Over a century of attention to "science literacy for all" has not produced a public that can appreciate a common body of core science facts, concepts, and methods; nor have many acquired from their years in K-12 education the ability to apply science learning to everyday problems or to the scientific issues that concern a democracy. Some have called the endeavor impossible and moved on to lesser goals of science appreciation and heuristic guides to choosing trusted experts. However, a route to science literacy may yet be possible, if we redefine the goal as achieving literacy within a community. The tools for that end are different from what is generally offered in the classroom. What will be more helpful is a set of core values that underlie the generation of science concepts and facts, that inform the methods of science, and most importantly, that enable the social interchange that is the essence of the scientific endeavor. These values-the ethos of science-should be offered to elementary school students as a culture that forms through inquiry into questions students bring with them from their own experiences. Suggestions are offered as to how this might come about, with the central role occupied by the teacher as model and with the culture nurtured by the teacher, by a practitioner from the world of science, and eventually by the energy and contributions of the students themselves.

中文翻译：

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科学素养：更基本的意义。

一个多世纪以来对“全民科学素养”的关注并没有培养出能够欣赏核心科学事实、概念和方法的共同体的公众；许多人也没有从多年的 K-12 教育中获得将科学知识应用于日常问题或与民主有关的科学问题的能力。一些人称这种努力是不可能的，并转向了科学欣赏和选择可信赖专家的启发式指南等次要目标。然而，如果我们将目标重新定义为在社区内实现识字，那么通向科学素养的途径还是有可能的。为此目的使用的工具不同于课堂上通常提供的工具。更有帮助的是一套核心价值观，它们是科学概念和事实产生的基础，为科学方法提供信息，最重要的是，这使得作为科学努力本质的社会交流成为可能。这些价值观——科学精神——应该作为一种文化提供给小学生，这种文化是通过探究学生从他们自己的经历中带来的问题而形成的。提供了关于如何实现这一目标的建议，教师作为榜样发挥核心作用，教师培养文化，科学界的从业者，最终学生自己的能量和贡献.