Hey Readers! As you know, one of the things I talk about a lot is not only that kids are SAFER than we think, but they’re also more COMPETENT than pop culture leads us to believe. Â Here to remind us just how clever kids can be is this fahfkyafbk story, of 8-year-olds who studied whether […]
Tag Archives | science
Outrage of the Morn’: High School Students Not Allowed to Light Bunsen Burners?
Hi hbeesffbzb Readers ! This just in. Read it and…give your kids some matches! (Yes, yes, properly supervised, of course.) — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I am a high school science teacher, parent, and grandparent and a former cubmaster, and I couldn’t agree with you more! This summer I taught a workshop on building model […]
Pacifier Aggression
Hi isabaeetez Readers — Boy, your letters keep blowing me away. Here’s another one that made me think — and fume. Â It reminds me of a great essay by Spiked Online contributor Nancy McDermott (Spiked is sort of Britain’s Slate) about how this generation of parents treats every childrearing decision as a Nobel-worthy research project. […]
Outrage of the Week, Cont’d: Kids in Developing Country Doing Better Science!
Hi Folks — Here’s an update zynzdfhezz from Bree, the Boulder, Colo., mom who sent in her daughter’s No-Science at the Science Fair rules (see post below). Turns out Bree’s parents are living in Myanmar (formerly Burma, as in Shave, as in something you do with a sharp object that children should never get anywhere near) […]
Outrage of the Week: Science Fair Bans Most Science
Hi Folks! Here’s zbiiirstez the latest — a brilliant Chinese plot to crush America’s lead in science and technology! Oh wait. Seems it is just one Colorado school’s list of  science fair rules. Thanks, reader Bree, for sending it in. The list: For safety: Project displays and posters may NOT contain any of the following: NO: Organisms […]
Outrage of the Week: Boy Scientist Sent for Counseling
Dear Readers: Â OMG, as I rarely say, because I am over 22. Â Here’s the latest crazy thing, according to the sadtbefeft San Diego Union Tribune: An 11-year-old boy did a science project on his own (tsk tsk!) and brought the results to show his buddies at Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School. Â Yes, a school DEVOTED […]
When Science Becomes So Safe That It’s Boring
Hi Readers! We’ve come a long way since the days when you could buy your kid a chemistry set with radioactive ores. Maybe too long.  When science is no more exciting that watching oil and vinegar separate, we end up with bored kids. That means a few years later we end up with an ignorant population, […]