davidvoegtle.net

State failed to outline Bible classes for schools: I was sure the state board would give this matter the same thoughtful evaluation as it gave courses in aerobics and apparel in our public schools. In fact, the state board’s aerobics standards are specific to the point of making sure students can identify appropriate footwear. Standards [...]

T he Austin Chronicle: News: Texas Fiction Science: The State Board of Education does its part to fantasize biology: There’s nothing the evil overlords of the fictional future like more than a nice, healthy round of brainwashing. Whether it’s George Orwell’s totalitarian government of Oceania thwarting rebellious citizens in 1984, the “conditioning” of children in [...]

Girls’ math skills now equal boys’ – Education- msnbc.com: “Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, ‘Math class is tough!’ girls are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys.” (Via Scott-386550 @ Newsvine.) I know when I was recently in school for my mathematics degree, the number of women [...]

Seeded at Newsvine: Taunting and bullying often goes unnoticed by teachers, and administrators have few policies in place to handle it. Only 11 states have enacted laws to protect schoolchildren from being bullied specifically because of sexual orientation.

Seeded at Newsvine: Patsy Jindal [John Derbyshire]What do I have to say about Louisiana Governor Jindal signing the Louisiana Science Education Act? Very little more than I said here back on June 20.

Seeded at Newsvine: An advisory letter written by Andrew Weber, deputy attorney general for legal counsel for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office, and sent to the Statesman by various advocacy groups Wednesday, said the curriculum requirements adopted by the State Board of Education for cour …

Seeded at Newsvine: As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of “academic freedom,” single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven’t made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed.

Seeded at Newsvine: The rosy fingers are touching universities too. Though some classics departments in the United States have had to close or merge, the number of students enrolled in Greek has been going up since the 1990s. In 2006 fully 22,849 took some Greek (32,191 studied Latin).

Seeded at Newsvine: Say that you are in charge of developing a state-wide high-school curriculum in French-language studies, and that you need the advice of a group of experts on how to put together the ideal programme.

Seeded at Newsvine: The intelligent design case in Dover, Penn., was the stuff of tabloid dreams: a community divided when a school board led by religious fundamentalists tried to bring creationism into the local biology curriculum.

Top 5!: Once again, Austin proves to be a great place to live. If we could somehow change the weather pattern I would tell you all to move here. But, the latest list puts Austin as the 5th smartest city in America. It’s so true. Our ranking went up simply because I live here. (Via [...]

A standard Greek dictionary (which they insist upon calling “lexicon” for no good reason) is the Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell & Scott. Apparently Liddell & Scott is published in three editions: a small/pocket/travel size, the standard student desk reference edition, and a massive über-dictionary (although not the most über-dictionary; a “one to rule them all, [...]

Electron Band Structure In Germanium, My Ass: Abstract: The exponential dependence of resistivity on temperature in germanium is found to be a great big lie. My careful theoretical modeling and painstaking experimentation reveal 1) that my equipment is crap, as are all the available texts on the subject and 2) that this whole exercise was [...]

No More Penguins, Please.: If parents such as Mrs. Wirthlin want to continue that status quo, where gay people don’t exist and her children’s classmates sit in emotional torment because society won’t recognize their family or their affections–all because of her own moral indignation–then she is free to do so. But, the political tides are [...]

Marx out of 10: Norman Geras: Should students be taught about the works of Karl Marx at university? (Via Guardian Unlimited.) The article is interesting in its own right. The following comment, however, . . . Texas1983 March 22, 2006 02:09 AM Yes, by all means continue to teach Marx. While you’re at it, make [...]

Illinois leads new push for universal preschool: The programs give children a boost in school and into adulthood, advocates say. (Via Christian Science Monitor.) If you know me at all, you know that education is probably my #1 issue. I view quality education as the best way to advance the most people in society. An [...]

Walker’s World: Why Europe fails: As French riot police stormed their country’s top university to evict student protesters, a new report on the poor state of European education forecasts … (Via United Press International – Intl. Intelligence.) Two things about this article. First: “This is a slave contract,” shouted one of the students being arrested [...]

For all the concern that people have over the care of children, it’s important to remember, I think, that the vast, vast majority of children are innocents, full of wonder and curiosity and possessing an outlook on life untrammeled by cynicism. This was put so beautifully below in a post regarding this, that I wanted [...]

Several related stories for this post. There’s been much discussion lately about education in this country, and (happily) at the moment rational forces are winning out over those that would dilute the foundations of a rationally-based humanistic liberal arts and sciences education with not-so-sly “teach critical thinking” attacks that are designed to sow confusing, pseudo-science, [...]

Dover echoes in Ohio: “Although it legally applied only to Pennsylvania, the thoroughness and decisiveness of the Dover decision was expected to have a broader impact. The Ohio Board of Education has now buckled under its weight.” (Via Ars Technica.) Perry could stand to learn the lesson Ohio’s board obviously did. So long as there [...]

Science is being undermined, and it’s happening in a systematic, insidious way. Look at school boards instituting either new “science” definitions that don’t rely on naturalistic causation or Intelligent Design. Look at public polling showing vast majorities of Americans don’t believe in fundamental scientific theoretical frameworks. The administration isn’t the only participant, but they certainly [...]

Where Science and Public Policy Intersect, Researchers Offer a Short Lesson on Basics: “Congress took a science class last month, and some experts would like to make it a regular part of the curriculum.” (Via NYT > Science.) What an incredibly useful idea. It’s the kind of idea that makes you wonder why it isn’t [...]

Schools grapple with policing students’ online journals: “They find limits hard to draw, and proponents stress the positive uses of blogs.” (Via Christian Science Monitor.) I imagine we’ll see more stories of this type in the next few years. It’s kind of a shame that something like blogging/social networking online is attracting this sort of [...]

“Intelligent design” belittles God, says Vatican astronomer: “February 1, 2006: The director of the Vatican Observatory, Father George V. Coyne S.J., delivered a talk in which he argued that ‘the Intelligent Design (ID) movement, while evoking a God of power and might, a designer God, actually belittles God’ on January 31, 2006.” (Via National Center [...]

This weekend I picked up my new-to-me car, a Hyundai Tiburon. On the way home, I happened to hear a rebroadcast of an American RadioWorks documentary: Intelligent Designs on Evolution. If you get a chance to listen to it, I recommend it whole-heartedly. It was very well done, and it presents both sides fairly; i.e. [...]