Tag Archive for school

Ellen Lundgren | January 11, 2012
One comment

Congratulations to Jessica!

Cranston High School West illegal prayer bannerJessica Ahlquist of Providence, RI has been fighting a lawsuit with the ACLU against her high school for well over a year now. And finally Jessica Ahlquist has won her lawsuit. The breaking news was covered in the Providence Journal, followed by the Friendly Atheist’s coverage, including a 40-page decision from U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux (PDF).

Jessica’s appeal began early on with the creation of her facebook page to bring down the banner. Through her fight, she has inspired dozens of other high school students and community members to challenge their schools to take down visible prayers, stop school administration from condoning prayers at public school events, and more.

Her bravery in standing up for her legal rights has been an amazing feat, but her challenges aren’t over yet since her family is still receiving threats due to this passing. But we need to support brave students like Jessica in bringing schools in to following the separation of church and state. So if you can, support Jessica with a scholarship below:

Again, congratulations on your win and your continued bravery in fighting for our movement! We at Skeptic Freethought are all so proud of your efforts! Thank you!

Category: Activism, News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Ellen Lundgren | December 5, 2011
One comment

Adult takes standardized test… fails

Standardized tests. The thing that sends chills down the spines of many students. In grade school they were the terror that made no. 2 pencils snap, and little palms sweat. College students still groan over Scantron sheets and filling in endless rows of bubbles. Hence why I loved this Washington Post article of an adult who took a 10th grade standardized test and made his scores public.

 

Long story, short; failure. The man who took the test said,

I won’t beat around the bush, the math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a “D”, and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.

It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.

I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities.

 

A result of this has come to a revolt of school principals in New York protesting the use of students’ test scores to evaluate teachers’ and principals’ performance. I have always thought this was a ludicrous practice because it turns teachers away from the students from being good learners, to teaching them to be good standardized test takers — two very different skills.

These tests give students unrealistic skills for our world, and cause a lifetime of damage when used improperly as students who fail these tests are told they are not ‘college material’ when they are otherwise wonderfully gifted and intelligent. As I posted this on my facebook page, Ryan Coons responded by saying, “I only passed 11th grade English because my teacher didn’t want to see me ever again, and she told me this. ‘Where will you get with that attitude?’ Well, it got me into graduate school. Twice.”

I think education is a system that is severely flawed in our country and is a movement we as secularists need to command. It needs to change immediately. The US is already falling behind in education standards by many other countries. If we’re to keep up at all, our teachers need to be paid fairly, students need to be taught effectively, and these standardized tests need to be thrown out the window.

Category: Ethics | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Ellen Lundgren | August 10, 2011
One comment

Atheistopoly

So, I just finished exams for my summer classes and moved into a new apartment where I will be sitting… bored… for two weeks. More or less. So what do you get when you put a bored artist in a room? They design games!

This is actually a repeat of what happened in a summer study I did at RISD (riz-dee – big fancy art school) when I was in high school. A few of us got bored and really wanted to play Monopoly, but being away from home, no one knew where to get a board. So we made one.

RISD-opoly in its first and only voyage.

This is the only picture of the one time we were all together to play it. As you can see, we printed our own money, hand-wrote all the Property, Chance, and Community Chest cards, and imitated the RISD logo in the center for the name “RISD-opoly.”

So here I am again. Bored. Wanting to play Monopoly and minus a board. And I’ve been inspired to create an Atheist version on the game but am running across logistical problems and need your help. All I know is that I want the “Go to Jail” square to be God condemning you to Hell in the opposite corner where the Jail usually goes. So please comment and give me your suggestions or ideas for what the properties should be? What should I use for game pieces? What should be on the Chance/Community Chest cards?

Category: Creative, Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Alvaro Prieto | July 28, 2011
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Skeptiscale! [movies] – That’s What I Am

Could you explain your solution to world peace in 25 words or less?

Mr. Simon, a high school English teacher played by Ed Harris, submitted this answer to a contest asking that same question:
Human Dignity + Compassion = PEACE

That’s What I Am is set in the 1960′s in Southern California. It’s aimed at younger audiences, but audiences of all ages can learn form it. Among the main themes are bullying and religious animosity/mistrust against homosexuality.

In short, a bully gets in trouble for severely beating a fellow classmate and proceeds to start a rumor that his teacher(Mr. Simon) is gay. Once some parents find out, they begin to pressure the principal to remove Mr. Simon.

Mr. Simon, a widower, refuses to confirm or deny the rumor. When asked directly if he denies the allegations, he responds with “I’m not going to justify that question with an answer.” Why should his sexual orientation matter, when his teaching ability speaks for itself?

Out of all of the problems parents bring up about Mr. Simon, religion and ignorance are the most common. Some examples are “We have a moral obligation[to get Mr. Simon out of the school]. It’s in the Bible.” and “I don’t know if we want someone like that teaching our kid.”

Due an good portrayal of ignorance/animosity towards homosexuals and school bullying, along with a decent story, That’s What I Am scores a 7.5 on the Skeptiscale!

Scientific Accuracy/Believability: 4/5
Quality of the Movie: 3.5/5

(This movie is available on Netflix streaming.)

One more thing I have to mention are the some of the user reviews on Netflix. They show how some people still hold the same values as some of the characters of the movie.

Not impressed that in the description there was nothing mentioned about the theme being “tolerate homosexuals”. It would have been nice to know ahead of time-especially when it is classified as a children and family movie.

if i could rate this movie negative 1 million stars i would. I stopped this movie 3 minutes into it because of a horrible insult to my religion. DO NOT WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree the movie should be pg13. I like most of the movie but, did not like having homosexuality pushed down my throat. I think the movie would have been better without it. I believe my Bible not what Hollywood or Vince McMahon says.

Weird Message, offensive and a waste of time. This is not family friendly at all and I would never let any kid watch this. Turns the homesexual teacher into the big hero..One sided opinion with a strong left leaning agenda..If you are a liberal this movie is great, if you have strong moral values then dont waste your time with this horrible movie. I am a family man and a father of 3 and cant stand when the left uses hollywood to push their agenda, this movie is another example of it..

How young is ‘too young’ to learn about homosexuality?

 

Category: movies, Skeptiscale! | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Ellen Lundgren | July 16, 2011
2 comments

Harry Potter, A Legacy

It’s 1998 and you’ve picked up a curious little book about a boy who didn’t know he was a wizard. Soon enough, you’re onto books two and three, and by your 11th birthday, you’re hoping for a wax-sealed letter and script with your name on it. Return address: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Alas, [earwax!] the Hogwarts Express cannot take us to Harry’s world, but our collective imaginations have still carried us there and our generation has grown up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. My relationship with the series isn’t as closes as it is for some, but looking back, there are many moments in my life that I can parallel with the Harry Potter books.

It started in 4th grade when I found the first book in my school library. Continuing to the summer where I read books 1-3 three times over while waiting for book 4 to come out. Forward to the summer I spent away from home covering my eyes and ears to the idiots spoiling the plot of the the sixth book before I had a chance to read it. And to last summer, when I studied abroad in England and saw so many Harry Potter filming locations. I caught the train into London everyday at the same station that you see Harry and Dumbledore in at the beginning of the sixth movie, I sat at the tables in the Great Hall as seen in the first two movies, I ran through Platform 9 and 3/4, I saw the tracks and the scenery of Scotland where you see the Hogwarts Express rushing through the lush green countryside on the way to school, and I had cake overlooking Edinburgh castle in the coffee house where J.K. Rowling began writing these tales. And this summer I finally was able to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios, Florida where I got my (Ginny’s) wand.

Posing at Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station, London

The birthplace of Harry Potter overlooking Edinburgh Castle

Train station from the 6th Harry Potter movie

Great Hall seen in the Sorcerer's Stone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of these things give me great memories of my life and of these great stories that inspired so many children to read, sparked so much imagination, and I dare say, has united the world around the love of these books. More so than any religious text seems to have right to brag about. With 67 different translations around the world and over 400 million books sold, J.K. Rowling is the first, and so far only, billionaire author.

This may be the end of our childhood, but Harry Potter isn’t going away. People of all ages enjoyed these books and we can continue to re-read them and enjoy them into the future. We can share the legacy with our children and tell them of our midnight escapades waiting for book and movie releases. We can dress them up for Halloween and share the tales that brought us up through our adolescence.

And for those Christian Fundamentalists who believed that the books promoted witchcraft among children, be afraid, because the world has been converted.

 

 

“Mischief Managed!”

Category: General, Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,