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"there are a huge number of people . . . unable to recognize that it is the structure of the system itself that is ultimately destructive to genuine understanding and creativity."

Include me among those people. Please, then, explain why. I'm not being snide here, I truly want to hear the argument. The article cited by Borodog was about a particular teacher who is a stickler for organization. I've known many teachers--both my own and those who taught my kids, and noth in public and private schools--who were the same way and were wonderful teachers.

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The idea that the federal government should be standardizing curriculum (ID or no ID, sex ed or no sex ed, etc. etc. etc.) is a symptom of the problem, not the solution. Nationwide standardization by definition means that you're going to have to play to the lowest common denominator -- students who are just barely aware of the existence of certain ideas in science by the time of their graduation.

My pre-college years in the school system can best be described as "a colossal waste of time." I remember getting excited in the 2nd grade (after looking ahead in the science book) that we were finally going to learn about atoms, and then being utterly dismayed at discovering over the next nine years that nobody in my school had the slightest clue (beyond the utterly trivial) what scientists actually thought about atoms, or why. It was highschool chemistry before I learned the words "quantum mechanics," and a whole new set of questions could be dismissed with a wave of the hand in favor of emphasis on memorizing the names and correct spelling of the elements (which naturally bored me to death and earned my parents the standard "if only your son would apply himself" speech, as well as recommendations against my requests to take advanced math classes).

This kind of thing is bound to happen when the same people who are worried about "falling graduation rates" in their district and the future of their funding are managing a one-size-fits-all science curriculum.

There is no way in hell that I'm going to let any children of mine be victimized in this way.