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01/31/2013 12:54:55 PM · #1 |
I don't know whether to laugh or cry, for several different reasons. Reactions, folks?
Fourth-grader wins science fair with drug-sniffing dogs, ounce of cocaine |
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01/31/2013 01:00:58 PM · #2 |
and that cocaine is not a specifically banned substance.
Strange. :P
Message edited by author 2013-01-31 13:32:44. |
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01/31/2013 01:20:26 PM · #3 |
| Apparently it didn't take place on school property, but rather at a police training facility. I think that's what makes the difference. I don't see anything wrong with the project. It is a science. |
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01/31/2013 01:20:46 PM · #4 |
My first reaction was..."Damn, the price of cocaine has really dropped in the past 30 years."
The whole thing was a bit weird, but since Dad's a pro and everything was on the up and up, I probably would have given her the prize, too. It sounds like an interesting project. |
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01/31/2013 01:23:17 PM · #5 |
| Speaking of weird science and animals, I found this story on the same page fascinating and disgusting at the same time. |
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01/31/2013 01:26:58 PM · #6 |
Cry.......
Though I don't have any issue with drug education, I hardly think it's an appropriate project in elementary school.
Yeah, kids are being exposed to ever more bad things earlier and earlier, but not at this level would I think cocaine is an issue.......unless the kid's parents are using.
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01/31/2013 01:32:19 PM · #7 |
| 4th grade? inappropriate. sad that it won an award. "cocaine is not a banned substance"? huh? |
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01/31/2013 01:34:02 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Kelli:
Speaking of weird science and animals, I found this story on the same page fascinating and disgusting at the same time. |
Ambergris isn't really vomit, it's an excretion......not that the description is any more pleasant!
From Merriam-Webster:"It is thought to form as a collection of feces around indigestible parts of squid and other prey of the whale. "
Yeah, it smells nasty but has been coveted for hundreds of years. Its first known use was in the 15th century. I remember reading about it when I was just a kit (50 years ago) and was fascinated. The perfume industry seems to have a wide and varied demand for the most vile things on earth.
I just don't get it! LOL!!!
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01/31/2013 01:36:05 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
Cry.......
Though I don't have any issue with drug education, I hardly think it's an appropriate project in elementary school.
Yeah, kids are being exposed to ever more bad things earlier and earlier, but not at this level would I think cocaine is an issue.......unless the kid's parents are using. |
The D.A.R.E program is introduced at 5th grade. |
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01/31/2013 01:37:08 PM · #10 |
They probably meant "banned" in the sense of the science fair. Maybe they said no explosives or gasoline or things like that. It's likely nobody even thought of the possibility of a project with cocaine.
I object because it's just poor science. ;) What is the hypothesis? There is none. What are they teaching fourth graders these days?!? |
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01/31/2013 01:41:18 PM · #11 |
My science fair project was demonstrating Hydroponics....
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01/31/2013 01:44:37 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by cowboy221977:
My science fair project was demonstrating Hydroponics.... |
Were you growing weed? :) |
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01/31/2013 01:50:09 PM · #13 |
Actually, I don't have a problem with most of it except that fact that she couldn't handle it, either.
Not that much of a science experiment if your dad comes up with the dogs, the cocaine and handles both while you watch. Sounds like a dad trying to get the kid to win the fair instead of the dad wanting the kid to really get involved in the actual science of a science fair. |
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01/31/2013 01:52:46 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
...Not that much of a science experiment if your dad comes up with the dogs, the cocaine and handles both while you watch. Sounds like a dad trying to get the kid to win the fair instead of the dad wanting the kid to really get involved in the actual science of a science fair. |
this is why i said "sad it won an award". |
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01/31/2013 02:08:41 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
Actually, I don't have a problem with most of it except that fact that she couldn't handle it, either.
Not that much of a science experiment if your dad comes up with the dogs, the cocaine and handles both while you watch. Sounds like a dad trying to get the kid to win the fair instead of the dad wanting the kid to really get involved in the actual science of a science fair. |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
... I object because it's just poor science. ;) ... |
+1
These were my two thoughts. I don't see whats scientific about the project, and the girl apparently did nothing. Yay! lets give her an award!
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01/31/2013 02:31:01 PM · #16 |
'zactly. What vawendy and sneezy said. In the dark ages when I was in school we had something called Social Studies which involved "projects," which laid the groundwork for some evil trends - plagiarism (copying from reference books), deception (disguising the copying) and dependence on others (parents/caregivers/paid minions).
The cocaine was simply to divert attention from the greater problem. |
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01/31/2013 02:47:45 PM · #17 |
Gimme a break, the girl is 10. At that age, asking the question, "Which dog does its job the fastest?" is an entirely appropriate query. Especially when you consider her father's occupation and the fact that he's more than likely discussed his job and the dogs' role in it.
The fact that she didn't stuff the cocaine down her pants, handle the dogs or actively participate in the execution of the test isn't relevant to it being good science.
It may not be Nobel Prize winning science, but it's not terrible either.
The fact that cocaine was involved is irrelevant. Would you still jump all over her and her project if the dogs had detected explosives? or food? or human scent?
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01/31/2013 02:49:56 PM · #18 |
| if you want to speculate (as you did beginning with "if") then she probably wouldn't have won the award we're complaining about, it wouldn't have been newsworthy, and this thread wouldn't exist, IF cocaine hadn't been involved. |
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01/31/2013 03:04:39 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by FourPointX:
Originally posted by vawendy:
...Not that much of a science experiment if your dad comes up with the dogs, the cocaine and handles both while you watch. Sounds like a dad trying to get the kid to win the fair instead of the dad wanting the kid to really get involved in the actual science of a science fair. |
this is why i said "sad it won an award". |
A couple of things....
It's an award for best 4th grade science project at a small private school. There probably wasn't much competition.
Also, she's in fourth grade. Fourth grade is where the kids make the transition from learning to read and write, to using reading and writing to learn other things. She's just at the beginning stages of learning things like scientific experiment design. At that age, being able design and carry out an "experiment" that accurately measures the time it took for the dogs to sniff out the cocaine, then being able to write a coherent report about it probably puts her at the head of her class.
By 6th or 7th grade I would expect the winner to be able to come up with a hypothesis and test it, but in 4th grade, if she's not in some sort of math and science magnet school, and her parents don't know much about science, her knowledge of scientific method is going to be limited. |
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01/31/2013 03:08:04 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
Gimme a break, the girl is 10. At that age, asking the question, "Which dog does its job the fastest?" is an entirely appropriate query. Especially when you consider her father's occupation and the fact that he's more than likely discussed his job and the dogs' role in it.
The fact that she didn't stuff the cocaine down her pants, handle the dogs or actively participate in the execution of the test isn't relevant to it being good science.
It may not be Nobel Prize winning science, but it's not terrible either.
The fact that cocaine was involved is irrelevant. Would you still jump all over her and her project if the dogs had detected explosives? or food? or human scent? |
I think the query was good enough at 10. As a mom, I've just seen too many parent want their kids to be first, so they do all the work and have the kids write down the results. My kid decided to pack an egg in different materials and drop it from 3 ft or so to see what the best packing material was. He had a blast packing the egg in bubble wrap, nails, and anything silly he could think of, and then writing down the answers. All she got to do was writing down the answers.
I don't care about the cocaine or anything else. Parents just need to settle down, find something the kid can actually do themselves, (it may not be so impressive that she wins blue, but she'll probably get more out of it. |
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01/31/2013 03:11:43 PM · #21 |
| When in doubt make a volcano. |
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01/31/2013 03:12:54 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by FourPointX:
if you want to speculate (as you did beginning with "if") then she probably wouldn't have won the award we're complaining about, it wouldn't have been newsworthy, and this thread wouldn't exist, IF cocaine hadn't been involved. |
She might have still won the award, since we don't know the judging criteria. But you are absolutely correct. If cocaine hadn't been involved, it would never have made the news. |
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01/31/2013 03:12:54 PM · #23 |
| I retract what I said somewhat after reading another account which mentioned repetition of the trials. That is an important scientific concept. My original picturing of the experiement was to have each dog try it once and declare a winner. |
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01/31/2013 03:16:37 PM · #24 |
my girlfriend works for the police over here and we have a cocker spaniel, when the police retire theyre dogs they are offered to the staff first, her boss got an ex bomb dog and was told in all seriousness if he ever gives the sign call the police asap quoting you have a police bomb dog..... cool and scary
one of our neighbours is a dog handler he has a massive german shepard for crowd control and chase and a cocker spaniel thats trained to find money, now that would be a good one to have :) |
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01/31/2013 03:20:04 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Originally posted by cowboy221977:
My science fair project was demonstrating Hydroponics.... |
Were you growing weed? :) |
No but I probably would have won if I had
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