English adviser to get rid of climate change from the school curriculum

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jun/12/climate-change-curriculum-government-adviser

So, Tim Oates, the head of the government review, argues that the climate change issue should be taken off the school curriculum to make science more relevant. This is concerning in two dimensions.

First, Oates believes that the climate change issue is not something "empirical" as to be treated as a serious subject. This demonstrates the precarious position of the issue in the public discourse. Anyone who is well-read in the subject of climate change should know that the rate in which the globe is warming is unprecedented, and therefore concerning. Basically, Oates considers climate change as something that may or may not be happening, which is rather disturbing, considering the job description of his position.

Second, Oates does not realize that education, especially for teens, will not be effective unless they can relate it to the real life--that is, experiential learning. Surely memorizing of formulas and theories provide a fundamental basis for a pupil to understand the mysterious workings of the world, but s/he will not keep the knowledge unless s/he can relate it to the real life. Climate change is an excellent case study for students to learn how the ozone layer works, and how the human activities affect the world. By returning "to the core," Oates is attempting to drag the children back to inefficient and therefore boring methods of learning.

I am not too familiar with (well, ignorant of) the way the British government system works, so I do not know how much authority Oates can wield (hopefully not much). But this is a very concerning incident that demonstrates the precarious position of climate change as a social issue. I just thought of the guy who told Michael Reynolds not to mention the phrase "global warming" in the New Mexico House of Representatives in the movie "The Garbage Warrior."