Phil's Rants
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Phil Bartle
Nov 27, 2009, 11:43:14 PM11/27/09
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Rant for this weekend is about controversial subjects
Cheers,
Phil
If the coach does the pushups,
The athlete will not get stronger
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The athlete will not get stronger
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Steven Parker
Nov 28, 2009, 2:16:03 AM11/28/09
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"denial of the existence of
global warming, or denial of the truth of evolution? The space race is
a product of movie special effects? The earth is flat? It is difficult
for me to imagine my believing such. Do they deserve a hearing?"
Some of these are obviousily very ridiculous but yes it is a real problem giving controversial issues a hearing, for example alot of educational resources have been created and taught to students on the existence of global warming based on the impact of human carbon emissions.
From an education point alot has been politically and personally invested in this premise based on IPCC data but yet only recently as I'm sure many of you are aware there has been the "Climategate" controversy whereby the British Climatic Research Unit's computers at the University of East Anglia where hacked. From this emails and documents have been published which show IPCC endorsed scientists engaged in the the falsification and destruction of data and vindication of "sceptical scientists" with data contrary to the global warming hypothesis. i.e the science is most definitely not closed.
See: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/British_Climatic_Research_Unit%27s_emails_hacked
Yes a real problem despite it being difficult to imagine.
Some of these are obviousily very ridiculous but yes it is a real problem giving controversial issues a hearing, for example alot of educational resources have been created and taught to students on the existence of global warming based on the impact of human carbon emissions.
From an education point alot has been politically and personally invested in this premise based on IPCC data but yet only recently as I'm sure many of you are aware there has been the "Climategate" controversy whereby the British Climatic Research Unit's computers at the University of East Anglia where hacked. From this emails and documents have been published which show IPCC endorsed scientists engaged in the the falsification and destruction of data and vindication of "sceptical scientists" with data contrary to the global warming hypothesis. i.e the science is most definitely not closed.
See: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/British_Climatic_Research_Unit%27s_emails_hacked
Climategate: Dr. Tim Ball on the hacked CRU emails - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydo2Mwnwpac
Does this deserve a hearing? Yes most definatley otherwise an education wiki becomes non objective and counter to the aims of educating people into the area of indoctrination.Yes a real problem despite it being difficult to imagine.
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Edward Cherlin
Nov 28, 2009, 2:49:08 AM11/28/09
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A good set of questions. The problem we have is that school has been
socially defined as a place where students are taught the right
answers to all essential questions. (We can go into the history of
that notion some other time.) We cannot readily pretend to teach all
of the right answers and at the same time teach critical thinking or
multiple sides of any question. Worse than that, the most important
questions don't even have right answers. That's supposed to be what
politics is for, deciding what to do when we have no other way to
decide.
Every child, while learning language, culture, physics, what to eat
and what not, and so on, also has to come to grips with the essential
questions.
What is this? Is it real? (Ghosts, races, countries, money, syle, the
Higgs boson,...)
What is true? Should we believe each other, or anybody else in
particular or in general? Why or why not?
What is important? What should I do even if I don't want to?
The two-dollar words for these questions are ontology, epistemology,
and ethics. Children, who have no idea of such words, are remarkably
good at absorbing, or sometimes choosing among, the answers to such
questions given by family, friends, the culture, schools, and so on.
Some children come up with their own answers to some of them.
Right now the US is fighting the third round of a centuries-long
battle over many of these questions, the ones that relate to slavery
and racism. Round one was the Civil War/War of Northern Agression, and
round two was the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Demographic
changes and geverational changes have been steadily moving in the
Progressive direction since then on race, women's rights, gay rights,
the Cuban embargo, and other issues of identity, plus other related
issues such as "Darwinism". The problem with evolution is that it says
that we are all descended from presumably black Africans. Statistics
show steady progress on most social issues, so that they will go away
by 2025 as national and statewide issues, even in Mississippi and
Alabama. Nevertheless they will remain important in some local
elections. Once the desire to prevent social programs for minorities
and women goes away, the desire to strangle the government and never
allow tax increases for anything will also largely dry up. At that
point we will be able to discuss education policy without these
unacknowledged issues poisoning our discourse. Then we can tackle the
real problems, such as corporate power and global warming.
But we can do much better than we have been by making an end run
around political-social control of textbooks. Free digital learning
materials cannot be blocked by "Starve the Beast" policies, nor by
political control of curricula. When we can use computers to teach
deeper understanding at earlier ages, we will create enough space
around tests to have time to do other things
Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin
Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination.
http://www.earthtreasury.org/
socially defined as a place where students are taught the right
answers to all essential questions. (We can go into the history of
that notion some other time.) We cannot readily pretend to teach all
of the right answers and at the same time teach critical thinking or
multiple sides of any question. Worse than that, the most important
questions don't even have right answers. That's supposed to be what
politics is for, deciding what to do when we have no other way to
decide.
Every child, while learning language, culture, physics, what to eat
and what not, and so on, also has to come to grips with the essential
questions.
What is this? Is it real? (Ghosts, races, countries, money, syle, the
Higgs boson,...)
What is true? Should we believe each other, or anybody else in
particular or in general? Why or why not?
What is important? What should I do even if I don't want to?
The two-dollar words for these questions are ontology, epistemology,
and ethics. Children, who have no idea of such words, are remarkably
good at absorbing, or sometimes choosing among, the answers to such
questions given by family, friends, the culture, schools, and so on.
Some children come up with their own answers to some of them.
Right now the US is fighting the third round of a centuries-long
battle over many of these questions, the ones that relate to slavery
and racism. Round one was the Civil War/War of Northern Agression, and
round two was the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Demographic
changes and geverational changes have been steadily moving in the
Progressive direction since then on race, women's rights, gay rights,
the Cuban embargo, and other issues of identity, plus other related
issues such as "Darwinism". The problem with evolution is that it says
that we are all descended from presumably black Africans. Statistics
show steady progress on most social issues, so that they will go away
by 2025 as national and statewide issues, even in Mississippi and
Alabama. Nevertheless they will remain important in some local
elections. Once the desire to prevent social programs for minorities
and women goes away, the desire to strangle the government and never
allow tax increases for anything will also largely dry up. At that
point we will be able to discuss education policy without these
unacknowledged issues poisoning our discourse. Then we can tackle the
real problems, such as corporate power and global warming.
But we can do much better than we have been by making an end run
around political-social control of textbooks. Free digital learning
materials cannot be blocked by "Starve the Beast" policies, nor by
political control of curricula. When we can use computers to teach
deeper understanding at earlier ages, we will create enough space
around tests to have time to do other things
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Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin
Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination.
http://www.earthtreasury.org/
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