RE: Who wants to help me with a project (website) ?
April 16, 2009 at 4:39 pm
(This post was last modified: April 17, 2009 at 8:29 am by LukeMC.)
(April 16, 2009 at 10:02 am)Kyuuketsuki Wrote: Yet the USA, probably the most advanced technological/military nation on the planet, is reported to have something like 85% belief in a god and near 50% belief in a literal creation ... whilst I am a great supporter of education I don't it can be the whole story.
Kyu
I wouldn't say that education in the United States is a beacon to stand in awe of. I have a friend in massachusetts who goes to Austin Prep- a catholic private school. She says the standard of teaching leaves a lot to be desired, with egotistical and bipolar teachers in some subjects, and religious fanatics teaching science while at the same time interjecting creationist nonsense. She says that while the religiosity of the school is for obvious reasons (it is after all a catholic school), she dreads to think of how chaotic and incompetant the state schools are if her private school is such a dismal mess.
Sources such as this also illustrate my point:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_li...-low-level
Look at scandanavia with the low illiteracy levels compared to the US and UK.
Who has the most science students aged 16+ ?
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_gr...ts-science
Scandanavia, with America down at 15th.
Scientific literacy:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_sc...c-literacy
Scientific literacy down at 14th, again below our nordic neighbours Sweden, Norway and Finland
Student attitude to school:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_st...ike-school
And student attitude towards school is comparatively more negative in the United States than in my favourite north eastern european countries.
Again, I don't think the American education system is a beacon to stand in awe of. The atheistic counterparts such as Sweden (how i love you) seem to have superior education. Perhaps education really can make all the difference?
