More on the continuing decline of geology education - this time in the UK
john...@ozemail.com.au
Hello,
I recently went to Mount Annan botanical gardens for coffee with two former geology professor/lecturer staff members of one of our downsized-geology Sydney unis.
Was told still more horrendous stories of what's been done to geology teaching staff AND collections in many places ... some worse than any I'd heard before perhaps. Nobody has comprehensively recorded all this stuff.
Here's some more news on similar ... from England.
Please send on to ALL who you know who value geology and its teaching .. thanks.
I am also sending this to assorted archaeologists too, as they also might agree that geology teaches about all the good old things.
Cheers,
John
############### FORWARDED ##################
Some worrying news about the future of Earth Science Education ...... I am forwarding .........
All the best,
Giles
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From: Richards, Ruth [mailto:ruth.r...@ntu.ac.uk
Sent: 15 March 2015
Subject: The future of Geology in schools
Importance: High
Dear All
I am writing to ask for your support regarding the future of geology, as taught in schools. I have been asked to canvas for letters of support throughout the geology based industry/world and would really appreciate if you could draft a letter of support, however short, to be sent to me by email.
The decision to support the teaching of geology at Advanced Level in school is in the balance and a decision on the future is imminent. Therefore timelines are short and any letter of support needs to be with myself to give to the representative at OCR to collate by 18th March. Currently it looks likely that Geology will NOT be approved for redevelopment in the next round of curriculum changes, in what is called tranche three, as there may not be sufficient support from industry in the business case.
In this letter / email it would be helpful if you could please address the following points:
Why is it important that geology is taught in schools?
The fact that the geology content has been taken out of the new GCSE specifications and this will result in an increasing lack of awareness of issues in the general population.
This WILL lead to less applications for geology degrees at university, and in turn, a decrease in geologists produced
(oil industry, mining, some engineering, construction industry, prospecting, academia etc).
There is a general misconception that the geography specification is the same as geology, which is definitely not the case, so geology needs to be treated as a distinct subject.
I understand that the timelines are tight, but would really appreciate your support. Apologies for the blanket email.
If you know of others who you think could provide support with regards to this issue, please forward this email so that they can respond directly to me. Email me at ruth.r...@ntu.ac.uk<mailto:ruth.r...@ntu.ac.uk>
Regards and many thanks
Ruth Richards
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David Bush
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john...@ozemail.com.au
Sorry Dave,
Was I meant to have sent something in particular and have forgotten? I know I am getting old.
I have been collecting all history I can on Devil's Back (also on Horsley Park, Kemps Creek, South Creek, Ropes Creek and Badgery Creeks area.
Have been looking for the actual houses, or rather ruin sites I guess, for James Badgery's home, the Spotted Dog inn that his son James II ran for a couple years near there, and further downstream along South Creek anything about old "Bungaroo" (and also the modern nearby urban development called Twin Creeks - ESP. re silcrete there), then much further downstream/north the homes for Jordon property (later on ADI and new suburbs by Lend Lease - Ropes Crossing etc.) and Jericho.
I have not found any of them so far except *possibly* have found the Spotted Dog site.
Re Devil's Back I have found that that same man was there who later founded/settled Burwood! (where I live begorrah ...!!) ... Did you know that?
A famous dog named Ginger Megs is supposedly buried on DB ... or at least there is a big boulder with a plaque there. But is this REALLY the burial place of Ginger Meggs?
The Government (Parks people) have been extremely difficult to date in getting to the truth of that with .. even though they presumably did all the (rather recent looking) work there.
Another person who wrote to me told me there was a very long-lasting "Aboriginal" or part-Aboriginal "camp" there well into the 1900s .. though the Parks people indicate having never even heard of that.
My wife's grandfather worked at a quarry there too - but the Parks people don't seem to know where that could have been either .. he was ?paymaster or something , and it was not far north of what is now called Elizabeth Drive (but before the Queen or Princess E. visited has some other name).
I have looked in the bush a bit myself for the quarry .. I found some interesting fungi but no quarry.
Well that is the sort of things I plod on with so please remind me what I was meant to tell you, thanks.
Cheers,
John
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----- Original Message -----From:oza...@googlegroups.comTo:<oza...@googlegroups.com>Cc:Sent:Mon, 30 Mar 2015 23:50:38 +1100Subject:Re: {OzArch} More on the continuing decline of geology education - this time in the UK