Hey folks.

Sorry I haven't been around much the past week. I actually do have a good idea for a post in my head right now, but don't really have the time to get it on (digital) paper with all of the stuff I've got on my plate, both school and life related. Foremost on my mind right now is preparing for WestCAST. I've been writing a lot of stuff. I'm starting out just writing as much as I can as a stream of consciousness kind of thing and working it down into a 15 minute thing that I'd want to actually present to colleagues. I'm on track, but there's a lot to do yet. That in mind, I don't want this thing to stagnate so I figured I'd post the introductory ramble from what I'm doing as sort of a teaser of my presentation a week today (eep.). Here it is, hope it gets the brain a-churning:

On Dishonesty

In gathering my thoughts for this workshop that has descended on me with what feels like the force of a particularly impatient freight train, I forced myself to think about the various reasons why science bored me in school and why it fascinates me now. Unfortunately, this fascination emerged during the course of a degree in philosophy with practically no scientific background, so sadly too late to pursue this in any kind of formal setting, at least until after I finish what I'm working on now. Despite this, I find myself reading scientific articles in my recreational time, rather than all of those great works that, as an aspiring English teacher, some would expect me to know cover to cover (first edition if possible). As I have meditated on this issue, it has become apparent to me that it may not actually be the science itself that interests me, rather the concept of it. Man, do I ever sound like a philosophy major now, huh? It's true though. The story of science is not one merely of discovery of fact or the natural, observable world. The story of science is one of turmoil; one of constant upheaval and debate. People have died for their beliefs. Some, with lacklustre safety habits, have died from them. It is this passion, this fervour, and this constant struggle to be more right than the other guy that fascinates me. It just so happens that in reading up on all of this stuff, you learn all sorts of things about what they were more right about. How then, do I expect myself to (as the thought experiment that brought me into this project asked) teach science to a class of ninth grade students? After a great deal of thought and no small amount of soul searching, I hit on a simple idea that I think could really get people interested: lie to your students.

Sound like a decent start? The whole thing will be going down on Thursday, February 23rd at 1:30pm in EDT1220b at the University of Calgary, if you're around. I'm honestly not sure whether a friendly face would make me more or less nervous, but no way to know without one being there.