Worrying

[cultureofdoubt]

40 or more schools teaching bullshit in science classes* via the New Humanist blog.

That's quite a bit more than I expected to be perfectly honest.

*I mean in a really bad way. They teach creationism to the exclusion of evolution. "Teaching the controversy" is bad enough outside a sociological context (in other words, teaching that there are

Comments

[red_tree]

No, denying kids a basic education is not ensuring they are all literate and numerate, which is a real issue in many more schools.

I'm not saying that there isn't an issue with the teaching of creationism and I know you have strong feelings about what children are taught in science but there are far more fundamental issues with British education.

Believe it or not, many science teachers aren't particularly happy with what we're teaching either...

[cultureofdoubt]

Depends on what you count as basic. I'd count literacy and numeracy as more important, but not the sole components of a basic education.

[red_tree]

This is making me quite angry actually- I'm trying to educate kids in all these things you say are 'basic' but you're up there ranting, saying this and that is rubbish but not doing anything about it. Maybe I am taking this a bit personally as well.

I know it's important to teach about the idea of science and evidence (which is something that the new syllabus is actually quite good at by the way) but, if they can't read or perform basic arithmetical operations, we can't do that so it is more fundamental and basic.

[cultureofdoubt]

It's not a complaint about teachers. It's a complaint about higher level decisions made by certain schools as a whole, not decisions being made by teachers. As far as I know the vast majority of schools are doing a good job on basic literacy, numeracy and scientific literacy. Mine certainly did. In the schools above there's no reason to think there's a decision by any individual teacher alone to deliberately fail to teach important stuff

[red_tree]

I think you need to check up on the number of kids who get to GCSE age without basic literacy and numeracy skills as a starting point, but they still have to go through the syllabi for various qualifications so that schools can get their place in the league tables.

Sorry to go off on one, but I think you are blowing this issue out of proportion slightly- yes teaching solely is creationism is wrong, but 40 schools across the UK is a tiny number and there are many more fundamental issues in education that need to be dealt with first.

[cultureofdoubt]

That's ok, I think it's quite right to prioritise literacy and numeracy, and make sure they're in place first and foremost. They're absolutely core.

I'd also say I don't think I've blown it out of proportion. I did give that number, and said it was more than I expected, but it is obviously a small number.

I think it is an important issue, especially when taken together with the issue of faith schools as a whole and whether we should have them. It is an issue that interests me, as part of a wider range of related issues, but it's not even that far up the priority list amongst those either. I have to respect the fact that this is coming about out of the freedoms people have which I count as more important, and there's plenty of mumbo-jumbo out there which have more, and more severe, negative consequences whether financial, emotional, or medical, and those I'd rate of more concern too. But that won't mean I won't express an opinion on only the issues I think are most important.

[red_tree]

I didn't mean not to express an opinion either, and I think maybe my response was more emotional than considered.
I do agree with you that this and the whole idea of faith schools in themselves is an issue, just that there are far more fundamental problems at the core of education in the UK (e.g. literacy, teaching to the test, the fact that where you live basically determines how well you'll do in school).
Oh, and the fact that the Government don't have a clue and won't leave us to get on with it

[cultureofdoubt]

"Oh, and the fact that the Government don't have a clue and won't leave us to get on with it"
I think we're in agreement there :) And of course with the other bigger problems

[evath]

I don't mean to jump into another persons discussion here, because I understand where you are both coming from and this certainly isn't a criticism of your respective opinions. But I have some thoughts I would like share