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The indoctrination these children are getting is horrifying. They are encouraged to include the bible verse related to their hypothesis on their poster. See its all about the science, not a preconceived viewpoint. Sadly, I see an intelligent student being set back, probably forever, thinking that they are actually participating in the scientific process when really all they are doing is advertising. "My experiment, to see which battery can generate the most light (based on some bullshit verse with the words god and light in it) worked, eureka I have evidence that the bible was right." These students will then grow up thinking there are two types of science, fundamentalist christian science and satan science. They will then vote for the husband of a Bush daughter (because women will not be eligible to be president in the future. They will be wearing clothing completely covering the face and body, which will not be burkas, because burkas are from that evil Islam culture, nope these will be called christkas).
And some people wonder why Dawkins posits religion as a form of child abuse.
4 comments:
I've heard about this event, and it is a bit discouraging. I wouldn't recommend going back. I'm a second generation homeschooling parent, and although I was brought up in my early years with the idea that evolution was wrong, I pretty much discarded that idea by the time I was a young adult.
If my anecdotal experience is any indicator, things may not be as bleak as they seem. Homeschoolers, even anti-evolution ones, have a tendency to explicitly teach logic, and that is a double edged sword for them. (The reason that they teach logic is that they believe that they are correct, and therefore that logic will defend their ideas.) So then the question becomes, will logic or social conditioning win out in the end? I also tend to think it is a double edged sword for them to tie up everything in terms of their religion, because that gives many more points where their religion can be invalidated by common experience. Once such a person does start questioning things, it can pretty much destroy religious belief entirely. (Do I sound like I am talking from personal experience?!)
I do notice that the more people insist that they should force these parents to teach evolution, the more resistant these people seem to be to the idea of evolution, in general. I wonder sometimes what would happen if they were mostly ignored, with nothing to fight against and no "attacks" that serve to help fundamentalist leaders rally support for their ideas.
Not realistic, of course, but people are so contrary sometimes that the results of various actions can be surprising.
And you could be the professor who helps them make the connections when they end up in your class! So keep up the good work!
While I agree things may not be as bleak overall and that you raise a strong point regarding logic as a double edged sword, I have a deeper problem with this type of homeschooling. These students are going to be at a profound disadvantage by the time they get to me. Maybe they will have caught up with their peers, but think of how much they lost being raised in an environment antagonistic to rationalism. Kids should be nurtured and educated honestly, not intellectually subjugated and lied to. We need the as many of the best of these kids to lead us in the future, we shouldn't be intellectually culling the herd. BTW I fully acknowledge that some public schools can also fail at nurturing our children, the difference is that this failure isn't institutionalized by religion and can be corrected.
I do strongly disagree with the Chamberlain approach to the anti-evolution crowd. This group will not be content with being left to their own devices, remember they need to convert the masses.
Get a life- stop being so closed minded.
1.5 years with no activity on this post and you anonymously tell me to get a life. LOL!
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