Homeschoolers are Scaring the Establishment Pt. 2
Monday, November 13th, 2006By Mimi Rothschild
Last week’s post from Pharyngula linked to a New Scientist article about Patrick Henry College, the HSLDA-led college in Virginia. Notoriously supportive of homeschooling, PHC and its students are a great example of how homeschoolers can enact widespread social change. Although quite a bit less biased than the aforementioned blog post, the article still portrays the ideals of evangelical homeschoolers as a threat to the scientific establishment, which isn’t necessarily untrue.
“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.”
It appears that secular science is beginning to shift its stance on homeschooling from worthy of a good jab and a laugh to something that needs to be watched closely or even feared. New Scientist goes on to explain how the progressive liberal roots of homeschooling in the 1960’s gradually shifted into the evangelical Christian realm. This change can be correlated to an inverse shift in academia away from traditional Christian values.
The article continues with an analysis of Christian science curricula:
“One such textbook is Science of the Physical Creation from A Beka Book, a leading retailer of home-schooling books based in Pensacola, Florida. It argues: “Evolution is a concept that attempts to free man from God and his responsibility to his Creator.” Alters worries for the students who learn from such texts (see “Book learnin’”). “If they go on to secular university, home-schoolers are in for some major surprises when they get into an introductory biology class.”
Does this scientist honestly believe that being exposed to secular science will be a rude awakening for homeschool graduates? What an arrogant statement. Our culture is saturated with their version of scientific truth. Most homeschoolers that I’ve come across can explain the fundamentals of both secular science and intelligent design theories with equal authority on both, often putting public school students to shame. To think that homeschoolers are entirely unaware of what academia believes is pure naivety.
“Poll after poll shows that approximately one out of two people in America reject evolution. They think the scientists, teachers and textbooks are wrong,” he says. An even higher proportion of home-schooling parents may reject evolution, Alters thinks. “And they’re going to be teaching science?”
Wow. Think about that statement. If 50% of our country rejects evolution, wouldn’t it make sense that about 50% of our nation’s science curriculum should be devoted to alternatives to evolution? He’s basically calling out half of our country and labeling them “the great unwashed.” It’s astounding that he even admits this.