Why Astronomy is Useful and Should be Included in the School Curriculum

Abstract

Even in my astronomically-developed province of Ontario, Canada, with an excellent public education system, astronomy was not a compulsory topic in the school curriculum until quite recently. So I began collecting a list of reasons why it should be, in the hope of persuading those who set the curriculum.It would be instructive, however, to start by asking: “Why is astronomy not included in the curriculum?” Here are some possible reasons: (i) Astronomy is perceived to be irrelevant to practical concerns such as health, nutrition, agriculture, environment, engineering, and the economy in general; this is particularly true in developing countries, (ii) Most school teachers have little or no knowledge of astronomy, or astronomy teaching; in fact, they may have the same deeply-rooted misconceptions as their students, (iii) Astronomy is perceived as requiring night-time activities (“the stars come out at night, the students don’t”), and expensive and complex equipment such as telescopes, (iv) Astronomy is perceived as being solely “Western” by some non-Western cultures. (v) There may be conflict – real or perceived – between astronomy and personal beliefs such as religion, culture, and pseudo-science; in fact, astronomy is sometimes viewed as being as speculative as pseudo-science, (vi) Many of the available resources are designed for affluent schools in affluent countries, or for different latitudes, longitudes, and languages, (vii) Astronomy may be seen as allied with high technology, with all its real and perceived dangers.