You guys are being so earnest that I just can’t help but attempt to play devil’s advocate.
It is important to learn science for those who are going to use science in their future professions. The rest of us can live a million years without science. For example, as long as my doctor is able to accurately diagnose and treat the diseases when I get sick, I’d trust her to do what is right for me and advise me accordingly.
Similarly, I don’t need to know how my car works in order to drive it. Nor do I need to know how to fix it – that is why I hire car mechanics. I don’t need to understand the chemical composition of the drugs I take as long as there are competent people working for the pharmasutical companies who design those drugs. And I certainly do not need to know how to calculate the forces describing motion – things will continue falling and moving the same way regardless of what I know.
Thus, instead of spending money on people like me, who obviously do not need to learn science, our science education dollars would be better spent teaching science to people who plan to make it their future professions.
So, here you go – discuss this.
16 comments:
Well, I'd agree. I think the value of a science class is not in learning the science itself, but in learning that the world works by science. As long as you understand that things do not occur by magic there is no reason that you must understant the science behind these things. I think that it's probably a good idea to take a science class just to see if you are interested in it. If you're not though, there is really no situation in life where you will need to do high school science problems.
I think that saying that the rest of us can live without science is folly. All sorts of professions that may not be directly related to science may need some knowledge of science to do what they do. Consider, for example, the historian, who may need to understand some amount of science do to the impact it has had on history or for its relevance in some historical problem (i.e. is it ethical to use the medical results of Nazi experiments). Alternately consider the writer who may need to know some amount of science for the topic they are writing on or the businessman who needs information on what the product he is trying to sell is made of. Science has saturated our society and I think one would be hard pressed to find a profession in which it would be unnecessary to have at least some basic knowledge of some science or other.
If what you are looking for are examples in real life then consider what you told us about pumping the brake of a car if you being skidding over ice, or if you prefer, consider the safety that knowing something about your car or the medicine that you take confers.
If you would like what is perhaps a slightly more idealistic argument, consider this: one might that one of the primary goals of science is to raise the level of human awareness regarding ourselves and the world. Scientists have worked for thousands of years to further this goal. Who are we as a society to have such hubris as to say "We are not interested in what you have discovered, we shall come to you when we need it if we need it." If we turn our backs on knowledge then we do not deserve that knowledge at all.
Also,a fun ESL tip: It's pharmaceutical not pharmasutical.
In my opinion, it is very important to learn not only the different sciences but to obtain a wide variety of knowledge. The way people decide on what they want to do in life is by learning about a subject which really interests them. By teaching various subjects in school, it gives students the opportunity to be exposed to many different options for them in life. It also creates the possibility of finding a subject that someone might want to turn into a profession.
Now someone might argue that if you are not going to use the knowledge in the future, then there is no point in learning the subject(s) at all. However, you will never know what your likes and dislikes are by never giving anything a try. For me it was like going to sleep away camp; at first I didn't want to go because I was convinced that I wouldn't like it. Then when I went I loved and I ended up going to that same camp for several years. You can't say that something isn't worth doing or learning if you haven't did it or learned it at all, and you don't have an idea as to what it will be like or feel like until you go through with it.
The one problem with your plan Glaz is that if we do not fund for basic sciences to be taught on the high school level then how would the future physicians or the future drug company workers know that they are interested in science in the first place. If you take away regents science classes, then you take away all science.
Also,a fun ESL tip: It's pharmaceutical not pharmasutical.
Thanks. Yes again, you guys taught me something :]
I think though, that it is very possible to be, well, scammed if you do not have any knowledge in a topic. Like it would be very easy for a mechanic to say "oh well this, that, and those are all broken, we will repair them for your life savings. it's very important you do this!" when in reality, maybe it wasn't as important as they made it seem. The same things goes for anything. You don't NEED to learn anything at all, if you think about it. You could live without reading or writing, but does having these skills help? Yes. Having basic knowledge in different aspects of science can help you just like reading and writing can -- especially in a society that is really starting to focus on logic instead of religion.
i agree with the moon is a lie because i would not feel comfortable completely trusting my doctor to preform surgery or perscribe a medicine that i know nothing about and dont have the background knowledge to comprehend. Witht he world as corrupt as it is today mechanics, doctors, or any profession could easy cheat you and give you the cheapest car parts or whatever. How do you know your car isnt going to break down as soon as you leave and you will need to pay to get it fixed again? It is important to have background knowledge unless you can completely trust someone who has a title with your life...or car.
I agree with Satan's little helper. Rational self interest is for losers. We should be a little more Player Piano and a little less Atlas Shrugged. We do much more for our society as consumers than as thinkers. Questioning the world around you is fruitless.
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Pass the Kool-Aid please.
I agree with Mclovin91 in the fact that it is important to learn science to gain a wider knowledge of the world around us. Society has placed so much emphasis on the here and now, that people don't want to learn something that might help them 30 yrs into the future at a time that they cant see. And by gaining more knowledge, such as different areas of science, they will be able to be more productive members of society than just having specific knowledge in one area.
I believe that in high school, most people have an idea of what they might want to do when they grow up, but a very small percentage of people end up with the occupation that they planned to have while they were a kid. You can't see the future, so you never know when you might need to know some physics, or any other school subject. It is important to have an understanding of anything that may be of the slightest help for someone in the future.
I agree with lespaul07 on the fact that we do need guidance while we are in middle and high school. By discovering the fundamentals, we can later really research what interests us the most. And as most teachers know, students often question numerous topics and ideas during class to get a better understanding for themselves. Even those who will not pursue the field will need to know the basics to cope with their rapidly changing environments. One can be scientifically literate by even picking up the newspaper and reading about new scientific discoveries or controversies.
I agree with mclovin. You need to have an idea of what science is in order to know whether you like it or not. By learing multiple sciences, it gives you a better understanding to what interests you. I also think by not taking some sort of science you won't be as smart. Yes, you don't have to know how a car works to use it but it would be better if you did know. But not everything you learn in science will come into play during everyday life. You don't need to understand the chemical compostion of drugs but you still learn it anyways to give you an idea of how things work.
I believe that learning science is part of the basic study needed for high school students. It broadens the range of knowledge that we have before we go off to college. It is necessary for students to have a strong base of knowledge before going out in life and finding out what they want to do with their lives. I think also that i agree with aaronburr in the fact that the more us students learn about science the more we can understand the world. If people do not properly understand how certain things work then what hope is there for the future?
I agree with this to a point. I think schoolchildren should have to learn basic science and biology, but after ninth grade, science classes get to be very specific, and almost useless to real life situations outside of science professions. Chemistry and physics are such pinpointed studies, that it seems you should only have to learn them if you plan on continuing your college education in those fields. Also, I feel like when someone goes to college for a certain type of science, their job is to teach you everything you need to know about that subject, and prepare you for a job dealing with it. Therefore I think science classes should be optional after ninth grade. It would benefit everyone because the people taking science who don't want to do it as a profession, won't have their grades being brought down by a subject which they will most likely never use in their lifes after high school, and the kids who really want to take a certain science course can delve deep into the subject without the class being held back by people who don't really want to be there.
Yes, i do agree with you that if you do not plan on having a career in science leave it to those who do. However i also feel that people are able to be interested in science without pursuing a career in it, therefore science class is not a total waste of time and while it does teach you many useless things it also teaches you things that you might use one day.
I agree with "aaronburr" that as long as you realize how the basics work and how the world has evovled then you should be fine. Also that in high school science is probably the only time you will use those formulas so if you dont remember them im sure you can still live a satisfying life.
The sciences are important because science is the answer to everything around you, and by human nature, we are always searching for answers. We have learned many things about science since the time of the neanderthals and we could possibly credit all our knowledge to them because of their initial ability of questioning the things around them and always looking for the answer in things. Learning the basic sciences in high school is very important beacause even if you decide not to go into a science field for your choice of career, then you will almost have no understanding of what is going on around you, and could drive you crazy searching for the answer, or you could really not just care and live your life without questioning and searching. I am not one to criticize the life some may choose to live so I will not, it is not my place, but I beleive that you should always try and find the answer even if you do not lilke science because overall the attitude of wanting to find the answer allows you to open your mind to all the different things in life, scientific or not, and creates a thinking process in your mind to allow you to solve many of life's problems. Like I said, I am never one to criticize how others choose to live their life, yet I believe the basic understanding of the sciences is nessecary for the majority of the population (especially those who decide to vote) to know.
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