♦ nivek ♦ Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Teaching students to be "competent jurors" on evolution Christian Science Monitor by Doug Cowan "I am a public high school biology teacher, and I do an unusual thing. I teach my students more than they have to know about evolution. I push them to behave like competent jurors -- not just to swallow what some authority figure tells them to believe -- not even me -- but rather to critically analyze, with an open mind, the evidence set before them. Scientific theories have come and gone for centuries, replaced by better ones as new evidence arises. There has always been controversy in science and tremendous opposition to those who challenge the orthodoxy of the day. An effective way to teach science is to explore some of these controversies. Teenagers, not surprisingly, find this approach exhilarating." (05/31/05) http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0531/p09s01-coop.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Neil Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Okay, there's no two ways about it now. If I have kids, I'm moving. If that man is allowed to be a biology teacher, then our school system is officially fucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I may sound arrogant, but considering that curriculums can be determined by unqualified majority vote over where you live already showed me that much long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpooky Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 WHAT "alternative scientific theories" is he talking about??? There aren't any others floating out there in the field of biology!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 As if we wouldn't know what fundie boy means... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caretaker Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I am bound to find out the results of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyby Stardancer Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 I can't believe this... NONE of my teachers were like this, even the Christian ones! (sigh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Teaching students to be "competent jurors" on evolutionChristian Science Monitor by Doug Cowan "I am a public high school biology teacher, and I do an unusual thing. I teach my students more than they have to know about evolution. I push them to behave like competent jurors -- not just to swallow what some authority figure tells them to believe -- not even me -- but rather to critically analyze, with an open mind, the evidence set before them. Scientific theories have come and gone for centuries, replaced by better ones as new evidence arises. There has always been controversy in science and tremendous opposition to those who challenge the orthodoxy of the day. An effective way to teach science is to explore some of these controversies. Teenagers, not surprisingly, find this approach exhilarating." (05/31/05) http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0531/p09s01-coop.html <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If this is true, then the funny thing is, not one of this guy's students will ever believe in Creationism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Prime Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 An effective way to teach scienceis to explore some of these controversies. Teenagers, not surprisingly, find this approach exhilarating. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Okay then, let's teach the "controversy" of the Holocaust. See, some people believe the Holocaust never happened. Their views should obviously be taught as an alternative to Holocaustism. Let's see how many people find that one "exhilarating". Or let's teach the "controversy" of 2+2=4. There are plently of people who think otherwise, so we should allow them to have their views known to students. After all, it's just not right that kids grow up thinking 2+2=4 when it might not be so! Or why don't we just punch a few people in the face and take back science classes for actual science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skankboy Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 If this guy was teaching a history or philosophy of science course, at a college level, then yes, this would be a great approach. But I don't feel it's a valid technique in a SCIENCE class in a HIGHSCHOOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ravnostic Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Geez, I've been gone a long time. Personally, I appreciate this guys approach. Especially with the fundies critic's of evolution, by offering a diversity of views on the subject, he's training the kids to THINK rather than BELIEVE. It's an important step. And, if it takes the acknowledgement of evolutionist's falsifications to get kids who have been indoctrinated in fundyism to at least be willing to listen to the subject with at least receptive ears, then all the better. It's just like the born agains do, one 'plants a seed' and the individual will determine whether to bring it to fruition or not. Such seeds were planted in me when I was a yout', and sure enough I eventually passed on Christianity all together (though in my case the impedus was Greco-Roman mythology more than science, at least early on.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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