Education &
Home Schooling
email Scott Turner
General
- Project Gutenberg, lots of free books
Home Schooling
My wife and I are raising three children, and have been home schooling one of them for a year and a half. I would recommend home schooling to anyone who is not satisfied that public school is working well for his or her child.
- Jon Shemitz's Home-School Resource Page
- Kid's Web
- MidLink Magazine
Christian Education
My wife and I are Christians with a mix of liberal and conservative views. One of the advantages of home schooling is that in the course of teaching there is no restriction against full discussion of the teacher's own beliefs. A large portion of those who home school their children are conservative Christians. At a convention for home schoolers in April, I was concerned to see that almost all of the available materials that touched on science took a creationist approach.I respect the faith and sincerity of creationists, and I am in awe of God who created the universe which brought forth you and me. But I believe that when creationists take the book of Genesis as a starting point to understanding the geological record, they hobble science with unfortunate results.
A wonderful book which documents the development of the fundamental framework of conventional geology is "Great Geological Controversies" by Hallam. It covers everything from the 18th century up through issues of whether there were mass extinctions caused by comets or other catastrophes. Hallam only mentions modern creationism in passing. Perhaps creationism is not a "great" controversy.
"The Creationists", by Numbers, respectfully describes the development of creationism, emphasizing the people who defined the movement(s), their beliefs and approaches.
The discussion is active and some make their points quite well in the talk.origins Usenet news group.
Also useful, a comprehensive guide to Christian literature on the Internet.