Evolution Weekend

This is the beginning of Evolution Weekend.

Evolution Weekend is an opportunity for serious discussion and reflection on the relationship between religion and science. One important goal is to elevate the quality of the discussion on this critical topic - to move beyond soundbytes. A second critical goal is to demonstrate that religious people from many faiths and locations understand that evolution is sound science and poses no problems for their faith. Finally, as with The Clergy Letter itself, which has now been signed by more than 11,000 members of the Christian clergy in the United States, Evolution Weekend makes it clear that those claiming that people must choose between religion and science are creating a false dichotomy.

Carnival of Homeschooling #65

Charles Darwin

& The Theory of Evolution

I am dedicating this carnival to Charles Darwin.

I hope everyone enjoys the Carnival of Homeschooling, thank you to all the bloggers who submitted post. All homeschoolers love FREE lesson plans so we will begin the carnival with a link to free lesson plans for the Galapagos, along with an interactive website created by the National Science Teacher's Association in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. Galapagos Geology on the Web is another great resource. I also want to recommend the book The Language of God by Francis S. Collins, where he makes his case for Theistic Evolution.

image credit: U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program.

Natalie explains why an adequate public school education isn't good enough for our children and why homeschoolers don't want any part of it in her post School Pride at The Homeschool Cafe.

At Why Homeschool Janine Cate writes about the illogical reasoning of an Arizona school district in not allowing a homeschool team to participate in a chess competition in her post In the news.

Ryan Boots submitted How to Give Your Child an Expensive Private Education – For Less Than $3,000 per Year, a guest feature on Edspresso (the official blog of the Alliance for School Choice). In the post (be sure to read all three) Michael Strong explains the nuts and bolts of good homeschooling.

In 1827 Charles Darwin started theology studies at Christ's College, Cambridge. His love to collect plants, insects, and geological specimens was noted by his botany professor John Stevens Henslow. He arranged for his talented student a place on the surveying expedition of HMS Beagle to Patagonia. Despite the objections of his father, Darwin decided to leave his familiar surroundings.

For many first time homeschoolers, homeschooling is an expedition into the unknown.

Planning an expedition into the unknown can be a scary proposition. Dana's post Deciding to Homeschool ,at Home*School*Home , is about trying homeschooling for a short while to see if it works for your family before plunging in, and some resources to help you do that.

When you are charting new territory there are many dangers you need to be aware of Home Schooling Aspergers offers you the chance to win a book to teach your child protective behaviours in their post Win A Children's Book about Protective Behaviours.

The Deputy Headmistress' post The Gaps is a lighthearted post on what to do when you realize you have skipped something in your child's education. While playing stump the parents with my kids, I realized my public school education had a few gaps in it, when my youngest son asked who John Honeyman was. He scored extra points for also stumping his elder brother. You'll find other post by The Deputy Headmistress at The Common Room.

Whenever you are in uncharted territory you wonder if you have taken the right path. At No Fighting, No Biting! Kat wonders if she pushes one child too hard while letting another off too easily in her post Story of the World. At The Thinking Mother, ChristineMM, explains a typical homeschooling dynamic in her post A Typical Pattern in Our Homeschool: Older Son Resists My Guidance

At Sand, Sea & School we learn why someone would choose to venture into new territory in Heather's post What do they teach them? A terrific post from a very new homeschooler. Marjorie explains one of the reasons she homeschools at Life Without School in her post Measuring Up. At Teaching Diligently, Stacy describes some hands-on activities to aid the elementary age student in exploring the 5 senses, in her post Exploring the 5 Senses - Pre-school to 2nd grade. How important is pre-school? The Queen of Carrots at Introducing the World has an answer for you in her post Considering Preschool. Gena at Home Where They Belong ask, Just what does a pregnant mom do about homeschool if she has morning sickness and is to tired to think? Should she be worried that her children are being neglected academically? , in her post Pregnant and Homeschooling?

Of course having the right tools for your journey is very important. Patti Miller at All Info About Home Schooling has some terrific tips for finding textbooks in her post Buying and Selling Curriculum. Susan at Corn & Oil wants to let you know that Education Week is offering a trial period and she gives examples of articles you will find in the magazine in her post Education Week Trial Period.

The one thing all homeschooling parents have in common is their desire to learn along with their children.

The Educational Tour Marm's post The Baptism of Pocahontas: Capitol Offense - Get it Right! explains the importance of verifying your sources. She also ask a very important question, "But what if the official site contains incorrect information?".

Nose in a Book explains why a homeschool field trip is superior to a public school field trip comprised of a busload of middle school students, a teacher plus a few bewildered parent chaperons in the post So we drove up to the science museum yesterday afternoon...

What skills will your students need to enter the job market? Rebecca Newburn presents Information Age Education: 21st Century Skills posted at Information Age Education. The eight skills listed will also be helpful to homeschooling parents who may be re-entering the job market after successfully completing their homeschooling journey. Rebecca has some wonderful resources on her blog for teachers and students click here to check them out.

Melissa Wiley at The Lilting House contributes Magazines for Children. My kids always enjoyed the National Geographic, now that they are older we have branched out to Time and Newsweek (Check out the Newsweek Education Program). What magazines do your kids enjoy reading?

Denise post Skit: The handshake problem an educational skit for upper elementary or pre-algebra students, based on a classic math brainteaser. You'll find her post at Let's Play Math!.

Stop the Ride! has a fun way to collect daffodils in her post My Amazing Race. Julee Huy is ready for summer, you can read her post Springing Ahead to Summer! - 28 Days Left, at About Homeschooling (Homeschool Daze Blog). Do you need some activities to celebrate Easter? Check out Easter Activities and Printables From Beverly Hernandez.

Pass the Torch shares her daughter's post Earth Day is April 22 (Save-the-Earth Saturday). If you have any tips related to conservation, or to help people prepare for Earth Day, please drop by and share them with her. She also has some links to Earth Day websites for kids

The Human Genome Project Education Resources offers lesson plans, teacher guides, student activities, and more.

image credit: U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program

Have you every wondered what Public School Teachers think of homeschooling? Eireann at School of Thought found an interesting poll which you can read about in her post Teacher Magazine Poll on Homeschooling. Eireann and Pirate Boy have also been doing some fossil hunting which you can read about in her post Fossil Hunting in Florida (I couldn't resist adding it to the Carnival when I read it).

The steps of the scientific method are to:

• Ask a Question



• Do Background Research



• Construct a Hypothesis



• Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment



• Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion



• Communicate Your Results
  

Visit Science Buddies for some Science Fair Project Ideas.

Wired For Noise tells you how you can learn about science by getting dirty, in the post Science is made of mud and rocks.

Those of us further along on our homeschooling journey may question the importance of testing. Edmund Snyder ask How Important Are Tests? posted at Flada Blog. Barbara Frank in her post Blaming the Test Instead of the Course Content maintains the continued controversy over how to test children hides a larger issue: how useful is the information the children are being taught and tested on?

At Consent of the Governed we have an essay about how there really is no such thing as equivalent instruction in Judy's post The Myth of Equivalent Instruction. Dana at Principled Discovery explains the difference between educating a child and socializing a child in her post To educate, or to socialize? . Elena at My Domestic Church says, If they want me to keep homeschooling, they certainly are doing a good job! , in reference to her recent experience with a public school.

Everyone needs to be appreciated, Sprittibee in her post 2, 4, 6, 8 Who do we appreciate? reminds us that nominations for the belated 2006 Blog Awards are now underway. Do you have a crazy, weird or wacky homeschool experience to share? Summer Minor is looking for post for her Lets have a contest! at Mom Is Teaching.

At The Unlikely Homesteader listen to a great homeschool radio show and learn more about The Old Schoolhouse Magazine in the post Talking with Homeschool Radio.

If you have plans for college this helpful post How to Manage Your Time in College by Matthew Paulson, at Getting to Graduation, stresses the need for effective time management. He offers tips that everyone who finds there aren't enough hours in the day would benefit from. Susie Glennan shares her tips on how to manage time based on personalities in her post Personality Based Time Management located On The Company Porch. Ted Reimers at Campus Grotto has suggestions for classes college students should take in his post Best classes to take in College.

Have you ever wished you were more creative or feared your homeschooling presentations were getting stale? The Positivity Blog offers 8 Ways to Spark Your Creativity. Sharp Brains ~Your Brain Fitness Center offers "Tis better to give than receive": oxytocin and dopamine The post tells how Jeffrey Gonce, a Psychology teacher at Red Land High School (West Shore School District, PA) asked his students to "complete a project describing a recent brain (or genetic) study that affects behavior." You'll have a chance to read the student essays for yourself, when you check out this post.

Photo's courtesy of Ecuador Pictures - Galapagos and the U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program.

Correction Missy from Life Without School wanted to submit her post Shock Value. My apologies for the mix up Marjorie and Missy.

This concludes the 65th Carnival of Homeschooling. Kris' Eclectic Homeschool will be hosting the 66th Carnival of Homeschooling April 3. Click here for directions on submitting a post. All post are due Monday 6PM (PST).

Please feel free to drop by Alasandra again for a visit.

Evolution Outreach Projects

Be sure to check out their resources for teachers, textbook disclaimer stickers, and Darwin Stickers.

February 12th is Darwin Day, click here for some neat ways to celebrate.

NewScientist Bashes Homeschoolers

I really resent NewScientist assumption that all homeschoolers are religious nutcases that teach their children Creationism instead of real Science.

New Scientist investigated how home-schooling, with its considerable legal support, is quietly transforming the landscape of science education in the US, subverting and possibly threatening the public school system that has fought hard against imposing a Christian viewpoint on science teaching.

I expect more from a Scientific publication. Like the acknowledgement that all homeschoolers are not Christian Fundamentalist, that some homeschoolers aren't even Christians, that some Christians embrace the Theory of Evolution, that some homeschoolers actually seek out real science textbooks and teach their children real science. We used Amsco's The Living Environment Biology by Rick Hallman. The very first unit deals with Evolution. I also had my children read Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and I adore the Charles Darwin on-line link I discovered.

I also expect some acknowledgement that Christianity and Science do not have to be at odds. I have been reading Our Endangered Values America's Moral Crisis by Jimmy Carter (when I finish the book I'll post a review) Chapter 5 No Conflict Between Science and Religion explains how both science and Christianity can co-exist.

The existence of millions of distant galaxies, the evolution of species, and the big bang theory can not be rejected because they are not described in the Bible, and neither does confidence in them cast doubt on the Creator of it all. God gave us this exciting opportunity for study and exploration, never expecting the Bible to encompass a description of the entire physical world or for scientific discoveries to be necessary as the foundation for our Christian faith. ~ Jimmy Carter.

I also plan to read The Language of God by Francis S. Collins

In "The Language of God," geneticist Francis S. Collins explains through personal testimony why faith and reason can and do coexist peacefully, and how one actually complements the other.

Toward the end they do admit that not all homeschoolers have a religious agenda.

However, not all home-school parents have a religious agenda. "There are probably some wonderful home-school parents, some of whom may be evolutionary biologists themselves. But I have a feeling after talking to a lot of home-schoolers that this is the minority," says Alters. Indeed, evangelical Christians do dominate the home-school movement. "It's disconcerting, to say the least," he says.

I don't believe we are in the minority as Alters asserts. I do believe that we haven't been as vocal as the Fundamentalist who have HSLDA to further their agenda. We need to get the word out that there are alternatives to HSLDA, many homeschoolers join HSLDA not because they believe in their agenda, but because they don't realize they have an alternative and are afraid to homeschool without the resources of a national homeschool organization. The National Home Education Network (NHEN) provides accurate and complete homeschooling information that cuts across all political agendas, religious affiliations, and homeschooling styles.

We also need to let textbook publishers know that there is a homeschool market for secular textbooks. One of the most frustrating things when I started homeschooling was finding secular textbooks to buy. Thankfully publishers like Saxon and Amsco have started selling directly to homeschoolers.

We need to support inclusive support groups that welcome homeschoolers of all religious and non-religious beliefs. We need to become more active in politics and we need to speak out against HSLDA when their policies are detrimental to homeschoolers who aren't homeschooling for " fundamentalist religious" reasons. For example Alabama's archaic laws which pertain to homeschooling and which HSLDA support.

One is the "Tutorial Law" (Ala. Code §16-28-5). Under this statute a certified teacher may instruct a student or students privately. The tutor must submit to monitoring by the local school district officials, and hold school a minimum of 140 days a year at certain times. This option is not available to most home educators.

The second and preferred way is known as the "Church School Law" (Ala. Code §16-28-3). Under this statute students between the ages of 7 and 16 are exempt from the state's compulsory school attendance law if they are enrolled in schools operated by a church or association of churches.

In the last several years there have been calls for the Legislature to pass a home school law for Alabama. CHEF is opposed to a home school law at this time because it will more than likely result in greater government regulation of home schooling. We are advised that the system we have is the best in the nation, least subject to government control and based on religious belief.

If they think their law is the best in the nation, they should take a look at the neighboring state of Mississippi. In Mississippi parents are free to homeschool for ANY REASON, and all they have to do is register their children with their school attendance officer as homeschooled. Non-religious parents shouldn't be forced to enroll their children in "Church Schools" or hire Certified Teachers in order to homeschool as Alabama demands. This smacks of discrimination and deserves to be challenged.

Free Thinking Christians, Moderate Christians, Parents of other Religions, and Non-Religious Parents have as much right to homeschool as the religious fundamentalist, it's time we spoke up and let the rest of the world know we exist.

The complete work of Charles Darwin online.