Thursday, March 08, 2007
Homeschooling and Conservapedia
The incredible stupidity found over at Conservapedia led to a discussion of homeschooling on The Questionable Authority's blog. Here's my contribution:
Conservapedia has its uses: we started using it to teach our children about how not to think or write!
My wife and I have homeschooled our four children (eldest: 12, youngest 2) from the beginnings of their education. I'm an agnostic and my wife is Catholic (her brother is a priest!), and we don't homeschool for religious reasons.
My wife and I view the supernatural in very different ways, and sometimes that leads to significant disagreements. My wife manages the trick of accepting science and of accepting Christianity, something I can't do. Our children are aware of our different world views, but don't seem to have made strong choices in favor of either.
Since our eldest was five, he has been fascinated by dinosaurs; at 12, he works in a museum as a volunteer prepator (currently working on a 66 MYA triceratops from Hell Creek), reads scientific papers, and participates in a college program for gifted students. Science (and, in particular, evolution) have always been a part of our joint educational adventure, but it's not the sum total of what we do. One of our daughters also likes science; another likes the theater (the two-year-old just goes along for the ride). We tailor our approach to each child's education to his or her particular interest. That's the value of homeschooling! We also make sure they're exposed to the world at large - on their 10th birthdays, for example, I take them on a trip to the U.K.
Our children have friends (both homeschooled and "schooled") who are conservative (my wife and I are political and social liberals) Christian creationists, so they've been exposed to that whole set of non-rational arguments (it's hard to maintain friendships with people who believe you're going to hell, though).
We do believe in rigorous standards, but the standards are determined by subject matter. If we're studying history, we explore the methodology of historical research; science, the scientific method; art, art criticism. Like the other homeschoolers who have commented, we would oppose the imposition of state standards - usually, because the state standards I've seen are less rigorous than the standards we use.
Unless adults are prohibited from holding irrational, non-fact-based beliefs, I don't see how the state can prohibit parents from teaching their children irrational beliefs. Adults with irrational beliefs can and do function in our society, and most likely their children will too. We are, after all, free to be rational or irrational. But we're not free to impose rationality - or irrationality - on each other.
Conservapedia has its uses: we started using it to teach our children about how not to think or write!
My wife and I have homeschooled our four children (eldest: 12, youngest 2) from the beginnings of their education. I'm an agnostic and my wife is Catholic (her brother is a priest!), and we don't homeschool for religious reasons.
My wife and I view the supernatural in very different ways, and sometimes that leads to significant disagreements. My wife manages the trick of accepting science and of accepting Christianity, something I can't do. Our children are aware of our different world views, but don't seem to have made strong choices in favor of either.
Since our eldest was five, he has been fascinated by dinosaurs; at 12, he works in a museum as a volunteer prepator (currently working on a 66 MYA triceratops from Hell Creek), reads scientific papers, and participates in a college program for gifted students. Science (and, in particular, evolution) have always been a part of our joint educational adventure, but it's not the sum total of what we do. One of our daughters also likes science; another likes the theater (the two-year-old just goes along for the ride). We tailor our approach to each child's education to his or her particular interest. That's the value of homeschooling! We also make sure they're exposed to the world at large - on their 10th birthdays, for example, I take them on a trip to the U.K.
Our children have friends (both homeschooled and "schooled") who are conservative (my wife and I are political and social liberals) Christian creationists, so they've been exposed to that whole set of non-rational arguments (it's hard to maintain friendships with people who believe you're going to hell, though).
We do believe in rigorous standards, but the standards are determined by subject matter. If we're studying history, we explore the methodology of historical research; science, the scientific method; art, art criticism. Like the other homeschoolers who have commented, we would oppose the imposition of state standards - usually, because the state standards I've seen are less rigorous than the standards we use.
Unless adults are prohibited from holding irrational, non-fact-based beliefs, I don't see how the state can prohibit parents from teaching their children irrational beliefs. Adults with irrational beliefs can and do function in our society, and most likely their children will too. We are, after all, free to be rational or irrational. But we're not free to impose rationality - or irrationality - on each other.
