Pay Now or Pay Later

The article "Can You Promote Science Without Losing Respect?" (P. Gwynne, The Scientist, July 21, 1997, page 1) addresses bias against scientists who promote science through the media, but it ignores a similar bias against academic scientists who wish to promote science by helping to improve precollege science education.

For 40 years, the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) has depended on practicing scientists to collaborate with science educators on the development of scientifically sound, pedagogically appropriate curriculum for K-12 science. Young scientists often are hesitant to work with us, however, because they receive little credit for such participation. For example, multiple contributions to a biology textbook that reaches 50,000 high school students each year often do not count as much in tenure and promotion decisions as does a single paper in a peer-reviewed journal. I certainly do not intend to devalue contributions to the literature. I ask...