Slashdot Mirror
A New Approach to Teaching Science
Gallenod writes "The Washington Post has an article on Joy Hakim, an author trying to re-write junior-high science textbooks to make them more readable. There are some interesting observations on how traditional textbook publishing houses control pretty much everything children read in school and her difficulties in challenging the status quo. However, she's already succeeded with an award-winning history textbook series, so maybe she'll rack up another win here."
They're rewriting history books? Dammit, now I'll have to re-learn all sorts of things, like who won World War II!
Remember "Bring 'em on"? *sigh
"And this is my boy, Sherman. Speak, Sherman." "Hello." "Good boy."
Just start the text books by explaining how science fiction has had many ideas that were later 'invented' by scientists.
Pulp scifi in the 1920's talked about ray guns, which all the established scientists ignored, knowing they were impossible. Now we have lasers.
Rocket ships. Same story.
As anyone who read much of Robert A. Heinlein's work knows, he wrote about a bed made out of a soft bladder filled with water. Now waterbeds are taken for granted.
Those people also read about all the beautiful and sexy women in the 'average' scientist's life. Nowadays we have breast implants, nose jobs, face lifts, liposuction, and every other procedure needed to make that a reality.
Finally, every male character, no matter their age, could please all those women all night. Viola, Viagra.
See how interesting they could make science if they really tried?
I'm gonna say that the Seneca Falls women's right meeting getting 15 pages is a little exaggerated. If your mother is their secretary..then I probably have it figured out.
WW2 definately deserve more than 3 pages, but not 3+ pages per battle. Get a book on the history of WW2 if you want that.
As for highschool kids, you guys got it easy. Wait until college when the guy teaching you wrote the book. When I was in college freshman year, my chem 101 teacher actually wrote the textbook..and it was some POS book, it was the nationwide standard for that course..a fact he never failed to mention at least once a week...I half-expected him to pull his wang out and wave it around like a sword whenever he mentioned it.
Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.