One of the bloggers I love to disagree with is The Oyster, over at YRHT. He and I disagree on a great number of things and agree on a few things, and reading his stuff is educational. He's got a great post up our Governor's Louisiana Science Education Act. Lots of good comments. As it turns out, he and I are pretty close on this issue.
I agree that the science taught in public schools should be established science. The science department should focus on those aspects of science that are measurable, observable, and empirical. Philosophy should be taught in a separate department.
I also consider that while the public compulsory education system is a great tool, the primary responsibility of parents is the sustenance and education of the children. Placing the children in the public system does not fulfill that responsibility. It is only one of the tools available to the parents.
I am also reminded of a story from my youth. One night at supper, my younger sister proclaimed to the family at large that she learned in science class that the Earth has two moons. Some of us guffawed. The Old Man fixed her with an amused glare and asked where she had learned such a remarkable fact.
"In my science book." she replied.
"Go get it." the Old Man commanded. The book was produced and sure enough, there on page 68, the Earth had two moons. A remarkable fact. The phone call to the school the next morning was remarkable too. Parents should make remarkable phone calls from time to time. It keeps the administrators honest.
What was the "reasoning" behind such a statement? I have read that the Sputnik and other satellites are artifical moons, but when one speaks about a planet and its moons, one is referring to the accidental, naturally occurring ones that were in place and orbiting silently and inexorably thousands of years before Man got into space.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree this business about intelligent design is really a philosophical question, not a scientific one, because it is not falsifiable (the technical term for "proven wrong if it is wrong").
I know that I alone took philosophy classes in college, though my major was Business Administration. My brothers who have Architectural and Geology degrees did not. I attended a private university, one attended a glorified trade school, and the other attended a California State College.
The "two moon" bit was a typo in the book, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteI've taken teachers to task my whole life. One in particular for not knowing how a wing works.
Another time a Geography teacher was teaching that Czechoslovakia was a country, when it split in 1993.
But, no, the "two moons" thing was only a humourus mistake.
Thx for the link and kind words Paw Paw. YRHT loves to agree and disagree with your blog, aw well.
ReplyDeleteSorry. "Aw well" should be "as well"
ReplyDeleteI was looking forward to my college philosophy class at NSU until it started. It was 75% studying ancient guys who sat around and pondered the nature of the soul. I once knew a guy who knew a guy who decided to learn to breathe through his anus. He filled a bucket with water, then leaned over and stuck his head in the bucket.
ReplyDeleteOver and over he did that and tried to breathe through his anus. He should have been a philosopher. Maybe he was!!