Morality is not determined by the church you attend nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of your character and the positive impact you have on those you meet along your journey
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
"Science" test from private Christian school.
If you want to know why we are so ignorant in America, look no further.
I heard of a story once, where an old woman "knew" that the Earth was held up by Atlas. When questioned about what Atlas himself stood upon, she replied "the back of a turtle." And when asked upon what the turtle stood, she replied, "oh you can't fool me with THAT one... it's turtles all the way down!"
Often, when listening to someone who has been indoctrinated with the Bible creation myth, I think to myself "...turtles all the way down."
Because we are slowly but surely handing over public funds to religious organizations to run schools with no expectation of standards. Common Core has flaws, but it sets a standard for ALL schools -- public and private.
Because private schools are exempt from NCLB, RTT and standardized testing. They don't even have to be accredited if you can get idiots to pay money to send their children to them.
For a time, I attended Bethel Baptist College (because I wanted to sing in their great choir, and did). The first thing the teacher said in the History class was, and I quote, "Christ operates in history." The statement rang like a warning bell that nobody else seemed to hear. They were busy writing it down.
The school's fundamentalist dogma was suffocating and forbade questioning. Alan Watts, in his book, "the Book of the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are," writes: "Irrevocable commitment to any religion is not only intellectual suicide, it is positive unfaith because it closes the mind to any new vision of the world. Faith is, above all, openness -- an act of trust in the unknown...No considerate God would destroy the human mind by making it so rigid and unadaptable as to depend upon one book, the Bible, for all the answers."
After a year and a half, I got kicked out of the choir for voicing these kinds of things. I transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara and started to breathe again.
The word "Bible" should not appear on a science test.
A test in a Religions class, Ok, a test in a history class dealing with the formative years of Christianity, a history class having a unit on the Protestant Reformation (those wacky Protestants actually wanted the be able to read said Bible in their own language rather than have to learn Latin - and then of course it wasn't originally written in Latin, but I digress ...).
Oh, and the word 'sin' shouldn't show up on a science test either.
That test is so, so wrong on so many levels. Those poor kids.
This is exactly like every science test I ever took at my Christian school until 10th grade. At that point, we got a new teacher, who I think actually believed evolution but would have been fired for admitting it. He dodged the issue by refusing to teach "origins" at all, because we could not replicate creation or evolution in a lab experiment. Given the circumstances, I think that was a pretty clever tactic.
Our history classes every year started with the teacher (same one every year from grades 7-12) pointing out that the word "history" is really "His [God's] story." Our poli sci textbook was a Gary North reader on various dominionist theories. Economics was about why capitalism is the only biblically sanctioned economic system. Our A Beka American lit books were filled with sermons from obscure revivalist preachers.
The only reason I was remotely prepared for college was because around my junior year of high school, I realized how much bullshit we were being taught--not even, at that time, the conservative politics, but the basic lack of standard American knowledge--and undertook to educate myself. And I still had much more work to do in college to get myself up to speed.
No offense, but that looks like a test for Altzheimers. Three biblical events that effected the surface of the earth? The glass cathedral, The World Trade Center and Chernobyl. Where do I get my glow in the dark cross?
I heard of a story once, where an old woman "knew" that the Earth was held up by Atlas. When questioned about what Atlas himself stood upon, she replied "the back of a turtle."
ReplyDeleteAnd when asked upon what the turtle stood, she replied, "oh you can't fool me with THAT one... it's turtles all the way down!"
Often, when listening to someone who has been indoctrinated with the Bible creation myth, I think to myself "...turtles all the way down."
But are they Ninja Turtles.....?.......it's all good if they are.......
DeleteShe didn't even know her mythology! Atlas was a Titan condemned by the Olympian gods to hold up the heavens, not the earth.
DeleteFuck why do we allow them to pass of this shit as education
ReplyDeleteBecause we are slowly but surely handing over public funds to religious organizations to run schools with no expectation of standards. Common Core has flaws, but it sets a standard for ALL schools -- public and private.
DeleteBecause private schools are exempt from NCLB, RTT and standardized testing. They don't even have to be accredited if you can get idiots to pay money to send their children to them.
DeleteHome schooling can be even worse.
For a time, I attended Bethel Baptist College (because I wanted to sing in their great choir, and did). The first thing the teacher said in the History class was, and I quote, "Christ operates in history." The statement rang like a warning bell that nobody else seemed to hear. They were busy writing it down.
ReplyDeleteThe school's fundamentalist dogma was suffocating and forbade questioning. Alan Watts, in his book, "the Book of the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are," writes:
"Irrevocable commitment to any religion is not only intellectual suicide, it is positive unfaith because it closes the mind to any new vision of the world. Faith is, above all,
openness -- an act of trust in the unknown...No considerate God would destroy the human mind by making it so rigid and unadaptable as to depend upon one book, the Bible, for all the answers."
After a year and a half, I got kicked out of the choir for voicing these kinds of things. I transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara and started to breathe again.
I hope that you got to continue singing at the U. of California.
DeleteBeaglemom
what grade? the questions are obviously ridiculous for anything over second grade, science-related or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSorry, 5:04, but they are ridiculous for ANY grade!
Deletetrue - but the simplicity of the questions (not their content) is what was driving my assessment.
DeleteWith this kind of testing, it's no wonder the Palin's 'graduated,' from anything.
ReplyDeleteUnconsciencable..........no other way to look at it........
ReplyDeleteThat last one is a trick question. The correct answer is, "anywhere God wants it to be."
ReplyDeleteThe word "Bible" should not appear on a science test.
ReplyDeleteA test in a Religions class, Ok, a test in a history class dealing with the formative years of Christianity, a history class having a unit on the Protestant Reformation (those wacky Protestants actually wanted the be able to read said Bible in their own language rather than have to learn Latin - and then of course it wasn't originally written in Latin, but I digress ...).
Oh, and the word 'sin' shouldn't show up on a science test either.
That test is so, so wrong on so many levels. Those poor kids.
MarvinM
Hey... Nothing wrong with those easy questions for a third grade level. The ANSWERS that the teacher expects... Now THAT is another ball of dung.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly like every science test I ever took at my Christian school until 10th grade. At that point, we got a new teacher, who I think actually believed evolution but would have been fired for admitting it. He dodged the issue by refusing to teach "origins" at all, because we could not replicate creation or evolution in a lab experiment. Given the circumstances, I think that was a pretty clever tactic.
ReplyDeleteOur history classes every year started with the teacher (same one every year from grades 7-12) pointing out that the word "history" is really "His [God's] story." Our poli sci textbook was a Gary North reader on various dominionist theories. Economics was about why capitalism is the only biblically sanctioned economic system. Our A Beka American lit books were filled with sermons from obscure revivalist preachers.
The only reason I was remotely prepared for college was because around my junior year of high school, I realized how much bullshit we were being taught--not even, at that time, the conservative politics, but the basic lack of standard American knowledge--and undertook to educate myself. And I still had much more work to do in college to get myself up to speed.
As God is my witness, I swear, almighty Zeus will turn them all into ptoads and ptarmigans for their blasphemery!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo offense, but that looks like a test for Altzheimers. Three biblical events that effected the surface of the earth? The glass cathedral, The World Trade Center and Chernobyl. Where do I get my glow in the dark cross?
ReplyDeleteMight be even more helpful to see what the "correct" answers are for this test.
ReplyDeleteThat scares the hell out of me.
ReplyDelete