Re[2]: FW: News Media and How to Deceive

[Ruth Weiner <rfweine@sandia.gov>]

Doug,
     
I believe that you are correct in your observations regarding how the news media
operates.  Many individuals are money oriented.  But, being a former public 
school teacher I take offense at your last point.
     
     The discussion on science teaching is illuminating but merits some 
     comment.  I, too, spent several years teaching math and chemistry in 
     high school.  moreover, I tutored students in the Master of Arts in 
     teaching program.
     
     One reason for the emphasis on criticism of science in the K-12 grades 
     is that science and math, as well as foreign languages, are generally 
     not subjects that even a bright student can pick up on his or her own 
     by reading, and differ in this way from, say, English and history. So 
     science, math, and language TEACHING are relatively more critical to 
     the student's knowledge base. Also, K-12 science teaching tends to 
     trendiness and should, indeed must, concentrate on basics.  I see no 
     point in trying to teach high school students risk analysis or 
     thermodynamics.  They are generally not mature enough to understand 
     these subjects (even college freshmen aren't, in my experience).  Give 
     high-school graduates instead a good grounding in basic physics, 
     chemistry, and biology, and see that they have really excellent 
     algebra skills and understand the scientific method.
     
     A problem is that the more basic and fundamental the course one 
     teaches, the more one has to know about the subject in order to make 
     it understandable.  Teaching freshman chemistry required (for me) a 
     much better and broader understanding of chemistry than teaching 
     quantum chemistry to graduate students who had the fundamental 
     knowledge to build on.  I am at a loss to suggest resolution to this 
     particular dilemma at the K-12 level.
     
     Clearly only my own opinion.
     
     Ruth Weiner
     rfweine@sandia.gov
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