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History & Philosophy

School Closings in Our Cities: A Deep Ecological Problem

March 23, 2013

In this post I am going to argue that it is a mistake for large school districts such as Chicago, New York, and Atlanta to close schools on the basis of achievement and cost effectiveness. The Chicago School District announced that they plan to close 61 schools which is 13% of the total schools in the district. This will be the largest mass school closings in U.S.… Read more

Part II: Will the Debate over Evolution End Soon?

By Jack Hassard

May 28, 2012

We introduced this topic yesterday and referred to an Associated Press story, in which Richard Leakey suggests that the debate over evolution will end sometime over the next 15 to 30 years. Leakey’s thesis was:

If you get to the stage where you can persuade people on the evidence, that it’s solid, that we are all African, that color is superficial, that stages of development of culture are all interactive,” Leakey says, “then I think we have a chance of a world that will respond better to global challenges.

… Read more

Part I. Will the Debate over Evolution End Soon?

By Jack Hassard

May 27, 2012

Richard Leakey says that looking at the past the way paleontologists and anthropologist do can teach us much about the future. He points out that extinction is one of the most common types of phenomena observed in nature, and that extinctions are related to environmental change. He suggests that environmental change is controlled by climate change, and now, humans are at the center of accelerating, indeed creating the kind of changes in climate that we see on Earth today.… Read more

Sir Isaac Newton’s Notebooks and Papers

By Jack Hassard

December 14, 2011

At Cambridge University you can access original copies of Sir Isaac Newton’s works including his college notebook (1664 – 1665), Early Papers, Notebook on Hydrostatics, Optics, Sound and Heat (1672 – 1706), his own copy of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687).

Although not all of Newton’s papers are housed at Cambridge University, the collection there is important. Newton was a student at Cambridge from 1661 – 1665, and held the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics from 1669 – 1701.… Read more

10 Hall of Fame Teachers

By Jack Hassard

August 9, 2011

Lori Kobelan emailed me linking me to Education Hall of Fame: 10 Teachers who made history.

Throughout our experience as a student, we all had at least one “hall of fame” teacher, a teacher that inspired us, believed in us, and showed us the way out of the woods.

Here is the list and a link to the post where you can read about each teacher on this hall of fame.… Read more

Science Teaching: A Dilemma in Any Language

By Jack Hassard

June 15, 2011

Depending upon the language you use the phrase “science teaching,” it conjures up different meanings and attitudes in the minds of our youth. In some cultures, science classes do not rate very high among students, although at the same time, they will assure you that science is important in the lives of its citizens. In some cultures, very few students want to pursue careers in science, whereas in other cultures, students see science as important to the well-being of their citizens, and because of this they want to pursue studies and careers in science.… Read more

Why do we teach science?: The Cultural Argument

By Jack Hassard

December 7, 2010

In four of the last five posts, I’ve explored the question, Why do we teach science? from four points of view. Using a template by R. Stephen Turner, I’ve presented the arguments for teaching science from economic, democratic, and skills points of view. In this post, I want to use the cultural argument as the answer to why do we teach science anyway.… Read more