Yeah that's right, none of them!
However THIS is the kind of education endorsed by Fundamentalist Christan families all over this country. Because you know what they say, an ignorant voter is a Republican voter.
By the way just in case there are any young people visiting here who suffered such a woeful education, let me illuminate you on the REAL source of electricity on this planet.
I will even use a website that caters to children so that you can understand it:
Electricity is related to charges, and both electrons and protons carry a charge. The amount of the charge is the same for each particle, but opposite in sign. Electrons carry a negative charge while protons carry positive charge. The objects around us contain billions and billions of atoms, and each atom contains many protons and electrons. The protons are located in the center of the atom, concentrated in a small area called the nucleus. The electrons are in motion outside of the nucleus in orbitals. The protons are basically trapped inside the nucleus and can't escape the nucleus. As a result, it is moving electrons that are primarily responsible for electricity.
See? There you go. All completely natural and verifiable and no supernatural explanation necessary.
Of course it may still confuse certain Christians, especially those that do not trust in science. After all atoms cannot be seen with the naked eye and as we all know Christians do not believe in things which they cannot see for themselves, right?
Wait, why does that sound wrong?
What book is this? Is it used in real schools?
ReplyDeleteIt is used for home schooling.
DeleteClick the link at top to learn more.
Is the publisher A Beka? Because we had their books throughout junior/senior high and they were AWFUL.
DeleteBob Jones Univ. Press. These are used in private christian schools, too. They are awful.
DeleteMel68
ok, if this book is being handed to people homeschooling their children to keep them out of violent schools somewhat-run by union teachers givine 50% effort for 68% of the year then we're in REAAAAAL trouble.
Deleteok, if this book is being handed to people homeschooling their children to keep them out of violent schools somewhat-run by union teachers givine 50% effort for 68% of the year then we're in REAAAAAL trouble.
DeleteI can see the headlines for the newspapers dated August 4, 2030:
ReplyDeleteUNEMPLOYMENT INCURABLY HIGH:
PEOPLE BLAME PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!!
Yep. You see, it's all his fault because he didn't stop all these schools from trying to teach this garbage!!! At least, that's the sort of twisted logic these ignorant a**holes will try to use. Sure! You see, it fits right in with their theory that all the fossil evidence is fake because the rocks would have crush all the evidence when they fell on the creature! (My boss actually tried to convince me of that - until I laughed so hard I fell over, then walked away still laughing!)
I wonder, seriously, if the parents of all these students who will be essentially unemployable will think to blame themselves.
WHAT AM I SAYING? Of COURSE they won't. They'll blame the world for being too stupid to see god's truth.
Any bets as to how high the unemployment rate will go?
Let me guess, he became the boss by marriage? If not, WTF?
DeleteBut they won't be unemployable.
DeleteThey'll still be able to make beds, wash dishes, clean toilets, sweep floors, pick produce and pull a trigger.
And vote Republican.
That's all the right wing really wants out of most of the population.
This is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell do these people want to happen to their children? All of their children will be sweeping up after the world's educated people and screaming that if they leave the U.S. they will fall off the planet or be eaten by dragons. This is child neglect at its most basic level--keeping children completely ignorant of the world.
As an aside--recently I came back from a party where a twenty-four year old man got into a very intense verbal confrontation with another guest because the other person laughed at him when he said dinosaurs never existed. The poor thing had been home schooled by crazy evangelicals who he no longer even spoke to---but he had been completely indoctrinated into the anti-science lunacy that was passed off as an education.
Damn.
Speaking from experience, even when you realize your education has been completely lacking and the people who taught you are uninformed lunatics, it still takes awhile for you to realize just how thoroughly their influence has permeated your worldview and your knowledge base.
DeleteOMG is that real? I have some relatives who insisted their kids attend "Christian" schools outside of their district and their lawyer dad even got the state of Ohio to pay them gas money! The 'prom' was a dinner, no dancing, and of course, none of the four boys has ever had a girlfriend. They were then sent to a fundie college, and they all quit the basketball team because the coach worked them too darn hard, They are now between 24 and 32 years old, and none is married. Until recently, two of them still lived at home. They don't dare be gay, as that would get them kicked out of the family entirely (although I suspect at least one may be, which is fine with me.) And this is what they see for America? People with no real knowledge, no social skills, and a very sad future? While the white guys at the top get richer...yes, that sure was the intent of those revered Founder guys.
ReplyDeleteWe had a junior/senior banquet, same deal with no dancing. Someone had hired a (very lousy) Christian rock band to play, and every time we even bobbed our heads with the beat, we would get the stink-eye from the principal. Apparently the band later complained that we were the most wooden audience they'd ever had. We weren't allowed to be anything else.
DeleteTHese cretins are at a disadvantage in "normalworld." That's why they are so politically active. They would be at a short-term advantage in fundiworld were it global. In the meantime, they try to carve out little fundieworlds. Their schools are unaccredited, so they really can't survive in normalworld today.
Delete"Electricity is a mystery. No one has ever observed it or heard it or felt it.
ReplyDelete"Fun activity: straighten an ordinary paper clip and insert one end into any standard household electrical outlet. (For extra credit, try one of the big ones behind the stove or dryer!) Do you feel anything?"
hey Six $ man..
Deletefirst off, don't tell people to try putting stuff in an outlet. You never know what gullible kids are reading this.
Secondly, if someone reading IM happens to be in England they could kill themselves because they use 220-230 volt power in most outlets in a standard home.
220 volt outlets are deadly, and can easily stop your heart long enough to kill, stop your pacemeker, or cause other damage.
Even 110 volt outlets (standard in the USA) can cause you bodily harm if you happen to be well grounded.
Don't play with electrical outlets or power points unless you know what you're doing!
I agree with A.J. Billings. However, wouldn't pointing out static electricity be almost as effective.
DeleteWalking over wool carpets and touching someone gives you a zap. Rubbing one's hair with a balloon will make your hair fly out away from your scalp. Reading the warnings at the gas station that say to be sure you touch something to ground yourself before filling your car (particularly important in cold, dry weather) because you could cause an explosion otherwise.
Gees, truly, there are such simply observations that undermine the foolishness in that home schooling textbook. An enlightening relative or neighbor's comment about the simple evidence the kids can actually safely test might plant seeds that would grow and prevent the total dumbing-down of those children.
oops - meant enlightened relative or neighbor (but was thinking about enlightening the darkness of many of the home schooling programs).
DeleteUh A. J. I believe Six was joking.
DeleteThanks, Gina.... *whoosh*
DeleteAll kidding aside: KIDS, ELECTRICITY CAN BE DANGEROUS. IT IS NOT MAGIC. IT IS NOT WARM AND CUDDLY. IT DOES NOT COME FROM THE SUN, OR POKÉMON, OR UNICORNS. DO NOT MESS WITH IT.
PSA: I suggest younger readers visit Electrical Safety World to learn more about handling electricity safely.
Agreed. And since no home schooled would DARE to come here, no danger.
DeleteBut, then, there are the Darwin Awards.
This reminds me of one of my son's ex girlfriends. She decided to make a cake, and as she mixed the batter, the business end of the plug fell out of the mixer and into the batter, she gingerly lifted the chord and proceeded to lick the batter meaning to replace it and keep mixing, causing her to stand there convulsing while I knocked the chord out of her mouth with a wooden spoon. It wasn't funny when it happened, but in retrospect we all still laugh when someone mentions it.
DeleteShe wasn't seriously injured, but she had a great respect for electricity ever since.
Atoms haven't been seen with the naked eye but they sure have been photographed, as far back as 1989
ReplyDeletehttp://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/28482.wss
As someone who prepares student for industry jobs I can tell you this "science" would prepare a kid maybe to sweep up after circus elephants.
VERY,VERY scary to think that this is what hundreds of thousands of kids are learning - including the daughter of my nephew, who somehow became one of those crazies after he married one of them after they had an unplanned kid... :(
ReplyDeleteBread goes in, Toast comes out. You can't explain that.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it something like "tide goes in , and tide goes out, why is that"?
DeleteBecause Bill O'Reilly is a dumbass.
Deletehttp://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/bill-oreilly-thinks-tides-are-proof-
I just want to point out that not all home schooled children are taught this. This is from the christian, science fearing curriculum. Home schooled children do not have to be taught with these textbooks.
ReplyDeleteI know several home schooled children who are taught science, math, reading, etc. ABOVE what their public school level would be. Their parents do not include this crap or ANY religious study.
I hate to see all home schooled kids labeled as being taught, or not being taught, the basic skills needed to understand higher learning.
With the cuts to education that have happened in the red states it is almost the only alternative to making sure your child IS taught correctly and to the best of their capabilities. Hopefully we will see a movement to bring our school systems bk up to the standards they were at before.
I totally agree. I also know Christian home schooled kids who excelled at higher education. Just two examples are as follows; one finished her doctorate in bio-chemistry with a free-ride scholarship to Stanford and one is in flight school after graduating from Annapolis. We have a very strong Christian home school association in our town where parents pool their expertise to teach the kids. It is a strongly Christian, pro-science group, and the kids go on to excell in college.
DeleteI think, Gryphen, that there are big pockets of "Christian," anti-science, keep 'em stupid, fundamentalist home-schooling going on, and you're right in the middle of one of them. However, it isn't necessarily reflective of education in general, public and private, in America. That being said, we do have reason for grave concern regarding the future of education in America. With the deep, across-the-board cuts, the future may be grim as we move backward toward an America as a third-world country.
It is true. We do get lazy and paint with a broad brush all Christians with the same dulled paint. However, it is the far-right, anti-science Christian evangelicals who are damaging the image of all Christians because they are the most vocal and, quite frankly, most active advocates for repressive, regressive thinking.
DeleteEven the Vatican says science and religion are not mutually exclusive - though Pope Benedict has done his best to backslide on the more enlightened policies of previous recent Popes. Most mainstream Christian denominations are science-friendly and even approach their faith with open minds.
It is just the province of the most narrow minded that riles the rest of us - and justifiable so because they want to dominate us all with their medieval views and practices, their fears and inhibitions.
I am no longer a Christian. I've realized, that if anything, I am a Deist because it isn't a religion, it is a philosophical view of the animate and inanimate universe that encourages observation and rational thought. It doesn't require a divine source, but it does allow me to stay in awe of what is around and within me.
Textbooks and teachers need to teach critical thinking and how to objectively observe phenomenon. Analysis and synthesis of evidence can only be valid if you can develop objective evidence in a methodical way and be open to re-examining it whenever new, credible evidence arises.
The book shown here simply demonstrates the inadequacies of the minds who developed the criteria and those who approved it.
I concur. I homeschool and I think these people are nutters. My girls learn real science and math from their engineering parents. I cringe when I hear about public schools that teach creation science. The problem is bigger than homeschooling. It is the anti-science, anti-math attitude of the fundies that will bring down our country.
DeleteMel68
I've had a number of homeschooled kids in my engineering courses; some are terrific, others simply horrible. My favorite was the kid whose dad didn't believe in carbon dating-that radioactivity stuff- and he worked in a nuclear power plant.
DeleteExactly 10:13.
DeleteIn some areas, homeschooling for ACADEMIC reasons is the only way to a) get your kid a decent education, especially gifted and talented kids, and b) stay away from the invasive fundi -crap.
I've posted MANY times here and elsewhere - please preface your homeschooling rants with RELIGIOUS - homeschooling. 'Kay?
Many, many, many post secondary professors homeschool their kids for the reasons above.
You are correct about home schooling. Not every parent is trying to protect their child from knowledge. Our granddaughter was home schooled for awhile. As an eighth grader, she was taking a "college" level intro to science video course.
DeleteGryphen, you're obviously quoting from an older creationist text that was published before Christian scientists (not to be confused with Christian Scientists, whose motto is "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons") determined that Jeebus invented electricity by rubbing his leather sandals on a bear skin rug, thus creating sparks and the modern power-generation industry.
ReplyDeleteI can assure you: all current texts reflect the latest discoveries in Zeus-centered science. Just announced: every beam of light contains a little bit of Jeebus' actual smile, which is pretty awesome, scientifically speaking...
Remember: no matter how loopy and impossible something might be, if you believe hard enough and long enough, you can make any crazy shit come true!
BELIEVE!!!
Instead of indulging in the obscene "t" word: Think.
Delete;o)
DeleteBut all I can say is thank GOD there exists this mysterious "electricity" thingie so little girls can blow-dry their perfect blonde hair before they are home-schooled by their superiorly-edumacated bible thumber moms.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, praise the narrow-minded Lord created by His narrow-minded followers.
Delete(Just to be clear I am only referring to the mythical Creator of the far-right evangelicals. That Creator has nothing in common with the Creator mainstream believers follow.
So, I take it none of us are going to want to hire an electrician who has been "educated" from these textbooks, right?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of these kids will electrocute themselves at some point in their lives.
Each time you visit a drive through window or shop at WalMart remember that these are the adult versions of these poor misguided children.
ReplyDeleteI attended a "Christian" (read: dominionist, anti-women, anti-multiculturalism, and of course extremely anti-gay) school. We used A Beka textbooks, which are a horrid joke.
ReplyDeleteFor example, our American lit book presented a very censored segment of Walt Whitman ("When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," "O Captain, My Captain"), with a page-long biography explaining that Christians shouldn't read his poetry because he was a pervert. Imagine my disappointment after I'd spent three months wading through "Leaves of Grass," looking for racy bits I never found! The textbook also included numerous sermons from Billy Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson, and a bunch of other very obscure 19th-century evangelists. Our teacher made us read them all. On one hand, we heard all this outrage about how feminists and minorities were trying to "redefine" the canon to "exclude" the white Christian males. But no one addressed the obvious issue of our textbook doing that very same thing, with content that wasn't ever meant to be literature and qualified as such by no conceivable measure.
One other example. I still remember one of those A Beka books explaining how ludicrous evolution was by stating, "More than one evolutionist has simply thrown up their hands in despair and concluded birds descended from dinosaurs!" Of course I thought that proved the silliness of evolution. Not until many years later, when I did my own reading and research, did I learn that there's very solid, scientifically sound evidence to support the contention that birds are descended from dinosaurs.
And really--brainwashing and indoctrinating kids that way presupposes that they will never be exposed to any other point of view. If they do encounter other perspectives and they're even slightly open to considering other evidence, they realize what a poor and shallow foundation they have. This may be why many of my classmates went on to work at New Life Church or Focus on the Family.
What really sealed for me the untenability of the dominionist position was the fact that we were forbidden to ask questions of authority figures (we were told it was a sin). Even as a 16-yo, I knew that anyone confident in the truth of their beliefs would not be threatened by questions, would be able to articulately and intelligently defend their position, and would even welcome discussion.
I have since met many Christians who operate in exactly that fashion--can intelligently discuss their beliefs and others, listen, and engage in discourse. So the willful ignorance is not universal amongst Christians, by any sense, but unfortunately much of the Republican, single-issue voters fall into that camp.
I think that children who are home-schooled and children attended faith-based schools should have to be tested at least quarterly, with the tests based on the standard textbooks being used in the public school system. This would have meant that, back in the 1950's I might have learned some science and might have a better understanding of science now. I went to a Catholic parochial school through 8th grade; we did fine in everything but science. Science was a real struggle for me in public school from the 9th grade through high school. The world is safer because I did not pursue a career in science but it would have added so much to my general wealth of knowledge. But, frankly, in this day and age there is no way that some of these kids should end up with a high school diploma or its equivalent given the drivel that they are being "taught."
ReplyDeleteNot just religious schools and not just in the 50s. My kids (80s and 90s) had some terrible science in the K8 because the teachers just weren't taught the subject. I recall one 7th grade science teacher who was certified in social studies and drafted at the last minute to teach science. She hadn't a clue. Another said (in front of the second grade class) that she loved birds and trees but hated physics and chemistry.
DeleteTeachers are paid poorly (and undervalued and blamed for student failures by parents who always take junior's side) so what science major is going to want to be a K8 teacher? An AS technician degree in these parts earns 25% more than a starting certified teacher.
It's part of their plan to convince the poors that we can't find alternative ways to produce electricity because it's scary and mysterious.
ReplyDeleteWhat's so wrong or "unChrstian" with the simple explanation you cited? (besides the idea that ac/dc current isn't mentioned in the Bible as a "tool" for human's use or a gift from God or any other reason)
ReplyDeleteI feel badly for the kids being fed this mistrust of science of any kind.
I'm not sure why this textbook would shock anyone. Religion is, after all, a "belief system" based on fairy tales.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, if you look up the word "fiction" in a really good dictionary, you'll find religion listed as one of the examples.
LOL.
ReplyDeleteOn the next page does it say God makes electricity if you have enough faith?
This is why public schools are essential. Home schooling isn't regulated like a public school is. Teachers are professionals. They are trained to provide education.
Getting pregnant is not training to teach. In fact, there isn't even any training to be a half decent parent involved.
This so called textbook reads like it was written by someone who was homeschooled... in a mountain cabin with no running water reading the Bible by candlelight to practice reading.
And those pushing home schooling and charters (also unregulated) are the self same people complaining about the U.S. being behind in math and science education? Really?
You have to wonder about people who claim they love America yet are doing everything in their power to set us up for the entire world to laugh at us.
I could see that many people are sharing their opinions on the matter. Thanks for this information.
ReplyDeleteonline christian colleges