Public Domain Photo from WikiCommons
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is concerned that neither middle school kids in South Boston, nor Harvard graduates know what causes the earth's seasons or the phases of the moon. Their documentary "A Private Universe,"examines why students, even science majors at Harvard, have a difficult time answering these supposedly easy questions. (Incidentally, I did not know what caused the earths phases of the moon. I have long thought/assumed that the phases of the moon were caused by the earths shadow. Um, right, that's not it. The moon's phases are caused by the sun reflecting off of it vis-a-vis its position to the earth.)
Photo Courtesy of MoonConnections.com
My first reaction to A Private Universe was this: WTF? Who cares? Why is it important for me--a historian, a project coordinator, a museum worker-- to answer questions about the causes of the seasons and the phases of the moon? I am more interested in the historical roots of the persistence of racial, regional, gender and socio-economic stereotypes in a post Civil Rights America. Can the astro-physicists tell me what Supreme Court Law legally ended racial segregation? (Brown Vs The Board of Education of the City of Topeka, Kansas) Can they tell me the year? (1954) Can they tell me the Supreme Court Case that Brown Challenged? (Plessy vs Ferguson) Can they tell me the detaols and significance of those cases? Really? Gee, not only do these cases make up the cornerstones of understanding historic race relations in America, they generally common knowledge among American historians and are taught at both the high school and college levels. How about Title IX? Does everyone know the significance of Title IX to gender history? OK, I'll stop.
The point is, as we move forward in our educational journeys, we continue to specialize. Scientists focus their attentions on science and historians on history...
But wait...
After mulling over this a few days, I realized that the point of the documentary has little to do with mastering content. It has to to with leaving school (elementary school , middle school, high school, college, graduate school) with our assumptions and prejudices about the world/universe fully intact. Let me say that again: The problem with the current state of American education is students routinely leave school with their assumptions and prejudices about the world/universe fully intact.
This is a problem for all educators. A big problem. A Private Universe chronicles a middle school unit plan about seasonal changes and the phases of the moon. Highlighting a particularly bright student's struggle to reconcile her long held assumptions about direct light with the information she is learning in the classroom, we see the student's reluctance to let go of her erroneous assumptions about indirect sunlight.
As a historian, my heart sinks when I think of what happens when students cannot or will let go of their assumptions about race, class, and gender. Nonetheless, this has been an illuminating week. I feel like I have a bit of clarity regarding the persistence of sexism, racism, heterosexism, and cultural and religious intolerance--to name but a few.
Photo Courtesy dewfall's Flickr Photostream
So what do we do about it? Well, I am not a big fan of our present standardized testing fetish. I believe such testing only promotes rote learning. Instead, I think the solution lies in teaching students how to think. This means teaching them how to ask questions, hard questions. From a history instructor's stand point, it means teaching them how to be deeply reflective and empathetic. To get away from incessent self reference. I see A Private Universe as a rallying cry. To be vigilant of my own assumptions; to acknowledge that they exist; to reevaluate them and ask questions about them regularly; to assess their accuracy; to make informed decisions based on available knowledge; and to inspire my students to do the same.
Open, honest and realistic post. One point with which I agree, there are several, is that we need to teach students 'how' to think and not just about easy things.
ReplyDelete** The graphic of the phases of the moon make more sense to me than even the youtube video I found which explains it. I am a very visual person.
Ahhh standardized testing. There are very strong opinions amongst public school teachers about "standardized" testing.
ReplyDeleteThe other point I agree with is your comments about specialists and cross discipline knowledge. While I support the effort there is a difference and a line. For instance even in science there are biologists astronomers meteorologist chemists etcetera each of which have fundamental knowledge that the other may have misconceptions about.
After a seed is planted and becomes a tree, where does most of its mass come from: air or soil. There is a good chance a scientist from different fields may have different answers