance to each public K-12 school district and charter school as they create their own courses. State standards also influence what textbook authors write and what assessment companies such as the College Board test for in their advanced placement examinations. They affect teacher training and they provide the framework for teachers’ individual lesson plans. Private schools and homeschool parents also keep an eye on state standards.”
The consequences of not adopting the Franklin Standards are dire. Many state education departments have imposed state science standards drawing on sources such as the Next Generation Science Standards, which combine misguided pedagogical theory, low academic standards, politicized instruction, and training in activism. This has led to a significant knowledge gap among Americans, with many students graduating from our schools without the basics of scientific knowledge. America has too few scientists, engineers, and technicians—and the failure of our schools is becoming a national security risk, as America faces ever sharper scientific and technological rivalry from its peer competitor, China. Americans must restore rigorous, depoliticized American science instruction if they are to ensure the liberty, prosperity, and security of the United States of America.
© 2024 Steven Schwartzman
