The Washington State Department of Health has released a five-part curriculum aimed at helping students learn about the “intersections of biological, societal, and environmental issues,” with a specific focus on climate change and pregnancy.
However, the curriculum has drawn criticism for prioritizing “emotions” over “rational thinking” in its lesson plans, according to The Daily Caller.
According to the curriculum, teachers and students should “pay attention” to their emotions as “for too long, science and science education have prioritized rational thinking. As we delve more deeply into the impacts of climate change using the [Washington Tracking Network] data and the practices of the Next Generation Science Standards, we must learn to pay attention to our own emotions and those of other people.”
It adds that emotions “signal alignment or discord between cultural values and technical assertions” and that ignoring emotions reflects “arrogance” and can “weaken important relationships for getting things done.”
Todd Myers, environmental director of the Washington Policy Center, a group focused on free-market solutions, has criticized the curriculum for disregarding “rational thinking” in a science curriculum.
Myers told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “Saying that we have overemphasized ‘rational thinking’ in what is supposed to be a scientific curriculum is not only foolish, it is harmful to people and the environment.”
He added, “Ultimately, attacking rational thinking is just a way to justify policies that are irrational and unscientific. When the science doesn’t support a policy, advocates can simply claim that we shouldn’t be bound by rationality and should go with our feelings. It is a recipe for policy based on tantrums rather than data.”
In addition to prioritizing emotions, the curriculum also asks students to consider “sexism in science,” including “subtle discussion dynamics” and “abuse of power.”
