As my first grade daughter’s science book says, science is the pursuit of knowledge about the world (including outer space) around us using our 5 senses to make observations, devise and conduct experiments, then observe the results and record them. That is a nice simple and totally accurate description. It would work if the curriculum didn’t try to insert the opposite into science and still call it science.

Adult version of it is nearly the same. Science is the cold hard methodical study of the world around us combined with experimentation to validate or disprove an observational opinion. If it cannot be tested to prove or disprove the asserted opinion hopefully based on observation, then it remains just that – an opinion. You can call it a hypothesis. If it is complex and well thought out, you can call it a model. But to call it a Theory using a little known definition of the word is disingenuous.

Sometimes, the terms inferring and Inferential Science will be used to justify a stance. Looking up the definition of infer gets you to realize inferring is merely inserting your opinion into a set of facts or statements. So inferring grants nothing to science but it is done A LOT and put in the textbooks.

So what is my main thrust for the future curriculum articles concerning Science? Correcting the inferences placed into the curriculum because a group of select individuals are inserting their opinions over facts and attempting to sway the population under the guise of “science.” I would call it what it is. It is a series of lies used to misguide children with a byproduct of degrading the science curriculum.

Science is about facts, study, and measurements. Science is not about untested opinions no matter what wording a person tries to use.

-MatureKid

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Now you may be wondering if you are inclined towards mathematics, how is it possible for there to be problems in mathematics? Where are the omissions, the falsehoods, and distortions?

That would be a good and rationale line of questioning. To answer that, let me give you a bit of my background. I was a Math major in college. I know my Trigonometry, Algebra, Calculus, Math Logic, and Abstract Math. I’ve had Geometry at all the levels as well as Statistics and many of the other forms involved. All of them boil down to the answers you generate must be the same on both sides of the equals sign. The procedures you use to calculate answers must be done correctly to generate correct results. It is easy to tell of you did the math right or wrong.

With the exclusion of T-Proofs in Geometry, there is no room or measure for assumptions in math. It is guaranteed to throw off your calculations. Math doesn’t lie, right?

Well, correct. If properly executed, the procedures in math do not lie as math is neutral. Math is rather cold hard and logical. There isn’t any give in it. So how does it land on my topics of problems in math?

The problems in math stem from the strength of math. Math is cold, hard, and logical. There is no give in it. Either you did the math right, or you did the math wrong. So to the multitudes, math evidence can be called on as a solid argument in a topic. That is the problem. The multitudes are indirectly fed information and bravado to not question mathematical evidence. They give in to the assumption that math doesn’t lie.

They are right and wrong. The answers generated are likely executed correctly mathematically. Where most fail to see the flaw is the people using the math may not be honest. The procedures of math are the same. But those using mathematics can insert selective numbers to fabricate misleading computations. Math doesn’t lie. People do. So those with a reason to distort the results do so by distorting the data so the answer is what they want it to be – not what it truly is.

-MatureKid

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History is quite simply the recorded past. To the extent that we can piece it together is another thing. Events closer to the current day are easier to verify as more recording mediums were used and are being used so information can be verified. However, the further back you go in time; the harder it is to retain accuracy.

Why? Quite simply is we weren’t there and insufficient recorded data. Why do these two reasons matter so much? In order to understand history and any recorded media found, we have to understand the cultural settings of the time, the main driving influences of the time, the languages used with their numerous inflections and regional meanings, in addition to how the media was recorded and by whom. Simply put, providing an accurate rendition of historical events is not an easy task.

The best one can hope for is different media found in different locations and cultures confirming the existence of an event or an individual in history. With the multitude of cross referencing, then greater certainty can be had on what the documents or media has in common. The challenge is how one conveys what is known about history and what is not known about history accurately enough so that the reader or student has sufficient enough information.

Therein lays the opportunity for individuals and groups to omit, purposefully distort or blatantly fabricate information to fit the desire of the group or author. What is not known can radically alter how the reader or student views the world. One example that I will be diving into (amongst many) are the Founding Fathers of the USA in particular the signers of the Declaration of Independence that history books ignore.

-MatureKid

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All Those Other Standard Topics 2

Death Penalty – I’m for it with a twist. If you can prove with all certainty a person committed a murder, there shouldn’t be much debate on what is a “cruel and unusual punishment”. I go with the Golden Rule as a punishment guideline on this one. How they killed the victim will be their manner of death. I think that would trim a few murders down.

Abortion – Microbiology has concluded that life begins at conception. So that makes ending the life quite simply – murder. See the above on Death Penalty. What about women’s right to choose? Well, that ended when the woman chooses to hop into bed. After that comes taking the responsibility about the choice. Since microbiology determines that person growing inside of you is alive, then it is that baby’s body not the woman’s. If a woman wants to abort their body, that is called suicide and is their choice. What about incest? See prior statement about choice. What about for the health of the mother? It needs to be far better defined as it is massively abused with semantics. I cannot think of a more horrible decision as a future parent – Choose between the death of the child, the death of my wife or the death of both. What about in terms of rape? Why kill the kid? Make the rapist a eunuch and watch the rate of rape cases plummet. Cruel and unusual punishment you say? To whom, the victim or the criminal? Golden Rule punishment style is what I say.

Oh and as for the standard arguments for abortion, please let me ask you this question: If any of the normal statements apply to a child developing in the womb are used, just what could your parents have said about you during puberty?

What was my argumentative paper in English 102 in college? Was it gun control, death penalty, abortion, or some other standard topic? Nah, I proved Bart Simpson was NOT an Underachiever. Total line of BS but I had 14 sources to back me up. Might as well make it about a BS topic as that was my degree too – B.S.

-MatureKid

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When we were in school, our teachers often referred us to the textbook. Over the span of 10-17 years in school, the textbook seems to gain a level afforded to only religious texts – infallible. This shows up in debates and discussions in the form of the lines "Well, you should read the textbooks" or "the textbook says." All this does is demonstrates to those who can think a bit out of the box that the person using those standard lines has fallen for it.

There is a key reason why this is the first article under Concerning Curriculum. It is because the misconceptions surrounding textbooks is at the heart of the problem. I'll lay it out here before I start getting into the individual subjects. Get ready as this is going to be tough to follow.

A textbook is a book. Just like all other books, it has an author, editor, and publisher. The purpose of any author of fiction, non-fiction or textbooks is to influence the mind and opinions of the reader. If the author is good at his / her job, then he or she makes more money.

An editor not only checks for the grammar, punctuation and more but they also check to make certain the author is operating within the parameters set for him / her by the publisher. If the editor is good at his / her job, then they make more money. The publishers are a company or group that markets and attempts to generate the greatest amount of sales of a book. Their concern is the same as any profit oriented business – making money.

Furthermore, all authors have a preset bias and opinion before writing their books. That will govern what is put into a book and how it is written so they can best influence their readers. So do you still think "it's in the textbooks" is a good argument? By the time I'm done, you'll discover why good teachers only use the textbook as a marginal resource. Excellent teachers go straight to the source and deal with the hard facts.

-MatureKid

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Sports - If you are into sports, then support your teams of choice. But, use a touch of wisdom in doing so. Unless the sports team is paying your bills, follow them, track them but don't let your life rotate around them. When you are gone, the sports team or figure will likely not notice but those in your life will. Beyond that, you will find that I will very rarely comment on sports as it is mostly all opinion.

Religion – Yes, I follow one for my own reasons.

Politics – Am I a Democrat? Am I a Republican? Answer: Neither, can I look behind curtain #3?

Presidential Candidates –

Hillary Clinton – No thanks, 8 years of her running the White House the first time was enough for me.

Barack Obama – Anyone willing to invade another country and violate their sovereignty at a whim is frightening to me.

Rudy Giuliani – Even his family is against him, I’ll side with his family. No thanks.

Tommy Thompson – I was glad to see him leave as Wisconsin’s Governor. Yah think I want him in the White House?

Who do I support? That’s for me and the ballot box to know.

Gun Control – I fully support the 2^nd Amendment of our Constitution. You know, the whole thing which is a part of the supreme law of our land.

However, a couple things should be noted.

1) A person aims the gun, the gun doesn’t aim itself. A person pulls the trigger, the gun doesn’t.

2) Save for the whacko’s like what happened at Virginia Tech, the majority of those who use guns to commit crimes usually could care less about gun laws (mafia, drug dealers, etc.).

So who are all the gun control laws for? Are they for people that will follow them and wouldn’t use them to commit a crime anyways?

-MatureKid

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