So much for STEM...

[cheri1122]

Pretty much everyone agrees that in order to remain competitive, the US needs to focus on teaching/learning science, technology, engineering, and math.
These 2 links say we have a long way to go, sigh.

Florida schoolgirl charged with felonies for science experiment | Washington Times Communities

This Is How You Create A Future Right Wing Terrorist (IMAGES) | Addicting Info

The hyperbole in the second may be a bit extravagant [or not], but if that's a fair representation of what religious schools are teaching students about science, that's pretty scary!

 

[LDB]

The first is an excellent example of why schools need to be turned back over to local authority and all the liberal academians shown the door. That's ridiculous. The second is an excellent example of why hysterical liberals shouldn't go into journalism. "The child abuse (yes, it’s child abuse) pictured above..." but you can bet the same hysterical liberal will devoutly defend and promote pro death and that it isn't abusive at all.

 

[cheri1122]

Can you explain how the first article shows "why schools need to be turned back over to local authority"?
The zero tolerance policy for explosions may have been federally inspired, but the responding LEO who called the prosecutor was definitely local, as was the prosecutor who advised charging the teen. Both seriously overreacted to an innocent transgression. I think a much better lesson would have been taught and learned if the punishment fit the crime: having the teen write an essay on the dangers of chemical experimentation, say, to be read aloud at a school assembly, by the author.
The second is an example of 'teaching' that is flat out wrong, [as in incorrect]. In a science class, there's no defending that, no way, no how.
"Hysterical liberals" my aunt Fannie! Science doesn't know or care from liberal - that's your axe to grind.
And it's getting rather dull from overuse, I gotta tell you.

 

[davekc]

Teacher should have been "teaching" and overseen the experiments. The teacher is responsible, not the student.

As for the second, well....there are extremes on both sides. Indoctrination is much larger from liberals just based on demographics. Quite a few more public schools verses religious private schools. But...if you going to follow where the problems are as a percentage....guess what? Much less out of the private religious schools.
Who is corrupting who?

 

[LDB]

My statement was liberals and journalism. The author admits in the byline to being filthy liberal scum which may very well be correct. What the author doesn't admit to is horrible writing skills. The hysterical liberal part is evident in the next to last paragraph.

"The child abuse (yes, it’s child abuse) pictured above is one of the many reasons that liberals fight tooth and nail to keep religion out of schools. The children that grow up believing this propaganda will grow up to be dangerously ignorant and dangerously fanatic. They will grow up to bomb abortion clinics and threaten “Second Amendment Remedies” when they continue to lose at the ballot. They will insist that the only way to “take back their country” will by “watering the tree of liberty.”"

The child abuse pictured above... the children will grow up to be dangerous... They will grow up to be bombers... etc.. Yeah, nothing hysterical or over the top in those statements.

 

[scottm4211]

Lol Leo preaching restraint.

 

[cheri1122]

Teacher should have been "teaching" and overseen the experiments. The teacher is responsible, not the student.

Except the teacher didn't have anything to do with it, it was a totally extracurricular 'experiment', lol. The student just wondered 'what would happen if....' and kaboom!!
It was misguided, but still, the curiosity & desire to see for ones' self is something that science thrives on. Charging the student with a felony is just asinine, under the circs.

As for the second, well....there are extremes on both sides. Indoctrination is much larger from liberals just based on demographics. Quite a few more public schools verses religious private schools. But...if you going to follow where the problems are as a percentage....guess what? Much less out of the private religious schools.
Who is corrupting who?

When it comes to science, there should be no 'indoctrination' to any agenda, except the facts. If they called it religion, that'd be honest, but calling it science is indoctrination, and that's inexcuseable.

 

[davekc]

When it comes to science, there should be no 'indoctrination' to any agenda, except the facts. If they called it religion, that'd be honest, but calling it science is indoctrination, and that's inexcuseable.

Is that like teaching global warming?

 

[cheri1122]

Is that like teaching global warming?

If public schools are teaching anything under that category that isn't factual, I have to think there'd be a whole lot of parents pitching a hissy fit, right?
And I haven't heard a peep on the subject, so.....

 

[Turtle]

If public schools are teaching anything under that category that isn't factual, I have to think there'd be a whole lot of parents pitching a hissy fit, right?
And I haven't heard a peep on the subject, so.....

Parents and others have been pitching a hissy fit for years. Anthropological global warming and climate change is at best junk science, and is more akin to a religion than real, actual science. It's become even further complicated by the politicizing of the issue, where "science issues" are being taught, rather than the science in science, the scientific method of science. Thanks to all the peeps you've been missing, legislatures in several states have mandated that alternate viewpoints be taught alongside of the anthropological global warming, much like the legislated mandates of teaching creationism viewpoints alongside evolution, as if the various viewpoints are all equally valid science. That's the problem with teaching "science issues" rather than teaching science.

Now, thanks to all the hissy fit pitching that's been going on, the new National Science Standards developed by 26 states, and to be immediately adopted by at least 40 states, will teach the scientific method of global warming and climate change, how scientists work and gather information to draw conclusions, rather than just teach the conclusions themselves as factoids for students to memorize and believe without question. (LA Times article that gives a decent overview)

They'll still be teaching the political football of human-induced global warming and climate change, but will also teach the impact of solar activity and other cosmological effects on the planet's climate patterns. Most importantly, the causes of Global Warming and Climate Change will now be regarded, correctly and properly, as scientific theory rather than as scientific fact. Teaching it as scientific fact is politically motivated junk science. Teaching is as scientific theory teaches students to learn to recognize changes to the theory because of the scientific method, and to learn to ask, "What if that, then?" instead of learning to say, "Oh, OK."