Teach Effectively!

In honor of the 101st anniversary of the Pure Food and Drug Act, I’d like to propose the Pure Teaching Act. According to the Wikipedia article, “The Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906 is a United States federal law that provided for federal inspection of meat products, and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products or poisonous patent medicines.” Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to inspect teaching practices and forbid the dissemination of bogus ones?

My tongue is only a little in my cheek. I remember when Doug Carnine suggested something similar and got hammered by people who were distressed that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wouldn’t support use of “natural” remedies.

But, seriously, how about honest labeling? Should publishers be allowed to put virtually any claim in their sales material? What does it mean to say “research-based?” (I’m working on an answer to this, by the way.)

What do you think? Bad idea?

Link to the US FDA page giving the history of the law.