http://artofthestem.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/five-reasons-why-your-child-wont-be-a-scientist-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/#trackbacks A summary of the five reasons the author listed: 1. Kids think they aren't "good" at math or science. Most STEM majors have a scientist parent. Teachers tend to act like STEM majors are only for the smartest kids. 2. The process of memorization and regurgitation drives away the students more likely to "think outside the box" and come up with new theories. 3. Science isn't considered cool and kids' heroes aren't scientists. 4. Kids rarely hear about new science discoveries and controversies and end up thinking everything has already been figured out. 5. Students with good grades in science in K-12 are unprepared for college level STEM work and often change majors. Anyone care to discuss this post? I can think of one major thing the author left out. Many science majors need a graduate degree to get a decent job that isn't just a "glorified monkey button-pushing" job, as my DH (who was a chemistry major) described it.

I haven't seen the show. But what I have noticed is that in every online discussion about the Duggars I've read, it's always the daughters mentioned as taking care of the babies and toddlers. Do any of the sons wear them around in slings? If not, then I'm concerned they're learning that a good husband is one who let's the wife do all the childcare, while he gets the credit as the family patriarch.

We have a bedtime snack here. If they pick at their food at dinner, they get their dinner for a snack. If they eat a decent dinner, they get whatever we feel like offering that night. I don't care much about the timing of meals. I care much more about eating healthy food.

Do you know those little "neck massagers" that Wal-Ma sells with the different attachments for about $20? They aren't really for necks. (Well, at least I don't see how they could help with neck pain.)

You've got to understand that in some QF/Chrisitian patriarchal circles, people teach that chemistry between future spouses doesn't matter. They seem to think that as long as two people are "godly," they will have a good marriage. Chemistry and personalities being compatible are seen as optional. Blech!

I went to a wedding once where the couple hadn't kissed yet. The groom looked like he was ready to pounce on the bride for the last five minutes. They didn't stay more than 1-2 hours for the ceremony.

You guys are hilarious. I had seen this video this morning, but these comments almost made me spew my drink out.

I grew up in a skiing family, near the VT border. Skiing and cheap do not go together. Even small ski areas in the northeast that are not much bigger than the bunny hill at a larger resort are still about $50/day. Good resorts are about $70-80 these days. Even if you get your equipment for free, it's still going to cost as much, or more, than an amusement park. I love skiing more than just about anything, but it's just too expensive as a hobby anymore.

I got an email from Lulu.com with coupon codes good for today only. CYBERMONDAY305 or MORECYBERMONDAY305 Does anyone have any suggestions for what to order? I know they sell Math Mammoth. I already have that memory work book by Andrew (last name escapes me).

I haven't read any replies yet. My boys are little, so I don't have experience with teenagers. However, if you know that exercise or hard physical labor improves his attitude, how can you make it part of the daily routine? Also, does he get enough sleep? My 5 year old develops a real attitude and argues all day long if he is even a little short on sleep. If he gets enough, he's a totally different person. (The same happens if he gets hungry.) 14 year old boys are usually growing fast and probably need extra sleep.

In some states, you don't even have to major in the subject you plan to teach in high school. Even if you do, the majors at some schools might be not that difficult. I went to a private engineering school. I took about 8-10 math courses (on a quarter system), which wasn't enough for a math minor at our school. The state schools filled with future math teachers had math majors that had about the same requirements as our math minor. Which college is more likely to have math majors that really, really know their subject matter?

What I don't understand is the idea of committed couples choosing to live together and have kids without getting married. If you are committed, why not just go before a judge and get married? ETA: I would still be polite. I just wanted to understand the thinking of all these couples people mentioned that live like they are married, but don't want to get married. I don't understand the appeal.

Pocoyo!

This may be the case for some people, but not for the man I originally posted about. I almost think he might be romanticizing the past and the "superior education" he seems to think everyone had back then. I haven't looked into it, but I seriously doubt average white Americans were generally as well educated as the Founding Fathers. (If I am incorrect, please send links.) He talked about how much better the writing quality of the time was and I said that maybe only the quality stuff survived. How many letters or articles that look like they were written by commenters on YouTube would people save and read today?

I did wonder about this as well. My concern is that he really wants kids 14 and up in almost full-time apprenticeships, at least if they know what they want to do, rather than wait until after high school. I'm concerned that this approach could close too many doors. We aren't in colonial times anymore, like it or not, and I don't think we can just import a system from another time and expect it to work as well. On another funny note, a different man I know who is even more enamored with "apprenticeships good, college generally bad" and has gone to industry conferences to push other businesses to take on apprentices, is no longer taking any unless they pay him a multi-thousand dollar fee. Years ago, he paid them, then they worked for free, and now he's charging. I guess I know some interesting people.

I've been thinking lately about how some things seem to intimidate people as adults more than if they tried them as kids. For example, making bread seems to intimidate many women, but I doubt an average (non-perfectionist) kid would be overly concerned if their first attempt was a failure. This suggests that skipping science might lead to adults that are more afraid of the topic than if they had taken some (even if they never "used" it in real life). I also mentioned that I think a student that has taken some science in middle or high school will do better in the same subject if they end up going to college than if all the information is new.

This is what I find amusing. He's an engineer, and not the type to be easily intimidated. He also thinks college is a waste of time for anyone not going into a profession. Apprenticeships for almost everything is what he wants. While I think apprenticeships are greatly underused and many more people are pushed into college than need to be, I read something the other day that said even in 1800, only 20% of white American males ages 15-20 were in a formal apprenticeship. Within a few decades, it was much lower than that. It sounds like it was never as popular in the US as some people think, maybe because almost everyone farmed.

At some point he did mention Robinson, so it's possible that's where the influence is from. While I understand Robinson's point about algebra based physics courses being just an approximation and calculus being needed for accuracy, students can still learn some of the concepts before they have the math knowledge, right? And you can learn a lot in biology without algebra even.

I know a homeschooling family that is really into math. The dad, however, thinks that taking any science before calculus is a "waste of time." When I pointed out that most students graduate high school without taking calculus, and therefore may never take science, he didn't think it was a problem. He really seems to think that people don't need science unless they major in a related field in college. I find it all strange because other than this, they are the most rigorous homeschooling family I know. They do lots of world history, math, and writing. He's also really into economics and government - basically anything but science. I see scientific illiteracy as a big problem in our country, especially in areas related to medicine. How can people evaluate what they hear about new studies "showing this or that" if they have no biology or statistical knowledge at all? How will they know who is lying or spinning the truth?

How about Monopoly Jr or Scrabble Jr?

Glucose issues can cause wounds to be slow to heal. You can buy a cheap glucose meter and some test strips at Wal-Mart. Test every 20 minutes for two hours after meals for a week. Write down what you ate and make a chart of the results. From my reading keeping your glucose under 120 at all times is ideal. Most doctors don't worry until it's higher and already causing damage. I'd personally not want to let it get above 140.

Here's a link to my elementary school science blog.

I went to college about ten years ago. I don't think many people my age "officially" asked people on dates very often. When I was in high school, dates weren't very common. Usually a boy and girl officially became boyfriend and girlfriend and then went on dates. The only boys that asked me out on a date before us becoming an official couple were boys from other schools that hardly knew me. I met my DH the first week of college. We had some classes together and walked together sometimes, as well as eating lunch occasionally. He didn't treat me differently than a friend, so I didn't even know he was interested in me for about two months. If he had tried to officially take me on a date, I don't know what I would've said, because I wasn't interested in him. Instead, we hung out as friends long enough for me to start to find him attractive. Then he got "upgraded" out of the "just friends" category. My point with this whole story is that your son doesn't have to make a big deal about asking girls on official dates. It's okay to be friends and see where it leads.

My 5 year old is reading around a 2nd grade level (I think). One thing I've noticed, though, is that he doesn't have much endurance yet. For example, he could read me two, maybe three, Frog and Toad stories and then after that, would start making more mistakes, like he's tired. He does a lot better if we take turns reading pages. Is this a common stage? How long does it last? I think he could be reading simple chapter books in a few months, if he built up his endurance.

My son is still young, but here's my best small change: After he did a handwriting practice page, I'd have him pick out his worst couple of letters to re-do and the best couple for me to give star. It helped him learn to see which letters were sloppy and which were done more carefully. His handwriting has improved a lot in six months.