Originally posted by I am a fish
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ramiel
"“A lot of schools don’t have chemistry labs anymore,” explains CEF educational coordinator Laurel Brent. “We want to give kids lessons that
tie in to their real-world experiences without having them deal with a lot of strange chemicals in bottles that have big long names.”"
And that person calls themselves an educator! I really find that attude repugnant, don't you think?
Anger... Rising... |
It's absolutely disgusting. The whole point of education is to expand people's horizons. Her attitude is also extremely offensive to the children;
it's a 21st century equivalent of telling them not to get ideas above their station.
I imagine this fear of "big long names" is also contrary to what the kids want. Young children are naturally drawn to what's hidden, mysterious and
beyond the realm of everyday experience. If they're told that everything is made of atoms, they'll want to know what atoms are made out of, and then
what protons are made of, and then what quarks are made of, and so on. However, such matters don't "tie in to their real-world experiences", and so
they'll be denied this information. |
)
I'm not that Mr. Wizard, but I do remember watching him on TV, and I
did take the name because him. Let's face it, nobody gets into science because they want to do the dull stuff. You want to see metals melt, see colors
where none existed, generate pops , bangs and fizzes, make interesting crystals, and maybe even a little exotic colored flames. You then realize you
have to learn something to do it. You develop an interest, and without an interest you won't learn chemistry or any other science. Another factor is
the curiosity about why things happen and what makes the universe, and our little part of it world work. Without these incentives our technological
world won't advance.
?)