Apologia Science Homeschool Methods and Beliefs

I absolutely love Apologia Science and I believe it is the best homeschool science curriculum out there. What I love the most about it, is the fact that if I didn't teach it to my children, they would still learn it!

This is because Apologia Science is written in such a way that it requires no instructor. It talks directly to the student and teaches them the same way an instructor would. However, I do still like to participate in teaching it to my children as well, the text just makes it a whole lot easier on both me and my kids.

Apologia Science was designed by a former university professor to take advantage of the best ways to express ideas to children so that they will be excited about learning.

The experiments that Apologia Science offers are very engaging and get my children very excited about science. In fact, because of Apologia, science is my son's favorite subject.

One really fun experiment we just did was about the sun. First, we learned about how far away the sun was, how long it takes for the sun's light to reach the earth, and the danger of looking at the sun for too long.

Although there is a lot of really great information and instructions in the Apologia Science curriculum, the experiments are what truly set it apart. To show the damage that the sun could do to our eyes, we used a magnifying glass to set a piece of paper on fire. My children tell everyone about that experiment and the danger of looking at the sun for too long!

Apologia Science is great for the experiments, because you won't usually need to purchase anything for them. Most things that you will need are things that you already have in your home. The immersion into the world of science with Apologia Science is what makes the children love learning the material.

Since the Apologia Science curriculum is based on Christian teachings I know that none of the material will ever contradict with our religious beliefs. Everything is based around the fact that God created the world. This makes it the perfect science curriculum for Christian families.

For an average lesson we will start by reading over the lesson material. After we have done this, I will use the scripted questions to get input and answers from my children. We discuss things for a while, and when I know that they have a great grasp on what the concepts are, we will do the included experiment.

I will then have them write their thoughts about the lesson, and any notations about the experiment that we thought were interesting. Before we're ready to stop learning, the lesson is complete, and my children have learned a lot!

Having a curriculum like Apologia Science one that your children look forward to learning, is invaluable to a home-schooling parent. This is one of the reasons that I stick by Apologia, their ideas and views, and their curriculum.

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Science Literacy and Beliefs

The Survey: Every two years the National Science Foundation produces a report, Science and Engineering Indicators, which surveys the public's attitudes toward science. The report found for instance, that the public's opinion of scientists ranks at the top of 23 other occupations and there is broad support for public funding of science research. In spite of that, Dr. Lawrence Krauss, is unhappy because a section of the 2010 report about the public's science literacy was omitted.

Dr. Krauss' Complaint: In a Scientific American article, Dr. Krauss responded that every two years we relearn the sad fact that U.S. adults are less willing to accept evolution and the big bang as factual than adults in other industrial countries. Except for this time. Was there suddenly a quantum leap in U.S. science literacy? Sadly, no. Rather the National Science Board chose to leave that discussion these issues out of the 2010 edition, claiming the questions were flawed indicators of scientific knowledge because responses conflated knowledge and beliefs.

Is the Complaint Valid? The National Science Board was right that the section confused knowledge and beliefs. For example, there is evidence for the Big Bang theory and many people know about it, but they have not incorporated it into their beliefs. Only physicists and mathematicians would likely know what a singularity is, let alone believe the universe arose from one. Then, there is the problem of how the singularity came to be. Likewise, many people know of the adaptation of species to their environment such as increasing resistance of viruses and bacteria to antibiotics and of insects to DDT. They may also be aware of our ancestors such as Luci and Ardi and know of the evolution of the horse. However, if you insist that the spontaneous generation of life is part of evolution, it may be rejected.

Dr Krauss is missing something important. Aristotle established science as a method for understanding nature by using observation and reason. It is not a body of facts to be memorized and believed. As scientists gather more evidence, what we now regard as fact may be replaced with better ideas. We should not make "accepting evolution and the big bang as factual" a litmus test for science literacy. Just as scientists think religion should not be dogmatic, scientists should also refrain from dogmatism. Insisting people accept scientific theories which conflict with their religious beliefs just makes them more likely to mistrust science on issues where it really matters.

Improving Science Literacy: As a practical matter, it is not likely that someone's mind can be changed by claiming their beliefs are wrong or that they are based on mythology. Science teachers must deal with students who already have a belief system established. Their strategy should be to present science as a method that uses observation and reason to understand the physical world. Teachers must focus on the background knowledge and the evidence, and hope that at some point the student would see any conflicts and try to resolve them.

Dr. J.C. Moore is a physical chemist whose interests are spectroscopy,computational chemistry, professional ethics, and science education. He taught chemistry, physics, and general science at the college level for 38 years. Since retirement, he has established http://JCMooreonline.com, a website that examines current events from a science and research perspective.

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