Synopses & Reviews
Review
"
Minds for the Making presents a refreshing synthesis of the educational implications of sociocultural and political factors that shaped and were shaped by scientific and technological developments. The educational and scientific philosophies of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were woven as golden threads of reasoned advocacy throughout the text; and for this alone the book deserves acclaim for recognizing the singular influence their thoughts have had on the shaping of education in the United States.
This work represents a new study of the history and purposes of science education from the perspective of the curricular relationship of science and those disciplines traditionally described as the 'humanities'. Although there may be other very praiseworthy publications on some aspects of this topic, Minds for the Making stands alone as a concise reference for students of the curricular ramifications of science for American society.
Developers of science curricula should benefit much from the concise historical analysis of the contending traditions of academism, practicalism, and reformism as they contemplate options for the resolution of current curricular issues. This work should find a receptive audience among researchers and policy makers interested in the place of science in the school and college curriculum." --J. Preston Prather, University of Virginia
"Minds for the Making is a major contribution that deeply and critically informs the evolution, philosophy, and practice of science education in America, as well as the place of science more generally in higher education. Provocative in thought and graceful in style, it achieves what all superior history sets out to do, revealing the past as the essential and complex material of the present. A neccessary reference for science teachers and their students." --Roger G. Olstad, Ph.D., University of Washington
"For the many people exhausted by the crabbed controversies of the last decade over general education, and at the same time perplexed by the relative absence of science from these debates, this book is a welcome breeze. Scott Montgomery provides a clear account of conflicting aims in science education over the last half century, and, in addition, grounds this analysis in a pioneering history that stretches back to Jefferson and Franklin. He shows exclusively that the meaning of science and the meaning of the American future have been real and will continue to be intertwined, and that real reform of education involves reform in learning science." --Philip J. Pauly Associate Professor History Department, Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ
"Montgomery explores the history of science education in the context of American cultural traditions, relating the development of curriculum to cultural themes, political events, and social values. Demonstrating that science, representing a social vision of order and consensus, cannot be divorced from prevailing values, his analysis lends very important perspectives to current discussions of science literacy." --Dorothy Nelkin, New York University
"This work, encompassing an inclusive history and a broad spectrum of issues, should prove an invaluable source for intellectual historians and education professionals alike." --Catherine Goetz, Montana State University
"This work, encompassing an inclusive history anda broad spectrum of issues, should prove an invaluable source for intellectual historians and education professionals alike." --Catherine Goetz, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Synopsis
Using a highly original blend of history, social analysis, and cultural criticism, this remarkably enlightening volume offers the first examination to date of the history of science education in America. It reveals the profound impact science has had upon the changing theory, debate, and practice of schooling from the pre-revolutionary era through the recent conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s. Although a number of excellent studies have dealt with the separate topics of American science and American education, no single volume has yet explored the deep and lasting connections between these two essential influences on the national culture. With a great deal of attention now being turned to the subject of curriculum reform--much of it either aimed at science education itself or else guided by ideas and philosophies that emerged in the past under the rubric of the "scientific"--the need for this book has become particularly acute.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-307) and index.
About the Author
Scott L. Montgomery is a geologist, writer, and translator currently residing in Seattle, Washington. Author of
Minds for the Making, he has written widely in the areas of science, culture, and language studies and has published essays in many journals, including
Science as Culture,
The Georgia Review,
The Massachusetts Review, and
Central Park.