Friday, January 24, 2020

Creationism for Kids on the Web :: Religious Issues Internet Science Essays

Creationism for Kids on the Web How is it that this age old question of evolution versus creation can turn otherwise friends and colleagues against one another? Much of it has to do with the very fact that we are discussing the matter and how it relates to children. It seems that much of the controversy that is stirred up by this issue revolves around how children will perceive Darwinian â€Å"social teachings† or social Darwinism. Will studying evolution corrupt the morals of school-aged children? I began my research pondering the following: Can children that look at website-based material learn the latest material from both a scientific and biblical perspective? Some sub-questions that emerged are Can students learn about both sides in order to form their own opinions? Are creation-based websites dangerous because they make students believe that in order to be good â€Å"Christians† it is their duty to turn only towards â€Å"the truth† and away from science or anything that might shed doubts upon their beliefs? After researching three main websites and speaking to two of the three website originators I’ve become convinced that teaching children to stop questioning once they’ve been taught the answer is a dangerous position. In no other subject in life do we encourage children to stop their minds from growing once they have attained a certain belief of the way things ought to be. Why is it that we often teach religion without question? This paper seeks to examine two main themes. The first is a brief history of how creationism became so critical an issue for debate, especially in terms of children. Why are most Christian (evangelists) so particular about what their children learn in school about evolution, even to the extent that some send their children to home school or private institutions? Secondly, I look at three main websites that are dedicated in full or in part to educating young minds about creationism or creation-science. The sites www.kids4truth.com, answersingensis.org, and drdino.com all have similar ideas about what is appropriate for school-aged youth to be learning about creationism. After talking to two of the website creators/maintainers, I was able to try to understand more fully the philosophy behind educating children on the principles of Creationism. Part I. Literature and Website Review: Creationist Views Creation ,Creationism, Creation –science: A brief History Creationism is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as the â€Å"belief in the literal interpretation of the account of the creation of the universe and of all living things related in the Bible.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Response to the book ‘Flowers for Algernon’ Essay

The story of â€Å"Flowers for Algernon† is about a man named Charlie Gordon and his life as an intellectually disabled person. But his life changes when he undergoes an operation to increase his intelligence and become smarter than the average person. Once he becomes smart he starts to realise things that he would not have when he was disabled. Even thou Charlie was intellectually disabled he still lived what he thought was a very good life. He had a job; he had what he thought were friends there. Charlie also went to an adult education class where he enjoyed learning. He also had a nice little place of his own. However, because he is disabled he does miss out on numerous opportunities that many of us take for granted. So it seems he was living an enjoyable life, therefore I neither feel sorry for him nor feel he was lucky. Charlie’s friends at the factory were not ‘true friends’. Most of them, especially Joe Carp and Frank Reilly, made fun of Charlie at his expense. For example, one time Frank and Joe took Charlie out for a couple of drinks, they got him drunk and made fun of him because of his job as a janitor. After that Frank and Joe ditched Charlie, he thought he was getting them a newspaper and a coffee, but they ran off. Even after all this Charlie still thought that Frank and Joe were his friends because he didn’t understand that they were making fun of him. I believe that most people with intellectual disabilities are treated fairly. Most are given nearly the same opportunities as normal people would get, eg go to school, get a job and even play sports on weekends. Furthermore most people these days are mature, and don’t take advantage of any disabled people. The story really hasn’t changed the way I feel towards intellectually disabled people. If I hadn’t grown up knowing one it may have. Disabled people should be treated the same and given the same opportunities as all other people because that is what they really want.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Victorian And Edwardian Briti A Place Rich Of Strict...

Victorian and Edwardian Britian was a place rich of strict christianity alongside widespread poverty which resulted with a dangerous and damaging working structure, high rates of child mortality and a rigid and damaging class structure that was highly focused around child labour. The employment of children deprives them of childhood and a chance at education, interfering with their ability to attend school and educational institutions, while mentally, physically and emotionalling draining them. The lack of ceoncept of childhood resulted in chiren actively participating in work as soon as they were seen competent. Child labor interrupts a childrens cognitive development and can severly affect the childs social development because the lack of freedom is impacting on their chance to engage in social play and interacting with other individuals. Those who work many hours a week are at a higher risk to develop problematic social behaviours and turn to negative behavoirs as they age alongside poor preformance. [1] In these times there was a lack of education, especially to the female population as it wasn t deemed nessisary. Skills were passed down through generations as opposed to being learnt in schools. This often lead to protests declaring that children were being used for slavery and being stripped fo their adolescence and things that are vital for growth and understanding. With the pressures for social reforms the victorian upperclass then became obsessed with idea of