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[Paisley Hedgehog]

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Edited June 30, 2013 by Paisley Hedgehog
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[Murphy101]

I think one could use kolbe secular without a problem.

The texts are certainly secular.

The lesson plans have some reference to the catholic teachings, but the sections are small and easy to skip IMO.

[Brenda in MA]

I think one could use kolbe secular without a problem.

The texts are certainly secular.

The lesson plans have some reference to the catholic teachings, but the sections are small and easy to skip IMO.

 

:iagree: with Martha.

 

I just got the Biology lesson plans that we will be using next year. The Miller/Levine text is secular. The lesson plans have extra notes on some of the weeks that tie Catholic beliefs in with the material in the book, but these could be easily skipped. They also recommend a small supplemental book called "Chance or Purpose" that could be read as a contrasting view with the textbook or could be skipped. All in all, I think it would be pretty easy to use the Kolbe plans in a secular manner.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

That's what drew me to Kolbe at first, the fact that the science was secular. Now since we're Catholic, we get added value, but I've never chosen a science curriculum based on their religious approach.

However, at high school level, when college admission people want to have a closer look (in Quebec, that's a real close look!) I don't want to list non secular books. With Kolbe, the main text is secular, and approved in many states, the publisher is well known. And the religion is dealt with in the teacher's notes and/or some extra reading that does not need to be written on a transcript.

Win-win for me!

[Tiramisu]

I'm enrolled in Kolbe but haven't used their high school science courses because I've decided it's just easier for me to have dd take her sciences at coop where we've been fortunate to have moms who experience teaching high school level courses and who have other background in the sciences.

 

As far as I know, however, in the Kolbe lesson plans, there are notes when topics come up that might be issues. I can't believe they would be heavy handed in the way you are worried about. Having discussed these questions at length once with a Kolbe advisor, my understanding is that Kolbe takes the Catholic view that you must believe that God created the universe out of nothing and He breathed an immortal soul into Adam and Eve. Since I haven't gone through the syllabus closely and it's been over a year since I looked at it at all, I don't know how they specifically approach evolution any more than that. I'd be really surprised if you would find anything promoting YE.

 

I wish I could be more helpful. Maybe I'll try to dig out that Biology syllabus.

 

I would recommend visiting the Kolbe Forum where I think you can post a question to the science advisor or even giving them a call. I've always found the Kolbe advisors to be helpful as well as kind.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[mchel210]

I saw this link today...

http://www.homeedsa.com/Curriculum/Secular%20Homeschooling%20Science%20Curriculum.asp

I havent had a chance to go through it..but looked interesting. OR singapores: Biology Matters, Chemistry Matter, Physics Matter

 

I am really also looking into Kolbe...I just am trying to figure out if you are allowed to have the TM without enrollement? Do you just buy the course plans and tests? Does it include the TM for answers? Or do you need to pay the $45 for single course enrollement?

[Tiramisu]

Thank you for the replies! I'm definitely going to keep Kolbe on the list.

 

Does Kolbe do on-line classes or other support? Or would I look for that from the textbook publisher?

 

They don't have online classes in the usual sense. I thought they had a discussion group for parents and possibly for students. I heard this more than a year ago so I don't really know what's happening.

 

If you enrolled for a single course, which I believe is affordable, you would be able to get assistance from the science advisor.

[chubbyhugs]

We’re registered with Kolbe and are currently using the PR Miller/Levine book. We chose to go with Kolbe for high school because they offer the Prentice Hall books for Physical Science, Biology, and Chemistry which (used in the public school system as well) are accepted by our state university system. What I really appreciate about the Kolbe Biology exams is that the exam answer keys reference the sections and/or page numbers in the text in addition to the answers that the advisors have written. That saves me lots of time.

 

Other assigned readings are a number of papal encyclicals, selections from Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica, and the Catholic Catechism, but you can definitely skip all that. The Kolbe Biology lesson plan has sections titled “Biological Issues and Church Teaching,” where that stuff is listed, which you can skip too. On the topic of evolution it says, “The authors explain that evolution is a theory, ‘a well-supported testable explanation of phenomena that have occurred in the natural world.’ Given that it is a theory blindly accepted as fact by many, it is important to explore, question, and understand the science underpinning it and to grasp the Church’s stance on evolution as outlined below, regardless of whether you accept or reject evolutionary theory.”

 

Catholic Church teaching materials were referenced once in the first quarter, six times in the second quarter, eight times in the third quarter, and four times in the fourth quarter regarding issues such as nature’s complexity, stem cell research, evolution, genetic engineering, human cloning, human population growth, and development of the human body.

 

I agree with NJKelli, who wrote “my understanding is that Kolbe takes the Catholic view that you must believe that God created the universe out of nothing and He breathed an immortal soul into Adam and Eve.”

 

I like that the Kolbe lesson plan invites the student to explore and question what is put before her. One of the PH Biology authors (Kenneth R. Miller) wrote two books regarding the issue of evolution: Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul, and Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search For Common Ground Between God and Evolution, but you wouldn’t know it from the PH Biology text. We read these and a short book by Pope Benedict XVI titled ‘In The Beginning . . .’ A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall, in addition to the Kolbe recommended Change of Purpose?: Creation, Evolution, and Rational Faith.

 

I don’t remember the Kolbe lesson plans getting into the issues of young earth or origins of the universe. Kolbe would agree to the saying: science tells us how the heavens go, not how to go to heaven. Dd is currently in the last two weeks of the course. She was concurrently in a Biology hands-on lab which used the BJU text, which does take a specific stance to the point of hitting the student over the head on almost every page, even with the quizzes. I’m glad she’s finished with the BJU text.

 

Kolbe has a forum and tremendous support (I think) from the advisors on the forum and by phone. They don’t offer on-line classes. The closest they have to something online is a student interaction forum for registered students where a moderator discusses readings from Theology, Literature, and History; the classes are segregated by high school grade. It meets at a specific time/day, but it’s not audio. They type their responses. Dd didn’t use it at all because they had technical difficulties for that specific forum section most of the time this year. I think that happened because they were revamping their bookstore, computer system, and move to another building.

 

The Kolbe forum does have a separate parent section in addition to the separate subjects, and separate elementary and high school sections. If you do enroll, you or your student can ask the advisors any questions re Biology. The science advisor (or any advisor for that matter) answers within 24 hours or less, especially during the week.

 

Kolbe redid a part of their Biology lesson plan last year when they replaced Chance or Purpose for another book. You can probably access a sample of the lesson plan at

http://www.kolbe.org/documents/science/Biology9thGradeMillerandLevine09Sample.pdf

 

If that doesn’t work, go to the Kolbe website, move your cursor over “Academics” and click on Sample Lesson Plans, then click on Biology.

 

The required text is Prentice Hall Biology by Miller and Levine (2006)

 

The Church Teaching Materials would be required if you are doing the Summa diploma with them. My understanding is that if the student is doing the Magna diploma, Standard diploma, or single enrollment, you can alter the lesson plan as you see fit. Contact the Kolbe advisor either on the forum or by phone, and tell them your requirements.

 

Optional materials:

 

Prentice Hall Biology Virtual Labs CD-ROM (we didn’t buy it) because dd was doing the hands-on lab.

 

Kolbe Academy Biology Answer Key and Online Student Access, which we bought because dd can access the PH website to do online chapter assessments, active art which is like a mini-quiz of concepts, and access to lab outlines, and sometimes just to review concepts without lugging the textbook. Also, if you have this, and don’t mind teaching without the hard copy of the teacher’s manual, you can access the answers through the parent access. I only used that for the active art, since I already had the TM.

 

Kolbe Academy Lab Report Writing Guide which we bought. It has a rubric and samples of informal and formal lab reports done by students and graded.

 

Mchel210,

 

I believe you may buy any book Kolbe sells without being enrolled. Wait. I take that back. I remember seeing a note about needing to be enrolled to buy the Sadlier Oxford teacher manual. It is probably best to contact the bookstore directly by phone for any TM without enrollment.

 

When dd was in 8th grade she did the single enrollment for Physical Science. We already had the text and TM, so I only bought the Syllabus (has the lesson plans, quizzes, quarter exams). It was a total of $90: $45 for the syllabus and $45 for single enrollment in 2009, which gave us access to the whole forum, and keeping her grades. We were trying Kolbe out back then before enrolling for the whole 9th grade program in 2010.

Edited June 12, 2011 by chubbyhugs
addition re science advisor; added a comma; corrected 2006

[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[ma23peas]

Shari,

 

We take advantage of a local homeschool mom who teaches a year's science in 6 months, it is advanced and condensed but they do complete an entire course....

 

She has used texts from AMSCO quite often...you buy them directly from the publisher...I think the way it is set up that I could have taught them from these texts and found online labs to review on youtube....in fact, there is a great cat dissection online from one university that is available based on organ systems...one video is on digestive, the other on endocrine etc. I may have to resort to that with my younger two if this mom decides to stop doing them...preparing myself now! :)

 

HTH!

[mchel210]

This is all great information! I emailed Kolbe today so I figure I will hear back in the next couple days. I do like several of their courses.

[Matryoshka]

I thought the Pope had said that evolution was not in conflict with the teachings of the church? Didn't someone just post here recently about a nun who was teaching theistic evolution in CCD classes?

 

I'm not Catholic, but I did attend Catholic high school, and took two years of biology, which were very much evolution-based and there was no mention of theology of any kind in science classes.

 

Now that you guys have pointed out these classes - can one sign up with Kolbe for just science classes, or is it a full-program type of thing?

[asta]

I thought the Pope had said that evolution was not in conflict with the teachings of the church? Didn't someone just post here recently about a nun who was teaching theistic evolution in CCD classes?

 

I'm not Catholic, but I did attend Catholic high school, and took two years of biology, which were very much evolution-based and there was no mention of theology of any kind in science classes.

 

Now that you guys have pointed out these classes - can one sign up with Kolbe for just science classes, or is it a full-program type of thing?

 

He did. But it is nothing new - it was said in 1950 in Humani Generis.

 

36. For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God.

 

Additionally, there is no such thing as "young earth" in the Catholic Church. There is just "the universe".

 

 

asta

Edited June 13, 2011 by asta