[PASSED] Promoting Natural Sciences in Schools

[TempestShadow]

Category: Education and Creativity

Area of Effect: Educational

Proposed by: Kenmoria

The General Assembly,

Aware that all children deserve a balanced and varied education covering different disciplines, in order to gain a wide breadth of knowledge,

Highlighting the sciences as subjects crucial to the development of informed thinking and worldviews, due to being the area of education that concerns the natural world of member nations’ children,

Understanding how an education in science enables a child to pursue far more careers than they would be able to otherwise, as a direct result of the universality of the skills gained by studying the sciences;

Acknowledging the lack of currently-active, comprehensive legislation on the topic of allowing the children of member nations to freely learn about this vital area, and

Wishing to promote a scientific education in all member states, whilst remaining mindful of differing traditions and religions,

Hereby,

1. Defines the following, for the purposes of this resolution:

a ‘school’ is an institute of education for minors, excluding both those that specialise in a particular subject and are in addition to standard education, for example performing arts schools, and those that are for minors of a very young age; and

the ‘natural sciences’ are those subjects consisting of information gained from empirical evidence or logical deductions about natural phenomena, such as biology, geology, chemistry or physics;

2. Mandates that all schools under the jurisdiction of member states must either offer classes in multiple branches of the natural sciences, or a series of general classes in science as a whole, to its students, and that these classes must be of a non-trivial length of time, and contain relevant educational content;

3. Further mandates that any adults within member nations that are undergoing education of a very similar nature to that of schools, either due to receiving poor results upon completion of standard education or due to never having been taught basic subjects, must also be offered science in fulfilment with the principles of clause 2;

4. Encourages member nations to make these science classes mandatory for students to learn at early levels of education;

5. Prohibits any school within a member nation from deliberately disseminating false information in science classes, excluding abstractions or simplifications which aid learning;

6. Clarifies that subjects other than science are not covered by this resolution, and emphasises specifically that religious education may cover whatever beliefs are chosen by the schools or member states;

7. Requires that all member nations fund the science classes mandated by this resolution to a degree that enables appropriate learning opportunities, unless the school is of a private nature, in which case funding is urged but not mandated; and

8. Authorises the World Assembly General Fund to provide money to member states’ governments if they are genuinely unable to fully fund science classes, while still fulfilling the basic obligations of state, in accordance with the above clause, with the condition that member nations must still provide the highest degree of funding they are reasonably able to, and that requests must be logged and frivolous or unnecessary requests of funding denied.