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Agreed. Well stated from a scientific point of view. But let me play the devil's advocate here and say that winning this battle will have little to do with science and much more to do with politics and major changes in how our country values education in all subject areas. I will not go as far as supposing a conspiracy to "dumb-down" the electorate but it certainly has proven convenient (for centuries if not millennia.)
We will never get an honest chance to teach our children how to question the world around them if society keeps up this attitude that "you just better not be too smart for your britches." All of these laws and standards being put forward have nothing to do with education, let alone science. This is part of a completely different agenda.
Erich Rose
Erich Rose Design
807 The Living End
Austin, TX 78746
512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichrose/
On Apr 13, 2012, at 9:23 AM, Charlie Carlson wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Stephen,
> I think you stated it wonderfully.
>
> Charlie
>
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> On Apr 13, 2012, at 6:24 AM, Stephen Uzzo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>> *****************************************************************************
>>
>> Ben -
>> To your point. I think the problem is a structural one and to some degree we have brought it on ourselves by permitting the public to maintain their misconception about what science really is. It is presented in schools as dogma, rather than a process for asking and answering questions about nature, and as a result we have what we've got. Unfortunately, the Common Core frameworks, soon to be standards are not much better than what we have either. Until we really dig into the essence of what science does, and find ways to stimulate the scientific habits of mind among our populace, myth and science will not be easily differentiated; since we have not taught people how to question their understanding and seek evidence, or even recognize it when they see it. As far as I am concerned, none of the content of science will matter if the process of science is fuzzy. As sinister as it is to see science corrupted for nefarious purposes, I don't think just saying my dogma is better than your dogma is going to get us where we want to be.
>>
>> Stephen Miles Uzzo, PhD.
>> VP, Science & Technology
>> New York Hall of Science
>> 47-01 111th Street
>> Flushing Meadows Corona Park, NY 11368 USA
>> V +1.718 595.9177
>> F +1.718.699.5227
>>
>>
>> On Apr 12, 2012, at 6:06 PM, Challenger wrote:
>>
>>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>>> *****************************************************************************
>>>
>>> Martin, I would agree that it's sad that utility is trumping education and curiosity. Very sad.
>>>
>>> I think we need to be careful here with what we say though. Why shouldn't we be able to question scientific ideas? Tennessee's main fault here is that it's only questioning evolution and nothing else, which we all would agree is totally inconsistent and missing the point. We should allow each generation to question everything (and feel free and safe to do so). I'm not the only person who has said this.
>>>
>>> Claude Lévi-Strauss, widely regarded as the father of modern anthropology, articulated the same idea in 1964 in the first volume of his iconic Mythologiques collection of cultural anthropology: "The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he's one who asks the right questions."
>>>
>>> In 1966, Richard Feynman addressing the National Science Teachers Association said: " Science alone of all the subjects contains within itself the lesson of the danger of belief in the infallibility of the greatest teachers of the preceding generation."
>>>
>>> Erich, you may have "lost every argument you've had with gravity" yet that didn't stop NASA from questioning Einstein's theories regarding gravity and subsequently launching the Gravity B Probe...
>>>
>>> While the government shouldn't be questioning these things for students, I do think the students should be free to question these things (read: everything) for themselves.
>>>
>>>
>>> Ben Moon
>>> Manager of Science Education
>>> McWane Science Center
>>> 200 19th Street North
>>> Birmingham, AL 35203
>>> Telephone: 205-714-8343
>>> Fax: 205-714-8400
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>
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