Carrie, your posts are often funny, and sometimes disturbing. The bottom line reason that hardcore right-wing Christians want evolution removed from schools is fear. Fear that they may be wrong. The people who believe in evolution don't have this problem. Do you think they're afraid that creationism might be true? Fear pushes almost everything the religious right does.

I think my favorite part is the very end...

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Social conservatives who prefer religious creation to be taught instead of evolution criticized the proposal as well.

"If you're teaching the concept without the word, what's the point?" said Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican. "It's stupid. It's like teaching gravity without using the word gravity."

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His Gravity example confuses me.. Is he suggesting that gravity is another "concept of the Devil" that shouldn't be taught? :)

I wasn't home schooled but I know 2 people that are currently homeschooling their kids and I know a couple of people who were home schooled and based on what I see and know of them I would say this is the rosey, perfect world version of homeschool.

It is proven that homeschool kids excel in acedemics but to say that a kid is thrown into a class of 20-30 people and only interacts with them over the next 12 years just wrong. I went to public school in a pretty small town ( approx 4,000 people ) each year from grade 1-6 I had a different teacher and different students in my class, yes there were the some of the same, but also many others that I didn't know each year. From grade 7-12 I had different teachers and different students in each class I graduated with a senior class of about 600 or so and my high school had about 2400 kids so I interacted daily with 2400 not 20-30 also, you make it sound as if public school kids never leave the house. They too interact with society when they are out in it.

But to me, based on what I've seen and know, home school kids are 3-5 years behind everyone else in social development. This is because they are tought by their parents and they know that mom and dad love them unconditionally. They can and will be punished, but in the end the enviornment they are in all day while at school is one of love and caring. In a public school ( or for that matter a private school too ) they have to learn to deal with people that don't like them, with teachers that they don't agree with and situations where people are trying to use and take advantage of them. at home school these things don't happen. Home schooling doesn't require them to deal with adversity.

When I graduated public highschool I had delt with conflict, I had had a couple of girlfriends one of which dumped me. I had lived a little ( I will digress that high school still is nothing compared to the real world ) both of the women I know that were homeschooled told me that as soon as they graduated and got a job and moved out they had a really hard time adjusting because at work they had co-workers that didn't necessarily love them and they both met men who took advantage of them. One got her car stolen and one got pregnant at 18. They both say they think part of their struggles were because they were not ready for the real world and their homeschooling had inadvertantly made them too dependent on their parents. I see my two friends that are home schooling their kids and when all of us get together everyone elses kids almost instantly mesh and play together and the two homeschool kids have trouble fitting in and would rather be whereever mom or dad is. One of them even says she wishes she could go to " real school " ( of course hers is a sad story because her mom and dad are fantically religious so they edit her text books and lessons to conform with their beliefs. )

So, for me, I think homeschooling actually does an injustic to the kid and makes their young adult life a lot harder than it should be. If people are so worried about the public schools, send your kid to private school. If one parent is home all day home schooling, they could get a job to pay for that private school.

just my :2 cents: sorry to be so long winded.

It stinks of local goverment administrators creating paperwork. They will do anything to make work for themselves, because if anyone looked closely at what they achieved it would be crystal clear they are not doing their jobs.

The concept will still be taught, but using a different phrase. That probably took them 5 people working flat out for 6 months to arrive at. And the same amount to monitor afterwards.

All the time schools are starved of cash and standards drop.

I agree.. The people I've known that have been home schooled were severely lacking in the people skills department.

Interacting with people is all any of us ever do. Whether it's in person working retail, in business managing employees, sending emails to vendors or even posting on a stupid message board like GFY!

Interacting well with people is the most important skill a child can learn. With it you can accomplish anything you desire.

What? People who can see merits in both sides of a debate rather than jumping over one line or the other? The day GFY is a ditto only board is the day I'll leave:winkwink:

Just watch SG-1 then you will have your answers.

:Graucho

You have to be kidding. You simply have to. Right? :helpme

After all, nobody could seriously believe that merely because some elements in a story are based on facts, the story as a whole has any credibility. That would make ancient Greek mythology credible, as well as the Vedas, Egyptian mythology, most fictional literary works of the past few centuries and nearly everything that was ever written.

"In the year 2004, when George W. Bush was in power in the United states, aliens came to me on a friday night and gave me the Sword of Eternal Wisdom, which allowed me to slay the evil armies of Al Qaeda. After that, I went home and had a beer, and posted on GFY about the whole thing."

Clearly, the mere fact that existing places and people are referenced in a piece of writing does not make the whole of it credible.

Nobody could seriously defend such a simplistic line of reasoning. So, I'll just assume you were kidding. You were kidding, right?

I own the Sword of Eternal Wisdom.

You mean those aliens gave me a fake one? Ah crap, those big-headed green critters just can't be trusted :ak47:

jesus conservatives are weird...

especially pornographer conservatives

I can think of a couple people you could use it on :)

Because I don't feel the need to have anyone else teach my children.
We'll get to those things, just as when *I* was studying I also studied Hinduism, Buddhism, and different types of "Pagan" worship.

*My* posts are funny? Okay.

Please point out where I said that I believe the religious story.

Also, please point out where I support having science banned from public schools.

Thank you, come again.

I did, for 3 months. It wasn't any better.
Basing your entire view of homeschoolers on a "couple" of homeschooled people that you knew is like basing all adult webmasters on a "couple" people you know from GFY.

There are, of course, exceptions and bad apples in every bunch. But the fact remains that overall, public schools have become a cesspool of dumbed-down education where "group thought", not education itself, is the focus; and homeschooled kids outperform public school kids both academically and socially. *shrugs*

This is the stupidest god damn thing i've heard! Fuck the south and fuck the religions! It is EVOLUTION, nothing more! ONE FUCKING WORD!

jDoG

*sighs and just shakes head after reading the rest of the posts*

Most of you are just as bad as that official who wanted to strike the word 'evolution'. You see only what you want to see, you pick out parts to support what *you* want to believe, and you completely ignore the rest.
No one has to censor any words for *you*, you're doing a fine job of it yourselves. :thumbsup

KC I know that *you* read everything I posted and took it as a whole, so this is not directed at you. Your statement that interaction is the most important skill that children can learn... heck just read over this entire thread and tell me that reading comprehension isn't just as, if not more, important than interaction.
Sure, these guys can talk back, or talk *at*, someone; but can they really understand what's being said to them, comprehend it, and discuss it as a whole? Nope.

More than half of the people posting in this thread have come away with the notions that I'm Christian, that I believe the Bible, that I disregard science, and that I'm in support of striking 'evolution' from PS vocabulary.

None of which I said, and none of which is true. Had they read all of it and *listened* to what I was saying, they'd know this.
But I guess "interaction" and post count are more important than taking off the blinders. :)

THE "THEORY" OF EVOLUTION IS LIKE THE "THEORY" OF GRAVITY YOU FUCKING UNEDUCATED MONKIES.

the scientific definition of theory is different to someone's "theory of educational reform"


bloody hell carrie, the bible has *some* basis in historical events in that some of the people and places are likely to have existed and some of the events taken place, but it's the boring history stuff like king herod not the creation myth and acension parts lol, to infer on the mythical parts of the bible the likely factual basis of the historical parts of the bible as "facts for creation" is absurdity of the highest degree.

to even try and claim that creation and evolution are on par as competing explanations based on factual evidence just belies an incredible ignorance of evolution. why do you think that belief in god is based on "having faith" without a shred of evidence? thats why faith is so strong and important. jeez, even proper thinking christians believe that evolution occurs through the divine hand of god, which is the only rationally respectable opinion on the matter.

homeschooling cannot compete with the education you recieve at a school, there just aren't as many educated parents that can teach maths, science or any other subject for that matter at a highschool level, advanced education is best taught by individuals who have studied their subjects at a university level and specialised in their subjects. Theres no way in fucking hell jane homemaker is going to be able to teach jimmy 4 unit maths as well as mr. 4 years of university mathematics.
That being said homeschooling at a primary education level isn't the worst idea.
not that highschools of any calibre aren't without a myriad of problems just that no parent is capable of teaching their child as well as 10 different teachers all at university level proficiency in their fields. It's wishful thinking at best. It doesn't matter how intelligent you are.

I guess it all depends on the student, if your child is average or below average they might do better being homeschooled (pretty hard for a below average student to "skip" homeschool), but if they're really bright you're holding them back, they should be interacting with people intimately familiar with the advanced concepts they're being taught.

What missing link are you referring to?

bullshit, Carrie,
don't portray Oprano as a bunch of ignorant folks,
Bible is a bunch of stories, having very little to do with reality.

The point is it goes against the Bush Administration and the religious right wing's bible teachings, and they are out to brainwash the children of America. How can you sufficiently brainwash them when the school curriculum contradicts the bible?

I agree that homeschooled kids typically outperform public school kids academically, at least when it comes to test scores and at lower grades ( I'm not sure about high school level), but I guess I still disagree with you about the social part. I am basing my view on the kids I know and also things I've read and seen. I agree that public school is dumbed down. If they have 30 kids in the class, they have to teach to the slowest one and the rest suffer for it and I agree that public schools are out of control in many areas where the kids run the school not the teachers.

But answer me this. Do you think that the average parent is equipted to teach their kid advanced algebra, chemestry, computer science, economics, biology ect? I had some classes that were tought by people with masters degrees in their field and I know I often had trouble grasping it even with their clear explinations there is no way the average parent would be versed enough to teach it to me.

I know there are bad apples and exceptions to everything. I guess I'm just saying that the 2 people i know that were homeschooled both say they had real trouble adjusting. The kids I know that are homeschooled, I see them having trouble adjusting in groups and I've read a few articles about homeschool kids being behind socially. I'm not saying every kid will have this problem. It's up to the parents that homeschool to make sure they are replacing that loss of social interaction with something that will aid the kid, I just think most fail at that.