Archive for the ‘Reasoned Education’ Category

Tuesday Media Watch: Second Language

Tuesdays? Pondering pointless programming.

I’ve often quietly scolded myself for being fairly inept at languages. I mean, I have a reasonably high proficiency in English due to thirty-odd years of reading, writing, and speaking it. But over the years I’ve stumbled through a number of focused efforts to learn a second language, namely French and German, but sit here today without the ability to do much more than count to ten, introduce myself, and order a beer in either. Both efforts to lean a second language have involved numerous formal (textbooks, school, and evening courses) and informal (travel, websites, multimedia, and broadcasts) attempts to build vocabulary and grammar. But at the end of the day my proficiency will never match that of a native tongue.

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Full text from May 6, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Reasoned Education

Friday Consumer Culture: Priddy Books

Fridays? Products, from one to five skeps.

We’d likely be kidding ourselves as parents if we thought all the stories we were reading to our very young kids were offering any more benefit than the sound of our voice and perhaps some loose vocabulary development. The girl is seven months old and I’m under no delusion that she is following the plot of “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” or “Charlotte’s Web” as we read aloud from them on a nightly basis. But there is a ritual there and I’d like to think that my voice has something of a calming effect on her little mind. This raises the question as to the value of books in the life of a “Really Young Thinker” when books can really be no more than colourful toys to be grabbed and manipulated by equally young fingers. To help answer this, we were lucky to be given an interesting cloth book as a gift early on, and its only recently that the girl has taken to it with devoted fascination and often giggling delight — so much so that we bought another in the series.

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Full text from May 2, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Encounters of the Mind, Reasoned Education

Designing a Creative Family Space

It looks like we’re going to be doing some home renovations in the coming months, and given the opportunity we’re planning to incorporate an “arts and crafts” room into the blueprints. Initially I was keen to build myself something more traditional: an office, a den, or a workroom. But I’ve sold myself (and my wife) on the idea of building something a little more family oriented. Since the planning stage has just begun, now is the time to decide on the gritty details of this soon-to-be creative space in our basement. Some of the initial (feasible) construction ideas are as follows… and I welcome insight and comments.

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Full text from April 16, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Reasoned Education, Skepdad thoughts

Toys for (Really) Young Scientists, Bug Jug

I think it would be fair to say that I have something of an askew fascination with insects. Having (unofficially) minored in entomology in university, I took every undergraduate course offered by the school filling the gaps in my schedule left whilst studying the arguably less critter-filled world of molecular genetics. Had I been gutsy enough to pursue the passion over the practical (a conversation for another day) I might today be writing a more scientific exploration of some rare lepidopteran mating habit instead of a sure-to-be overlooked fluff editorial on plush, bug-shaped children’s toys. But, alas, such is life. And being in the curious position of father, writer, and science-buff I thought it useful to put otherwise wasted talents to better gain and continue the mission of bringing critical thought to the next generation by looking at my own experiences locating toys for aspiring scientists.

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Full text from February 12, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Encounters of the Mind, Reasoned Education

2 Comments

“Is reading aloud even optional?” Part 1

I’ve been trying to dig up some real research on the topic of reading aloud to kids, positive or negative. Other than a few vague correlational analysis there does not seem to be much scientific literature online about this either way. (Perhaps a reader could point me in the right direction. I thought I was adept at searching, but I’m stumped on this one.) Alas…

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Full text from February 11, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Encounters of the Mind, Reasoned Education

2 Comments

Defining Critical Thought: Take One

I’ve been doing a little thinking about thinking. One of the great things about taking a few minutes each day to write out my thoughts on these topics — or any topics for that matter — is that such introspection opens up all kinds of new avenues for exploration. Sometimes this kind of meandering pontification threatens to take me off course. On other occasions it sends me down twisting paths of inquiry that ultimately validate those selfsame efforts. And as pointless as this little soliloquy might seem at the moment, it is in fact leading a singular point. That point is both a very good question to be asked in a blog such as this one and also a question offering no universally accepted definition; What exactly is critical thought?

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Full text from January 9, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Critical Thought Toolkit, Reasoned Education

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The skep/dad blog is a place for rational, science-minded fathers to express their thoughts, opinions, and ideas about bringing up kids to be critical thinking adults in a world filled with superstition, mysticism, and pseudoscience.
Brad adds: As of October 2007, I'm soliciting interest for skeptics in the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada area who are interested in forming a skeptical society to contact me. Please do so through this blog or via Facebook (through the Edmonton Skeptical Society Group).

Or visit our new website: www.edmontonskeptics.org
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact than a drunken man is happier than a sober one.
- George Bernard Shaw