3 ms·

It is concerning to me to center science on what are "the problems of our time". Take "infectious diseases", I doubt that topic would have been included in 2019

It is concerning to me to center science on what are "the problems of our time". Take "infectious diseases", I doubt that topic would have been included in 2019. Of course COVID changed what is a problem of our time. But what is next? If there is a nuclear incident, does nuclear physics become the problem of our time? If a startup clones humans, does genetic research become the problem of our time? Teach the fundamentals, give students the tools to asses for themselves what the problems are, and how to best approach understanding them.

lupire 3y ago
Should there be any examples along with the fundamentals? If so, which examples? Maybe examples that are relevant to the world students live in? Otherwise, just teach Latin instead of everything else.
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  Aren't classic contrived examples fine? "Jim has five apples then eats three..." Trying to make examples 'relevant to students' sounds like a recipe for cringe to me; adults who can do that effectively seem few and far between. "Jim catches 5 pokemans with his nintendo, then loses 3, how many pokemans does Jim have?" Maybe that's a bit unfair, I guess they mean to do things like "Due to global warming, the ocean level rises 5mm per year, how much will it have risen in..." Teaching arithmetic framed in the context of climate science or something. Still, it seems hamfisted and cringe.
  - rhaway84773 3y ago
    Your latter example makes no sense. There is absolutely no reason Jim had 5 Apples and ate 3 so how many does he have left needs to be changed to anything related to sea water level. When I learnt the greenhouse effect in school in the mid 90s, my curriculum absolutely linked it to sitting in a car and getting hot and also global warming as well as growing crops. All of which could continue in such a curriculum.
    - mcpackieh 3y ago
      If you're in an earth science class, then earth science themed examples are natural and unobjectionable.

lupire 3y ago

Should there be any examples along with the fundamentals? If so, which examples? Maybe examples that are relevant to the world students live in? Otherwise, just teach Latin instead of everything else.

mcpackieh 3y ago
Aren't classic contrived examples fine? "Jim has five apples then eats three..." Trying to make examples 'relevant to students' sounds like a recipe for cringe to me; adults who can do that effectively seem few and far between. "Jim catches 5 pokemans with his nintendo, then loses 3, how many pokemans does Jim have?" Maybe that's a bit unfair, I guess they mean to do things like "Due to global warming, the ocean level rises 5mm per year, how much will it have risen in..." Teaching arithmetic framed in the context of climate science or something. Still, it seems hamfisted and cringe.
- rhaway84773 3y ago
  Your latter example makes no sense. There is absolutely no reason Jim had 5 Apples and ate 3 so how many does he have left needs to be changed to anything related to sea water level. When I learnt the greenhouse effect in school in the mid 90s, my curriculum absolutely linked it to sitting in a car and getting hot and also global warming as well as growing crops. All of which could continue in such a curriculum.
  - mcpackieh 3y ago
    If you're in an earth science class, then earth science themed examples are natural and unobjectionable.