Hello TRC’ers! This week’s show is a veritable potpourri of topics! Darren studies Ontario’s new Sex-Ed Curriculum and addresses its critics. Adam tackles the meme keeping us all up at night…did the kids from Magic School Bus grow up to be Captain Planet’s Planeteers? Lastly, Cristina dissects some commonly prescribed medical procedures that we may not actually need.
Download direct: mp3 file
If you like the show, please leave us a review on iTunes!
SHOW NOTES
Ontario’s Sex-Ed Curriculum
Ontario’s Curriculum
Campaign Life Coalition
Magic School Bus Meme
Timeline Photos – Jamie Steinheim
Captain Planet and the Planeteers – Wikipedia
Medical Procedures You May Not Need
Yahoo: 5 Medical procedures you may not actually need
Pat Segment on Breast Cancer Screening
http://www.trcpodcast.com/trc-241-breast-cancer-screening-sweat-pong/
Props on resisting the urge to say “according to my research” in the Magic School Bus segment. XD
I love your podcast. I came to it when you featured Dr. Stukus on food allergies, as I have a kid with multiple life-threatening allergies and my husband follows Stukus on Twitter.
I enjoyed your show, #350, about the Ontario sex ed policy. Except when you said that it was unlikely for a homeschool kid to get a decent sex ed education, or any decent education at all, because parents hadn’t been trained. As an educated, secular homeschooled, I take some exception to that.
Both my five and three year old boys have a basic understanding of menstruation, sexual reproduction (although not sex), and that no one can touch their body without permission.
I taught my dyslexic son to read, and at 5, he can do algebra. I wouldn’t even say we are unusual. We are members of a homeschool co-op where parents are very dedicated to their kids getting an excellent education.
Research suggests that many homeschool kids do very well in college settings. My younger brother and sister, who were homeschooled, do just fine. My sister is pursuing her Ph.D, and my brother is a journeyman electrician in a highly coveted job with the railroad.
I don’t know much about the Canadian education system. As an American, I am not confident the system would work for my kids, but they seem to thrive at home.
Darren,
Thanks so much for the reply! That was a very interesting article you linked. I know there is a lot of misinformation out there, on both sides, about homeschooling.
When you are doing your research, you might not want to trust the HSLDA or any of their affiliated groups. They are extremists who seem to enjoy skewing and making up data to make homeschooling look even more impressive. Also, in the interest of presenting the whole picture, you might check out Homeschoolers Anonymous for some stories about how homeschooling can go terribly wrong.
I say this because I know, at least in the US, many people think ALL homeschoolers are religious nuts, sheltering their kids from the world and teaching them creationism instead of science. We aren’t. There is a growing secular homeschooling movement. But I also know that some awful things are done in some homeschool situations, and sometimes the homeschooling facilitates that.
Anyway, I will definitely keep listening, and look forward to hearing what you come up with if you decide to do a segment on the subject. You all do a very good job at being thorough and fair. (I enjoyed the segment about essential oils, especially as I have several friends who sell doTerra.)