1. Animal Science Without Evolution

Comment #185349 by RationalistHomeTchr on May 27, 2008 at 3:05 pm

I would feel better about the government "regulating these people" -- discipline means homeschoolers -- if the government schools did a better job of teaching and thus demonstrated high standards. My husband teaches biology in a public high school, in California, not a "fly-over state," and the better part of his 150 students a year have, by the time they reach high school, learned that science is boring, school is lame, and they themselves are pretty darn stupid. It's really hard for my husband to instill a love of science, let alone a critical-thinking mindset, in these jaded teens. I work with public-schooled kids of all ages, and I can ditto my husband's findings.

2. Animal Science Without Evolution

Comment #185097 by RationalistHomeTchr on May 26, 2008 at 11:23 pm

I agree with Severus Snape in regards to homeschooling, when he said: "It is inappropriate to target homeschooling parents for special treatment."

Lots of lots of children are taught (in the US, at least) in religious private schools that are free to choose ridiculous books on "animal science" and to teach creationism rather than evolutionary biology.

Some public school teachers deliberately give a creationism slant to their science instruction, and many more avoid evolution as much as possible for fear of controversy.

And, yes, an uncomfortably high percentage of homeschooling parents are very religious.

On the other hand, a lot of private schools, public schools, and homeschools do provide adequate to exemplary science educations. And we can also rejoice in the fact that, again here in the US, there is a big push for EVERYONE to go to college in order to succeed in life (think $$$). One of my acquaintance's parents said that college is dangerous. These parents were nervous to let their darling daughter go off to college, because they were afraid that college education would cause her to fall away from her faith. But they let her go, anyway, because they wanted her to get a good job and good pay--and after a few years of college, she fell away from her faith!

I know, of course, that such a thing doesn't always happen, and also that there are hyper-religious colleges, but I try to be positive and think that "the truth will out."

3. Truly Bizarre : Indians Throw Babies 50ft From Roof To Thank God.

Comment #174903 by RationalistHomeTchr on May 3, 2008 at 7:18 pm

Aren't babies' brains hurt by jostling around in their skulls? And wouldn't this tend to do that?

4. Evolution's Critics Shift Tactics With Schools

Comment #174853 by RationalistHomeTchr on May 3, 2008 at 4:50 pm

I may have mentioned this on another thread before (it upset me so much!), but I knew a science teacher who told me that dinosaurs lived during the time when the Earth was "formless and void" -- before God said "let there be light"!!! This from a science teacher at a public junior high school!!!

(I live in the U.S. Where else, huh?)

5. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #172706 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 30, 2008 at 12:43 am

I believe I was the one that rod-the-farmer mentioned in Comment #9. When PZ Meyers was first expelled from Expelled, way back when, I was surprised to find out that my sister and her family are members of the same temple as Stein...I've tried to light a bit of a fire in my usually-feisty sister about Stein's shameful participation in this film--thinking that she'd at least be upset about the dishonest and manipulative use of Holocaust images--but she feels no connection to the man and is busy with her job and kids, plus volunteering on behalf of Katrina victims, plus working toward the US Presidential election.

The Jewish temple (a Reform Jewish synagogue)is huge. I got the impression that Stein may not go very often; I'm not sure that my sister has even seen him there, although everyone knows he's one of their more famous members...I know that she has never met him and does not actually know him.

6. School bars same-sex partners at formals

Comment #162123 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 16, 2008 at 7:47 am

In my kids' experience, these last few years in public schools in Calif., big groups of girls and boys go to prom -- couples and non-couples, often in the same group. Many of the kids dance in groups, too. I think the schools have their hands full trying to minimize the sex and drugs (including alcohol) that some kids want to pair up with "prom night" -- rather than worrying about who is whose dance partner (and who can tell, with all that promiscuous switching of dance partners as well as the orgies of group dancing?).

Mmurray, speaking of Biblical injunctions against homosexuality, you said that Peter was a nutter about sex. Did you mean Paul?

7. 'Expelled' ripped off Harvard's 'Inner Life of the Cell' animation

Comment #161977 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 15, 2008 at 11:08 pm

I just saw an ad for Expelled -- it aired on Monday night, at the very end of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and again tonight (Tuesday) in the middle of The Colbert Report. I notice that babrock, above, mentions seeing an ad, too. I wanted to say that there is very little indication what the film's about, in the ad, and that although the ad wasn't funny (IMO), with the words "the year's most controversial film" (or something very like that), the ad was intriguing. (At least, I believe I WOULD HAVE thought the movie intriguing if I hadn't been reading about it here...)

I'd imagine that the price of an ad for these two popular shows is high. I guess it's no secret that the ID movement has big bucks behind it.

Almost at the end of the ad, there is a face shot of Professor Dawkins. He looks very stern.

8. The Art of Creating Controversy Where None Existed

Comment #159843 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 13, 2008 at 8:32 am

Cartomancer said: I think the modern age needs its Aristophanes just as much as it needs its Aristotle.

To some extent, Stephen Colbert is - for US audiences, at least - an Aristophanes. He has a lot of science-oriented people on his show, he deals with religion a LOT, and he's funny as all get out (IMO). He is able to be much harsher on people like Bill O'Reilly, while still being funny, than the also-funny Jon Stewart, because Colbert plays a hyper-religious character to great comic effect--and to great THINKING effect.

9. Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher

Comment #159622 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 12, 2008 at 4:33 pm

In regards to Francis Collins' writing about dealing with his daughter's rape:

I find it such a relief not to have to try to figure out a deeper good from, or silver lining in, the bad things that happen. It's a relief not to have to try to come to terms with bad things somehow being part of a divine plan. It's freeing not to worry about "fairness" being part of the universe and to never have to even think the word "entitled."

I certainly sympathize with Collins' attempts to deal with the almost-unendurable, but I am very glad not to have to heavily compartmentalize and rationalize in order to think the way he does.

10. Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher

Comment #159304 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 11, 2008 at 11:17 pm

So nice to have a relaxed and funny video clip to show. The Prof. changes his mind twice (about Francis Collins AND about his own rating on the scale of atheism--from 6 to 6.9)...Both were very charming.

...I wonder which of Prof. Dawkins' phrases Bill Maher has "stolen"?

11. Anti-evolution bill clears another hurdle

Comment #159258 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 11, 2008 at 7:09 pm

Raiko:

I don't trust all parents' abilities as parents, either.

12. Anti-evolution bill clears another hurdle

Comment #159170 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 11, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Raiko said:

But I would expect and demand that homeschooled children are tested regularly whether they're up to their normally schooled peers' standards. Though I do find it's a bad idea to keep children from the social interactions they can only get in a real school.

-------------

I wouldn't agree to such a "demand" on the grounds that standardized achievement tests don't give a very accurate measure of learning. In addition, kids have very different time tables for learning, say, to read, or math concepts. In public schools here in the US, low scores on tests, in early grades, often lead to needless worry, panic, low self-esteem, and "remediation" that often hinders actual learning. Some of us homeschool our kids partly to get them away from tons and tons of time-wasting and sometimes harmful testing...

Of course I agree with Raiko in that I want my children to be socialized with lots of different sorts of people with many different ideas. Homeschooling hasn't put a crimp on this, but rather has given us the time and flexibility to meet many more people, from all over, of all ages, and to travel...I would stack my kids' socialization against that in a "real school" ANY day!

13. The books that inspire me

Comment #157345 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 9, 2008 at 12:50 am

Demon Haunted world is the book I loan to Christians who plead with me to read some book that they love about Christianity. They'll press something like "The Case for Christ" into my hands and ask me to read it, as it explains what they believe so well, and why.

I always say "yes" and I always read the book in question, but no one has actually read Demon Haunted World, as I request, in return. They take the book, they read the first few pages, and then they start making excuses...and eventually hand the copy back with mumblings about not having the time to get through all of it.

On the other hand, I've also loaned out my copy of Demon Haunted World to freethinkers who have devoured it and much enjoyed it.

14. Anti-evolution bill clears another hurdle

Comment #157343 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 9, 2008 at 12:41 am

I'm not sure why black wolf brought homeschooling into this discussion, but as a long-time homeschooler and a teacher and tutor of other people's kids, as well, I can say that I've seen lots of well-educated and well-socialized homeschooled kids, and some that weren't so well served by homeschooling, BUT the same (both the positive and the negative) can be said of schooled kids. It all depends so much on the particular community/school/parents/teachers/kids...

My husband teaches high school biology at a public school, and he claims that he really CANNOT teach that evolution is a fact. He feels compelled by the textbook, district policy, the kids themselves, the school culture, and the other bio teachers to take a safe-and-moderate route when teaching evolution. The word "theory" is used lavishly - with no accompanying discussion on what it really means to a scientist. Of course he doesn't teach creationism as a viable alternative "theory," but he doesn't do as good a job on the topic of evolution as he should.

With our own homeschooled kids, we didn't have to worry about the religiosity of the community at large!

Legislating away rights for all because of the stupidity of some makes no sense to me...

15. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Paula Kirby

Comment #157279 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 8, 2008 at 8:20 pm

Great job, Prof. Dawkins, carrying on despite your lost voice. I so much admired Paula's portion, too: the questions, the order of the questions, and the selections to be read -- all superb and well thought out.

I must say that I prefer this format hugely to many more-adversarial formats. At the beginning, the Prof. had the ability to talk about interesting stuff (thanks to Paula) and to fully answer questions. Of course it's great that there was a chance for the audience to ask their own questions, and that some contentiousness arose at that point...although I wanted to reach into my monitor and shake the questioner who, after being asked to be brief, asked o - n - e w - o - r - d per minute questions and then interrupted himself to preface the questions! Sheesh!

16. Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday

Comment #154897 by RationalistHomeTchr on April 3, 2008 at 11:16 pm

Another sad news story caught my attention some months ago: a man called 9-1-1 when he realized that his plan to crucify himself wasn't going to work. Apparently with his mother or grandmother somewhere in the house, this guy made a cross in his living room and then nailed his feet to the cross. He went on to use his right hand to nail his left hand to the cross, then thought--hmm...what now? how do I nail my other hand to the cross?

After thinking on it for a while (and hurting and bleeding), he decided to call for an ambulance. Apparently his phone or cell phones was within reach!

Very sad...

17. Beware the Believers

Comment #152339 by RationalistHomeTchr on March 30, 2008 at 6:27 pm

I think the video IS a success: it made people think, talk, argue, and watch again. It made some people laugh and others get mad.

Although I am a bit old-fogey-esque, I thought the video much funnier than did either my 16 y.o. or my 25 y.o. (both of whom love South Park, by the way). I'm sure I thought it funnier because I knew the people being referenced and got the "in" jokes. Obviously, humor is very much a matter of taste. I adore Eddie Izzard (cake or death, anyone?), but I'm not at all astonished that some people do not share my taste.

I liked the bit about a dyslexic RD hating dogs (bringing to mind the old joke about the poor insomniac, dyslexic agnostic who stays up all night, wondering if there really is a dog).

I LOVED the bit when RD said, "your concern is noted â€" and stupid." I can see why RD himself might not like it, however...One time a friend of mine and I were in a T-shirt shop and saw a shirt that sported a giant smiley face with the words, "I'm busy, you're an idiot, have a nice day." I smiled, mildly amused, but I felt really bad when my friend said that the shirt was perfect for me. I felt like gibbering, "I don't walk around acting like people are idiots!" But since then, every once in a while, I've thought, "CLICK. Sometimes I DO act like that." (Not proud of it.)

Finally, I am reminded of an interview of song writer/recording artist Paul Simon. The interviewer said something like, "Some people think this song means 'that-and-such' and others think the same song means 'this-other-thing.'" Basically, he asked Simon to weigh in and tell what the song REALLY meant. Simon flatly refused. He said something to the effect that, "I did my job: I wrote the thing. Now you listeners do your job and interpret it any way you want." His implication was that there would be many different interpretations...

By the way, a big "thank you" to those who typed up the lyrics to the Dawkins rap!

18. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #148794 by RationalistHomeTchr on March 24, 2008 at 12:01 am

While I was enjoying an Easter dinner today with my Jewish relatives, I started to tell them about the expelled-from-Expelled story. As a precursor to the telling, I asked, "Have you guys ever heard of Ben Stein?" I was going to allude to the one thing I know of him (his role in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"), but they surprised me by saying, "Yeah, he goes to our temple." Once I told them the whole story, my relatives' mouths were hanging open with astonishment. I asked what someone from their Jewish temple was doing, fronting for creationists, and they were, "Wow! I don't know!" It was pretty funny...

19. Biology prof expelled from screening of 'Expelled'

Comment #148032 by RationalistHomeTchr on March 21, 2008 at 9:19 pm

I disagree with Lagomort (#147879, above); I think that Professor Dawkins usually thinks very well "on his feet." Of course, he sometimes makes missteps, I suppose - like the rest of us, he's not perfect - but in the radio interviews and debates I've heard, he is usually polite AND funny AND intelligent AND in-your-face, all at the same time.

20. Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90

Comment #146315 by RationalistHomeTchr on March 18, 2008 at 11:53 pm

One of the first things that ever got me interested in science (about a million years ago) is one of Clarke's non-fiction books. I believe it was The Exploration of Space. I was a kid (maybe 10 or 11?) reading books "borrowed" from my older brother's bookshelf, and I got so excited by Clarke's vision of the future, I immediately jumped over to my brother's collection of science fiction. (Asmiov soon became my hero.) Later, I really enjoyed Clarke's Space Odyssey books and the Rama books and computer games. Clarke himself made appearances in the computer games!

21. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #145914 by RationalistHomeTchr on March 18, 2008 at 9:49 am

I have a humble suggestion for RD, next time he is asked whether he believes in the actual existence of Jesus, or whether he believes that Jesus was a good man: Perhaps he should bracket his opinions that Jesus probably existed, and was a good man, with words such as, before giving his opinion, "From what I've read, I think..." and, after giving his opinion, "but I haven't done a great deal of study on the historicity of Jesus."

I agree with many of the posters here that there are serious questions about the existence of Jesus, and, if he existed, whether he was a good, wise teacher.

Still, I don't particularly want RD to waste his time reading all the Jesus Seminar, etc., stuff so he can "better" answer these questions. Surely he can admit lack of interest in, and knowledge of, some topics?