Why isn't astronomy and cosmology taught more in public schools?

Star-Gazer

New member
They have classes devoted entirely to biology; they should have classes devoted to astronomy. Maybe it's changed in the last six years since I graduated High School. Or maybe it's different in other parts of the US.

In elementary school I remember learning the planets and there names, and that’s it. Nothing about how the planets formed, how the solar system formed, or how the sun powers itself. I learned very little about the moon. In Middle school I don't remember much about science classes, I just remember I was smarter than my science teacher in 7th grade. She didn't think elephants could swim. Then she said that pointing toward the ground wasn't "down" because we lived on the side of the earth. So she had us pointing south because that was what she thought was down. How ignorant, I actually remember asking her if she had a college education in science.

Anyway, I'm just raging about the education I received. I've learned more by reading books and studying things on my own in the last two years than I did in four years of High School, honestly. I just hope college next year will be different.
 
As a science teacher I can say it is in the national standards for Middle School as I dedicated an entire semester to this topic when I taught sixth grade. So it should be taught in either 6th, 7th , or 8th grade. It should repeat itself in the grades 9-12 as the curriculum usually "spirals" or repeats itself in the future. I am not certified to teach beyond 9th grade so I cannot truly say whether it is in the national content standards for high school. So my only conclusion is that astronomy must not be part of the standard course of study in the state in which you live.
 
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