At 9:40 PM -0500 11/8/98, Galloway Cynthia M wrote:
>Greetings,
>>I have just been talking with a professor at another University who is
>involed with writing a grant proposal for a curriculum for preprofessional
>track students. This is a multi-campus endeavor. He was told that
>preprofessional students need only life skills and Botany had no life
>skills so it could be removed from the curriculum. When he asked what
> a life skill was he was given an example of pH. Two Universities had
>already removed Botany from their Intro Biology course. Is this a
>growing trend or just continued ignorance on the part of nonbotanists?
>I'm a little steamed since I, as a Botanist, am expected to know lots of
>nonbotanical things.
>>How do we defend our profession?
I address this question in my first lecture in
all my courses...usually rephrased as why study
botany? When you think about our food, our oxygen,
fossil fuels (and products), electricity, rubber,
flavors, fragrances, medicines...well I guess
you get my drift.
My website has a better list.
ross
________________________________________________________________
Ross Koning | koning at ecsu.ctstateu.edu
Biology Department | http://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/
Eastern CT State University | phone: 860-465-5327
Willimantic, CT 06226 USA | fax: 860-465-4479
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