Bertha Vazquez

Bertha Vazquez is a middle school science teacher at the George Washington Carver Middle School of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools[1][2] and the director of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), a program of the Center for Inquiry[3] and a project of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.[4] She has been made a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in 2020.[5]

Bertha Vazquez
OccupationMiddle school science teacher
Known forTeacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES)
AwardsNational Association of Biology Teachers Evolution Education Award
Academic background
EducationB.A., Biology
Master's, Science Education
Alma materUniversity of Miami
Florida International University

Education and career

After having reading The Selfish Gene at the age of eighteen and becoming a self-described fan of Richard Dawkins,[6] Vazquez pursued degrees in biology from the University of Miami and in science education from Florida International University.[7] She has been teaching middle school science in Miami-Dade County her since 1990. Although Vazquez's early teaching interest was in environmental education,[8] and she encouraged her fellow teachers even in non-scientific subjects to incorporate climate change in their curricula,[9] she became focused on evolution education.

Vazquez has received national and local honors, including the 2017 Evolution Education Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers[10], the 2009 Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award,[11] the 1997 and 2008 Miami-Dade Science Teacher of the Year, and she was a 2015 finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.[7]

TIES

In 2013, she met Dawkins at the University of Miami and discussed evolution education with him. This and the understanding that teachers learn the most from each other inspired her to conduct workshops on evolution for her fellow teachers. Dawkins followed up with a visit to Vazquez's school in 2014 to speak to teachers from the Miami-Dade County school district. This encounter along with the encouragement of Dawkins and Robyn Blumner led to the beginnings, in 2015, of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science. Vazquez sees TIES as not only about evolution education but also about empowering teachers to be leaders in their educational communities.[12][8]

Bertha Vazquez and Richard Dawkins at CSICon 2016
Bertha Vazquez and Bill Nye at CSICon 2018

Publications

Vazquez, Bertha (17 July 2017). "A state-by-state comparison of middle school science standards on evolution in the United States". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 10 (5). doi:10.1186/s12052-017-0066-2. S2CID 21407033. Retrieved 24 October 2020.

See also

References
  1. "School Staff". G.W. Carver Middle School. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. "How to Teach Climate Change Without Terrifying Your Students". WLRN. 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  3. "Programs". Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. "Bertha Vazquez". Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. "Ten new Fellows elected to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  6. Myers, Melissa. "Evolution Is for Everyone with Bertha Vazquez". YouTube. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  7. "Author: Bertha Vazquez". Skeptical Inquirer. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. Cara Santa Maria (2 July 2018). "Bertha Vazquez". Talk Nerdy (Podcast). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  9. Schwartz, John (11 February 2016). "Science Teachers' Grasp of Climate Change Is Found Lacking". New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  10. "Bertha Vazquez Given NABT Evolution Education". Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York: Center for Inquiry. May–June 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  11. "Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award". OSTA. Oklahoma Science Teachers Association. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  12. James Underdown (24 January 2019). "The Battle For Young Minds – Bertha Vazquez On Teaching Evolution In Schools". Point of Inquiry (Podcast). Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
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