The future of science?

Question

What can I do to encourage kids to ask questions and be critical thinkers, to be interested and curious about science and to grow up to be, at the very least, conscientious about the funding and goals of the future of scientific research?
I believe this is a very important idea that is not being efficiently met by today’s education system, and, rather than blame anyone, I would appreciate suggestions and ideas on how to be involved in such activities.

Answer 1

I would have formal critical thinking classes at an early age. I don't know about most schools, but I wasn't taught any critical thinking skills in a formal setting until college, and neither were most people I know.

I say start in elementary. Teach 9 and 10 year olds about formal logic. Teach them about paradox. Show them the eight steps of the analytic process. Show them competing hypothesis method. And don't make it one class, make it a series of classes which build upon each other from grade to grade.

Some might say kids can't learn that so early. Bull. Kids today are being taught and retaining stuff in PRE school I didn't learn until 2nd grade. I once saw a sample of test questions from a 6th grade school from the late 1800s. The questions were harder than ones I get in college today. That shows to me that kids, regardless of race, class, or creed, can learn the hard stuff.

Finally, while this would not directly increase the amount of science training, it would increase the pool of kids who were qualified to go into scientific fields. How many kids today are fascinated by space, or biology, or engineering, but frankly don't have the grades or training to enter those fields.

I doubt this will ever happen here though. There is too much politics in our schools. Look at the huge number of people who want to "teach the controversy" of evolution versus creationism and "let the kids make up their own minds". Hey, why don't we teach the earth centric model of cosmology too, and "let the kids decide"?

Answer 2

You need to get across the idea that what u don't know can kill u. The more u know the better your chances are that u will survive when others die. I have encountered people that were so ignorant that they lit a lighter in the mouth of an oil tank and didn't understand why it blew up. It blew him off the tank and his idea was that he had done nothing that should of caused that. Things are getting more complicated . Like a fire department responds to a spill of HCL and it is ruining across Galvanized floor gratings . What kind of danger is there. It is hydrogen Gas ,which is very dangerous. How would u treat a train wreck down town with a car is releasing chlorine Gas which could kill what would u do. If u had a small release in your house they would install fans to dissipate the gas. It comes down to parts per million . The train wreck the quickest solution is some helicopter about 50 ft. up forcing the gas to disperse and reduce the concentration.

Answer 3

Take about three feet of adding machine tape, thrice. Draw a line down the long center on both sides, thrice. For #1, hold the short ends end to end with aligned overlap. Make a short lap joint by taping both ends to the body of the tape across its width (to make a hat band). For #2, rotate one end 180 degrees before making the lap joint. For #3, rotate one end 360 degrees before making the lap joint.

Take #1. Pinch its center in the long direction so the loop doubles back on itself. Take a pair of scissors, snip the line in the long direction (without touching the edges!), and prceed to cut along the line all the way around back to the start. You obtain two bands identical to the first but with half the width. Boring.

Repeat with #2 and #3. Not boring. What will #4 do?


http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/homesec.jpg

Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. An advocate makes virtue of failure. The worse the cure the better the treatment - and the more that is required.

Look around! American zero-goal education: We will lower the average until every student (especially a tolerated minority) is above it. In order to maintain untenable positions you must be actively ignorant (stupidity, religion, and insanity are passively adequate). Rather than foster brilliance, we allocate for its suppression.

Elitism insists the better is preferable to the worse. Do you want to be shot for spewing hate language?

Answer 4

Teach science correctly! It's taught as a collection of facts and figures to be learned, and not as the process it actually is. And that's how we end up with half the country thinking that the major bases of most science didn't actually happen.

Answer 5

Science is art, it is the wind, it is water, it is the sky, it is fire, it is in you, it is in me, it is in all of us.

Point out something in this universe and I will tell you - That is Science.

Answer 6

send in the hot teachers with short skirts & low cleavage.