General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis is why many DU teachers are so determined to fight education 'reform':
Do you want your kids to go to a school that teaches electricity is a mystery? If you live in Louisiana or a handful of other states, that is a real possibility if your child is given a voucher (or 'opportunity scholarship') to attend a private school. There is NO state agency that oversees curriculum in private schools. There is no state agency that makes certain teachers are fully certified in private schools.
Some states allow religious schools to become charter schools, where your child can enroll and no tuition is charged.
Is this the Science textbook you want your child's school to use?
ALEC legislation has been proposed in many states that would allow vouchers or 'opportunity scholarships' for religious schools that use textbooks like this.
Please keep this in mind if you think you should support reforming public education.
If your child attends a private school, don't assume that school won't adopt textbooks like this. Find out how the textbook adoption process works. Is there parental input allowed? There is no public agency that oversees this process.
Privatization is not the answer our public schools need. Electricity is NOT a mystery.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)RandiFan1290
(6,221 posts)NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)It says so right in the bible:
"The voice of thy thunder was in the Heaven; the lightnings lightened the world; the Earth trembled and shook. Psalms 77:18
Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)and electricity.
Of course, power outages are due to others playing with Thor's stuff:
tclambert
(11,084 posts)Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle . . . ZAP! Take that, Thor!
Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)Take that!
.
.
.
.
.
wait for it...it takes a second to charge up...
.
.
.
Yeeeeeeeeeelp!
.
.
.
.
.
You win
(but Uncle Thor still kicks butt)
eridani
(51,907 posts)The sock is the larval form of the coat hanger. Everybody knows that.
derby378
(30,252 posts)Ben Franklin is the DEVIL!
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Have you seen this page scanned from an older edition (copyright 1990) of our Science 4 textbook floating around the blogosphere lately? Just do a Google search for electricity is a mystery (include the quotation marks) and youll see that it has been making the rounds.
The word mystery might seem unusual in a science context, but to
physicists the world is still full of mystery. When electricity and
magnetism were unified through Maxwells equations and light was
explained as electromagnetic radiation, people thought that we fully
understood this area of science. The famous physicist Albert Michelson
said in 1894 that The more important fundamental laws and facts of
physical science have all been discovered. On careful reading in
context, Michelsons quotation was not as naive as it sounds, but it
does reflect a widespread view that physics was largely complete.
Within a few decades the discoveries of relativity and of quantum
mechanics turned the world of physics upside down. Today, the sense of
wonder and mystery in physics is as large as ever. The popular science
writer Amir Aczel is unafraid to use the word mystery in the title of
his recent book, Entanglement: The Greatest Mystery in Physics (Wiley,
2002).
Of course all of this is too much to explain in a 4th grade science
textbook. A helpful first step, however, is to acknowledge that even the
familiar set of phenomena we call electricity is still not fully
understood and to point out the difference between the effects of
electricity and the fundamental nature of electricity itself.
A number of people have taken the opportunity to ridicule the science that is presented here as well as the Bible. The basic point being made is that Christians are just out of it; we dont have a clue; we are two hundred years out of touch with reality.
---more at the link---
http://www.bjupress.com/about/electricity-is-a-mystery.php
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)I have a neighbor who homeschools her kids and I have helped her choose materials and textbooks. I've also had several students who were homeschooled and their parents shared the materials they used.
This kind of crap is rampant in 'Christian' textbooks. And in 2012, not just 1980.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)...without paying BYU for it, of course.
I'm a bibliophile with a lot of textbooks in the mix.
Agony
(2,605 posts)i can't bear to look any farther than that
have fun!
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)NOTICE: This item is not Returnable
Author or Contributor : Pamela R. Winnick
Published by: Thomas Nelson Publishers
Topics : Sale Other and Science
Hard Cover Book
Ages: 18 and up
List Price: $25.99 US
Your Price: $11.99 US
A DISCOUNT OF 53.9%
Availability: In Stock
HBC Part Num: 270567
In this riveting book, an award-winning journalist reveals the many ways in which science has eroded human dignity and shielded itself from scrutiny by attacking religion - becoming itself an oppressive, narrow-minded system of faith that blindly pursues its own objectives, shirking off traditional values and moral responsibilities.
https://www.HomeschoolingBooks.com/pages/itemdetail.asp?ItemID=14110
At HomeschoolingBooks.com we want you to feel like youre walking into the corner store in town and purchasing your materials from people you know and trust. We are owned by a company that started in the homeschool business almost before there was home schooling. Our parent company, Mott Media, began in 1974 out of an interest in teaching, a concern for the erosion of values in education, and a desire to preserve our Christian heritage. The home school movement was in its infancy and there werent many homeschool programs, so we republished Rays Arithmetic, McGuffeys Readers, Harveys Grammar and Spencerian Penmanship. In 1991, Mott Media launched the Homeschooling Book Club and in 2003, the website HomeschoolingBooks.com. We have been committed to providing the home school community with great materials and great service at great prices.
https://www.HomeschoolingBooks.com/
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)All I find from that single book is page 40, I'm thinking there are 39 or more equally disturbing pages!
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)You have to go way down the list to find books that aren't 'Christian'.
That's why my neighbor asked me to help her. She ended up using older textbooks she found at garage sales and thrift stores. But she wanted newer texts for Science and Social Studies. And that took some searching.
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)Their Abecca literature series was flat-out disgusting. Worst textbook I have ever looked at. They were talking about having me start an AP Lit/Lang course, and I made sure the principal and dept. head both knew that would be impossible with the books they had. They had authors I'd never heard of because they weren't so controversial or were Baptists, and they entirely ignored massive swaths of literature.
Trust me, there are lots of terrible textbooks out there that perpetuate whatever the authors want to perpetuate. It's brainwashing, exactly what we real teachers are accused of doing and they're just projecting.
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)100 problems per page. No concepts taught, just practice, practice, practice.
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)I love Saxon, though I've heard that the books aren't as good as they used to be. He'd break down the concepts into smaller components, we'd learn that bit, practice that along with everything else we'd learned, and it all kept building up. Math made sense for the first time ever when I got into the Saxon pilot program in high school.
eppur_se_muova
(36,246 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)I think it started with a B. ??
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)My XMIL homeschooled my XSILs for a couple of years and tried to talk me into helping her teach them. It was a disaster, but I don't remember a math curriculum that started with a B. She showed me a lot of her materials, but that doesn't ring a bell.
tclambert
(11,084 posts)Maybe from the sun? Or possibly from cottage cheese.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)to use actual AP tests and the AP exam must at least be offered. That school might delude itself into thinking it's giving their kids an AP literature class, but if they're only using their own textbooks, it won't cut it when the kids get to college.
Which brings up a very important aspect of home schooling. The students who "learn" science from these kinds of texts will be completely unable to take college science classes. I suppose they can simply go to the Christian colleges and universities out there, and remain ignorant of how truly ignorant they are.
I have sat in junior college classrooms with students who were home schooled, and their lack of sophistication is kind of strange. You can tell they'd never interacted with people not exactly like them.
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)Mostly because they are sending their grads to med schools and the like.
I had a roomie in college who'd been homeschooled. *shudders* It. was. awful.
Yes, they would have had to offer the real AP test, and there's no way their materials would have worked. The pastor of the attached church wanted the AP class offered because of parent complaints, but honestly, no one there had a clue what they were really doing.
I've had too many interactions with evangelicals in education; I'm more than a little cynical.
mwooldri
(10,299 posts)If the education is not up to snuff and the 4 year colleges won't take you...
At least at a community college they have evening classes that teach the fundamentals... I guess to get the GED first, and then to classes. Get a 2 year degree.
Either that or find a private college that has a reality lined up with yours.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)yurbud
(39,405 posts)out some basic things about electricity instead of just making these bland statements.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)The idea that 4th graders are too ignorant to understand the nuances of scientific theory is bullshit.
The folks that write this crap are clowns that have no business teaching science or any other subject.
baldguy
(36,649 posts)Flatulo
(5,005 posts)obxhead
(8,434 posts)but in this case I would blame government and their masters the corporations. It may be the religious that create the demand, but it's the government allowing the nonsense to occur.
Ignorant people will be busy hating each other, not the real culprit.
ancianita
(35,925 posts)grantcart
(53,061 posts)barbtries
(28,755 posts)new jersey, tn - there has been not all good news for democrats this week
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Creeping superstition and hatred of facts and science should have no place in contemporary society.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)to support the establishment of religion. Period.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)AFAIK. I don't remember Jesus saying anything like that, either.
MADem
(135,425 posts)their idiot parents and 'mystery science' teachers" either!
MichiganVote
(21,086 posts)AllyCat
(16,135 posts)...I know we will likely run into some of these nuts. Will be a good opportunity to talk to our kids about the value of quality education and my continuing allergy to religion.
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)Most homeschoolers do it for religious reasons or use religious curricula (Abecca being the worst, I think). If you have your kids join in their sports or drama clubs, you'll run into it quite a bit. Just make sure to keep an eye on it, as many of these religious homeschoolers are also constantly looking for missionary opportunities in their community.
AllyCat
(16,135 posts)who are not doing this for religious reasons. A bunch of people recommended Abecca to me and when I went to their website, my eyes were opened. We are preparing to 'unschool' but I have purchased a supportive curriculum that was inexpensive and science-based. The sports' groups could get interesting and we are trying to aim for city rec programs.
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)A lot of smaller Christian schools use their crap, too.
I have a lot of respect for unschooling as long as everyone involved is committed to it working. It can really be neat, and I wish you all the best this year.
bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)suffragette
(12,232 posts)YvonneCa
(10,117 posts)...here: https://twitter.com/madfloridian
bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)TOS and all
YvonneCa
(10,117 posts)...re-reading it. ?
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)It's not a link to any of the unmentionable sites.
bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Profile information
About madfloridian
Statistics and Information
Account status: Active
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 76,360
Number of posts, last 90 days: 0
Favorite forum: NA
Favorite group: NA
Last post: N/A
Alerts
Alerts sent by me: coming soon
Successful alerts (post was hidden by Jury): coming soon
Success rate percentage: coming soon
Jury
Willing to serve on a DU Jury: Yes
Chance of serving on a Jury: 80% (explain)
Number of times served on a Jury: 0
Avatar image
bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)And many of us considered that too.
And I know a few of my fans would have been pleased.
fans
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Profile information
About madfloridian
Statistics and Information
Account status: Active
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 76,360
Number of posts, last 90 days: 0
Favorite forum: NA
Favorite group: NA
Last post: N/A
Alerts
Alerts sent by me: coming soon
Successful alerts (post was hidden by Jury): coming soon
Success rate percentage: coming soon
Jury
Willing to serve on a DU Jury: Yes
Chance of serving on a Jury: 80% (explain)
Number of times served on a Jury: 0
Avatar image
truth2power
(8,219 posts)even still there. There was a time that one could access it but I could never figure out how to do it. I'd still be interested in reading her posts.
Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)does she have an alternate blog or something? I don't 'twitter' (I assume that is a verb).
AllyCat
(16,135 posts)bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Sid
slipslidingaway
(21,210 posts)progressoid
(49,929 posts)iemitsu
(3,888 posts)where charter schools will be on the ballot for the fourth time this november.
gates is determined to own the schools here and plug children into his software.
so we fight corporate greed, religious indoctrination, and hollywood fantasy in our efforts to provide sound educations for our youth.
i have been wondering all summer how i was going to convince students that abe lincoln was not a vampire.
xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)The pages about the Moon are puzzling. I had no idea the moon was 10,000 years old!
One can only hope the children, handicapped by this forced ignorance, find their way out of the dense undergrowth.
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)Snarkoleptic
(5,996 posts)Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)Trillo
(9,154 posts)Then you uppity teachers will eventually die, some of your generation's children will become teachers, and in a generation or two, that pictured science textbook may seem like a PhD's course of study.
Riley18
(1,127 posts)little demon voices.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)That is the most ridiculous excuse for teaching I've ever seen.
Fuckin magnets; the textbook.
progressoid
(49,929 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)cloudbase
(5,511 posts)"it's a mystery" on all those physics and EE exams I took back in the day. I'm certain it would've gone over just fine with the professors.
lindysalsagal
(20,561 posts)These corporations will not care about parent complaints, on any level or on any topic. They're beholden to their shareholders, who just want to make a profit.
The original stakeholder responsibility for self-education lies with local districts for good reason: You get exactly what you pay for, not what someone wants you to have after the profits have been taken.
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)Just ask O'Reilly.
On a serios matter, this is not jut the US. The effort to return the masses is a global project. Imagine sending your kids to a religios school where there is absolutely no mention of the moon shot?
KansDem
(28,498 posts)I found out really quick what electricity was!
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
own your story
(20 posts)for Secretary of Edumacation? Is she pro-union? What about Arne Duncan, formerly of CPS? I turned off "Waiting for Superman" after about 40 min. when I realized it was a hit job on the teacher's union. She's (Rhee)prominently featured in the documentary. I was appalled that this was passed off as unbiased (informational).
Bottom line--do we have a President who supports teachers and their unions or not?
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)Never heard that about Rhee.
There are some significant differences between many teachers and the president's education policies, however.
Response to proud2BlibKansan (Reply #57)
Post removed
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)I don't. He's already said he will increase class sizes to reduce costs.
old soul
(12 posts)But I cannot act as if false choices are okay with me.
Response to proud2BlibKansan (Original post)
Post removed
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)One my favorite drinking stories is my job interview of a 'graduate' of one of these so-called universities. Completely worthless and a huge liability to boot.
Ilsa
(61,688 posts)bvar22
(39,909 posts)!
Skidmore
(37,364 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)MI_State_Too
(11 posts)Lying to children, my favorite.
spanone
(135,776 posts)tclambert
(11,084 posts)But then it's a mystery what that means.
golfguru
(4,987 posts)Whether for right to choose, right to marry any human being or right to vote without ID.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)That way, they remove themselves from the competitive workforce as no employer will hire someone that is totally clueless and uneducated at even a basic level, leaving more jobs to be filled by educated liberals.
But I'm sure that's not what you mean.
golfguru
(4,987 posts)I am not Christian, but I respect their right to educate their children
in the manner they feel is best. Parents should always be the final
authority when it comes to children, unless there is evidence of abuse.
DesertDiamond
(1,616 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)D23MIURG23
(2,845 posts)Daphne08
(3,058 posts)I don't have any words for this crap!
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Unless, of course, you lament the days when slaves were guaranteed food and housing
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)golfguru
(4,987 posts)Besides those small countries with populations under 10-15 million
are not necessarily comparable to countries with over 100 million+.
obxhead
(8,434 posts)Why should someone get a tax break to send their children to a private school? I don't have any children and I can't participate in any way, nor would I want to. It's my responsibility to help fund our public education system.
Why should ANY taxpayer get a voucher to send their child to a private school? If they want a special school let them fund it fully on their own.
As for this textbook? What do they think power plants do?
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)We get to watch our hard-earned public education dollars go to T-V ads for these agenda (propaganda) schools.
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)Also, Michelle Rhee is asking for donations so Students First can air commercials on TV.
yurbud
(39,405 posts)over us now, and which commandments in Leviticus God still cares about (no gay sex!), and which he doesn't (rapists should pay the father of victim them marry her, don't wear a fabric made of two kinds of thread like poly cotton, and women on their period should sit in a tipi outside of town--which was actually God's commandment to form suburbs).
yurbud
(39,405 posts)between races and that it was a sin for different races to mix.
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)here:
http://www.11points.com/Books/11_Eye-Opening_Highlights_From_a_Creationist_Science_Textbook
It does not talk about the "Electricity" chapter but the chapter about "The Moon".
Any reasonable person would find this book... highly suspect. And thats the nice way to put it
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)question the ignorance of their parents.
Truly demented.