Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-l] The attack on science is political, not philosophical



For the most part, I tend to agree with you. I think that the parents
themselves are doing a disservice to their kids by not allowing them to
confront the kind of arguments that they will be encountering all their
lives. Specifically, even if you have strong religious beliefs regarding
creation, you should still want you child to understand the
evolutionist's arguments if nothing else but that they could learn to
counter those arguments. Further, even an atheist should want their
children schooled in world religions. Public education provides a base
set of knowledge that we expect everyone to have so we can have
meaningful social and political discussions.

However, what about a child who has taken a moral stand against
experimenting on animals. Do we force that child to dissect frogs and
cats? Is the point of the schooling to learn how to dissect or to learn
anatomy?

Bob at PC

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-
bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Tarara
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 7:59 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] The attack on science is political, not
philosophical

I'm less concerned about motivations than what I perceive to be the
purpose
of public education. In my mind, it is to serve the society as a
whole.
It
is paid for by the tax-payers. A student's parents are a VERY small
subset
of that society and therefore I have problems with parents being able
to
opt
their children out of portions of that education. In many cases they
can
even opt their children out of special education that has been
diagnosed
as
needed by the child. Parents, of course have the 'right' to opt out
of
public education altogether--private school, home schooling--but
selective
opt-outs should not, IMO, be part of the public system.

Rick

***************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
******************************
Free Physics Software
PC & Mac
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
*******************************


----- Original Message -----
From: "James Mackey" <jmackey@harding.edu>


I'm glad to know that Alfredo knows all parents who might object to
evolutional teaching and that their interest is in power and
control,
instead of what they (right or wrong) believe to be in the best
interests
of
their children. I can relax secure in the knowledge that an all
knowing
authority ( tic) has spoken!
James Mackey

On 1/13/08, Alfredo Louro <louro.alfredo@gmail.com> wrote:


_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l