THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN LIBERAL 

 EDUCATION 



e«9 



THE dominance of scientific progress in our age of satel- 

 lites and space ships is forcing modern educators to 

 reconsider some of their basic tenets. Modern school 

 children grow up in a world whose headlines, literature and 

 even toys are couched in the technicalities of this advance. It 

 is clear that science must become a more integral part of our 

 educational system. While federal legislation and scientific 

 organizations are providing the impetus for this change, edu- 

 cators, in particular liberal educators, are questioning the conse- 

 quence. Progress would seem to demand a highly specialized 

 science curriculum, but history warns against an inbreeding 

 that would lead to barren technology. Modern society certainly 

 requires engineers, technologists and specialists, but we must 

 not forget that the primary end of education is to enable the 

 individual to lead a full life as a human being. 



Considering the modern trend, educators are asking, What 

 will the curriculum of the future be like.? Will it lead to a 

 greater disparity between the humanities and scientific studies,? 

 Many fear the potential of this present trend to divide all 

 human knowledge into ' science ' and ' non-science,' pitting the 

 objective and real against the subjective and imaginary. In 

 particular, what will be the consequences for Catholic Educa- 

 tion.? Here the traditional strain between the arts and sciences 

 has always been more intensely felt. In Catholic Education 

 science has been somewhat of a step-child, constantly upsetting 

 the schedule by demanding additional time, and the budget by 

 insisting on additional equipment. Perhaps — to express one 

 attitude, science is too expensive in time and equipment, and 

 consequently, ought to be deleted from our program at least at 

 the level of higher education. 



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