Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in America
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- Create Date：2021-11-17 15:21:05
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Katie Worth
- ISBN：B094G2HBBY
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Reviews
Kara Babcock
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I don’t remember when and how I was taught about climate change in school！ I wish I did， because it would be interesting to compare my experience with the various experiences cited in Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in America！ Katie Worth is very thorough in how she seeks to understand such a broad topic， for the States is vast and populous and full of fragmented education systems。I received a free eARC from NetGalley and Columbia Global Reports in exchange for a review。Worth looks a I don’t remember when and how I was taught about climate change in school！ I wish I did， because it would be interesting to compare my experience with the various experiences cited in Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in America！ Katie Worth is very thorough in how she seeks to understand such a broad topic， for the States is vast and populous and full of fragmented education systems。I received a free eARC from NetGalley and Columbia Global Reports in exchange for a review。Worth looks at multiple factors that affect what is taught in a classroom: teachers’ biases， federal and state standards， curriculum， and textbooks。 In each chapter， she examines how these factors can intersect and how they relate to our wider society。 She includes both quantitative data， such as the percentage of states that have implemented certain standards versus the percentage of population in those states， and qualitative data， such as interviews with various stakeholders。 The resulting picture is comprehensive and suggests there are many areas that need to be improved if the United States is going to improve its climate change education。I said “our wider society” above because even though this book is mostly focused on America， it does mention Canada a couple of times。 Worth talks about the Fraser Institute， a conservative organization here in Canada。 She doesn’t dive too much into Canadian education systems， and I can say from experience that ours （at least here in Ontario） is nowhere near as dire as what Worth describes in the US。 However， the mention of the Fraser Institute is important。 Also， Canadian school boards buy American textbooks， and our market is not big enough to allow us to demand our own special edition。 Therefore， the textbooks in the States （and the standards in Texas that influence the content that ends up therein） do affect my country’s education as well。In the same way， the education of Americans affects all of us。 We can roll our eyes and snicker and say， “Oh， those backwards Americans！” but at the end of the day， the US remains a very powerful country。 That’s why I picked up this book in the first place—not because I’m particularly invested in American education， but because I wanted to see what types of ignorance we are up against that could spill over to an international level。Worth’s book might make a reader feel somewhat hopeless。 How can we compete against the deep pockets of oil and energy companies？ How do we tackle the conservative voices that seem to dominate school boards and committees？ I think these are the wrong questions。 Rather， I think all of the evidence Worth assembles points to a larger conclusion: climate change is a capitalism problem， and the solutions for climate change require an anti-capitalist stance。I should be clear that Worth herself isn’t arguing this。 In true journalistic form， while her bias in favour of climate change education is evident and understandable， Worth dances around the idea that science education should be political。 She elects instead to include the voices of various educators who would agree or disagree with that stance。 I appreciate her attention to detail and nuance and the fact that she includes the perspectives of climate change skeptics without mockery。 This is valuable for me， pierces my bubble wherein I think every reasonable person must think like me。 In particular， it was painful but necessary to hear young kids （grade 6） wrestle with their doubts about the reality of climate change as a result of how they were being educated。Miseducation is a detailed investigative work that provides a clear picture of the state of climate change education in America。 This picture is grim， but I don’t think it means we should give up。 Rather， I hope that if you read this book you will understand what we are up against and how important it is to organize， at a grassroots level， to work against the groups that prefer profit over our planet。Originally posted on Kara。Reviews， where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter。 。。。more
Brandi
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This book had loads of valuable information but it was literally just 184 pages of straight facts and citations。 There was no weaving of a narrative or storyline， instead just a constant bombardment of data。 Which got really old， really fast。 I understand the desire to let the reader make up their mind on their own， but it was already clear what conclusion Worth wanted you to draw and so I wish she had just explicitly come out and said that。 It would have made this book all the more powerful sim This book had loads of valuable information but it was literally just 184 pages of straight facts and citations。 There was no weaving of a narrative or storyline， instead just a constant bombardment of data。 Which got really old， really fast。 I understand the desire to let the reader make up their mind on their own， but it was already clear what conclusion Worth wanted you to draw and so I wish she had just explicitly come out and said that。 It would have made this book all the more powerful simply because it would have been a lot less dry 。。。more
David Wineberg
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The game comes straight from Big Tobacco。 Only this time， it’s all about climate change。 Katie Worth sums up the gigantic effort by Big Oil to sow doubt over all the science between teachers and students， and parents and their children in Miseducation。 Teachers， schools， school boards， education departments and legislatures have all knuckled under to the unending torrent of lies， misinformation， misdirection and sheer weight of bogus stories meant to cast doubt on what everyone’s lying eyes tell The game comes straight from Big Tobacco。 Only this time， it’s all about climate change。 Katie Worth sums up the gigantic effort by Big Oil to sow doubt over all the science between teachers and students， and parents and their children in Miseducation。 Teachers， schools， school boards， education departments and legislatures have all knuckled under to the unending torrent of lies， misinformation， misdirection and sheer weight of bogus stories meant to cast doubt on what everyone’s lying eyes tell them。 Sadly， it’s a proven strategy。 Americans are no longer big believers in climate science。Worth had a very straightforward plan。 She visited middle schools in places as different as California and Oklahoma， Hawaii and the Marshall Islands。 She talked to teachers and students， then up the chain to textbook authors， publishers and school board members who specify and order them。 She learned from propagandists， CEOs， “non-profits” funded by industry， and consumer non-profits， compromised by them。 It all adds up to a giant big bang of noise with almost no signal， of conflicting claims so varied and bizarre as to be unwieldy， and confusion， masses of it， for American students。 And that was the idea all along。In Oklahoma， she investigated the large Marshall Islander community。 These people came to Oklahoma to escape the ravages of surging seas on their collection of flat islands。 They know it has no future。 Even their government says so。 They are essentially climate refugees， ensconced now in Oklahoma， where climate change is a most unwelcome subject， ignored， denied and often banned。In America， school textbooks that even mention climate are designed to encourage discussion， not to educate。 Unlike cell theory or the theory of gravity， climate theory is fair game for even the most ignorant。 Everyone qualifies to criticize it or ignore it totally。 So in place of learning， children are told there are two sides to climate science， and they have to decide for themselves which one is true。 The textbooks are not only no help， they are beyond useless。 They are damaging。The publishers say they’re just following orders， trying to sell books to school systems。 If they want lies about climate change， they get them。 If they want no mention whatsoever， it’s no problem。Worth says “About a third （of teachers） said they emphasized to students that ‘many scientists believe’ global warming might be natural – an erroneous statement。 And fully two thirds encouraged students to debate whether global warming has been caused by humans or nature。” And “Surveys have found that a majority of teachers falsely believe scientists still disagree about the cause， which would explain why they teach that。” So “It is safe to say that across the country， intrepid teachers rigorously educate their students about climate science。 It’s also safe to say that commonly， a teacher down the hall is miseducating them about it。” All the stats she cites show that teachers have fallen for the Big Oil/Big Tobacco strategy – hook， line and sinker。Worse， possibly， there are plenty of places where ecology or climate science cannot be taught at all， correctly or incorrectly。 And with climate now affecting everything in society， from economics to agriculture to transport to species extinctions and lifeform migrations， this complete lack means American students are totally unprepared for employment in 21st century America。 The country is raising generations of people totally incapable of understanding their own futures or how employers are having to cope。But a lot of this is to be expected in a country where evolution is still a debatable theory。 Julie Angle， of Oklahoma State University， is a member of the 59-strong educators committee to update learning standards。 She says “I don’t think Oklahoma was ready for the e-word。 We have legislators who believe that evolution has not， is not and will never occur in the state of Oklahoma。” And there is glorious history behind this: in 1925， “Governor Miriam ‘Ma’ Ferguson of Texas ordered the Texas State Textbook Commission to strip evolution from the state’s new science textbooks: ‘I’m a Christian mother who believes Jesus died to save humanity and I’m not going to let that kind of rot go into Texas textbooks。’” Similarly， climate science might be just an elective， or not offered at all。 It might only appear as a paragraph or a page somewhere。 And when it does， it will make no claims to being a serious issue worth anyone’s time or attention。Nor does it help that recent generations， having absorbed the indoctrination themselves， now instruct their children that climate change is a hoax。 Students are forever confronting their science teachers with this parental wisdom。It also didn’t help that the Trump administration directed the Environmental Protection Agency to remove all mentions of climate from its own website。 Any use of the word in a piece of legislation meant it was automatically dead on arrival。 This despite the fact that more scientists agree on climate theory than agree on a spherical Earth。Worth cites the American Petroleum Institute， representing major and minor players in the fossil fuels sector， which has been on the case for decades。 Its goal has always been to sow doubt， just like Big Tobacco did for decades。 In the meantime， their members can make billions in profits。 Decades ago， it circulated a memo: “The memo laid out plans to target school teachers and students， so as to ‘begin to erect a barrier against further efforts to impose –Kyoto-like measures in the future。’”A lot of the confusion comes from the Heartland Institute， Worth says。 Heartland funds books， teaching aids， teacher training， and provides videos for use in class。 It mass mails its propaganda to teachers。 （It also still argues the link between cigarette-smoking and cancer is exaggerated。） Groups like this and the American Petroleum Institute have programs such as the one offering $10，000 to the authors of any anti-climate change papers that get published， regardless of the content。 Just keep it coming。In the ever-evolving science of education， educators say kids don’t want 90% problem and 10% solution like the climate science they are taught; they want 20% problem and 80% solution。 They’re there to learn。 The insanely mixed messages they get about climate change are depressing and frustrating to them， keeping them off balance。 This is precisely the goal of the companies and the climate deniers。 Keep everyone in the USA off balance。 In a lot of ways， they have already won。Not everything in the book is pure truth。 For example， Worth says “Because the federal government leaves it up to the states to run schools…” But the federal government doesn’t “leave” anything to the states。 It hasn’t abandoned its duty。 States provide education， and anything the feds do is considered unconstitutional interference – unless it’s handing out great dollops of dollars。 It would take a constitutional amendment to change that。 So like anything else， weigh what is written。 Nonetheless， Worth is thorough， hard-hitting and effective in covering the subject in far more angles than readers could normally hope for。Miseducation is another in the truly excellent series of Global Reports from Columbia University。 These books are tight， jampacked summaries of issues by hard-digging journalists that lay out the extent of an issue and how it is being dealt with。 Every one of them seems better than the last， and I have yet to find one that could be classed as weak rather than powerful。David Wineberg 。。。more
Lauren
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This was an excellent overview of climate change denialism / skepticism and general anti-science attitudes。 As one of the many people who never really learned enough about climate change in school， this is an important book that's very approachable。 Even though this really focused on the shortcomings of the US's educational system and the unchecked power of oil companies， I also learned good bit about climate science itself。I also appreciated that the tone was urgent but not alarmist。 Rather， it This was an excellent overview of climate change denialism / skepticism and general anti-science attitudes。 As one of the many people who never really learned enough about climate change in school， this is an important book that's very approachable。 Even though this really focused on the shortcomings of the US's educational system and the unchecked power of oil companies， I also learned good bit about climate science itself。I also appreciated that the tone was urgent but not alarmist。 Rather， it focused on the importance of properly educating students about climate change so that they can be a part of the solution。Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC！ 。。。more
Darya Silman
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A disturbing， straightforward study of the topic of climate change in the US education system。 Katie Worth， a fact-digging reporter， presents an illuminating exploration of the ways climate change in US education is influenced by big money， school and state boards， political confrontations and corporational giants。 The author traces changes in the textbooks and curriculums from the first time the question appeared in the public informational space till 2021 to highlight an alarming fact: modern A disturbing， straightforward study of the topic of climate change in the US education system。 Katie Worth， a fact-digging reporter， presents an illuminating exploration of the ways climate change in US education is influenced by big money， school and state boards， political confrontations and corporational giants。 The author traces changes in the textbooks and curriculums from the first time the question appeared in the public informational space till 2021 to highlight an alarming fact: modern children still do not consider climate change a part of their inevitable future。 The main problem of incorporating climate change into the textbooks becomes evident from the start。 Due to the abundance of controversial information in the news， in the materials sent down to schools， in the laws that differ from state to state， teachers and educators can't agree on whether climate change is a hoax or our reality， is it human-caused or a part of the natural cycle。 As a result， some teachers do not mention climate change entirely; some talk about it indecisively， making it a topic for discussion。 Only a tiny percent stays firm on their beliefs， be it denial or acceptance。 The disruption campaign， disseminating doubts about climate change， isn't limited to schools and universities。 It penetrates mass media and， in recent years， has received approval from the highest echelons of power。 All and all， 'Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America' is fine research into two fields at once: climate change and education。 The author's writing contains elements of academic， popular science， and fiction styles。 Though the book is engaging and easy to understand， the mixing didn't work well for me personally。 Occasional vivid descriptions of nature and interviewees intertwine with statistical data from surveys on the subject。 In some parts of the text， the author's lyrical mood highly affects the generally neutral material。 The positive influences of big money， new laws， oil companies， etc。， on education are briefly mentioned but not explored in great detail。 The author adamantly sticks to one idea - we are in a dire position。 The text calls for arms rather than proposes a peaceful， legally framed resolution of the conflict。 I'd recommend the book to readers interested in the past and present of climate change。 I received an advanced review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。 。。。more
Ian Carrillo
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The idea that the science is debatable didn't occur naturally， but rather was 'implanted and sustained'。。。 Miseducation sticks to its scope and succinctly illustrates the problem with climate education in the US。 Katie Worth is not afraid to hold those responsible for the misinformation accountable。 Her in-depth investigation is as captivating as it is horrifying。 Far from being speculative or alarmist， the author discusses documented misinformation campaigns and interviews educators， students， p The idea that the science is debatable didn't occur naturally， but rather was 'implanted and sustained'。。。 Miseducation sticks to its scope and succinctly illustrates the problem with climate education in the US。 Katie Worth is not afraid to hold those responsible for the misinformation accountable。 Her in-depth investigation is as captivating as it is horrifying。 Far from being speculative or alarmist， the author discusses documented misinformation campaigns and interviews educators， students， policymakers and industry professionals to give a comprehensive idea of what's really going on in schools。**I received an advanced digital copy of this book through Edelweiss。 。。。more
Brandon Westlake
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As a teacher myself， I was curious to see what this book would say from an outsider's perspective about climate education in America today。 Much of what Worth writes about resonated with my， and frankly didn't surprise me at all。 She talks to a lot of people and explores different avenues， from individual biases to structural obstacles like standards。 It's not an easy fix， but knowing what the problems are is essential。 I often think the best teachers are those who are passionate about their con As a teacher myself， I was curious to see what this book would say from an outsider's perspective about climate education in America today。 Much of what Worth writes about resonated with my， and frankly didn't surprise me at all。 She talks to a lot of people and explores different avenues， from individual biases to structural obstacles like standards。 It's not an easy fix， but knowing what the problems are is essential。 I often think the best teachers are those who are passionate about their content， learning more and keeping up on the latest research。 Worth's argument bolsters this thinking。 If we had more teachers who actively kept up with true， relevant， scientific research， and then taught science as a process rather than rote memorization， perhaps we would not only make progress in climate education but in education as a whole。 We should want teachers who model good thinking within their content， and that seems to be what she's implying in these pages。 After all， honestly， standards are merely statements on paper。 At the end of the day， a teacher will spin them however he/she wants and will teach them the way that he/she wants （unless there's some strong oversight system in place）。 Better standards are not the answer- better teachers are。I think this book gives a lot of insight for obviously the science community and science education community but I also think it's a great book to consider in teacher prep programs and professional development。 Yes， it is about climate change and research， but it is a great reflection about education and how we can improve it to meet the needs of our students。 。。。more
Eser
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What is the purpose of education？ In an ideal world， education would furnish youth with the knowledge and skills they need in the future。 Given that climate change is the looming existential threat for the entire planet， preparing our youth for the future would entail teaching them about the short- and long-term effects of climate change and the actions that might prevent the worst。 But this is not an ideal world。 I've been part of a grassroots nonprofit that teaches climate change at schools， a What is the purpose of education？ In an ideal world， education would furnish youth with the knowledge and skills they need in the future。 Given that climate change is the looming existential threat for the entire planet， preparing our youth for the future would entail teaching them about the short- and long-term effects of climate change and the actions that might prevent the worst。 But this is not an ideal world。 I've been part of a grassroots nonprofit that teaches climate change at schools， and I was familiar with everything in this book。 However， if you don't think/talk about climate change and the livability of our planet regularly， you'll learn a great deal from this book。 Worth has an engaging writing style， and her extensive research about science and climate education， as well as her numerous interviews with students， teachers， textbook writers and editors， industry professionals， and scientific experts， make this book an excellent source。 Honestly， I couldn't put this book down。Miseducation is a perfect read for anybody concerned about climate change and the forces that influence or shape curricula and textbooks。 It is also for people who'd like to understand the current state of K-12 education。-ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review- 。。。more
Kat
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