Book Description

A science curriculum editor - and veteran teacher - exposes myths and misconceptions perpetuated by irresponsible science textbooks and offers clear explanations to defrauded teachers and students. In the fiery politics surrounding the struggles in modern education, one crucial element has eluded criticism: Our day-to-day source materials. People have placed the blame on teachers, students, parents, administrators, funding, and education standards, but little attention has been given to the textbooks on which teachers and students so heavily rely. Teachers and students have reasonable expectation that the state-adopted textbooks are dependable tools they can rely on for accurate accounts of scientific explanations, theories, and facts - yet closer examination has shown that this is decidedly not the case. This is what Richard P. Feynman, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in physics, had to say about the textbooks submitted to California for state adoption: "They said things that were useless, mixed-up, ambiguous, confusing, and partially incorrect. How anybody can learn science from these books, I don't know, because it's not science." Have you been misled? Take a short quiz to see: 1.Seatbelt buckles can burn you on a hot day because metals get hotter than non-metals -True or False? 2. The blood carried by your veins has no oxygen, so it is blue rather than red -True or False? 3. Clouds form when moist air cools because colder air holds less water -True or False? The answer to all three questions is false. In Science Myths Unmasked, Rudel adeptly sets straight dozens of commonplace misconceptions with crystal-clear scientific fact. A must-read for science teachers, students, and anyone desiring to reclaim the accurate accounts they deserve but never received.