Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution
arthurdent
Posts: 969
Mar 6, 6:26 PM EST
By DYLAN LOVAN
Associated Press Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her 10-year-old's biology lessons.
Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed Charles Darwin's theory.
"I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's like, 'This is not true!'"
Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction."
"The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program."
Those who don't, however, often feel isolated and frustrated from trying to find a textbook that fits their beliefs.
Two of the best-selling biology textbooks stack the deck against evolution, said some science educators who reviewed sections of the books at the request of The Associated Press.
"I feel fairly strongly about this. These books are promulgating lies to kids," said Jerry Coyne, an ecology and evolution professor at the University of Chicago.
The textbook publishers defend their books as well-rounded lessons on evolution and its shortcomings. One of the books doesn't attempt to mask disdain for Darwin and evolutionary science.
"Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling," says the introduction to "Biology: Third Edition" from Bob Jones University Press. "This book was not written for them."
The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and parents, warning in its "History of Life" chapter that a "Christian worldview ... is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is."
When the AP asked about that passage, university spokesman Brian Scoles said the sentence made it into the book because of an editing error and will be removed from future editions.
The size of the business of home-school texts isn't clear because the textbook industry is fragmented and privately held publishers don't give out sales numbers. Slatter said home-school material sales reach about $1 billion annually in the U.S.
Publishers are well aware of the market, said Jay Wile, a former chemistry professor in Indianapolis who helped launch the Apologia curriculum in the early 1990s.
"If I'm planning to write a curriculum, and I want to write it in a way that will appeal to home-schoolers, I'm going to at least find out what my demographic is," Wile said.
In Kentucky, Lexington home-schooler Mia Perry remembers feeling disheartened while flipping through a home-school curriculum catalog and finding so many religious-themed textbooks.
"We're not religious home-schoolers, and there's somewhat of a feeling of being outnumbered," said Perry, who has home-schooled three of her four children after removing her oldest child from a public school because of a health condition.
Perry said she cobbled together her own curriculum after some mainstream publishers told her they would not sell directly to home-schooling parents.
Wendy Womack, another Lexington home-school mother, said the only scientifically credible curriculum she's found is from the Maryland-based Calvert School, which has been selling study-at-home materials for more than 100 years.
Apologia and Bob Jones University Press say their science books sell well. Apologia's "Exploring Creation" biology textbook retails for $65, while Bob Jones' "Biology" Third Edition lists at $52.
Coyne and Virginia Tech biology professor Duncan Porter reviewed excerpts from the Apologia and Bob Jones biology textbooks, which are equivalent to ninth- and 10th-grade biology lessons. Porter said he would give the books an F.
"If this is the way kids are home-schooled then they're being shortchanged, both rationally and in terms of biology," Coyne said. He argued that the books may steer students away from careers in biology or the study of the history of the earth.
Wile countered that Coyne "feels compelled to lie in order to prop up a failing hypothesis (evolution). We definitely do not lie to the students. We tell them the facts that people like Dr. Coyne would prefer to cover up."
Adam Brown's parents say their 16-year-old son's belief in the Bible's creation story isn't deterring him from pursuing a career in marine biology. His parents, Ken and Polly Brown, taught him at their Cedar Grove, Ind., home using the Apologia curriculum and other science texts.
Polly Brown said her son would gladly take college courses that include evolution, and he'll be able to provide the expected answers even though he disagrees.
"He probably knows it better than the kids who have been taught evolution all through public school," Polly Brown said. "But that is in order for him to understand both sides of that argument because he will face it throughout his higher education."
---
Apologia Educational Ministries: http://www.apologia.com
Bob Jones University Press: http://www.bjupress.com/page/HS+Home
Jerry Coyne's blog, "Why Evolution is True": http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/
© 2010 The Associated Press.
By DYLAN LOVAN
Associated Press Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her 10-year-old's biology lessons.
Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed Charles Darwin's theory.
"I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's like, 'This is not true!'"
Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction."
"The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program."
Those who don't, however, often feel isolated and frustrated from trying to find a textbook that fits their beliefs.
Two of the best-selling biology textbooks stack the deck against evolution, said some science educators who reviewed sections of the books at the request of The Associated Press.
"I feel fairly strongly about this. These books are promulgating lies to kids," said Jerry Coyne, an ecology and evolution professor at the University of Chicago.
The textbook publishers defend their books as well-rounded lessons on evolution and its shortcomings. One of the books doesn't attempt to mask disdain for Darwin and evolutionary science.
"Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling," says the introduction to "Biology: Third Edition" from Bob Jones University Press. "This book was not written for them."
The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and parents, warning in its "History of Life" chapter that a "Christian worldview ... is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is."
When the AP asked about that passage, university spokesman Brian Scoles said the sentence made it into the book because of an editing error and will be removed from future editions.
The size of the business of home-school texts isn't clear because the textbook industry is fragmented and privately held publishers don't give out sales numbers. Slatter said home-school material sales reach about $1 billion annually in the U.S.
Publishers are well aware of the market, said Jay Wile, a former chemistry professor in Indianapolis who helped launch the Apologia curriculum in the early 1990s.
"If I'm planning to write a curriculum, and I want to write it in a way that will appeal to home-schoolers, I'm going to at least find out what my demographic is," Wile said.
In Kentucky, Lexington home-schooler Mia Perry remembers feeling disheartened while flipping through a home-school curriculum catalog and finding so many religious-themed textbooks.
"We're not religious home-schoolers, and there's somewhat of a feeling of being outnumbered," said Perry, who has home-schooled three of her four children after removing her oldest child from a public school because of a health condition.
Perry said she cobbled together her own curriculum after some mainstream publishers told her they would not sell directly to home-schooling parents.
Wendy Womack, another Lexington home-school mother, said the only scientifically credible curriculum she's found is from the Maryland-based Calvert School, which has been selling study-at-home materials for more than 100 years.
Apologia and Bob Jones University Press say their science books sell well. Apologia's "Exploring Creation" biology textbook retails for $65, while Bob Jones' "Biology" Third Edition lists at $52.
Coyne and Virginia Tech biology professor Duncan Porter reviewed excerpts from the Apologia and Bob Jones biology textbooks, which are equivalent to ninth- and 10th-grade biology lessons. Porter said he would give the books an F.
"If this is the way kids are home-schooled then they're being shortchanged, both rationally and in terms of biology," Coyne said. He argued that the books may steer students away from careers in biology or the study of the history of the earth.
Wile countered that Coyne "feels compelled to lie in order to prop up a failing hypothesis (evolution). We definitely do not lie to the students. We tell them the facts that people like Dr. Coyne would prefer to cover up."
Adam Brown's parents say their 16-year-old son's belief in the Bible's creation story isn't deterring him from pursuing a career in marine biology. His parents, Ken and Polly Brown, taught him at their Cedar Grove, Ind., home using the Apologia curriculum and other science texts.
Polly Brown said her son would gladly take college courses that include evolution, and he'll be able to provide the expected answers even though he disagrees.
"He probably knows it better than the kids who have been taught evolution all through public school," Polly Brown said. "But that is in order for him to understand both sides of that argument because he will face it throughout his higher education."
---
Apologia Educational Ministries: http://www.apologia.com
Bob Jones University Press: http://www.bjupress.com/page/HS+Home
Jerry Coyne's blog, "Why Evolution is True": http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/
© 2010 The Associated Press.
Rock me Jesus, roll me Lord...
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
agreed. Breeding ignorance is never a bad thing.
Doesn't that limit their children? I'm a very educated person but even I think it's better to have different people educate my children. I teach them what I know after school hours. They get exposure to other people's ideas during the day. I think that's good. It seems like my children would get a less broad education if I was their only teacher.
Can someone explain to me why home-schooling is so popular?! Do these people WANT to keep their children in the dark?!
Obviously worked for you. It's "their" you nincompoop. :roll:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nll8-kSl ... re=related
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
Now it’s an atrocity to teach your own children....
I have a degree in journalism. It comes with the territory :ugeek:
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
I never understood that either... to each their own, but I'd rather my kids learn from all sorts of teachers over the years.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Missoula 6/20/98
Alpine Valley 6/26/98 & 6/27/98
Alpine Valley 10/8/00
Champaign 4/23/03
Alpine Valley 6/21/03
Missoula 8/29/05
Chicago 5/16 & 17/06
Grand Rapids 5/19/06
Summerfest 6/29/06 & 6/30/06
Tampa 6/12/08
Chicago 8/23/09
Indy 5/7/10
Alpine Valley x2 2011
Wrigley 2013
Milwaukee 14
Telluride 16
**citation needed**
Do they even teach the scientific method in school anymore???
*facepalm*
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
I am personally homeschooling my kids on the novelization of "Star Wars". If it's going to be fiction at least I get to choose what fiction it is.
no, no. at least teach the classics... Asimov, Heinleim, Clarke and Adams.
I worship a big, black monolith which gave primitive man/apes the ability t0 make tools. And I believe that Dave Bowman and the Star Child are the one true messiah. And Judas is a computer named HAL.
:P
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
Godfather.
Where did anyone suggest this?
All of my cousins by the way were home schooled. they all went to (christian) colleges and are fine.
Homeschool parents must take a rigid training class and there are homeschool associations where home school kids socialize and do dances and all the other stuff that kids do. Considering the state of public education these days I don't think it's a bad way to go, if you have the endurance, which I don't.
that said I wish they would stick to what are widely regarded as historical and scientific facts and not "cherry pick" based on individual religious beliefs.
Home schooling is quickly becoming illegal. Parents may end up with no rights at all.
There's a few things here that need to be set straight.
In Science, a Theory is a much higher standard than just a plain old fact. Facts by themselves don't prove anything. A Theory, however, is a systematic, structured, explanation for how certain things work and exist. That's why we find certain things, such as Relativity and Gravitation, as scientific Theory. Moreover, Evolution has so much more proof and scrutiny behind it than any other scientific discipline, and it's still a valid one. Moreover, the more we find out about the world, the more we see the proof behind Evolution.
Also, without Evolution, many of the other scientific disciplines wouldn't be possible. Immunology, for instance, relies on Evolution to predict development of new strains of germs and identify them, and helps us create new vaccines. (Ever wonder why certain strains of flu are called bird or swine flu, and we need different vaccines each year?)
Also, the great thing about a sound scientific Theory is that not only does it explain why things are the way they are, they can also make predictions about future discoveries. They can also be corroborated by other scientific Theories and disciplines.
Case in point: for the longest time, we knew that humans had 46 chromosomes, but the other great apes had 48. This was used by the evolution deniers as proof that Evolution was false. You know, the same nonsense we keep hearing about year after year. However, as sound scientific Theory, Evolution makes a very simple prediction about the phenomenon: obviously since any creature can't just lose a chromosome pair and survive, two sets of chromosomes must have fused together to form a single one in humans.
And sure enough, with the advancements given to us by gene mapping techniques, we've discovered that human chromosome 2 shows exactly such a fusion - the way we know is because of the presence of markers called telomeres in the center of the chromosome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi8FfMBYCkk
You may note Dr Miller refer to a trial in the video. Well, that happens to be Kitzmiller vs Dover - the only modern case where Evolution was put on trial, pitted against a pseudo scientific, religious based hypothesis called Intelligent Design. With everything put on the line, evidence after evidence from each side in open court, in front of a conservative, Bush-appointed federal judge, Intelligent Design lost and Evolution won.
The trial is chronicled in an excellent PBS documentary called Judgment Day.
You know what's really galling to me? The fact that the country is being held hostage to religious ideologues in so many ways, and now I find out that Texas, which is home to pretty much every major textbook publishing company in the country, can dictate to me what kind of textbook my schools in CA can use. It's one thing if some backwater county in the boonies want to preach pseudo sciences in the manner of astrology and alchemy to their kids, it's another thing to force everyone else to use them.
do you even know what science is??? ALL OF SCIENCE IS BASED ON THEORIES!!!!!!! this is the way it works. You cannot prove a theory. EVER!!!!!!! You can find evidence to support a theory, and until such time as evidence to the contrary is discovered, a theory stands. Theories are based on evidence which can be shown experimentally or through natural observation. And since evolution can be observed... IT IS A THEORY!!!!!!
Creationism, or whatever the fuck you want to call it, can neither be shown experimentall, nor through natural observation. It is a matter of faith. And therefore has ABSOLUTELY NO PLACE IN A CLASSROOM!!!!!
**class dismissed**
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
children should not be held responsible for the sins of their parents. In this case, the sin is ignorance.
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
Where in this did I call it an atrocity?
I ASKED why people thought it was a good idea. Answer the question. TELL me why you think it's a good idea. I have a good set of ears and I'm curious to know what reasons people might have.
You have the chance to tell everyone who reads this all the positive things about home schooling. Why wouldn't you take advantage of that?
He didnt even come close to what you accuse. :!:
Well, I did win the freshman chemistry award in college when I was a business major, so I feel like I know a crapload about science. Did you win the freshman chemistry award? If you did, congratulations.
Okay, so freshman chemistry is all about memorization, and doesn't have crap to do with real science. I'll give you that. I understand science is about theories and creating a hypothesis. If you understood critical thinking you would probably understand the point of my post was that the theory of evolution isn't as well proven as say the theory of gravity.
or Moses' theory of creation.
it was that damn burning bush.
The theory of evolution is the leading scientific hypothesis of how life became what it is today. What would you like your kids textbooks to say on this subject?
"With our thoughts we make the world"
Intelligent design/creationism does not qualify as a "theory" in any scientific meaning of the word. There are no testable predictions to be observed. It's a pig wearing lipstick, so please don't try to mask that fact.
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
Evolution can be proven, on a microscopic scale. Look at things like drug resistant bacteria. How did that come to be if not for evolution and natural selection? Look at viruses like the flu that mutate every year. The idea that everything was created at one point and every species is exactly the same as it was at the beginning of time is pretty easy to prove as false.