@Eilonnwy

Many posts ago you said: "This is why many people home school their children, so they won't learn science."

I was wondering how many home school families you know personally.

(I am checking into some of the later posts before I respond, if I think appropriate. I just had this question in the back of my mind for a while and thought I would ask.)

Quote:I was wondering how many home school families you know personally.

Only one.

They live in Canada,and their six children are now adults.

Father;atheist,mother vague theist.. They home schooled all of their children until high school,when they went to the local high school,and into French immersion.-parents wanted their children to be bi lingual and to have a solid science ad maths background. (I had the unworthy thought that it might have been because they didn't want teach adolescents)

When the kids went to highs school,they were above age level in every subject except maths,in which they were at age level.

The parents home schooled initially as they didn't like the Canadian primary school system.

I have never met or even heard of anyone here who home schools. I DID know a couple of fruitcakes who sent their two kids to a Montessori school.The children were precocious,odious little sphincters. (to be fair,that was probably more a matter of genetics than education)

(October 16, 2009 at 7:54 pm)rjh4 Wrote: I was wondering how many home school families you know personally.

My friend's fiancée was home schooled, not for religious purpose. I assume you're asking this to see if I have any basis for backing up my statement, and I do--from reports done on home schooling.

I do not believe every home school child has fundamentalist religious parents and are home schooled in order to prevent their children from learning science. Many children are home schooled and excel, that's great. However, it's a well documented fact that many children are home schooled for religious reasons. Here is a good example of what I am referring to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH_wPUVlJ38

"Science doesn't prove anything." Ughhh, the quote gets me every time, especially when she then goes and uses her am/fm radio and dishwasher that exist thanks to this wonderful thing we call science.

The thing is, they are perfectly correct. Science never proves anything, it gives an explanation that works time and time again, but is never going to reach the level of 'proof' because it relies on the experiment results always being the same.

Science gives a probabilistic view of things, not one of certitude.

Well now you're getting into absolute certainty, which is not possible, and I agree. But in general, that's not the way they mean it and you know it. They're perfectly happy using what science is available to them and when it conflicts with their world view, they ignore it.

(October 17, 2009 at 10:17 am)Eilonnwy Wrote: Well now you're getting into absolute certainty, which is not possible, and I agree. But in general, that's not the way they mean it and you know it. They're perfectly happy using what science is available to them and when it conflicts with their world view, they ignore it.

Wow. Has this subject changed or what?

You said: "This is why many people home school their children, so they won't learn science."

I said: "I was wondering how many home school families you know personally." (and yes I did say this hoping to see if you had any basis for your statement)

You respond by indicating that you personally know one person that was home schooled but not for religious reason. And then you say: "However, it's a well documented fact that many children are home schooled for religious reasons." (I agree, by the way, that that is the reason why many home school.)

Are you suggesting that everyone who home schools for "religious reasons" doesn't want their children to learn science? If so, that is quite a leap based on one aquaintance that your reasoning doesn't apply to and a short video that it could be argued that you are taking what the lady said out of context. Maybe you should find someone who home schools their children for "religious reasons" (I personally hate the phrase "religious" when applied to Christianity the way I see it, but I know how it is being used so I live with it. But that is another conversation.) and ask them if they really want their children not to learn science. By the way...if you don't want to look very far, you can ask me. My wife and I have homeschooled for the past 17 years and you probably would consider our reasons "religious" ones.

(October 17, 2009 at 11:04 am)rjh4 Wrote:

(October 17, 2009 at 10:17 am)Eilonnwy Wrote: Well now you're getting into absolute certainty, which is not possible, and I agree. But in general, that's not the way they mean it and you know it. They're perfectly happy using what science is available to them and when it conflicts with their world view, they ignore it.

Wow. Has this subject changed or what?

You said: "This is why many people home school their children, so they won't learn science."

I said: "I was wondering how many home school families you know personally." (and yes I did say this hoping to see if you had any basis for your statement)

You respond by indicating that you personally know one person that was home schooled but not for religious reason. And then you say: "However, it's a well documented fact that many children are home schooled for religious reasons." (I agree, by the way, that that is the reason why many home school.)

Are you suggesting that everyone who home schools for "religious reasons" doesn't want their children to learn science? If so, that is quite a leap based on one aquaintance that your reasoning doesn't apply to and a short video that it could be argued that you are taking what the lady said out of context. Maybe you should find someone who home schools their children for "religious reasons" (I personally hate the phrase "religious" when applied to Christianity the way I see it, but I know how it is being used so I live with it. But that is another conversation.) and ask them if they really want their children not to learn science. By the way...if you don't want to look very far, you can ask me. My wife and I have homeschooled for the past 17 years and you probably would consider our reasons "religious" ones.

I'm curious. What is your religious reason to home school?

First, I never said everyone who is home schooled is schooled that way for religious reasons. I'm simply saying it is a fact that many religious people home school to deny their children access to education that conflicts with their religious belief. If you do it because you think you can provide a better education, that's fine. But it's a well established fact that religious reasons are often a primary reason, especially among fundamentalists. I'm not hating on home schoolers, I think it's great if parents can do it. However, home schoolers are given different standards and don't have to take standardizing testing, so the statistics on home schoolers doing better is warped. To me that's a problem, and allows some (Note: Not all) fundamentalist religious home schoolers to fall way below basic education standards and deny their child good scientific education, of which the video was an example. I'm quite aware that video is not representative of every home school child everywhere.

Besides, I was only providing a general example about willful ignorance of science. It happens in many other areas, not just home schooling.

Home schoolers do usually have to do standard testing and that's the joke of modern education... schools don't educate they teach to pass tests. They also manipulate the figures to make themselves look good. Education and business don't mix.

(October 18, 2009 at 5:34 am)fr0d0 Wrote: They also manipulate the figures to make themselves look good.

Proof or STFU. Pic's or it didn't happen.