whoops!
i am not now nor have i ever been a depressive personality.
my original posting on this subject was intended to prompt
list members to actually speak up and debate these issues.
the negative comments in that mailing were directed at the
rather silly reaction published by spiked NOT at the 21CS
pilot.
The comments pulled out by Phil (and buried at the
bottom of this posting) were meant to be a statement of
support for the aspirations of 21CS, as i understand them
to be. Like many others i was very excited to hear about
this initiative and i look forward to following its
progress. We at Graphic Science have spent many years
working on resources which use contemporary media and
popular issues as starting points for discussion about
science and what young people want/expect from it.
I am sorry (actually, mortified) if anyone on this list
mistook my uncharacteristic lack of forthright overbearing
opinion assault for wobbliness or even support for the dull
stultifying fact burdened interest squashing current
curriculum.
Anyone still unsure of my feelings on this (or any other
issue, come to that) is welcome to contact me off list for
a lengthy turbocharged but ultimately optimistic rant.
ben
ps the bit about ben and his well known talents i thought
rather good myself.
On Fri, 21 Feb 2003 06:02:56 -0000 Philip Brown
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Ben Johnson and many others are depressed by the 21st century
> science (21CS) curriculum pilot for the 14-16 age range.
>
> On the other hand many of us are optimistic about it.
>
> 21CS follows a very successful AS Science for Public Understanding
> course (http://www.scpub.org/home/) (SfPU) which exactly hits Ben's
> objectives of
>
> > To that end (and without a
> > detailed understanding of the pilot project in question) I
> > would suggest that an exploration of the science behind
> > contemporary issues (AND its social implications) would be
> > a good place to start.
>
> 21CS is run by the same people as SfPU (Nuffield Curriculum Centre and
> the University of York Science Education group). More details
> from http://www.21stcenturyscience.org/home/.
>
> There are at least two reasons for our optimism.
>
> 1) We believe that people need to be engaged in the democratic
> debate over the many science and technology issues that are
> crucial to the future of society. This is at least as important
> as having a good supply of science undergraduates.
> To achieve this we need to provide the sort of mix that Ben talks
> about and which 21SC aims to provide.
>
> 2) The current science curriculum has failed to provide a steady
> stream of science undergrads. 21CS is one possible way to reverse this.
> The success of SfPU shows that it engages students. Teachers report
> a high level of motivation in their students.
>
> I can only recommend Ben to find out more about this exciting
> development, and start to think positively about how he can bring
> his well-known talents to help move the process forward.
>
> Phil Brown
>
> East Midlands Regional Officer
> British Association for the Advancement
> of Science (The BA)
> 176 Greendale Road
> Coventry CV5 8AY
> [log in to unmask]
> +44(0)7808-294844 (mobile)
> +44(0)24-7671-7275 (office)
>
> National Science Week, 7 - 16 March 2003 www.the-ba.net/nsw
> BA Festival of Science, University of Salford 8 - 12 September 2003
> www.the-ba.net/festivalofscience
> For details of all events for adults and children, including March BAYSDAYS
> www.the-ba.net
>
>
> > -----Original Message (abbreviated)-----
> > From: psci-com: on the public understanding of science
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ben Johnson
> > Sent: 16 February 2003 23:00
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] New pilot science curriculum in the UK
> >
> > ....
> >
> > However, it seems to me that if we are teaching science to
> > everybody under the age of 16, we should not be preparing
> > them all for a place at the high table. Rather, we should
> > prepare them to be end users or citizens or consumers of
> > the outputs of science. To that end (and without a
> > detailed understanding of the pilot project in question) I
> > would suggest that an exploration of the science behind
> > contemporary issues (AND its social implications) would be
> > a good place to start. Not least because, if a pupil is
> > invited to consider the rival claims made by competing
> > groups within society based on scientific arguments, they
> > should know when a chemist is straying into sociology, or a
> > politician into physics.
> >
> > ....
>
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----------------------------------------
Ben Johnson
Graphic Science
Faculty of Applied Sciences
University of the West of England
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol
BS16 1QY
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Phone +44 (0)117 344 3756
Mobile 07813 580 397
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/fas/graphicscience
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