[PLUG-TALK] Birds Aren't Real!

[Paul Heinlein]

On Fri, 10 Dec 2021, Rich Shepard wrote:

> On Fri, 10 Dec 2021, Paul Heinlein wrote:
>
>> I don't know what the answer is, but my current opinion is that
>> vulnerability surface (to borrow a phrase) is much larger than facts and
>> clear logic.
>
> Paul,
>
> I suspect that not teaching science in all grades has a lot to do with it.
> And, more importantly, not teaching students how to learn since that's a
> life-long need.

Richard Hofstadter wrote "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life" back 
in 1963. Kurt Anderson's 2017 book "Fantasyland" details fact-free 
Americana from the Salem Witch Trials onward. Current K-12 curricula 
undoubtedly reflect some of those same trends. I'm not sure that 
increasing science education will address the real issues, although 
I'm all for rigorous and engaging education.

-- 
Paul Heinlein
heinlein at madboa.com
45.38° N, 122.59° W