Science education determined by local or central government?

[Hector Medina]

Should science education be determined by local or central government?

Should the legislative power of this nation have the correct form of science that local governments should not evade?

From the other side of the arguement, should legislation allow local governments to set the standards for science education?

Vote on the poll!

Hector

 

[Elduran]

Neither. The science curriculum should ideally be set by the scientific community, ideally by consensus. Allowing people who often have no training in science at all to make such decisions is just plain stupid if you ask me!

Failing that, it should be set nationally with advice given by those in the know.

 

[Fear]

No government should decide what goes into a science curriculum.

 

[Paulos23]

Agreed, government means politics, and politics mean the confusion of facts. Much better to let the experts of the scientific field your teaching set the curriculum.

 

[Paulos23]

Hector,

You may want to put an other category in your poll. Not many things are black or white.

 

[notto]

Define 'local'.

I would hardly want a school board that consists of zero people who understand science put in charge of a science curriculum.

 

[Dannager]

Scientists with backgrounds in education should decide on science curriculum. Professional politicians are in no way suited or qualified to determine it, and local school boards are often made up of people with no background in science.

 

[TeddyKGB]

While I am sympathetic to the position that the scientific community should be the arbiter of the content of science education, that is an unrealistic goal in a system of education provided by the state. Bureaucracy will not simply step aside completely.

Of the choices provided in the OP, federal control seems to be preferable. Not on the assumption that the feds have a greater chance of getting it right, but that we have but a single department to which we can go complain if (when) they get it wrong.

 

[Nathan45]

I voted for local governments, for reasons that have nothing to do with the creation/evolution issue..

A large component of public education is social studies, and it should be as decentralized as possible so that it does not turn into propaganda. Having it centralized in the national government would enforce conformity in the curriculum, so any errors would appear throughout the entire country, and that's way too much power to have in one place.

edit: I suppose the question was "Science curriculum", it would be interesting if that was separated from every other curriculum, but i still don't think centralizing it is a good idea, I think when it comes to education, variety is probably better than conformity, so that you'll wind up with different people from different educational backrounds discussing issues, for a much better mix.

 

[USincognito]

I'm going to have to vote the Planet X option. There needs to be national standards for science education and those should be recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, etc. Local school boards should have some leeway, but they should not be able to go against the national standards.

 

[Blayz]

Define 'local'.

define "this country"

bloody parochial yanks.

 

[Loudmouth]

define "this country"

bloody parochial yanks.

this country=The United States of America

You guys had your shot. I believe they called it "the empire".

But as an aside, how is the science curriculum put together on the other side of the pond?

 

[ChordatesLegacy]

The science curriculum should be decided by the scientific community, and be implemented on a national level.

If what was taught in science classes was decided on a local level, it would lead to children being indoctrinated into the lunatic religious brigade in many states in America.

 

[Blayz]

this country=The United States of America

You guys had your shot. I believe they called it "the empire".

But as an aside, how is the science curriculum put together on the other side of the pond?

A good question, I do not know the answer (though eduction is state based). However, my mother-in-law is a science teacher. I shall ask her.

 

[Hector Medina]

As for the poll options, lets consider 'central government'='scientific community.'

Why is science seen as so specially occupationalized in all aspects? Biological science, concerning world origin/evolution is taught by individuals, -teachers-, who receive traning, not ran by the teachers. The teachers are guides, not infallable masters. Much of bilogical theory is not provable, it is up to the philosophical right of the individual as to what he/she wishes to believe. Intellegent design is really just as unprovable as evolution is really. Both have large followings of individuals who study and teach the subjects.

-Hector

I feel that the U.S. scientific communities operation has its roots in collectivist government. Each U.S. citizen has individual constitutional rights and the Legislatve power, perhaps especially the U.S. Supreme Court has made decisions on too much of a centralized level since the second half of the twentienth century.

 

[LittleNipper]

Should science education be determined by local or central government?

Should the legislative power of this nation have the correct form of science that local governments should not evade?

From the other side of the arguement, should legislation allow local governments to set the standards for science education?

Vote on the poll!

Hector

The very fist thing Lennin, Hitler, and Mao Tse-tung took over was the education of "their" citizens. In that way the "government" can indoctrinate and manipulate the general thinking of the public. When the cental government has control of public education the stage is set for domination.and indoctrination.

 

[TemperateSeaIsland]

The scientific community should recommend a curriculum and it should be up to central government to implement those recommendations.

 

[TheOutsider]

The very fist thing Lennin, Hitler, and Mao Tse-tung took over was the education of "their" citizens. In that way the "government" can indoctrinate and manipulate the general thinking of the public. When the cental government has control of public education the stage is set for domination.and indoctrination.

Wait, I thought that the very first thing they did was take away all of the guns. You fundies need to get your history straight.

 

[LittleNipper]

The scientific community should recommend a curriculum and it should be up to central government to implement those recommendations.

The scientific community should make a recommendation and the local town/community school board should consider it after public review and debate.

 

[LittleNipper]

Wait, I thought that the very first thing they did was take away all of the guns. You fundies need to get your history straight.

Thye took the guns away from the grown-ups and educated the kids at the very same time.