Maine has been selected as one of the lead states to develop rigorous science standards for public schools nationwide, according to an announcement by Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen. The initiative, called "Next Generation Science Standards," is run by a coalition of states in partnership with nonprofits like the National Research Council.

"These standards take us the next step down a path toward more effective science education," Laurette Darling, president of the Maine Science Teachers Association, said. "They will lead us beyond the instruction of science facts to science instruction that actively engages students in the investigation and exploration of the world around them."

An important science fact that is mandated in the curricula of classrooms across Maine is evolution. Maine Department of Education Regulation 131 states that upon graduation, students must be able to "describe the interactions between and among species, populations, and environments that lead to natural selection and evolution." As early as Pre-K, Maine students are expected to start investigating the similarities and differences between present day and past organisms.

Other states in America would benefit by adopting Maine's K-12 approach to teaching evolution. Yet there is still incredible resistance to teaching evolution in states that are under the influence of religious fundamentalists. The Supreme Court has decisively ruled against teaching creationism. But school officials and politicians in the South continue to undermine evolution by either avoiding the topic in their education standards or by trying to push creationism on the public under the re-branded label of "intelligent design."

In reality, there's nothing intelligent about this distracting debate. It's more important than ever that America's school system prepares students with the knowledge they need to compete in the global economy. China's children are learning mathematics and science, not debating evolution.

At least Maine's leaders on the left and right side of the political spectrum understand that we can't afford to politicize science anymore.

“The evidence cannot be clearer. Technology knowledge and skills are key to the future of Maine’s workforce and our economy,” Maine Governor Paul LePage said in a statement. “STEM (science technology engineering and mathematics) jobs are growing at nearly double the rate as non-STEM jobs.”

Image includes mash-up from Norman Rockwell's "Lobsterman" Saturday Evening Post Cover, August 20, 1955.