Teachable Moments
So one of the many "mom" things I have been dealing with this week is the Junior Logician's viewing of "An Inconvenient Truth" in his 8th grade Science class. Their science class has been talking about "global warming" for a few weeks now. Today, the Junior Logician brought home two sheets - one a page for the kids to calculate their carbon footprint and the other a sheet entitled "Reflections on 'An Inconvenient Truth' What Am I Willing To Do??" I have to admit that I was curious as to how he was going to answer. While we have never directly talked about the issue, he has heard my radio programs talking about it from time to time. While several of his answers were spot on, there were a couple of things that I do need to work with him on - mostly taking shorter showers....sewer and water charges being what they are and all. The one answer that I did get a chuckle out of was his answer to the suggested action "Eat Less Meat". His simple answer to that was a very emphatic "NO!"
While filling out the carbon footprint calculator, he had to ask about certain energy saving appliances that we have in the house. It was nice because it gave us the opportunity to talk about ALL the reasons for having low-flow toilets and Energy Star appliances (cost savings and energy savings). It also gave us the opportunity to talk about the pros and cons of things like compact fluorescent bulbs and the like.
Yeah, I could have complained about the propaganda as many conservative parents do. However, I prefer to use these moments to teach the Junior Logician how to apply critical thinking to the propaganda. It is a skill that will serve him well over the next few years.
While filling out the carbon footprint calculator, he had to ask about certain energy saving appliances that we have in the house. It was nice because it gave us the opportunity to talk about ALL the reasons for having low-flow toilets and Energy Star appliances (cost savings and energy savings). It also gave us the opportunity to talk about the pros and cons of things like compact fluorescent bulbs and the like.
Yeah, I could have complained about the propaganda as many conservative parents do. However, I prefer to use these moments to teach the Junior Logician how to apply critical thinking to the propaganda. It is a skill that will serve him well over the next few years.
Labels: Education
posted by The Lady Logician at
9:52 PM
4 Comments:
why would you send your children to such a place?
By
Anonymous, at 1:42 PM
He will never learn how to argue against this kind of nonsense if he is never exposed to it. Exposing him to it now helps teach the critical thought processes that he will need in college.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 2:21 PM
This is exactly the right approach, LL. The real world is full of people who make these sorts of arguments and he will be well-served if he learns the critical thinking skills you are teaching him.
I'm trying the same approach with my kids. It's not always easy, but it's absolutely essential.
By
Mr. D, at 8:21 PM
I don't know the age or mathematical ability of your young'un, but anybody with 6th-grade math skills SHOULD have spotted the one item in the movie which simply blows the whole, entire theory out of the water (literally). That is, if you look at his huge graph of CO2 versus temperature, you will notice that CO2 always (or at least for the last 400,000 years or so) goes up AFTER the earth warms up. CO2 does NOT cause global warming, global warming causes CO2!
Try this: Ask junior what happens if you take a can of soda out of the fridge and let it set open out on the kitchen counter. You may have to actually do it, and you may have to tell him that the "fizz" that gets lost is actually CO2 dissolved in the water, and that cold water holds more CO2 than warm water does. THEN, you ask what he thinks happens when the 3/4 of the earth that's covered in water gets a little warmer! It's exactly what has happened for the last 400,000 years when the earth gets warmer, CO2 goes up! Let him take THAT little tidbit to show and tell.
J. Ewing
By
Anonymous, at 1:11 PM
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