User:Blarneytherinosaur/Sandbox
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[edit] To keep
[edit] Introduction
The work consists of low-level cognitive tasks that emphasize simple association and recall activities, as is typical of instruction from workbooks. Despite the reviling of B. F. Skinner by the Christian Right, the materials make heavy use of behavioral objectives, programmed learning, and rewards (Hunter, 1987, cited in Speck & Prideaux, 1993). Students are not supposed to communicate with other students, get up, or turn around without obtaining permission from a supervisor.
Cooperative learning, which invests some power in and attributes some wisdom to the group, is seen to undermine the relationship of subservience of children to adults and to God. Cooperative learning is considered bad learning
[edit] Mathematics
Christian Right educators, like those who designed the ACE packets, believe that mathematics is a factual enterprise, and should be taught as an example of God's orderly universe. This belief was expressed by the Gablers when they opposed the "new math" of the 1960s. They claimed that the new math would undermine faith in absolute values, and therefore could lead to relativistic thinking, which is precisely what the secular humanists want. Relativistic thinking inexorably leads to an erosion of the students' faith in Christianity (Gaddy, Hall, & Marzano, 1996).
[edit] English
English is taught as a way to spread God's word, and language use is emphasized through exercises like "Jesus died for (your, you're) sins." and "God (is, are) good."
[edit] Social Studies
The ACE social studies curriculum pays homage to capitalism and contains a great many patriotic messages. These themes are often blended with Christianity, communicating the message that this is God's chosen country. An equally important message conveyed by the materials is that women have their place. In one story that is part of the Social Studies ACE packet, a mother says to her son:
Your father is the head of our home. It is God's plan for the father to be head of his family. I talk to your father about things, but he is the one who decides what we must do. I would do wrong not to obey your father because he is the head of our home. God is pleased when a mother obeys the father in the home. (Speck & Prideaux, 1993, p. 287).
Other social studies materials vociferously condemn the United Nations and the evil people who are trying to create one world order, subjugating this nation, God's nation, to a greater authority. The United Nations is abhorred because it has as a working premise the tolerance of, and respect for, other religions. That becomes intolerable for some of the Christian Right since there is only one true God and those that do not find him are damned for eternity.
[edit] Science
One science ACE packet (1986) defines science as "the search for the principles of God's creation based upon reproducible experiments.... We should always subject a principle to the test of the Bible" (p. 3). In contrast, science was described by the National Academy of Sciences in this way: "Scientific interpretations of facts are always provisional and must be testable" (quoted in Knight, 1985, p. 118).
Thus the ACE science packet (1986) used in private Christian schools says that Darwin is an important figure in science but that his theory of evolution is wrong:
(p. 12)The Bible is completely against any such theory. Evolution claims that man arose through a series of random changes. The theory leaves no room for man's responsibility or man's sin. If evolution were true, no man would be born a sinner because Adam would never have fallen and committed the original sin of disobedience to God. If evolution were true, Christ would not have needed to die for our sin.
In discussing the sediment from core samples of earth obtained when drilling for oil off the coast of Guatemala, the ACE science packet notes: Much of that sediment was deposited during the Flood, but even without the deposition of sediment by the Flood, the yearly deposition rates tell us that the Earth is quite young. (p. 16)
[edit] Questionable
[edit] Introduction
Nearly all speculative activities about the world and the human condition have been purged from the curriculum, and so, therefore, have all of the teaching methodologies that promote speculation — field trips, inquiry learning, laboratory learning, cooperative learning, and so forth. When questioned on these matters, the vice president of ACE said, "ACE does not necessarily embrace philosophical beliefs compatible with those of most contemporary writers of curriculum" (quoted in Speck & Prideaux, 1993, p. 284). The vice-president might have said, as well, that ACE also rejects all of contemporary learning and curriculum theory.
I have issues with this quote. While most students don't have a labratory at home, there are set experiments in the Science books. (How could a textbook publisher include a fieldtrip in their material?). These other methods of teaching may be used in conjunction with ACE, and the administration of ACE differs from place to place, however, I can't resort to original research to prove it. A discussion of the use or rejection of these methods would be more suited to an article about the School of Tomorrow. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] English
Other books challenged frequently by the Christian Right include Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Christian Right censors also apparently believe that young children are in danger from Dr. Seuss books. Gaddy, Hall and Marzano (1996) describe how Samantha Smith of the Colorado Eagle Forum found danger in both The Cat in the Hat (it shows how a child's will can be compromised) and Green Eggs and Ham. In the middle of the latter book, writes Ms. Smith, are illustrations "where the train tunnel doesn't quite look like a train tunnel and the end of the tunnel seems to have hair on it. Could that be?" (p. 120)
There is no attribution to anyone involved in the development of Christian educational material for the comments enclosed in brackets. The list of "books challenged frequently by the Christian Right" is only of indirect relevence to this article and, as far as I can tell, the comments of the Colorado Eagle Forum have nothing to do with the subject of this article. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Social Studies
In social studies materials in use at the Center Road Christian Academy of Buffalo, New York, students learned that
men are often better at math and science because of the way their minds work. . . . To fulfill their duties as protectors and providers, men usually have stronger, heavier muscles. . . . Men usually enjoy work outside the home, while women usually find greater enjoyment working within the home. . . . Some vocations are distinctly for men, while others are distinctly for women. (Gehrman, 1987, p. 16)
Interestingly, and somewhat paradoxically, at the Dade Christian School in Miami, Florida, students must pledge not to "draw, wear, or display in any way the 'peace' symbol" (Gehrman, 1987, p. 16).
Not directly related to the curriculum, which is the topic of this article. The use of ACE at different schools is relevant to those schools, but not this article. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Science
Both science processes and science facts appear to be taught poorly in Christian Right schools.
We don't deal in "apparent" facts here. Either it is poorly taught, or it is not. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
As might be expected, the demand for obedience by youth to authority and the Bible leads to direct conflicts with the processes and the theories of contemporary science. The much debated Christian Right alternative to evolutionary theory, Creation Science, is offered to the public schools as a way to present the facts of science in such a way as to be fair to Christian children. However, Creation Science simply is not science. It cannot be taught as science without distorting science. When public school boards and administrators seriously consider Creation Science as science curriculum they demonstrate their ignorance of science, their ignorance of U.S. law, and their lack of understanding of the goals of the Christian Right. But private fundamentalist schools of the Christian Right do not have to compete with evolutionary theory—they can teach whatever they want.
Not written from the Neutral point of view. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
There is no problem in educating the young for the Reverend Lee of the Center Road Christian Academy. His school does not have to worry much about secular science, for he announces: "Daily lessons in the Scripture are designed for programming the mind to enable the child to see life from God's point of view.... Teaching is training"
(quoted in Gehrman, 1987, p. 16).
Not written from the Neutral point of view. May be rephrased. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Overall
My other problem is we quote a study (Berliner), which quotes two other studies (Gehrman, and Speck and Prideaux (who appear to quote another study conducted after theirs, Gaddy, Hall, & Marzano, 1996)). Shouldn't we be refering to each of the studies individally rather than within each other? The only material that I can see that we can attribute to Berliner are the introductions to the quotes from Gerham, and Speck and Prideaux. Blarneytherinosaur talk 04:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
