Kendal Explains Why Homeschooling Really Is a Waste of Time

[sugaree]

As a fellow-non-science person, may I recommend Terence Dickinson's "The Universe and Beyond" as a great survey course to the skies? Well-written; awesome pictures. I think it's up to the 5th edition now. And yeah, the sun is a star, no technically about it. Just another star in the universe.

[clibbyjo]

Clibby, what is AGD? And I've added "The Grand Design" to my list of things to read--so thanks! So far, I've liked "A Brief History" although I don't really understand the need for a single theory/equation that would define the whole universe. I hope to figure that out at some point! (Er, why we need one, not what it is!!!)

I meant The Grand Design. I'm sick and more out of it that usual... :/

I am also ordering the Universe book mentioned, thanks for that one...

[jenny_islander]

Can I just jump in and say that a basic knowledge of science, history, and geography is pretty darn important for people just to participate as voting citizens? I mean, how are you supposed to vote for environmental referendums, or evaluate the environmental platform of a candidate or a party, if you know nothing about chemistry? At least know enough to realize that you know nothing at all, you know?

AFAICT, they handle it in one of two ways:

1. Refuse to vote at all and then complailn about the oppression and corruption of the government;

2. Rely on an equally ignorant and muddle-headed preacher to tell them how to vote.

[twin2]

Another astronomy nut here. I'd recommend Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions. Its by Lisa Randall. She is a professor at Harvard and insanely brilliant.

[clibbyjo]

Another astronomy nut here. I'd recommend Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions. Its by Lisa Randall. She is a professor at Harvard and insanely brilliant.

Thanks! I just requested both universe books mentioned above from the library and this one is checked out but I am the first hold so it shouldn't be too long of a wait. :)

[GolightlyGrrl]

In no way am I defending her--she's a whack job. But if your statement were true than many public schools would be guilty of neglect. My kids have been homeschooled and are now in public school. The legions who cannot read or do math but graduate are too numerous to name.

Kendal's problem is likely that she's discovering you can't do it all. Very motivated homeschool parents (and I've known many) will move heaven and earth to give their kids the best possible education. Kendal and her ilk are seeking only indoctrination--not education.

This! I think to many of our fundies, "homeschooling" one's children isn't about education, but making sure the little darlings are never exposed to different ideas, people or opinions.

And I think our lovely homeschooling parents need to pool their resources and write a really informative book on homeschooling. We can't have homeschooling defined by the likes of Kendal, Kelly C, Zuzu, etc.

[Rosa]

antifundie, the flour & chlorine bleach question is chemistry (the molecules in the two combined in a way that released energy as heat) and you're not going to get that from big-concept books.

I have been trying to imagine how you'd go about teaching yourself basic chemistry - to start with, it's not my strong suit (I passed chemistry by making friends with someone who was really good at it.) and I don't really remember learning it - not from a book to start with, we started with models and memorizing the table of elements, sometime in middle school, and didn't get to the book stuff (equations to help you figure out chemical reactions) and actually combining chemicals until high school. The gap in between probably had a lot of learning I don't even remember - there had to be something between making models with marshmallows, and the group that made jet fuel and accidentally blew up a beakerful and burned off their eyebrows, but I literally don't recall it at all.

I know we've got homeschooling moms here - how did you teach chemistry? Do you have resource for beginners?

[antifundie]

Oh right...see? It's kinda sad I don't get the difference between chemistry and physics.

I'm going to have to look up this releasing heat thing--how can they do that if there's no heat to begin with???

(See? Example of failed homeschool science.)

But I'd love recommendations for basic (not to boring!) chemistry books.

[Elle]

Being a chemist, hearing people say science is useless just sets me on fire. SOOOO mad. Does Kendall take medication? Has she ever taken advil? Does she know why you can't take certain medications with grapefruit juices? Does she understand why when her child is sick, its CHEMISTRY that makes them better? Ugh, sooooo flipping mad. Going to work now to do teh evil Chemistry and set about continuing to save lives with science

I'm hoping she means it's pointless to force kids to all learn advance chemistry. I'd agree with that, and stuff like trig. The vast majority will never EVER use it in their lives and for those it is pointless to force it (forcing beyond the basics of something someone has no interest in is a great way to make learning unenjoyable), but it is NOT pointless as a field of study. Calculus, chemistry, etc., are all, when used by those with the desire and drive, life-saving fields.

Unfortunately she probably does mean that they're all completely pointless period while completely ignoring that she is bitching about these fields while using technology that wouldn't exist without them.

[emmiedahl]

Oh right...see? It's kinda sad I don't get the difference between chemistry and physics.

I'm going to have to look up this releasing heat thing--how can they do that if there's no heat to begin with???

(See? Example of failed homeschool science.)

But I'd love recommendations for basic (not to boring!) chemistry books.

There is a huge overlap between chemistry and physics, so don't feel bad about that. I have taken 3 years of chemistry and 1 1/2 of physics in college and there are things that are simply both.

I like the For Dummies books. They explain concepts in a way that most people will understand, but without watering it down too much. What you witnessed was an exothermic reaction, one that releases heat. These are energetically favored so they happen a lot, and spontaneously. That is both physics and chemistry.

Most public school graduates do not know that. So don't feel uneducated or whatever. Science illiteracy is the norm in the US. Most of those homeschooling moms who can't tell you the chemical formula for water were public school grads! My second grader is learning in a public school science class right now that water is wet. No, really. Science seems so complicated that many people are intimidated by it and never really explore it.

[clibbyjo]

This! I think to many of our fundies, "homeschooling" one's children isn't about education, but making sure the little darlings are never exposed to different ideas, people or opinions.

And I think our lovely homeschooling parents need to pool their resources and write a really informative book on homeschooling. We can't have homeschooling defined by the likes of Kendal, Kelly C, Zuzu, etc.

BTW, my partner and I are finally writing a secular homeschooling/unschooling book for our NaNoWriMo project this year.We have been saying we would do it for years. We have fabulous ideas,which people copy and we started our own co-op so I think we know what we are doing. It will be wacky,educational and an easy read. We are splitting the work,writing whatever we want and adding it together at the end. :dance:

I would also like to know of a good chemistry curriculum, because other than the kit which has like 400 experiments and another science book I am using, the chemistry textbooks I bought for high school are pretty DRY. Real Science for Kids is good for younger kids ,I have that and biology by the same company http://www.amazon.com/Real-Science-4-Ki ... 0974914908 We have a chemist ready to teach a class, we are working on the lab now)