My Science Teacher said something I do not particularly agree with....

[kstaven]

Sounds like the way I deal with most politicians rafter. Sign of a good diplomat is being able to prove some one wrong but do it in such a way they come back for more!!!

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Sometimes it's all in how you explain it. You can get a lot farther with people when you can make them feel good about themselves while you are telling them they may be wrong about something.

Wow! That was a great response Jean, Very well thought out. The part that I quoted is my favorite.
I was always told that what you say is not as important as how you say it. A little more simplified but basically the same.

Now what I have to refrain from doing in a lot of situations is holding up the sign I have in my shop which reads; I am trying to see things from your point of view but I can't get my head that far up my....... but I digress!

In all seriousness you hit the nail on the head and that would be a great way for the student to correct the teacher without stepping all over the teachers toes, so to speak.

Randy​

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Well, DH always says "It's all in how you explain it"

Since I know he is telling me I am SO WRONG, when he talks to me like that, it is aggravating, but unless you do it all the time to the same person, they don't "catch on", and you get the result you want while getting some self-satisfaction in telling them they are wrong without them knowing it, and they thank you for it!!!

DH has mastered this technique, but I am learning!!

Jean

 

[barg]

A couple thoughts on all this:

My daughter’s elementary school teacher sat in one day and told the kids "facts" about the solar system;
She explained that the earth has seasons because of the earth’s elliptical orbit. (which is not true)
It took me a while, but decided that the misinformation needed to be corrected.
I saw the principal one day and eased into the subject, correcting her as diplomatically as I could.
She smiled and agreed, but to be honest, I don't think she took it all that well... cest la vie.

Ok, it is true that genetics determine what color something is going to be, however it is not exactly true that the same thing that causes skin color also causes hair or feather color.

In many cases it is melanin that causes color, but this is not always the case (as is proven by the ability to dye chicks at all)
the flamingo is another great example of this
"plumage white or pink (pink colour deriving from pigments in food"

What determines the color of an animal’s hair, skin or feathers is a function of how light is reflected, refracted and/or absorbed.
The amount of Melanin will determine how much light is reflected and what colors are reflected, but there are other factors that can play a role in color such as the structure of the feather, hair, whatever.

Does egg yolk have something in it that could make chicks, that have a particular feather color or structure, appear yellow?
I am not qualified to answer that.

I know that there are reports that astronauts skin turned orange from eating alot of carrots, although I can't site a credible source that proves that one.

The point is, I can see where a specific color of chick could be affected by the food it eats, and a yellow chick could be yellow because it ate something that was integrated into the structure of its feathers.
It is a plausible idea but does that mean that your teacher is correct... probably not

He may have heard the thing about flamingos and just transferred that knowledge and reapplied it.

I think the idea to test the theory is a great one, however, you will need some detailed information about the structure of chick feathers and how a yellow chick differs from a white chick.
I haven't seen a post on here that says specifically what it is that makes yellow chicks feathers yellow; maybe I missed that?

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Another thing to think about: If you have a white wall and paint it with yellow paint, it is easier to cover the wall then it would be if you started with a red wall and tried to paint it yellow.

The same applies to altering the color in the chick, if there is already a deep dark color present, it will be difficult to see the affect of an introduced color, such as yellow.

I didn't see in your original post where the teacher made the assertion that "all chicks are yellow" as many who have replied here seem to have assumed.
Maybe there is something to what your teacher said, although I doubt it.

How about this idea; instead of correcting him, tell him you are fascinated by the concept and would like more information on how this works.
Tell him you are interested in the process by which egg yolk is integrated into chicken feathers, and the chemical in the yolk that is responsible for this, seemingly miraculous transformation.

It may be that he is waiting for someone to call his bluff.
It maybe that he isn't jokeing, he may be looking for someone to actually use the scientific method.

Sometimes I go way too long and say too little... sorry about that.
Also, Please don't take points off for spelling and grammer, it always hurts my overall grade

Good luck

 

[barg]

Wow! in the time it took my to type my responce, four other people replied. haha.

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

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Well that was a mouth full Pardner!

 

[DuckLady]

I think we should get back to the topic instead of calling names to people we don't know.

My husband is a teacher. He has 3 degrees (one in psychology and 2 in education). He knew nothing about chickens until we got our first ones when he was in his late 50's. It doesn't make him a "dope" a "fool" or "dumb". We learned through experience.
Maybe he got his info from a grandparent, a colleague pulling his leg or other well meaning but inaccurate info.

I would personally start talking about my chickens and if he showed interest, bring pics and at that point it would be a good way to show him different chicks and colors without mentioning the classroom lesson at all.

 

[barg]

Ok I did a little research, there wasn't a great amount of information on the subject but here is what I learned.

The pigment that makes egg yolk yellow is a caratonoid called Xanthophyll.

Xanthophyll is used by some chickens as pigmentation but only in their skin, fat etc.. but is not used for the pigmentation of the down feathers.

This link talks about that and makes the statement that caratonoids( but not Xanthophyll) are presumed to be used as pigmentation in down, however I did find another site that disputed this and reported that they had identified other compounds that were responsable for the yellow in chick down.(I'm not going to relook that site up at this time, but you can if you want to, just google Xanthophyll and down feathers

I did not find any web sites that said that Xanthophyll Was responsable for the yellow color in down feathers.

So there it is, the science to back it all up.

If I somehow overlooked this information in an earlier post, I apologize

added, And apperently you can make some breeds have more yellow skin by feeding them corn because it contains Xanthophyll - but I bet many of you already knew that too

 

[MarkR]

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Now, now, I would disagree with you there. The majority are NOT hacks. A large minority, perhaps. . .

Still too many though.

And by the way, I hate that saying. Come spend a day in my classroom and tell me what I "can't" do. GRRRRRRR

And also by the way, you're bio teacher is an bleeding idiot. You can tell him I said so.

Mark

 

[Dinos_rock]

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I am a girl.

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I'm in Ninth Grade - High School Freshman....

Thanks for everyone’s advice! I don’t think I will confront him. At least I will know the truth! I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was saying he is dumb, I was just curious if I was right or not.