I received my Signs & Seasons astromony curriculum today

[Kathleen in VA]

and I give it two very definite thumbs up. It is not your typical astronomy course because it focuses on "Classical Astronomy," which is about getting to know the sky (day and night) as opposed to the physics of the universe. This course is designed to be used without a telescope as it teaches how to observe the sky as the ancients once did.

 

What struck me right away was how beautifully it is written (I've only read the prologue so far - just skimmed the rest). The author discusses how human existence has always been connected to the changing sky until very recently. It made me think of the Little House books where life is centered so much around the seasons and I felt kind of sad that we have lost touch with that kind intimacy with the rhythms and cycles of nature.

 

Just so you know, there are a lot of biblical references as this is a "Creation" astronomy course, but if you are a non-Christian I still feel like there is a lot of excellent content here if you are just wanting to familiarize yourself with the cycles of the sun, moon, planets and stars.

[Plaid Dad]

Thanks for posting about this, Kathleen. It came up in another thread, so I was wondering about it. I know the author is coming from a young-earth perspective, but can you comment on how (and how much) that comes through in the text? The author's FAQ didn't really make that clear to me.

[Chocolate Rose]

I'd love to know more about this.

 

I have a 10th grade dd who "should" be doing chemistry but just isn't ready (or interested). I'm looking for some high school level science "something" for her to do between now and next fall. She's interested in astronomy and this sounds like a possibility but we're not Christian. We tried one of the Apologia courses a couple of years ago and it was a disaster for us. So, I'm a little leery of using another Christian program. Would you please tell me more about this?

 

Thanks,

Stacy (who used to post as "Rose" on the old board, but has been in the middle of a move and chaos, and hasn't posted in quite a while)

[dragons in the flower bed]

and I give it two very definite thumbs up. It is not your typical astronomy course because it focuses on "Classical Astronomy," which is about getting to know the sky (day and night) as opposed to the physics of the universe.

 

Thank you for clarifying that Kathleen. I was just wondering and looking through samples. I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind.

 

If I skipped over the biblical references, would the text still hold together?

 

How does the content compare to any other astronomy books you may have seen?

[Kathleen in VA]

OK, well, I will read some more of it now and try to find the answers to all these questions. Give me a little bit of time and then I will post again when I think I can give solid answers.

 

Thanks,

[Plaid Dad]

Thanks so much! I'll look forward to it. :)

[Kathleen in VA]

Alrighty-tighty, I think I've got a basic grasp of the book now and will do my best to address all the questions so far.

 

First of all, everyone should be very much aware that this book was definitely written from a Christian worldview by a Christian and for Christians. You will definitely encounter Christian content and many references to God and His creation.

 

As far as whether or not it advocates a "young earth" perspective I can only say that I think so. The author believes in a literal 6-day creation and therefore I expect he also believes in a young earth. However, he does not hammer this point at all. I had a difficult time coming up with anything that even mentions this.

 

I am going to make a rough estimate and say that approximately 85% of the content addresses "classical astronomy" or the study of the sky as the ancients (both secular and Christian) did. A great deal of the text is devoted to vocabulary and the etymology of the terms used referencing Greek, Latin and even Old English roots (I find this part to be fascinating because I LOVE etymology).

 

There are hundreds (ok, I'm guessing here) of illustrations that make the concepts easy to comprehend. Almost every page in the main body of the text has at least one, often two,three or more, illustrations - chock full:).

 

A few of the chapter titles are taken directly from scripture and there are quotes from scripture all through. There are also many quotes from Cicero, Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Macrobius, Euclid, St. Francis of Assisi, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer, Leonardo DaVinci and others.

 

There is one 3-page "aside" that explains the naming of the stars from an historical perspective which includes the Christian history as well as others.

 

There is another section, distinguished by being printed on a different background with a completely different font, that discusses the difference between astronomy and astrology and, of course, considering the author's point of view, astrology is discounted as superstition. A similar section covers the dispute among various Christian groups about whether or not Easter is a pagan fertility celebration at its heart. (This is in the chapter about the different calendars.)

 

There are a few paragraphs that mention the Jewish calendar and celebrations as found in the Old Testament.

 

Much of what someone may consider "religious content" is really only historical in nature. I mean, you really can't get away from the fact that Christianity and Judaism are historical faiths that influenced civilization in a big way, whether or not you choose to embrace either of them as your own. It is simply fact that these faiths influenced all intellectual disciplines in one way or another. To ignore their influence would be untruthful and therefore wrong.

 

Much mention is also made of the Greek, Egyptian, Roman, and Persian civilizations and their contributions to the study of the sky (which turns out to be a lot). The author acknowledges that all of these societies added to the collective knowledge on the subject.

 

The field activities are completely neutral in nature, although references to God the Creator are made here and there (not often). BTW, they are totally interesting and explained very clearly.

 

The end of the book contains a glossary (the definition of astrology is mentioned again as being naive superstition), tables to help locate the constellations at different times of the year, a bibliography and an index.

 

I have used Apologia science and I did notice that Dr. Wile often gets off on a tangent designed to discredit evolutionary thought as well as popular scientific "crises" such as global warming. I appreciate that because this kind of information is not mainstream and cannot be found in other textbooks. Jay Ryan, the author of S&S, only mentions his disapproval of astrology and that is in a specific section that could easily be skipped. All other mention of the zodiac and the stars is strictly matter-of-fact.

 

As far as using this as a summer school course, I think that might be a stretch because the field activities require observing the sky throughout an entire year. The crux of the course is the lab work - this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Reading the text is certainly necessary and valuable, but as Mr. Ryan points out, learning classical astronomy takes work. You must get out and observe the sky frequently over a long period of time. If someone is genuinely interested in this topic, this book will help you do just that.

 

The only other astronomy text I have tried to use with my children was Jeannie Fulbright's Exploring Creation with Astronomy. I know many Christians love this text, but I just couldn't get into it. The "chatty" style was not for me. I prefer a more straightforward, "here are the facts" kind of book.

 

Now, does the text "hold together" if one omits the biblical references? That is a difficult question to answer as I am not distracted by those references. It is hard for me, since I am a Christian, to know what a person would find offensive and would have to skip. My gut level reply is that yes, the text holds together. There really is an awful lot of very straightforward practical information in this book.

 

There are many science books written from a non-Christian viewpoint. That is why so many of us have opted to homeschool - we find that the textbooks used in the mainstream make no mention of God, Christianity, or Judaism as if they never existed and held no sway over science or history ever. We often find ourselves picking up a resource at the library or bookstore and find that we must filter it for our children to read so that our understanding of the world and its origins is not completely ignored.

 

I think a non-Christian could easily do that with this textbook. There is a lot of "meat" here and like I said in my first post, I am delighted that the subject is not white dwarves, black holes, and the physics of the universe but rather the simple observation of the sky as the ancients did without a telescope. Personally, I think this knowledge is necessary for a person to be considered truly educated.

 

Very often, as a Christian, I find that I do not even agree with everything Christians have to say on a certain topic. I find that history texts are often skewed by the author's eschatology (doctrine of the end times) and I really, really, really dislike that. So even when I read a "Christian" textbook I have to point out to my children the parts with which I do not agree and why. This discussion is hopefully encouraging them to be people who will think about what they read and not just swallow it all hook, line and sinker, as it were.

 

All that to say, if you are the kind of person who can "eat the meat and spit out the bones" and are not afraid of discussing differing points of view, I think this text is could be useful for you regardless of your worldview.

 

HTH

[Chocolate Rose]

Alrighty-tighty, I think I've got a basic grasp of the book now and will do my best to address all the questions so far.

 

Kathleen,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share so much info! It sounds like the kind of astronomy course dd is looking for. And, it would be totally workable to do the field activities throughout the year. I appreciate your trying to analyze whether the Christian aspect would be a problem or not. It sounds like it probably would not, but I am going to have dd read through your post and help make the decision. The problem that she had with Apologia was that he was very condescending and used a lot of circular reasoning. It sounds like that doesn't exist in Signs & Seasons.

I first learned about homeschooling MANY years ago (early '80s) from Mothering magazine. Homeschooling was considered part of an alternative lifestyle that appealed to us. It's interesting the direction that homeschooling (and homeschooling resources) has taken since then.

Thank you, again!

[Kathleen in VA]

Stacy,

 

I did not sense a spirit of condescension in S&S at all. That said, since I am a Christian, I could have missed something that a non-Christian might be rubbed the wrong way by. My suggestion if you should encounter that is to just remind yourself that, after all, the intended audience *is* Christian. You can't please all the people,... kwim? It also provides good discussion material.

 

Again, the overwhelming message of the book is that all people, no matter what their faith or lack thereof, have lost touch with the intimacy mankind once had with the sky. This was a natural consequence of inventing mechanical time keepers. Since we no longer *need* the sky to live our lives in a practical way, we no longer take notice of it. Mr. Ryan just wants to rekindle that fire, so to speak, that fills us with wonder and a desire to know about the sky and its inhabitants.

 

I'm glad I could help, at least a bit.

[April in CA]

Hello Kathleen,

I enjoyed reading your review of Sign and Seasons.. I had heard of this, but didn't know much about it - it sounds intriguing! Are you planning to use this with high schoolers for credit or for family enjoyment? I am curious to know if it can be counted as a high school science or elective. The approach sounds refreshing!

Thank you and blessings,

April

[Kathleen in VA]

April,

 

This course is designed to be used with high schoolers, but it is a course that needs to be logged and documented because it does not fit easily into a "read a chapter, take the test" kind of schedule.

 

Have your child keep track of the hours spent studying and doing the field activities and then translate those hours into a high school credit. See this definition for help:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_unit

 

I am actually just doing the course as an extra with my 9yo and 11yo, which requires a bit of tweaking, but so far it has not been a problem.

 

HTH

[April in CA]

Thanks, Kathleen! Thanks for the link as well.

April

[dragons in the flower bed]

Alrighty-tighty, I think I've got a basic grasp of the book now and will do my best to address all the questions so far.

 

Kathleen, I am all out of rep for the day. Thank you so much for posting this long review. It's immensely useful. You rule!