This issue is all about the chemical elements—the building blocks from which come the more than 49 million inorganic and organic compounds registered by the Chemical Abstracts Service and the many benefits those substances bring to our society. I hope that you learn a lot more about the elements from this issue and the resources […]
Archive for the 'Editorial' Category
Common, National Standards. Has Anyone Asked a Teacher? (August 2009)
Friday, July 31st, 2009 11:16 am
Written by: John Moore
The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers have launched a drive for national content standards for K–12 education. Subsequent to a meeting in Chicago in April, 46 states have agreed to draft voluntary, common standards by July to specify what students should know by the time they finish high school. […]
Posted in Topics: Editorial, Education, General, High School
Beyond Testing (June 2009)
Monday, May 18th, 2009 4:07 pm
Written by: John Moore
In July 2001 I wrote decrying the over-reliance on high-stakes testing as a means of evaluating students, teachers, and schools (1). Eight years later, the situation has not changed for the better. It is worthwhile to revisit the issues raised at that time and make a few more comments.
The strong emphasis on testing seems to […]
Posted in Topics: Editorial, Education, General, High School
Her Own Fairest Reward (May 2009)
Sunday, April 19th, 2009 10:34 am
Written by: John Moore
It is said that virtue is its own reward. The earliest statement is, “Ipsa quidem virtus sibimet pulcherrima merces” [Virtue herself is her own fairest reward] (1). Is learning in the same category? Should it be?There is considerable debate on the subject (2).
Many economists and business people argue that students will work harder and learn […]
Are We Really Teaching Science? (April 2009)
Sunday, March 29th, 2009 5:13 pm
Written by: John Moore
The dictionary definition of science begins something like this: The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. Notice that all the nouns are derived from verbs: observe, identify, describe, investigate, and explain. This implies strongly that science is more a process than a body of knowledge. Only later do we find: […]
Documenting the Value of Education (February 2009)
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 3:09 pm
Written by: John Moore
The 20th century is often called “The American Century”, reflecting the broad influence of the United States of America on world affairs during the past 100 years. Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz, authors of The Race between Education and Technology, argue that a major factor in America’s becoming the richest and most influential nation […]
Posted in Topics: Editorial, Education, General, Social Studies
Sustainability (December 2008)
Friday, January 2nd, 2009 10:23 pm
Written by: John Moore
One trillion dollars. That’s a lot of money. It’s what the U.S. government is likely to spend to shore up (bail out) financial institutions that got into trouble through their own excesses. European governments are likely to spend a similar amount in a similar cause. It is also what we owe to China in the […]
Mathematics Education
Thursday, July 24th, 2008 3:49 pm
Written by: John Moore
Mathematics is fundamental to science because a great many aspects of science are best described and elucidated using mathematical tools. Lack of preparation in mathematics hampers many students’ efforts to learn science and prevents many other students from pursuing science at all. Consequently, mathematics education is important not only for mathematicians, but for all scientists. […]
Posted in Topics: Editorial, Education, General, High School, Mathematics, Science
Energy
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 4:02 pm
Written by: John Moore
I recently had the pleasure of listening to a talk, “Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy Technology”, by Nathan S. Lewis, California Institute of Technology. Lewis summarized data on energy resources and provided his analysis of their implications for the future of human society. He has provided slides, text, and a streaming audio/video version at his […]
Posted in Topics: Editorial, Education, Energy, General, High School, Science, Technology
Teaching Thinking (June 2008)
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 9:56 am
Written by: John Moore
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson, letter to Charles Yancey, 1816
Thinking is hard. Writing is hard because it requires thinking. Both thinking and writing involve time and concentration-commodities that these days are hard to come […]
Posted in Topics: Editorial, Education, General, Social Studies
Posted in Topics: Editorial, General
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