I think I can say I agree with the letter copied into this email completely.
It is also unfortunately inevitable that the method of departure of Michael Reiss from his position will be used as fuel on both edges of the science/religion 'war' - the literal Creationists will see it as typical of the bully boy tactics and suppression of Truth in general by scientists and those scientists who are also hard-core atheists will view it with smug satisfaction.
Which is exactly why it is so hard to get Christian (and other faith groups) seriously engaged with current science. Precisely what Prof. Reiss was wanting to happen.
With much of the public scepticism on topics like bioethics and new technologies generated by less science-aware but well meaning religiously-motivated individuals and groups we need good ways and opportunities to listen to and engage these people. Listen to them does not imply agreement with them. Instead it is a mark of respect.
The Royal Society has not exactly taken the lead in all this by losing Reiss which for an organisation with their goals and reputation they should be.
Gavin
-------
--- On Thu, 18/9/08, jenny koenig <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: jenny koenig <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: [PSCI-COM] Royal Society in the news
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Thursday, 18 September, 2008, 1:26 PM
> I guess you will all be aware of the resignation of the
> Royal Society's
> director of education. I think this has important
> consequences for
> science communication as well as science education. Dr
> Keith Taber of
> the Faculty of Education in Cambridge has written an email
> response to
> the Times Educational Supplement which I received through a
> science
> education list and I've copied it below. I think it
> makes a very strong,
> evidence-based case and in my view the same principles
> apply to science
> communication with adults as they do to education in
> schools. To me the
> Royal Society's decision sends a message that
> scientists aren't prepared
> to even listen to people. If that is the case then we will
> simply be
> "preaching to the converted".
>
> One of my interests is engaging complementary and
> alternative health
> practitioners in the science of pharmacology and that is
> the reason I
> worry about this sort of thing. Any comments/advice from
> others involved
> in potentially contentious fields would be welcomed!
>
> Dr Jennifer Koenig
>
> Consultant
> Science ETC
> www.sci-etc.co.uk
>
>
> Keith's email is below - from the
> "learning-science-concepts" mailing
> list.
>
> On Sep 17 2008, Dr. Keith S. Taber wrote:
>
> >Copy of email sent to the Times Educational Supplement
> >
> >I was saddened to learn of the Royal Society's
> decision (announced
> >today at http://royalsociety.org/) to ask Prof. Michael
> Reiss to
> >stand down form his post as Director of Education
> following
> >widespread coverage of remarks he made about teaching
> evolution to
> >students with creationist world-views. The gist of
> Prof. Reiss'
> >argument was that the appropriate response to students
> who raise
> >their beliefs in class when they are taught the
> scientific theory of
> >natural selection should not be to ignore, dismiss or
> ridicule the
> >students' views, but rather to respect their ideas
> as a starting pint
> >for discussion, and to challenge them through the
> scientific
> >arguments that have led to evolution by natural
> selection becoming
> >some a strongly supported and widely accepted model for
> how life on
> >earth has developed.
> >
> >Prof. Reiss' comments are said to have damaged the
> reputation of the
> >Royal Society. As it seems accepted that, as Prof.
> Reiss has made it
> >absolutely clear, he was not suggesting teaching
> creationist ideas
> >(as some misleading media reports implied or
> suggested); and that his
> >views about the status of evolution (as a successful
> scientific
> >theory) and creationism (as something that is not
> scientifically
> >supported and so not a scientific theory or model) seem
> totally in
> >keeping with the broad scientific consensus, it is hard
> to see how
> >his comments are objectionable. If the mis-reporting
> was seen as
> >potentially damaging to the Royal Society, then it
> should have taken
> >the opportunity to use the widespread media interest to
> reiterate and
> >explain its own position.
> >
> >I can only conclude that what was found objectionable
> about Prof.
> >Reiss' position was that he was using his vast
> experience as a
> >science teacher and researcher of science classrooms to
> suggest that
> >certain approaches naively offered by some academic
> scientists with
> >no experience of teaching in the school system, are
> likely to be
> >ineffective. Rather, he draws upon the widely accepted,
>
> >evidence-based position adopted by most science
> educators, that the
> >best way to develop children's thinking is to give
> them the chance to
> >talk about their ideas, and to explore and understand
> why scientists
> >have come to understand things differently. This
> general principle is
> >central to science education, and is strongly supported
> by research
> >evidence: just as natural selection is in biology. It
> reflects the
> >scientific values of maintaining an open mind, and of
> considering and
> >evaluating evidence, that we hope to instill in
> students. Of course,
> >children with strong creationist views may not be
> prepared to
> >question their existing ideas if these are central to
> their cultural
> >and family identities: but Reiss' recommendations
> make more sense
> >than simply dismissing their ideas as irrelevant and
> telling them to
> >instead learn something that contradicts their own
> strong
> >convictions. Children's creationist views may be
> irrelevant to
> >science, but they are highly significant to both their
> learning of
> >the science, and their developing attitudes to science
> as a source of
> >reliable knowledge. Those FRS who decided to ignore
> this and call for
> >Reiss dismissal, seem to be forgetting that their own
> expertise is in
> >science, not schooling, which is presumably why they
> appointed a
> >science teacher and educational researcher to high
> office in the
> >Society.
> >
> >In summary, the decision to dismiss Reiss seems to
> suggests that some
> >academic scientists feel they know best in education,
> and are not
> >prepared to listen to experts informed by a different
> field of
> >research than their own. I fear that it will be this
> decision to sack
> >rather than explain which could bring the Royal Society
> in disrepute,
> >not the inaccurate reporting of a talk in the media. In
> my view, the
> >Royal Society has today done a disservice to science
> education in the
> >UK, and so indirectly to the future of science.
>
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