Re: No Tag anymore !?!

[Drsolly <drsollyp () drsolly com>]

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006, Fergie wrote:

> I wasn't necessarily going to mention this, but this topic reared
> its [ugly] head again. :-)
>
> [snip]
>
> "Educators Debate Taking The Blood And Explosions Out Of Science"
>
> Can computers and the internet be used to simulate a lab in an
> educational setting? This is the subject of an emerging debate, as more
> classrooms opt to forego real lab equipment, in favor of virtual
> replications. So instead of carving up a frog with a scalpel, a student
> can use their mouse to do the same thing. Those in favor of the
> practice note its cost savings and the fact that students trained this
> way have shown strong scores on standardized science tests.
>
> The predictable response is that virtual training is no substitute for
> the real world. And there may be something to this charge. The
> antiseptic virtual environment can't train a student to properly care
> for lab equipment, take proper safety measure, or deal with unexpected
> events that may occur in the process. For anyone who might go on to do
> science academically or professionally, these are vital skills. Another
> dynamic at play here is the ongoing assault on anything that might be
> dangerous.
>
> This summer, Wired had an excellent piece about how new regulations
> make it difficult to obtain basic chemistry sets, and other scientific
> equipment that could be "dangerous to children". Of course, by
> eliminating the possibility of a child ever being in the presence of a
> chemical explosion, you eliminate much of what makes a kid want to be a
> scientist. If you take the blood and guts out of dissection, then
> you're basically just playing puzzle. While computers can be a great
> educational tool, with endless possibilities in the sciences, it seems
> that kids are missing out by eliminating the real-world experience.
>
> [snip]
>
> Link:
> http://techdirt.com/articles/20061020/115901.shtml
>
> - ferg

Religion is dangerous, children should not be exposed to it until they're 
old enough - maybe 15 or 16. We need to campaign for the end of religious 
instruction and superstitious indoctrination until children are old enough 
to be able to handle it.

Lab work, on the other hand, teaches children about the real world, and 
how to avoid getting hurt by it. Additionally, as a bonus, it gets kids 
interested in physics and chemistry (maybe biology too, but I have to say 
I was put off biology by frog dissection).

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