Re: US Science Education Sucks

From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Fri Aug 24 2001 - 15:52:11 MDT


Olga Bourlin wrote:
>
> From: "Mike Lorrey" <mlorrey@datamann.com>
> >
> > Because of specialization, of course. You don't train people to be
> > chemists when they are going to pound nails all their lives.
>
> Good grief, what an insufferably elitist viewpoint. Understanding how
> science works or being familiar with its macro-concepts is not beyond the
> intellectual skills of people who "pound nails all their lives." One
> doesn't have to be a chemist in order to appreciate the integrity of the
> scientific method. Scientists are not the only people with critical
> thinking skills in our society. Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series did not appeal
> primarily to scientists. Science needs more and better PR, and certainly
> not the perpetuation of myths like "science is too complicated to explain to
> dumb-asses like y'all ..."

Projecting again?

I recall in high school physics, where of the 35 people in the room, the
only two people that ever seemed to get the subject matter completely
were the teacher and myself. Often I wound up trying to translate and
analogize concepts for people when the teacher had exhausted their
toolkit.

I don't think its impossible to teach nail pounders about science, but
the vast majority of them *have absolutely no interest* in it. By the
middle of high school, they are pretty much set on nail pounding as a
career (or the equivalent) and are of the opinion that "I'll never use
this in real life". So long as their pappy was able to make a go of life
without an education, they really don't see a point in it.



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