MetaFilter posts tagged with controversy and education

Religion and America's Academic Scientists

zarq — Sun, 30 May 2010 01:42:57 -0800

Science vs. Religion: a new book, Science and Religion: What Scientists Really Think by Rice University sociologist Elaine Ecklund, discusses the results of her detailed study of 1,646 scientists at top American research universities. Among her findings: ~36% of those surveyed not only believe in God but also practice a form of closeted, often non-traditional faith. They worry about how their peers would react to learning about their religious views. Interview with the author from the Center for Inquiry's Point of Inquiry podcast. Also, here's a webcast from an author discussion forum held at Rice University on April 7th. The concern: By not engaging with religion more fully and publicly, "the academy is really doing itself a big disservice," worries one scientist. As shown by conflicts over everything from evolution to stem cells to climate policy, breakdowns in communication between scientists and religious communities cause real problems, especially for scientists trying to educate increasingly religious college students.
The interviewer on the podcast posts the Intersection blog over at Discover Magazine's site. He's been discussing Ecklund and her book for a few weeks now: Prior to Ecklund’s study, the most prominently cited study of religious beliefs among elite scientists that I know of was by Edward Larson and Larry Withham in Nature in 1998. They surveyed members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and found that only 7 percent embraced a belief in God. At the time, this result got a lot of news attention, and it continues to be discussed today–e.g., in Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. Ecklund’s findings are very different–she gets 36 percent belief in God, and 50 percent religiosity among scientists at elite universities (the difference is apparently due to the large percentage of scientists who claim some type of religious identity but do not believe in God; many are Jewish).
Here's an additional essay (pdf) from Eckland from 2007 that predates her final survey results. From the Social Science Research Council's (SSRC) essay forum for their Guide to Religious Engagement Among American Undergraduates 2008 Blog post: Beyond the God Delusion Editorial from the Chronicle for Higher Education: Should God attend chemistry class? Gives an alternate perspective to Ecklund on Christian evangelicals in the classroom.

Rethinking Literacy

divabat — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:49:19 -0800

The Dark Side of Literacy - Indian education reform organization Shikshantar, who aims to encourage concepts of "Swaraj", or self-rule in local education, argues that current education and literacy models do not take into account local cultures and languages and gives too much credit to the Western alphabet. They also argue that there are many serious flaws in what they describe as UNESCO's campaign of "McEducation For All".

Governor's Schools

whoshotwho — Sun, 13 Jun 2004 08:17:02 -0800

Arkansas Governor's School , one of over 100 "Governor's Schools," starts today. The program is going in to its 24th year despite years of controversy over several mediums.

Stay between the lines.

sarajflemming — Thu, 04 Dec 2003 13:37:48 -0800

Teacher sues over limits on history curriculum. "A seventh-grade social studies teacher in Presque Isle [Maine] who said he was barred from teaching about non-Christian civilizations has sued his school district, claiming it violated his First Amendment right of free expression."

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

martk — Mon, 17 Jun 2002 12:57:28 -0800

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense From Scientific American..."Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up. Besieged teachers and others may increasingly find themselves on the spot to defend evolution and refute creationism. The arguments that creationists use are typically specious and based on misunderstandings of (or outright lies about) evolution, but the number and diversity of the objections can put even well-informed people at a disadvantage. To help with answering them, the following list rebuts some of the most common "scientific" arguments raised against evolution. It also directs readers to further sources for information and explains why creation science has no place in the classroom." Creation "science?"

hit-or-miss — Wed, 22 Mar 2000 10:32:44 -0800

The Supreme Court ruled today that university student fees may go to controversial groups in order to create a "marketplace of ideas". As a member of a university student funding board (and as a member of "controversial" student groups, i.e. GLBT groups), I've been eagerly awaiting this ruling all semester. The case began in 1996 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where three students challenged the use of mandatory student fees to fund campus organizations that they had politically and idealogically objections to. For the full text of the Supremem Court decision, visit campusspeech.org.