This is a great TED talk. Noami Oreskes, a historian of science, clearly explains why we should believe in science. We all need to make sure our students understand how and why science works. It is vital as a democracy that our citizens understand science. We are all paying the price for the current trend of denialism (vaccines, climate science, evolution).
Education
Huppenthal Should do More than Apologize, He Should Learn Some History
John Huppenthal, superintendent of the Arizona State Department of Education, wrote this on a blog:
“We all need to stomp out balkanization. No spanish radio stations, no spanish billboards, no spanish tv stations, no spanish newspapers. This is America, speak English.”
This guy is in charge of our schools!!!! And this isn’t even the worse thing he’s said or done! (See The Arizona Republic)
The kind of recommendation that he proposes is exactly the kind of thing that led to the balkanization of the Balkans. Intolerance and the desire to purify one’s own territory to achieve an ethnically pure state (one people, one language, one religion) is what led to the extreme violence that has plagued the region since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Tolerance is the solution not intolerance!
A Lesson From England: “Education Should Be Beyond Belief”
In today’s The New York Times, Kenan Malik wrote a great piece about the alleged “Muslim Plot” in Birmingham: “Education Should Be Beyond Belief: A ‘Muslim Plot’ in Birmingham Shows the Folly of Faith Schools.”
History Chick in AZ 