libraries and evolution teaching

Wilson Zorn wilson.zorn at worldnet.att.net
Sun Aug 29 03:23:16 EDT 1999


Just happened by here and was reading this thread and saw this note re
critical thinking.  The biggest problem is that few grade/high schools in my
opinion teach anything approaching critical thinking.  Rather they typically
teach a slew of "facts" and a smattering of academic skills here and there.
And I would say that this is the fundamental issue, not so much what facts
get taught (no, I'm not disregarding that, just claiming it is less
important) but rather that thinking and logic get taught to young people, so
they can intelligently challenge/assimilate what they learn, whether it's
backwards-looking creationism or naive environmentalism.

John Grehan <jrg13 at psu.edu> wrote in message
news:3.0.1.16.19990817075917.10c7c8f2 at email.psu.edu...
> The library! I forgot about the library. This is the great leveling field
on
> competing theories. Even if some published efforts are at a disadvantage,
> enough will get in. Now with internet resources people can access the
> scope of literature beyond that held by their own library (and in the
> case of school libraries that are much smaller this would be important).
>
> If students are taught the basics of scientific enquiry - the ability to
> think critically and ask questions, it really does not matter what
theories
> they are presented with in school? Once a student digs into the literature
> beyond the classroom presentation the subject (whatever that may
> be opens up without limits) it is possible to expose oneself to
alternatives
> and perhaps make up one's own mind.
>
> I was taught only the classical natural selection model of evolution at
> school and in the univerisity undergraduate courses, but that did not stop
me
> chosing an alternative once I read more widely, and that reading was
> certainly not under the control of a thought police.
>
>
> John Grehan
>



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