en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/527219 Comments by skepdad http://www.skepdad.com/2009/organic-parenting/#IDComment27143618 And no matter what side you argue, that kind of logic should enrage anyone. It is a pretty weak thing to do, trying to link broad attitudes towards unrelated things, and imply a causal connection that even with the best research would be tenuous at best. We&#039;re definitely not hippies and we feed our daughter what we eat: mostly home-cooked meals with a very diverse menu sampling from a smattering of cultural styles and cuisines. Do we do that because we think it makes us better parents: no. But we think exposure to a broad sampling of flavours will enrich her life now and later, and save all of us from the stereotypical doom of &quot;kids only eat pizza and hamburgers&quot; mentality in the coming years. In fact, I&#039;d argue if only for that fact, it has little to do with parenting and much more to do with my own selfish desire to consume as little &quot;boring&quot; food as possible. But that&#039;s just me. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:27:28 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/organic-parenting/#IDComment27143618 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-great-sperm-race/#IDComment25846099 Oddly enough there was a CBC documentary about that a few months back. It was called something like _The Disappearing Male_ and was trying to link (in the vague way that documentaries tend to do) both a slight reduction in male population and also a decrease in general sperm counts in adult males with the rise of the petrochemical industry and our use of consumer chemicals. It was an interesting hypothesis, and I keep thinking I should do more reading on the topic so I could at least have some evidence either way. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:50:14 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-great-sperm-race/#IDComment25846099 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/a-bit-of-resurch-my-companion-site/#IDComment24043388 Thanks! Glad you like it. I&#039;ll have a look. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:56:55 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/a-bit-of-resurch-my-companion-site/#IDComment24043388 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/sciencey-type-toys/#IDComment22610251 Hi Kate! I know your grief. We&#039;ve got some fairly tuned-in local toy stores around here, but the (quote-quote) &quot;educational stuff&quot; is still very rare. Thanks for saying hi, and let me know if is anything I can do to help get the word out. -Brad Fri, 29 May 2009 15:26:43 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/sciencey-type-toys/#IDComment22610251 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/just-memorizing-abcde%e2%80%a6r%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6/#IDComment21842318 Actually that&#039;s an interesting point. My mother -- grandma -- who teaches elementary school suggested the other day that I stop saying the alphabet and instead say the letter sounds. Of course, I the smart-ass reminded her that some of the letters had more than one sound and went on to demonstrate. But yeah. What is the point of learning the alphabet names at all, really? By the way, does anyone know why where the &quot;alphabetical order&quot; came from? Tue, 19 May 2009 20:20:46 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/just-memorizing-abcde%e2%80%a6r%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6/#IDComment21842318 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/just-memorizing-abcde%e2%80%a6r%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6/#IDComment21814397 Thanks Seth. I like the analogy, and you&#039;re probably spot on with the analysis. I didn&#039;t mean to imply that it was a wrong way to learn. In fact, I&#039;d wager if I looked at a wider sample it&#039;s probably fairly common. But I think I under-articulated the point I was going for -- that there lacks much (as you suggest) structure or meaning to the information at this point as she learned raw data -- and thanks for calling me out on that. Tue, 19 May 2009 12:38:41 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/just-memorizing-abcde%e2%80%a6r%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6t%e2%80%a6/#IDComment21814397 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21081831 More of the crazy: <a href="http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/05/06/kevin-libin-ed-stelmach-up-to-his-knees-in-turd.aspx" target="_blank">http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomm...</a> Fri, 8 May 2009 19:20:00 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21081831 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21079912 Desiree is interviewing Brian Mason tonight. That should shed some more &quot;skeptical&quot; light on the topic. 6PM on Skeptically Speaking (CJSR) <a href="http://skepticallyspeaking.com/" target="_blank">http://skepticallyspeaking.com/</a> (see &quot;speaking up&quot; in the sidebar.) Fri, 8 May 2009 19:06:54 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21079912 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21065001 That said, I doubt I&#039;ll find much. The links are fairly speculative. Fri, 8 May 2009 15:57:18 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21065001 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21064724 Actually, I first heard it as the analysis of the political correspondent on CBC Radio Edmonton yesterday morning. I dug around a little, and while nothing was written was tying it direct to him, the radio&#039;s interpretation was that backing this bill was the same group of politically active but religiously motivated folks who nearly got Morton elected and that now -- working with Morton or not -- they had their hands in on this. If I can find an article, I&#039;ll post it. Fri, 8 May 2009 15:54:36 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment21064724 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment20974505 An update? A few radio and tv reports today are suggesting that this bill is backed by Ted Morton and/or his supporters. I would have to say that is bad news for the rational side of the debate. Thu, 7 May 2009 13:32:35 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment20974505 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/intense-debate/#IDComment20886522 It is an extra step, but the benefits of the system for both readers and admin seem like it might be worth it. But you&#039;re right... wait and see. Wed, 6 May 2009 14:56:01 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/intense-debate/#IDComment20886522 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/intense-debate/#IDComment20886453 My thought on that was simply, from a personal perspective, I trust a centralized commenting system more than I trust individual bloggers having access to my information every time I comment. I&#039;m not sure if readers feel the same way. Wed, 6 May 2009 14:54:44 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/intense-debate/#IDComment20886453 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment20795556 Though regardless, I still think ANY time we allow someone to opt out of education we&#039;re doing them a disservice. The combination of (a) participation in any kind of information sharing and (b) the application of critical thought to that information is a formula for a healthy mind. Even ideas we might judge to be contrary to an end educational goal (speaking as a parent attempting to educate a child) creates a moment of cognitive dissonance in the mind of the learner that potentially leads to an awareness that there are no simple, black-and-white answers to questions. Tue, 5 May 2009 15:02:39 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment20795556 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment20790139 Definitely agree. I admittedly haven&#039;t read the text of the bill, and perhaps that is the next step. But anything that is open to THAT much interpretation -- particularly by the lawmakers themselves -- will be open to distortion when it comes to test cases and later as precedent. Oddly enough, CBC radio was still -- even this morning -- referencing the bill under the interpretation by the premier (from last week) and some of the recorded calls they were playing were frighteningly hillbilly in nature. Tue, 5 May 2009 14:35:52 +0000 http://www.skepdad.com/2009/the-long-slow-slide-into-optional-education-not/#IDComment20790139