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Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

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Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#101

Post by thirdtruck »

glomph wrote: post #51
mschuster91 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allowing home schooling is even more sick than that kind of bullshit these Texans are doing. In public schools one at least knows what the teachers are teaching. Home-schooled kids are not protected from anything ranging from creationist crap to domestic violence (you as a teacher can spot if a pupil turns up beaten every other day). Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary school…

I find it really interesting that homeschooling has such a bad reputation in america. In the UK my impression of it has been overwhelmingly positive. People who I have met who have been home schooled have often had broader education without the limitations of a national curriculum and with significantly more freedom in what sort of things that they learn. This is balanced by the governments right to the quality of ed…

There are parents in the US that use homeschooling as a tool for religious indoctrination.

Case in point: I was given Christian-themed workbooks and presented anti-evolution texts. Today, I don't belong in either camp. However, who knows how I would have turned out if not for unfettered Internet access and a degree of laxness in the indoctrination efforts.

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#102

Post by [deleted] »

mschuster91 wrote: post #23
tokenadult wrote: post #15

I had to digest after reading this article for a while. (I've also shared the link among my Facebook friends, so that they can help me digest this.) On the whole, I like the author's take that charter schools are a good idea, a good enough idea that while Texas limits the number of charter schools to 300 statewide, it is important to make sure that each charter school offers a sound curriculum. And I think the author…

Allowing home schooling is even more sick than that kind of bullshit these Texans are doing. In public schools one at least knows what the teachers are teaching. Home-schooled kids are not protected from anything ranging from creationist crap to domestic violence (you as a teacher can spot if a pupil turns up beaten every other day). Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary school…

[deleted]

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#103

Post by angersock »

vehementi wrote: post #68
mschuster91 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, so there indeed are required standards for home schooling? I did not know that. What are the consequences of not meeting these standards?

Oh man, if your common sense has led you so deeply wrong on this, what else are you backwards about?!

shoulda been home schooled

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#104

Post by fnordfnordfnord »

mschuster91 wrote: post #23
tokenadult wrote: post #15

I had to digest after reading this article for a while. (I've also shared the link among my Facebook friends, so that they can help me digest this.) On the whole, I like the author's take that charter schools are a good idea, a good enough idea that while Texas limits the number of charter schools to 300 statewide, it is important to make sure that each charter school offers a sound curriculum. And I think the author…

Allowing home schooling is even more sick than that kind of bullshit these Texans are doing. In public schools one at least knows what the teachers are teaching. Home-schooled kids are not protected from anything ranging from creationist crap to domestic violence (you as a teacher can spot if a pupil turns up beaten every other day). Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary school…

>Allowing home schooling is even more sick than that kind of bullshit these Texans are doing.

I agree in principle, but what if Christian religious ideals were compulsorily taught in Texas public schools?

>Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary schooled" kids in terms of knowledge. How should they be other, after all?

I am an instructor at a small College in Texas, and I have had a few home-schooled students (and perhaps there were some that I did not recognize). After my experience with them I can say the following: One performed significantly better than public school students in at least one subject (math in one memorable case). Most performed worse or seemed deficient in at least one subject. All seemed to lack social skills to some degree. As an example, the student who was so good at math had no idea of the existence of the civil rights movement of the 1960's. There were other gaps in his knowledge of recent history, but that one stuck out the most to me.

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#105

Post by angersock »

izzydata wrote: post #8

And Texas continues to be the most backwards state and least progressive. Not really news though.

Tell that to my openly lesbian mayor. Or go look at the AP computer science results from 2013--most diverse.

Way to just parrot nonsense though!

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#106

Post by jrs235 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #52
freehunter wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every study I've seen contradicts this common sense argument. Combined with the fact that home schooled students still must take and pass state standardized tests means the students have to be at least meeting the minimum educational requirements. I have a family member in Texas with a home schooled child. They attend group teaching sessions, sit in on other classes, and use the many reference books that are provided…

Ah, so there indeed are required standards for home schooling? I did not know that. What are the consequences of not meeting these standards?

Religious or atheist, uninformed/ill-informed voters and naive policy pushers are existential threats to a free and open society.

Please slow down and use some "common sense" and reasoning before allowing your emotional ranting about how other people (religious folks in this case) lack reasoning and logic.

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#108

Post by fnordfnordfnord »

sergiotapia wrote: post #40
Karunamon wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary schooled" kids in terms of knowledge. Citation badly needed.

I've never really met a "normal" home schooled person. Either they are incredibly naive, or really odd, or behave strange when in a group. There are certain things you pick when you go to school, just by being among other people.

Well if he/she were "normal" they might not do anything to draw attention to facts about their education.

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#109

Post by angersock »

Flagged.

This article has nothing to do with hacking or technology: it's almost entirely religion and politics, and done without any of the background philosophy or discussion that would otherwise redeem such an article.

Moreover, it's pretty obvious flame-bait: as seen already in this thread, you have the band-wagon of whiskey-swirling "mmm yes religion how droll" neckbeards, you have the "haha fuck texas more like backwater amirite" jerks, and you have the "homeschooling cannot possibly educate anyone" folks. All of these are trivially proved false, but that doesn't matter, and instead we're just going to get a gigantic circlejerk of people either attacking or defending something which is, at best, a regional concern.

You know, as opposed to any of the things which impact the world of tech at large (NSA, Snowden, RSA compromises, new programming languages, web framework of the day, etc.).

I appreciate that it's a lot easier to make fun of Texas than it is to make any meaningful change in your own little pocket of reality, but don't take up space here to do it.

Re: Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism

#110

Post by tjr »

fnordfnordfnord wrote: post #104
mschuster91 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allowing home schooling is even more sick than that kind of bullshit these Texans are doing. In public schools one at least knows what the teachers are teaching. Home-schooled kids are not protected from anything ranging from creationist crap to domestic violence (you as a teacher can spot if a pupil turns up beaten every other day). Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary school…

>Allowing home schooling is even more sick than that kind of bullshit these Texans are doing. I agree in principle, but what if Christian religious ideals were compulsorily taught in Texas public schools? >Not to mention the fact that home-schooled kids are far, far behind "ordinary schooled" kids in terms of knowledge. How should they be other, after all? I am an instructor at a small College in Texas, and I have ha…

More anecdotes: I was mostly not home-schooled. Maybe for a year or less altogether, for various reasons. I lack social skills to some degree. :-)

But more interestingly, I have absolutely no recollection of being taught about the civil rights movement in school. Certainly I have learned about it, but if I learned anything about it in school, I don't remember it.

Seymour Papert asked a rhetorical question in his book The Children's Machine:

On my reckoning, the fraction of human knowledge that is in the [school] curriculum is well under a millionth and diminishing fast. I simply cannot escape from the question: Why that millionth in particular?

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