Re: ... then put your tail between your legs (last response)

Posted by Natalie L. Smith on Feb 04, 2002 at 16:15
(168.216.239.158)

Re: ... then put your tail between your legs (last response) (Dale)

Dale, first of all, any school system worth it's salt needs to spell out what they consider to be the necessary information and theories they want included in the standard curriculum. If you don't have a standard curriculum, believe me, there will be some classes with some teachers that will not get the students far enough along to be able to function in any higher education or know the minimum amount to be considered a "graduate" with any honor in the word. I've seen it happen. You need to spell out exactly what you want the students to have "mastered" by the time they leave a given class. While this certainly doesn't forbid any particular additional subject matter, time constraints will definitely limit the degree to which any class can operate on some kind of free-for-all, "let's investigate whatever strikes our fancy" philosophy. I certainly believe there should be open discussion and that any idea should sink or swim based on the hard physical evidence and as much objectivity as we can muster. HOWEVER, that is not the same thing as saying that all ideas have an equal right to be included on that pared-down list that the state says is the official curriculum. If you have any kind of official curriculum at all (and, trust me, if you don't there will be some classes which will spend the lion's share of the time playing paper football and talking about the latest videos on MTV and who just broke up with whom...) you need to decide who controls it. Again, scientists should control science curriculum.

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