From: Dr. Blake Nelson (bnelson301@yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Aug 30 2002 - 17:15:28 EDT
Shaun --
Your points are well taken. I think the point about
philosophy of science class being open to smuggling in
hard core atheism is a little overdrawn. No matter
what subject such an instructor taught, they would use
it to smuggle in hard core atheism. While I don't
have a lot of secondary teaching experience, my
academic experience is that the hard core atheist will
use any subject to make their case. Therefore, I
think you are better with the subject than without it,
if at least the text provides context for the
disputes. Likewise, if taught by someone else other
than the science teacher, this would allow some
poptential for plurality of ideas between the science
teacher and the person handling philosophy of science.
As to whether high school students would be able to
handle it, I don't think the vast majority of college
students can handle it. Sadly, critical thinking is a
learned and practiced skill and it is awfully hard to
teach it. When I teach, even introductory classes in
subjects -- including science related subjects (one
can even teach math using a modified Socratic method),
I always adopt a modified version of the socratic
method at least part of the time in order to try to
get students to exercise critical thought faculties.
It takes a good teacher to do that, and it is a lot
easier to lecture or show films, or some other passive
teaching system. So, I think that the more students
get something that at least pretends to ask them to
think critically, the better off they are. Some
students never respond, almost all are completely
flummoxed to begin with, because they have never been
asked to think critically, but it is really a great
thing when the process starts to click with a student.
Anyway, didn't mean to veer off too much into
pedagogy.
--- Shuan Rose <shuanr@boo.net> wrote:
>
> Seeking a middle ground here...
> Sounds like both of you agree that philosophy, or
> philosophy of science
> should be taught in public schools, maybe with
> evolution as a specific
> topic. Should this be done? Could high school
> students be able to understand
> and appreciate this? I always hear atheists arguing
> that a Critical Thinking
> course be introduced at the high school level, with
> the unstated premise
> that the critical thinking be done about religion
> and "supernaturalism". No
> need for critical thinking about naturalism :-)
> A philosophy of science class, in the hands of the
> wrong teacher, could
> easily become a way to smuggle hard core atheism ,
> into public schools. In
> the right teacher's hands, it could lead to an
> informed discussion of all
> the views regarding the origin of the universe, from
> hard core atheism to
> YECism.
> My understanding is also that textbooks are back
> pedaling on the "only
> naturalistic evolution" approach. Steven Jay Gould
> tells of a textbook that
> says "Evolution is one theory that explains the
> diversity of life. You way
> wish to consider other theories". He considers that
> as a disgraceful
> pandering to the creationist lobby, but at least it
> opens the door.
>
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