Selections from reddit.com - 7 Sep 06

The following education related posts were found via reddit.com:

Google has a Book search option. A number of publishers have made available some or all of the text of various books. And they have scanned in a number of old books which are available via PDF files. For examle The Firste Thre Bokes of the Most Chritia Poet is available. I think it is from the 1500s. Here is an article on Downloading Books For Free From Google Book Search with more information about this service.

Homeschoolers recognize the value of a broad education. In Stuff we didn't learn at school Leon Gettler lists some of the work related skills that he has had to learn on the job. As parents we might want to teach our children some of these skills. Toastmasters for teeenagers would help develop many of them.

Dave Cheong has 13 Problem Solving Nuggets Everyone Should Know that would also be good to teach our children. I don't remember stuff like this ever being taught at school.

And tying in to the same basic theme, Stuart Buck makes a good arguement in The Value of Education? that formal education is not the main factor in promoting economic growth. He says most of the useful information comes from on the job training, and that formal schools at best provide basic skills like reading, writing and math.

In Sacrificing truth on the altar of diversity Jeff Jacoby writes about how textbook publishing companies are given guidelines on how many pictures of disabled children a book should have. But very few disabled children look photogenic or want their picture taken, so the publishers hire healthy kids and put them in wheelchaires or give them some crutches. He says "But when reality conflicts with political correctness, reality gets the boot." This reminds me of Diane Ravitch's The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn.

Jacob Neusner writes The Speech the Graduates Didn't Hear. It starts with: "We the faculty take no pride in our educational achievements with you. We have prepared you for a world that does not exist, indeed, that cannot exist. You have spent four years supposing that failure leaves no record." And it gets better.


----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Google book, toastmasters, problem solving, problem, solving, diversity, textbooks, publisher, college, graduate