5 ms·
As a former science teacher, this is the sort of thing that really bothers me (no offense to the original poster). Beyond the basics, people don't need science
by techiferous 17y ago
As a former science teacher, this is the sort of thing that really bothers me (no offense to the original poster).
Beyond the basics, people don't need science facts as much as they need science thinking. In other words, we need to be teaching people the philosophy of science: science as a method of acquiring knowledge.
I don't care what you know--tell me why you know it.
- pkulak 17y agoThese facts are what allow you to make informed decisions. Democracy and capitalism both work only as well as the population is able to make good choices. I'd say science literacy is actually very important.
- techiferous 17y agoI'm arguing relative importance, so I'm not saying that the facts aren't important. What I'm saying is that understanding the scientific method and having decent critical thinking skills are more important. Science is more than a bag of facts.
- tokenadult 17y agoI don't care what you know--tell me why you know it. What kind of answers would you be looking for from well educated students?
- techiferous 17y agoWell-educated students would be able to visit a site like this: http://creation.com/ http://creation.com/ and realize that their conclusions are flawed because their methods are wrong: http://creation.com/about-us#what_we_believe http://creation.com/about-us#what_we_believe They would be able to clearly and persuasively articulate why the conclusions are incorrect. If we teach science as a collection of facts that you believe because the authority (your teacher) said so, then we aren't preparing students to think for themselves.