An Inconvenient Judgement...

[MobBoss]

The problem with local control of education is that illiterate, ill-educated parents petition the schools to give their kids the same non-education they themselves received.

I mean it's not like Georgians fail more SATs because they are genetically stupider than people from Minnesota. No, those Georgian parents have to work hard to keep their kids stupid. Sometimes it even means putting stickers on textbooks telling kids not to believe what's inside ("Because we shur didn' when AH was a kid!").

Thanks for the huge ad hom. But I will disagree with you in that most parents, even southern ones, want their kids to have a better education than they had. The problem stems from a lot of the stuff the schools want to push on the kids today have nothing to do with education.

Parents shouldn't control education in the sciences, people who work in the sciences should control what's taught.

I got news for you. The vast majority of teachers that teach grade school, middle school and high school science never worked in the sciences either. Neither have the people who hired them. Neither have the people who designed the curriculum. Most likely not even the people elected to the school board. So by your qualifier, we should probably fire the lot of them en toto.

 

[Stewbert 08]

Thanks for the huge ad hom. But I will disagree with you in that most parents, even southern ones, want their kids to have a better education than they had. The problem stems from a lot of the stuff the schools want to push on the kids today have nothing to do with education.

The average job doesn't use calculus or have anything to do with volcanoes, yet somehow inexplicably these subjects are still covered in college and high school syllabi. A VERITABLE MYSTERY.

Education isn't just vocational, the goal is to create a generation of informed citizens. Saying that talking about evolution or global warming isn't education just translates to "I don't want my kid to be informed about these topics." That's what homeschooling is for, and I repeat, our nation gives parents the right to raise kids exactly as stupid and illinformed (or brilliant and literate, but cmon, who are we kidding here?) as their parents.

I got news for you. The vast majority of teachers that teach grade school, middle school and high school science never worked in the sciences either. Neither have the people who hired them. Neither have the people who designed the curriculum. Most likely not even the people elected to the school board. So by your qualifier, we should probably fire the lot of them en toto.

Where did I say anything about hiring? I said "control what's taught" aka set the curriculum. And yes, the National Academy of Sciences does provide curriculum advice. What's unfortunate in this situation is that hicks in Kansas have the option of ignoring it.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Heh. Well, I for one am kind of the opinion that there isnt really a solution for it. I think its going to happen no matter how many carbon offsets guys like Gore buy for the sole reason that you, me and the guy around the corner and change our lives and our carbon footprint...but the other several billion people around the planet could give a crap.

In other words, inertia is against us. I believe we will simply adapt around it as opposed to actually find any solution for it.

I agree that the way things are now, it doesn't seem stoppable. But I also believe you are right that we will adapt, but maybe not the way you meant. Since GW has become such a big issue a lot of effort is geared towards ways of making energy without negative enviromental side-effects. In the mean time if we try to postpone the seemingly inevitable, we give ourselves time to adapt the way we get our energy.

Humans are resourcefull, and I have faith we will find a solution. But it's not going to be here soon. So, lets give ourselves some breathingspace.