A new survey of primary and secondary school children in the UK gives Americans reasons not to feel too bad about the state of our own science education:
Just under a half of boys (49%) correctly pinned down gravity as Newton’s ground-breaking discovery, compared with 76% of girls.
Just over a third of boys said Newton discovered fire, while the remaining 16% either said he invented the internet, or discovered the solar system or America.
Eight out of 10 boys correctly identified Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone, compared with 69% of girls.
Dr Pam Waddell from Birmingham Science City said: “While some of these findings will raise a smile, it suggests that school children aren’t tuned into our scientific heroes in the same way that they might be to sporting or music legends.”
To be fair, I’m not sure my 10-year-old self would have been able to identify Sir Isaac’s achievements either. I am fairly sure, though, that I wouldn’t have thought that Luke Skywalker was the first man to walk on the moon—unless, of course, we’re talking about one of the many moons of Hoth (I was ten when the Empire Strikes Back came out).
March 15th, 2010 | 12:09 pm
Joe,
A question of ignorance here: is there any way that sociologists and statisticians adjust for students trying to be funny? I remember taking some government-run sex-ed survey in middle school, and guys next to me indicating that they had had multiple sexual partners when I knew that they barely had the courage to talk to a girl face to face.
Insofar as I can remember, things like this aren’t graded and are confidential, therefore there is often little motivation to get the answers correct.
Any thoughts?
JT
March 15th, 2010 | 2:08 pm
We have reason not to feel bad about the ignorance of the young in our own nation because there is another western nation which produces ignorant students in even greater percentages? That is a very low bar.
This is a tragedy. We’re encouraging shallowness, while neglecting the depths – raising human beings, but not cultivating persons. It will come back to bite us in the end.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back. For human beings, thinking of past matters means moving in the dimension of depth, striking roots and thus stabilizing themselves, so as not to be swept away by whatever may occur – the Zeitgeist or History or simple temptation. The greatest evil is not radical, it has no roots, and because it has no roots it has no limitations, it can go to unthinkable extremes and sweep over the whole world.” – Hannah Arendt, “Responsibility and Judgment”
March 15th, 2010 | 7:27 pm
Those “of a certain age” who were schoolboys in the heyday of The Goons will remember the following exchange:
Eccles (falling out of a tree) – “Who invented gravity!!!??”
Eddie Seagoon – “Sir Isaac Newton”
Eccles – “I’ll get him for that!”
March 16th, 2010 | 6:59 pm
Justin,
You raise an intriguing question regarding the possible impact of middle school aged humor on the outcome of these tests. I would not put it past the little rascals. I wonder how you try to account for that variable, though.
By the way, in case anyone is wondering, I discovered the internet. It was in my sock drawer all along, imagine that.
March 19th, 2010 | 3:15 am
Our system of educating people have really failed. We are trying to give them facts to consume but we really don’t ignite the minds of these young kids.
Young ones should not be fed with the spoons rather, they should be put in a situation where they should think of a device which can become to act like a spoon!
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