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India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

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Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#201

Post by qwytw »

desas wrote: post #55
mhink wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to a commenter up-thread, what Americans call "public schools" are referred to as "government schools", and what Americans call "private schools" are referred to as "public schools". Probably a carryover in terminology from Britain, where extremely prestigious schools like Eton are called "public schools" for historical reasons.

> where extremely prestigious schools like Eton are called "public schools" for historical reasons. In the UK public and private referred to who could access the schools (assuming they had the money), whereas in the US they refer to how the schools are funded. Now the UK has a kludge. The former private schools don't really exist, they've mainly changed into independent fee-paying public schools not controlled or fun…

What would be an example of a non public private school (even in the past?). I assumed the terms are basically synonymous in the UK?

Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#202

Post by kjs3 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #106
kjs3 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had final exams in the US, in 2 different states, in both public and private schools. I have 2 kids, and 16-odd neices and nephews in 5 states, from 2nd to 12th grade in both public and private schools. Everyone talked about final exams. I think they get 'officially' called other things; in my state they're called Milestone Assessments, but they sure sound like a final exam to me. "Georgia Milestones is a single as…

Interesting. I did not go to school in Georgia, but various states in the Midwest and Northeast, and I do not recall any year end cumulative test. If I recall, we got a grade each quarter (or half) and then that was averaged for the final grade.

Maybe it's a regional thing. I definitely had cumulative final exams in GA & FL in the 70s and early 80s. The new generation are in the South and West, and while I don't know all the details of each child's school, the wailing and gnashing of teeth about 'final exams' is consistent across all of them[1]. Since we don't really have national standards in the US for such things, it's shouldn't be a surprise that there could be differences in how grades are handled.

[1] To be fair, the kids could just be using 'exam' and interchangeably with 'test' and it isn't a capstone for the year. But that still belies the assertion that 'exam' isn't used much in the US.

Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#204

Post by witchesindublin »

neilk wrote: post #47
screye wrote: post #23

This makes no sense to me. This highly unlikely to be a political move. Science education is not political in India. Evolution, abortion, chemistry are not debated at all. This is more likely for the reasons to be innocuous. > In explaining its changes, NCERT states on its website that it considered whether content overlapped with similar content covered elsewhere, the difficulty of the content, and whether the conte…

I have no idea exactly how much this particular curriculum change is influenced by religion. But your assertion that science is depoliticized in India is very wrong. In 2018, the education minister declared Darwin was wrong. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/23/indian-educati... This is just one of many such troubling incidents, including apparent indifference to the murder of pro-rationalism academics. Anec…

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Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#205

Post by givemeethekeys »

notRobot wrote: post #179
givemeethekeys wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They don’t value STEM education. They value they jobs and prestige STEM education can get them. Second sentence disagrees with the first sentence.

You don't have to like cows to like milk.

You don't have to like something to value it.

Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#206

Post by davchana »

rhaway84773 wrote: post #114
neilk wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea exactly how much this particular curriculum change is influenced by religion. But your assertion that science is depoliticized in India is very wrong. In 2018, the education minister declared Darwin was wrong. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/23/indian-educati... This is just one of many such troubling incidents, including apparent indifference to the murder of pro-rationalism academics. Anec…

> The story goes that Hindus had nuclear energy 10,000 years ago, but filthy foreigners corrupted Mother India. I’ve never understood this kind of messaging. You see it in all sorts of supremacists. But how is it a credit to you and your ancestors that they had the ability to create nuclear power or fly, etc and then they just lost it! That’s a sign of deep shame. The particular group of people you’re claiming are su…

Its crazy man. There is constant barrage of world's best prime minister, best food, best flag, bext xyz declared by NASA/UNO/AMERICA and stuff. Anything tou can think of, its best is in India as per that whatspap forwards & university. If you agree, good. If you object based on facts, you are anti national, anti Hindu. Really crazy.

Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#207

Post by qwytw »

Bekknqv wrote: post #127
dexzod wrote: post #111

I scanned the whole article but could not find any mention of the reason behind this move. I mean evolution may be violating some Hindu teaching but what is the problem with periodic table of elements?

They're trying to reduce the burden on students. Don't exactly know if evolution violates some Hindu teachings, but a statement was released last month stating that evolution was removed from the grade 10 book because it's present in the grade 12 book- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/darwins... Similarly, I'm guessing the periodic table was removed from the grade 10 book because it's already pres…

> IMO they probably should've kept a page or two about evolution though

How do you even teach biology or natural sciences without dedicated a significant amount if time for evolution (not just a page or two... lol..). Are these subject not taught at all in Indian school? Before 11/12 grade (assuming the students picks them)? What do they focus on instead?

Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#208

Post by witchesindublin »

prakashk wrote: post #163
postalrat wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What countries don't look back at their past glories?

I hope you aren't using the "everybody does it" argument to normalize, or worse, justify this stupidity. That every country has its share of people who engage in such backward-looking, glorifying-the-past behavior does not make it right.

If everyone does it then maybe it isn't stupid? Your argument isn't a valid one.

Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#209

Post by witchesindublin »

mavelikara wrote: post #145
SAS_SBS wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most Indians are in fact happy about that slide, given that 80%+ of the country are Hindus. What a shame!

It is presumptuous to suggest that every Hindu is happy with the slide to Hindutva.

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Re: India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks

#210

Post by malikNF »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #165

Speaking of the periodic table. I learned during Covid that my fourth grader could memorize the entire thing when I practiced the song with her :)

Back home we had a bit of a vulgar song for the periodic table, as kids who were forced to memorize this, the song was much more entertaining and memorable.
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