Commenting on this post, Bruce said:
I happen to think we need more government in some areas. e.g. A National Policy on Education. I want the best people in our country to come up with one Math book and one Science book.
Bruce, you are a communist. Really, though, "how to teach math and science" is not fixed. Teaching is a science, too, where there is constant innovation. The best way to embrace this innovation is to allow competition in the market. Let inventors invent. We must allow people to take chances with new and progressive teaching styles. By centralizing textbooks, you bury it in the bureaucracy of the Department of Education where it will reek of mediocrity forever.
And science is constantly evolving. Some textbook makers will be quicker to adopt new theories than others. Being a Texan, my community will likely never be as progressive as I would like to see it with respect to science. However, let those progressive communities choose progressive books. Let ethnic communities use books that are targeted to better teaching their children. Give them the freedom to choose.
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7 comments:
Sounds like a recipe for the creation of intellectual backwaters. If I've interpreted your post correctly, it sounds like a reference to the people in Kansas who teach intelligent design. It's interesting to note that the Kansas school board had to change their definition of science in order to accomodate the teaching of intelligent design.
I'm certainly not endorsing the Kansas cretins, but I respect their freedom of choice.
At a national level, Bush supports ID. McCain supports ID. Many, many of the majority Republicans support ID. If we were to centralize textbook writing, it would be subject to the whims of the majority. I'd rather have some isolated Kansas backwaters that I can steer clear of than turn the entire country into a backwater.
Currently, I believe it's up to the states to allow ISD's to select from several books that are approved for content. While it wouldn't eliminate the rogue element (see Kansas), it would dampen the backwater effect.
Just a couple more ideas here.
Textbook writing is already a centralized endeavor. The books used in science courses are written by publishers such as Harcourt Brace & Company, Holt Rinehart and Winston, Houghton Mifflin, and a handful of others. The textbooks contain established scientific knowledge that has been subjected to extensive critical review. I doubt that any mention of ID would make it through a review process for one simple reason: it's not science.
The KS school board wanted to add a sticker into scientific textbooks to question evolution by natural selection. A sticker. Hmmm.
Good point. My central thesis was that we're better off with Houghton competing with Holt competing with Harcourt than having the government in charge of creating "the truth." I frankly don't trust the government with the truth as recent events have amplified. Look at places where the government dictates what's taught: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea. It's contrary to the marketplace of ideas and contrary to my fundamental belief in freedom.
By the way there's been some salient debunking of ID by unlikely sources lately. Noted conservative and Fox talking head Charles Krauthammer with the Washington Post chimed in with this recent column
Even the Vatican has weighed in with an outright refutation
It's nice to have you on the blog "Dick Logan". I've been hoping to see you chime in, and we welcome your prose as well. I'd be happy to post your work or I can enable you to post at will. Let me know.
Upon further review, Dick, how can you say that textbook writing is centralized if there's "Harcourt Brace & Company, Holt Rinehart and Winston, Houghton Mifflin, and a handful of others" involved?
Bruce suggested that it be centralized a la China i.e. there is ONE source for all publishing. You've named three major companies and likely many smaller ones. That is not centralization.
Good to finally comment on your website. I've been an avid reader for the last few weeks. My lame reason for not commenting earlier: I couldn't (and still can't) think of a clever name to use.
I'm working up to some better postings, but I've got to get on a plane to Raleigh for Thanksgiving.
I will say this, though: I'm looking forward to seeing the Cowboys crush the Broncos on Thanksgiving day. As I may have told y'all, I briefly thought about supporting the home team when I lived in Denver. Then I went to a game at Mile High Stadium, with 77,000 of the biggest assholes on the planet. Fuck that, I'm sticking it out with Crazy Ray, not the Barrel Man.
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