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I was trained for the culture wars in home school

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Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#41

Post by choko »

bambax wrote: post #34
cconcepts wrote: post #26

Very well written. Although this article is quite emotive and could be considered an extreme point of view, I think it is important to read in order to understand the multitude of voices wanting to be heard in the current quagmire. I disagree with some of the assumptions made but nonetheless think this is a voice that should be heard. As a follower of Jesus (I have to be careful how I say Christian because of how loa…

> this is an intelligent, thoughtful community I really, really don't think so. "Jesus" (who probably never even existed) isn't the problem, though. Religions are. That they should be "respected" as just a normal human behavior is the problem. That superstition should be considered seriously instead of being fought, esp. in young minds, is the problem. That separate schools should exist in the name of superstition, t…

I'm agnostic and have no strong feelings on religion, and I find your comments very intolerant. Views like yours have no place in this community. It's not ok for you to tell people how they should live their lives.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#42

Post by DougN7 »

bambax wrote: post #34
cconcepts wrote: post #26

Very well written. Although this article is quite emotive and could be considered an extreme point of view, I think it is important to read in order to understand the multitude of voices wanting to be heard in the current quagmire. I disagree with some of the assumptions made but nonetheless think this is a voice that should be heard. As a follower of Jesus (I have to be careful how I say Christian because of how loa…

> this is an intelligent, thoughtful community I really, really don't think so. "Jesus" (who probably never even existed) isn't the problem, though. Religions are. That they should be "respected" as just a normal human behavior is the problem. That superstition should be considered seriously instead of being fought, esp. in young minds, is the problem. That separate schools should exist in the name of superstition, t…

The next time people on HN say they don't see intolerance or contempt for religious folks on HN, I'll point them to this comment as an excellent example of both.

Origin stories are hard, if not impossible, to answer. Sure, we have the Big Bang. I've read the thing that exploded was estimated to be the size of a grapefruit. So where did the magic exploding grapefruit come from? The Big Bang pushes the quest back 13 billion years, but still doesn't answer it.

Or perhaps you like the theory that we're living in a simulation? I'd argue that is 95% identical to religion.

When I see this level of vehemence, I sincerely wonder if someone isn't concerned about the possibility of having to ultimately answer to someone or something for their life's actions.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#43

Post by DougN7 »

_petronius wrote: post #18
gambiting wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed, except for kids with disabilities which stop them from leaving home. It just seems to me that Americans fear radical islam, while extremely radical Christianity grows right under their noses. I agree that free state-run secular schools are the way to go for modern society.

Fun fact: here in Germany, home schooling is illegal. I'm with you -- I think this is probably for the best. After all, how do you get kids to learn to socialize and integrate with society at large (regardless of their background), if they don't attend school and get out from under their parents? But this is also the only basis on which Germans can typically sucessfully claim asylum in the US, and have successfully i…

It would be very interesting to go back to the 1940's and see what was being taught in the German schools.

I'm in favor of public education - my three kids went to great public schools. But there is no perfect answer that works in all situations, all times and all places.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#44

Post by miketery »

choko wrote: post #41
bambax wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> this is an intelligent, thoughtful community I really, really don't think so. "Jesus" (who probably never even existed) isn't the problem, though. Religions are. That they should be "respected" as just a normal human behavior is the problem. That superstition should be considered seriously instead of being fought, esp. in young minds, is the problem. That separate schools should exist in the name of superstition, t…

I'm agnostic and have no strong feelings on religion, and I find your comments very intolerant. Views like yours have no place in this community. It's not ok for you to tell people how they should live their lives.

I disagree, the whole point of society is to work together and push each other to be a certain way; to the betterment of the whole. It follows then that when non conducive behaviors are found we should strive to get rid of them. In this case thoughts (religion) not grounded in critical thinking which can lead to things like glorifying death for nonsense causes.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#45

Post by jhanschoo »

angryredblock wrote: post #20

Complete misrepresentation of homeschooling based on one person's anecdotal experience. "A single powerful person who is convinced of their own Rightness with no thought of introspection is dangerous." Indeed. Perhaps we'd be better served to stop vilifying an entire subset of the population and actually listen to the parents who have recognized that public education is broken and who are taking other measures to edu…

It seemed pretty obvious to me that the author was referring to one particular version (christofascist) of homeschooling.

For positive experiences with homeschooling, Astra Taylor's essays on it come to mind https://popularresistance.org/the-unschooled-life-astra-tayl..., https://nplusonemag.com/issue-13/essays/unschooling/.

It seems to me however, from armchair reasoning, lacking any motivation to research this further, that the former version would dominate and be the more public version of homeschooling, given that it co-opts into a popular American agenda with a focused message and mission.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#46

Post by shshhdhs »

gambiting wrote: post #9
kartan wrote: post #4

High-quality free state-run secular schools is one of the most important social achievements. In that schools a new generation can grow and learn while minimizing radicalization. That new generation meets people from different cultures and religion since they are children and learn to accept the differences. This doesn't solves all problems, is not a silver bulled, but it improves society at large. I never understood…

I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed, except for kids with disabilities which stop them from leaving home. It just seems to me that Americans fear radical islam, while extremely radical Christianity grows right under their noses. I agree that free state-run secular schools are the way to go for modern society.

There is nothing wrong with homeschooling. You're taking it out of proportion. I had difficulties with bullies for a few years, and my parents took me out of school to home school me. I benefited from this reset-- learned a lot about myself during that time (this is when I self-learned about tech & hacking).

Homeschooling is a much safer environment to learn. State-run schools have drugs, violence, and often teachers who don't want to teach anymore.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#47

Post by natewalck »

gambiting wrote: post #9
kartan wrote: post #4

High-quality free state-run secular schools is one of the most important social achievements. In that schools a new generation can grow and learn while minimizing radicalization. That new generation meets people from different cultures and religion since they are children and learn to accept the differences. This doesn't solves all problems, is not a silver bulled, but it improves society at large. I never understood…

I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed, except for kids with disabilities which stop them from leaving home. It just seems to me that Americans fear radical islam, while extremely radical Christianity grows right under their noses. I agree that free state-run secular schools are the way to go for modern society.

I love how on HN you can make a statement like this with zero evidence and it doesn't get downvoted. If someone were to do the same for a tightly held HN friendly view, you would be crucified.

Show me the numbers. What percent of homeschoolers are radical Christiana? Every home schooler I personally know is atheist/agnostic, well educated and want to make sure their kids get a solid education. (Because the public school system isn't delivering). If we are going on personal experience or assumptions, then my view is equally valid, if not more so as I have 5 data points :)

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#48

Post by guard-of-terra »

new299 wrote: post #39
guard-of-terra wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> for the population overall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ones_Who_Walk_Away_from_Om... It was definitely good for them to hold that child in the basement! As a population overall. Why would I care about "civil liberties" if they come at cost of ruining my life? And I know I'm not in any way an exception. I won't be around enjoying them, right? Do I look like a person who enjoys anything right now?

I think I wasn't clear on my meaning of "civil liberties". My meaning was this you can argue the following: That home schooling is a kind of basic human right. That there are some rights that a parent has to determine how their child is brought up. I'm not making that argument. But I would be interested in hearing it. And hearing a justification for it. Sounds like the Ursula K. Le Guin story is exploring individual…

I can't understand why are you arguing for school if you didn't like it at all? Do you honestly think you're so unique that everybody else has different experience? Because many of us don't.

I think that home schooling is a basic human right, just like choosing where to live and what job to take. That's because we are human and not ants. School for which there are no alternatives is a small Gulag camp.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#49

Post by WayneBro »

miketery wrote: post #44
choko wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm agnostic and have no strong feelings on religion, and I find your comments very intolerant. Views like yours have no place in this community. It's not ok for you to tell people how they should live their lives.

I disagree, the whole point of society is to work together and push each other to be a certain way; to the betterment of the whole. It follows then that when non conducive behaviors are found we should strive to get rid of them. In this case thoughts (religion) not grounded in critical thinking which can lead to things like glorifying death for nonsense causes.

Addressing religion as a whole is nonsense IMO. It doesn't exist by itself and you certainly cannot attribute the same qualities to every single religion.

The major religions are a mix of philosophy + politics. Philosophy in general is certainly grounded in critical thinking. These religions obviously serve as a method to deliver the results to the masses.

Nationalism is just as bad if not worse than religion in terms of causing death and war.

Re: I was trained for the culture wars in home school

#50

Post by miketery »

WayneBro wrote: post #49
miketery wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, the whole point of society is to work together and push each other to be a certain way; to the betterment of the whole. It follows then that when non conducive behaviors are found we should strive to get rid of them. In this case thoughts (religion) not grounded in critical thinking which can lead to things like glorifying death for nonsense causes.

Addressing religion as a whole is nonsense IMO. It doesn't exist by itself and you certainly cannot attribute the same qualities to every single religion. The major religions are a mix of philosophy + politics. Philosophy in general is certainly grounded in critical thinking. These religions obviously serve as a method to deliver the results to the masses. Nationalism is just as bad if not worse than religion in term…

That's fair. However my point stands that it is ok to tell people how to live; that's society.

Regarding religion, it is more conducive to non critical thought than other thought frameworks that exist. At the very least by magnitude it has the most impact in terms of contributing to non critical thought worldwide.

Weather nationalism is worse or not doesn't change the criticism on religion.

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