9733700 Barton A major national science education goal is to promote scientific literacy for all Americans. Egalitarian in theory, this idea of science for all has proven difficult to actualize among all students in all schools. It has been documented that children living in urban poverty experience schooling as right: Teachers dominate classroom activity, students are passive, and learning is defined through rote memorization. This kind of rigid education in science has resulted in students who view science as a set of facts to be memorized that has no connection or relevance to their personal lives. It has also produced students who do not see or understand the interrelated nature of science and society, and who cannot use their skills and conceptual understandings to make personal decisions or to engage knowledgeably in debate abut scientific matters. This is scientific matters. This significant given that 20% of all children attend school in urban poverty.
