Dr.GH
Posts: 2333
Joined: May 2002
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I am so disgusted with bantam-weight "experts" pontificating about education. So, you experts that think that public schools are crap. What is your "expertise" built on? Show, or fold punks.
My first teaching was in 7th grade science classes in Santa Anna, California. Lathrop Junior High, in fact. I was one of the first bilingual science teachers in the state. We were a University of California project funded by the Ford Foundation).* That was in 1971. One year later, and in 1973, I taught 9th grade classes in "Life Science" for the Fountain Valley school district, supervised by Prof. Pat Healey in the School of Biology at UC Irvine. I next taught at the university level, and then in medical colleges. My next teaching was again at universities. I didn't return to Kinder through High School, K-12, teaching until I was Curator of Anthropology and Director of Education for a natural history museum starting in 1992. There I developed curricula, for 2nd grade (in practice 7-9 year old students) to the High School Advanced Placement classes. I was the Mentor Science Teacher" for the Etinger Foundation Inter-Tribal Education Institute, and the University of California, Irvine Summer Science Institute for Educators.
Along the way I took classes in psychometrics, and while a professor of medicine in psychiatry, I team taught courses in psychometrics. I know IQ tests rather well. My Math Seminar at the Medical College of Georgia had more faculty attending than students.
I received a Certificate of Commendation of Excellence by the Board of Trustees of my college when I taught undergraduate archaeology and anthropology at Saddleback College, a community college BTW. I was also their "Instructor of the year" in 2000. Most of that was because I published with over two dozen undergraduates in original research. I had university faculty and students traveling to visit my "junior" college labs to practice with my "junior college" students.
And while I am piling-on, I was also invited to join the Editorial Board of the Southern California Academy of Science, and then their Board of Trustees. They were an affiliate (if minor) of the National Academy of Science.
I am still invited to give lectures at the university level on pseudoscience, including scum like racist Phillipe Rushton.
Edited to Add: OH, I was recently appointed to the National Science Education Standards Setting Commission. This was supposed to be a very high honor. Only 60 experts in the whole nation were judged competent. I walked out when the entire operation was obviously a set up to rubber-stamp "staff recommendations." Textbook publishers are also the "Standardized" test publishers. Schools and students will never be allowed to succeed because then they won't need new textbooks. This is a 10 billion a year scam.
* (Very freaky side story- the grant PI was an undergraduate! He thought he could double the money by ..... no really ....... Buying POT and selling it for BIG profit. No shit.
Of course he was ripped off. I found out about all this when my nature camp trips were canceled due to "lack of funds." The "PI" had hit the road by then. I found enough scraps of money to hook-up a "Church Camp" to give us the program I had designed. I had an big advantage, I knew the camp had just been busted for prostitution, and they would need a good recommendation soon.
I might as well finish: The cost of my Science Nature Camps were inflated (I found out years later) to cover the $40,000 the nitwit lost to the dope dealers. So the Ford Foundation was thrilled with the improved science, and English Language Development scores from our program. They never learned (nor had I) that nearly half of the grant had been pissed off in a dope deal.
Edited by Dr.GH on Mar. 07 2010,23:26
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"Science is the horse that pulls the cart of philosophy."
L. Susskind, 2004 "SMOLIN VS. SUSSKIND: THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE"
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