Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

My in-laws were in town this weekend, and that allowed my husband and me to go see "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." We saw it Sunday afternoon. I had seen all the trailers on the website before going. This movie is NOT about the arguments of evolution vs. intelligent design. This movie is about intellectual freedom and debate in the scientific community and educational institutions of this country. The PG rating is deserved, as there are several clips of the Nazi concentration camps that a young viewer would find disturbing (and even some of us older viewers).

Let me apologize up front, as I can't remember specific names of all the people interviewed. This is one of the cons of the movie: it only shows the name of each person once.

Ben Stein is the narrator and "star" of this documentary. It starts with an interview with a man from the Smithsonian who was forced out of his job because he published a peer-reviewed paper on intelligent design (also known as I.D.). The interesting thing was the man is an evolutionist. He then interviews a professor whose "contract was not renewed," because she mentioned I.D. on a couple of lecture slides in one of her classes. I want to say she was an evolutionary biologist. There was also an astronomer who didn't get his tenure position because he was asking I.D. questions. And there was another professor whose website was taken down and grant money taken away by his university because he wanted to investigate some of the I.D. questions. And finally, a journalist who was fired because she wrote an article comparing evolution and I.D. side by side, without taking sides. The point being, that it isn't just one or two people this is happening to.

Interwoven with the interviews are clips from old movies and news reels. Sometimes it is a partial phrase to set up the next point, sometimes it is clips from the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Some of them are new animated clips in black and white to fit in with the feel of the movie or to explain a concept.

He also interviews several people who are either I.D. supporters, or evolutionists who want to have the debate with I.D. (although, there were only 2 of those). As he digs into it, he interviews a philosopher at either Cambridge or Oxford who says the point is your world view: are you willing to believe in a designer, or do you want to deny the existence of a designer. The evolutionists are so anti-designer/God that it was sad. They get angry. They call I.D. people names rather than argue the points.

From the world view discussion, Ben Stein takes a side trip into the past: Nazi Germany. He goes to a hospital where the Nazi's killed the mentally and physically handicapped, and one concentration camp. The point of this side trip is that Hitler and the physicians and others around him were trying to help evolution along by eliminating the weak and useless. Their reasoning was taking Darwin's theory of evolution to it's logical conclusion. Ben repeatedly says that not all people who believe in Darwinian evolution carry it to this extreme, but the point is that it can be taken to this extreme.

From there he talks about the founder of Planned Parenthood and her belief in Darwinian evolution and using abortion and birth control to keep the poor and disabled from reproducing themselves. Again, not everyone heads down this path, but it certainly is pretty easy to take it to its logical conclusion.

One professor that Ben interviewed was an evolutionist that was willing to have a discussion about I.D. He talked about how studying evolution lead him away from God. He said it was very liberating to not believe in God. He had no purpose, no hope, no life after death, and no free will. My husband and I weren't sure about the "no free will" comment. We guessed he was talking about no free will to accept or reject God. This man brought out my sympathy. I felt sad for him. The man had a brain tumor before and had it removed. He said if it came back, he would take his own life. Ben's voice-over said that shortly after the interview, his tumor had come back.

Ben talks to a biochemist (I think) at one point about the structure of the cell. Back when Darwin wrote his theory, they believed the cell was the smallest unit of life. Now, we know a cell is much more complex. An analogy might be something like, if the cell that Darwin knew was a Buick, what we know today is more like an International Space Station. There are some really neat graphics that take you on a "tour" through a cell, but there is no explanation of what you are seeing. A brief explanation of what we were seeing would have been helpful.

If you are going to this movie to find out the arguments about I.D. vs. evolution, you will be disappointed. This movie is ultimately about the fact that the scientific community is repressing discussion about intelligent design vs. evolution. I would recommend parents of teens heading to college see this, and even teenagers heading to college see this movie. It will open their eyes to the politics of science.

Homeschool Day at the Capital, Denver, Colorado

Last Friday, April 11, 2008, was Home School Day at the Capital here in Colorado. What a great event! Some from our home school support group (Abiding Home Schoolers) went. My dear husband stayed home with the twin boys since it was going to be a cold day.

We met at a local light-rail station around 9:15 a.m. It was cold! The wind was blowing and there were snow flurries. To make it a little more challenging, one of the machines to buy tickets from wouldn't take $20 bills. But we all managed get our tickets. We waited in the bridge over the highway to stay out of the wind.

It was a 30 minute ride to downtown. We got off at the California and 16th street stop. We were going to catch the free shuttle to head towards the capital, but the bus was too full for our whole group, so most of us walked. It was good exercise.

As we approached the capitol building, we saw the 10 Commandments Monument. It is a slab of marble 3 or 4 feet high with the Commandments engraved on one side. It almost looked like a headstone. Then we walked over to the replica of the Liberty Bell - without the crack. We took a few group pictures, and then one of the dads who was with us prayed for our day.

Next we went into the capitol building. Only the north entrance was open. We had to have our belongings x-rayed, and walk through metal detectors. The inside is beautiful. The marble is impressive. (My dd said it reminded her of a castle!) We saw several displays put together by home schooled children. We walked through those, and then went upstairs. On the second floor we saw paintings of each of the Presidents of the United State. From the second floor you have access to the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. There were probably 35 lobbyists hanging out around the doors.

Finally, we went up to the third floor. Here is where you have access to the balconies overlooking the chambers. We so happened to go into the Senate balcony when they were reading HJR08-1022, Concerning Recognition Of Home Education Day In Colorado. It was joint resolution. It passed the Senate 34-0. It was God's timing that we arrived to hear the resolution read and see the voting on the resolution.

The rally on the west side of the capitol was at 12:15, so we decided we needed to eat lunch. We went outside to the northeast side of the capitol building. It was windy, but the sun was starting to appear between the clouds. The kids played in the grass, and then we went over to the west side.

We were standing near the front of the crowd. There were several speakers: Ed Roach, Kevin Swanson, Rep. Lundberg, Treon Goossen, and someone from Summit Ministries in Colorado Springs (I can't remember his name). It was inspiring to hear how far homeschooling has come in 20 years. Also, with the recent rulings in California, it was a good reminder that we need to stay on our guard. I was disappointed, though, not to see anyone from the press, especially since we had so many people there. I scanned the local news web sites later, and there was no mention of

the resolution or the rally.

After the rally, we headed down to the Pillar of Fire Church for the Future Statesmen workshop. The kids learned about the 3 different types of government described in the Bible (family, church, and civil), what the responsibility of each is, and examples of good and bad civil government. The kids really got a kick out of the skits.

When we got out of the church, the clouds were back, the winds were picking up, and snow flurries were starting again. Brrrr. So, we walked back to 16 Street, caught the shuttle bus to Stout Street, and then our light rail train home. The train was pretty crowded on the way back, so several of the kids had to stand the entire ride back.

All in all, an exciting and educational day - worth the extra effort to go.

Review

It is funny how God can speak to you twice in one day.

I was talking to our pastor about hand writing some math practice sheets for my daughter for an upcoming Unit Test in Math-U-See. (One of my few complaints about MUS is that it doesn't seem to have a whole lot of built-in review or practice.) I was investigating Open Office's "Math" program. It describes itself as a way to write math problems/formulas. I wanted to see if I could use it instead of hand writing them. He said a friend of his uses some of Abeka's DVD programs for high school level, and he's watched them. One of the things he noticed is that the teachers (especially in math) spend the first 5 minutes just doing a quick review. Sometimes it's a timed drill, sometimes just a few problems, or some quick little game. He said that might help dd retain what she's learning rather than me hand writing math practice sheets.

Then, I was researching All About Spelling as a possible alternative to Spelling Power if Spelling Power doesn't work out for us. I was poking around the All About Spelling website and there was an article about daily review. The article is specific to reviewing spelling, but the same tips could apply to any subject.

So, I think God is speaking to me - more like hitting me over the head with a 2 x 4. Now, I just need to come up with a system to do it. I think that's the hardest part if it is not built into the curriculum. Abeka is really good about putting it directly into the teacher's manual for each subject. But if it isn't there automatically, I need to figure out how to do it myself, and to remember to do it myself.

Visualization

Our home school support group is having a Spelling Bee next month. My daughter wants to participate, so we signed up and got the list for second graders. We've been using it for our spelling list instead of Abeka's weekly lists, and using Spelling Power methods to study the words.

One step in Spelling Power when you study your words is to "close your eyes and visualize the word in your mind and then write it using big arm motions in the air." So we were going through the steps and I told my daughter to close her eyes and try to see the word in her head. She said, "I can't." So I thought I would try. Turns out I couldn't either. But, if I keep my eyes open I could see the 3 x 5 card in front of me and see the word on it. (And no, I wasn't holding the card in front of me .)

But, I was thinking... I can close my eyes and visualize a tropical beach or skiing down a mountain side, so maybe I am using a different place in my mind. I'm going to have to see (no pun intended) if I can figure it out.

I do think my daughter enjoyed the fact that I couldn't do something either, though.

Oh, and have a Happy Easter.

Curriculum Angst

We use Math-U-See (MUS) for our math curriculum. My daughter really likes it. She enjoys Mr. Demme on the videos. And, she really can do her addition and subtraction facts well now. Sometimes, I let her teach her Barbie dolls math class, and she really likes that!

Next year we are switching to My Father's World (doing Exploring Countries and Cultures). MFW recommends Singapore math. And lots of people on the MFW message board sing the praises of Singapore. It makes me doubt my choice of MUS. It's like this little nagging voice in the back of my head. But, I've asked her several times if she wants to change, and she has said, "NO!"

And then I am reminded, tonight, of Philippians 4:6 - 7, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I just need to pray about it and seek God's guidance. He is faithful. He will show me.

Not In Vain

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. " - 1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB

It can be easy to feel that all this work we do for our kids is emptiness. That what we do each day doesn't matter. Especially when we've told them for the 100th time to pick up those toys or stop fighting with their siblings. But, I think homeschooling is the work of the Lord. We are trying to raise our kids to see Him as the most important part of life; trying to lead our kids to love and serve the Lord.

One week last year, I heard this verse from about 4 different sources. I had read it in my quiet time, and noticed I had highlighted it before, so I jotted it down in my journal. Then, at my home school support group, this was a verse used that night in the discussion. Then, our pastor at church used the verse in his message that Sunday and we talked about it in our small group that afternoon. So, I did a word study of this verse, and here is what I came up with:

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be firm, do not be moved, at all times be in excess in the work of the Lord, knowing that your pains, trouble and weariness are not empty in the Lord."

Pains, trouble and weariness are what homeschooling and parenting are all about, and they are not in vain, because they are the Lord's work.

Spelling Power Review

Spelling has been a real challenge for my dd. In Abeka for 2nd grade, they have 20 words a week to learn. It wasn't that she was doing terrible, she was getting A's and B's (mostly) on her tests. But, she wouldn't remember how to spell them the next week.

Well, since we are switching to My Father's World next year, I thought I would look into their recommendation for spelling for 3rd grade. I did some web research and found out how it works. We started incorporating Spelling Power's methods to studying Abeka's spelling lists. It is really paying off! She's only missed one word since we started in January.

Here is what we do... On Friday, I copy the words onto 3 x 5 cards, and then we just say-spell-say them and talk about the different special sounds the list covers that week. Then, on Monday we study the first 5 words using Spelling Power's 10 step method. This involves looking at the word, marking the double letters, marking the vowels, and then we guess what her "weasel" might be - what might make her miss the word. Then, we try to make those letters look like a weasel some how. (It's really funny, some of the pictures we've come up with). Then she looks at the word and spells it. Then, I have her write it with her finger on a textured pillow we have on our couch without looking at the word. After that she traces the letters on the 3 x 5 card, then writes it in her notebook without looking at the word. If she gets it right, we go on to the next one. If she gets it wrong, we look at what the "weasel" really was, and go through the steps again.

Then, on Tuesday we do the first 10 words; Wednesday covers the first 15 words; and Thursday covers all 20 words. Now, she's also writing the entire list each day during seat work time. She is doing so much better with her spelling tests, and spelling in general. Instead of asking me how to spell every word, she's actually trying to write everything out and then letting me come back and help her fix them. This is such a big improvement over where we were.

Anyway, this mom gives 2 thumbs up to Spelling Power. I can't wait to get into full swing with it this fall.

Hope this helps someone else.