With the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluding that human activity is driving climate change, governments around the world are taking action to educate their citizens about the causes and consequences of climate change.The Associated Press reported that the British government plans to send copies of ìAn Inconvenient Truth,î former Vice President Al Goreís documentary film about climate change, to 3,385 secondary schools in England as part of a year-long environmental education campaign.In Scotland, Scottish Power, a utility company, and a group known as Learning and Teaching Scotland are developing a package of education materials based on screenings of the documentary. Laurie David, the documentaryís co-producer, stated that ìInconvenient Truthî is required viewing for students in Norway and Sweden. It also will be shown in schools in Portugal and New Zealand, according to the Feb. 9 edition of Dominion Post.Will students in the United States be less informed?In 2000, a PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) study ranked 15-year-old U.S. students 14th in science among 31 countries, well below top-ranked Korea. In 2003, another PISA study ranked 15-year-old U.S. students 29th in math, well below top-ranked Hong Kong and China and outperforming only 11 other countries participating in the test, such as Tunisia and Indonesia.Given those results, wouldnít educators welcome student interest in Al Goreís documentary about global warming?For some U.S. educators, ìAn Inconvenient Truthî has been an inconvenience.In keeping with their policy of not distributing third-party materials, the National Science Teachers Association turned down an offer from David for 50,000 free copies of the movie.In a December news release posted at www.nsta.org, the NSTA proposed alternatives to mass distribution of the documentary ñ seeking out specific school districts was one. The NSTA also confirmed its ties to oil companies. ExxonMobil has been a long-time NSTA sponsor. The Shell Oil Company funds experts who appear at NSTA teacher conferences. And five years ago, the NSTA partnered with the American Petroleum Institute, which produced and made available to public schools the film, ìYou Canít Be Cool without Fuel.îAmerican school districts have challenged the distribution of the documentary as well.The Seattle Times reported in January that the school board in Federal Way, a suburb of Seattle, required that the districtís superintendent approve presentations of the film and that it be balanced by an opposing view. The board was responding to complaints from six parents; however, three weeks later, responding to complaints from other parents, the board lifted its restrictions.In eastern Washington, the principal of Yakima high school halted a planned showing of the film by an after-school club, according to a Jan. 24 article in the Yakima Herald Republic. The principal cited the school board policy that requires an instructional materials committee review the film and that alternative points of view be presented.Local school districts have had fewer problems.Nanette Anderson, public information officer for the Academy District 20 said that under their policy high school teachers can show PG-rated movies, such as ìAn Inconvenient Truth,î without getting prior approval from administrators. Before showing a movie, teachers must notify parents.Donna Wood, from Lewis-Palmer District 38, said that teachers can show PG movies as long as they are related to the curriculum. They must notify parents ahead of time so that parents can opt out if they want to. She did not know if any teacher had shown ìAn Inconvenient Truthî to a class.D 49 is working on a media policy. In October, in response to a complaint from a few parents about a movie that was shown in a classroom, the district instituted a temporary media policy requiring that teachers seek approval from their principals before incorporating supplemental material in their lesson plans. ìSome principals have taken this to the ëletter of the lawí and really restricted anything a teacher shows,î said Mary Lougee, science teacher at Sand Creek High School.Lougee is a member of the committee comprised of teachers and administrators that is writing a media policy for D 49. ìThe board is not against movies,î she said. ìThey are supporters. Weíre still working out what is the best way to handle media within the district. We hope to present a draft of our new media policy at the next board meeting and get a vote on it.îThe last word from NSTA came from Executive Director Dr. Gerald Wheeler last year. He stated that ìglobal warming is a very important science/societal issue.ìWe regret this Ö controversy surrounding our decision not to mass distribute the DVD to our members, and we are working to promote the availability of the film.î
