It is with great sorrow that I bring to you the 2011 Home School Science Fair at the Har Mar mall in Roseville MN this weekend.
The title of this event suggests it is simply a Science Fair for home schooled children. Let me dispel that myth. The event is brought to you by the Twin Cities Creation Science Association. Does that help?
From this page, I learned the following:
Im not sure which science fair sites they are referring to, so I'll assume they mean other Christian creation science fairs that believe in a >10,000 year old universe and therefore not true Christians™. I won't belabor the "The Scientific Method" statement, because I see it in all venues. It really should be "Scientific Methods." Regardless, they lie. First, they lie because they don't teach a damn thing, these are home schooled children.
The K-6 judging criteria has the following:
5. Biblical Application/Illustration
God's Word should be related to the project, either by a verse directly applicable to the
topic, or by an analogy. Although younger students may need assistance in finding and
applying the verse(s), the student should be able to explain it in his/her own words. The
Bible verse must be part of the display.
I guess Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, etc don't do science. Its only science if it is applicable to a bible verse. I guess no one understood anything about the world, stars, etc. until Jesus died, or did knowledge start 3 days later? I get confused. Actually I get angry. Dawkins takes a lot of heat for suggesting religious indoctrination is child abuse, and maybe some of that heat is deserved. However, these kids are being actively lied to by essentially every authority figure in their lives. And why are they being lied to? It seems to me that faith is not enough for many people anymore, they have to complete control over all knowledge, they are the gatekeepers of truth. Anything that potentially interferes with that must be crushed. Not just from their kids (by home 'schooling' them), but from all other kids by outlawing the teaching of evolution. I guess when one side has mountains of data and a theory with predictive and explanatory power that just can't be beat, faith just isn't sufficient.
Too bad the kids have to suffer the consequences.
Anyway, I recommend all who can go to this fair and see what's going on. The kids are great and if you get the chance you should talk to them about their work (IN A NON-CONFRONTATIONAL WAY!!!). If you go because I recommended it, DONT BE A DOUCHEBAG!, the kids are doing what kids do, listening to the authority figures in their lives. You can't change that and can only make them feel bad, so don't do it. Treat the kids with respect.
Scowl at the organizers all you want.
RFK Jr. is not a serious person. Don't take him seriously.
3 weeks ago in Genomics, Medicine, and Pseudoscience
1 comment:
Yeah, the kids do have hope and if they meet people who are interested in them and ask them questions about their projects in a way that gets them to think about the science part, then they may learn how to ask questions, critical questions, on their own.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste on faith.
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