Link to article on MSNBC. This is an article about homeschool science textbooks. Basically, it says that the most popular curricula being purchased by homeschoolers de-emphasizes or denies evolution. One even says that anyone who believes in evolution is going to hell.
I don’t honestly know why this is shocking to anyone. Maybe I am hardened by living in Texas for so long, or it’s because I spent so many months and even years researching curricula for my kids, or maybe it’s because I was so fortunate as to have more than one enormous homeschool supply store near me so I could browse almost all of the popular curricula, but all I could think when I read this was, “Yes, and this is news?” How is this an unexpected thing? A lot (probably most) people who home school do so because they are Christian fundamentalists. No, not all of them. Not me, and not lots of others. But most. These are people so dedicated to their religion they take the enormous step of removing their kids, not just from public school, but from private school, too, sometimes living on the brink of poverty to do so. Now, why would they not just send their kids to a religious school, like the Catholics do? There are plenty of private schools that are non- or inter- denominational, at least around here there are. Because those schools are not religious enough for them. Look closely- they may home church, too.These people are deadly serious about their beliefs. Whatever else they are doing– they are walking the walk. They are really trying to do what they think God wants them to do. That’s why the stakes are so high for them.
But this lack of scientific content is precisely the reason the state of California’s universities do not accept Bob Jones University Press’s high school biology as a biology credit anymore- because it’s not biology, it’s creationism. Check out the better christian private schools around you– I bet they use BJU for other subjects, but not for biology. BJU is probably the biggest publisher not only of home school curricula, but of private christian school curricula too.
There’s a poll- should the publishers be banned from banning evolution? Well, I don’t know. Of course it’s the wrong thing to do, to spend money and time teaching kids lies which will hinder their future educational and career options, but should it be illegal, or regulated somehow? Such as forcing all home schoolers to take standardized tests? I’m not so sure.
I looked at my state’s guidelines for home schooling standards. I had thought, when I first checked it out about a year ago, that it said something about a bona fide curricula, but no, it doesn’t. In Texas, home schoolers are considered unaccredited private schools, and you can do what you want, as long as you teach “good citizenship”. That’s all. (In an aside, this actually makes me more worried about private schools than home schoolers, but I digress…)
Link to Texas homeschool requirements. This link is to a letter from the Commissioner of Education to school administrators. It adds reading, spelling, grammar, and mathematics to the vague and legally undefined “good citizenship” requirement. It says nothing at all about science. Anyway, the whole reason I went to the trouble of looking at it was to make my argument from the “bona fide curricula” standpoint. After all, creationism isn’t a bona fide science curriculum. It just isn’t. However, in Texas you don’t have to teach science at all, so legally it doesn’t really matter. Moot point.
I am against the idea of a nationalized standardized exam, for many reasons. It’s one of the main reasons we have taken this year off from public school, to avoid the standardized testing. Most people home school for the level of independence it gives a family to be flexible in their curricula and timeline. Some kids need an extra year or two to catch up in reading, writing, math, etc. What they don’t need is the extra pressure of a test when they need time to develop and mature.
So, I changed my mind while writing this post. I feel like it is a huge disservice to children and teens to teach lies as truth. It handicaps them in unexpected ways, because if you don’t understand the way evolution works you won’t be able to do well in lots of sciences other than biology. You also destroy their trust if they somehow figure out what you have done to them. Because the type of creationism that is taught by fundamentalists is not compatible with science. It’s not the mainstream, “God is the Who, science is the how” kind of feel-good doctrine embraced by most major religions. It’s literal, absolute and exclusive. Paradoxically, you can also destroy your child’s faith in God because once a person begins to question this doctrine, it’s hard to defend. In a perfect world (and lots of fundies claim to do this) a home schooling family who feels strongly about this would teach evolution and then point out how it’s wrong. This way a student would at least learn about the subject. I doubt they actually do this, though. You can tell by the quality and depth of their arguments.
However, I don’t think it’s important enough to regulate all home schoolers just to get at those who will teach their children anti-science at home. I think any parent who is that dedicated to discrediting evolution will find a way, no matter who educates their kids. I know PLENTY of people who don’t accept evolution who went to public schools.
It’s a sad fact that it’s hard to find decent, secular science home school programs. But they do exist, and the choices are growing. Just like the number of people who home school for reasons other than to protect their children from knowledge.
If the above article surprised and shocked you, I advise you to watch the documentary Jesus Camp. It will terrify you.
However, the home schooling movement is growing among all populations. I bet everyone knows someone who home schools. So when you encounter one of us, be careful. We may be more worldly and secular than you think!
