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By Carrie Marovich
Monday, September 16, 2013
As the push for common academic standards in schools gains steam around the nation, a new front in the opposition is forming – this time against the Next Generation Science Standards.
Developed by educators and scientists from 26 states, the new curriculum goals are geared to preparing students for life in a technologically-advanced society. But like the Common Core State Standards in math and English language arts – which initially enjoyed wide support among states – the science standards are also increasingly under attack.
“There’s almost a complete neglect of things in nature,” said Martin Cothran, a senior policy analyst for The Family Foundation of Kentucky and a prominent detractor of the new science goals. “There’s no emphasis at all on a content knowledge of plants or animals or minerals. Everything in the Next Generation Science Standards is focused on abstract relations between things, not focused on the things themselves.”
Kentucky has emerged as a key battleground even though the state board adopted the standards in August. During