Skeptical Books for Children - Part Two

Jump to Comments

Following on from Skeptical Books for Children - Part One:

My comment that “we have to stop trying so hard to fill a niche and fill a general need first” is what I’ll expand upon - in particular for the pre-primary and primary year students.

I’d like to first acknowledge the problems that some parents face in places around the world - not being able to get books that are well-written, uncertain of what suits, the cost factor and even the following quandary which was posed online:

I cannot find a single Dawkins or Hitchens book in any store in my city - I ask and I have been told at some stockists that they will not get them - will not order nor feature them on their shelves.

As I demonstrated in my earlier post, we also face texts which openly touting credulous theories like those by Rupert Sheldrake, or even the dismay upon discovering that James Randi wrote a foreword for a book that gives paranormal explanations for crop circles in 2007. So, what can we do?

I’d like to use this post to focus on the needs of younger children - blog authors like Skep/Dad, BradGarten and the new site Skeptical Family with their assorted offshoot blogs are examples of young families trying to make a difference and network. The Skeptic’s Dictionary site also has selections for younger children and book recommendations - the Young Thinkers Page. Of course by now, we would be regular subscribers to the Junior Skeptic - but what else can you do to encourage a love of the scientific method in young children?

I will at the conclusion of this post, list several authors that in my mind, are worth checking out. They are texts which, as I keep noticing, may NOT be available for people worldwide. They are sometimes out of print or you may face the situation that the author of the earlier quote does - that they can’t be acquired at all for various reasons.

So - what do you do? Start by simply focusing on the basics.

It’s something that I’ve seen repeated again and again in terms of encouraging basic literacy, not just science literacy for the pre-primary ages. Encourage a love of books. Encourage a love of print, of visuals and questioning those visuals. Read aloud, read with, discuss the pictures and allow exploration.

Literacy is the core of learning. It is one of the linch-pins of how we garner information; is the basis of assignments and papers throughout life and one of the many predictors of poor academic performance in a child’s future is poor literacy levels in primary school.

The enjoyment of books needs to be fostered early and involve those which tend towards real depictions of the world as well as fantasy. Book aversion, with the social stigma of the ‘bespectacled nerd’ still exists and counseling and reassurance will be necessary especially if there is a medical condition like dyslexia involved.

Age-appropriatenesses in terms of language and theme is certainly important. There has been a lot of recent research into literacy and boys, for example, which encourages ‘the thrill factor’. This can be found in non-fiction texts and through encouraging excursions that reflect the wonder of science.

For me, when I was very young, it was the Atlas, TIME Life books and Childcraft books. Many of these sorts of texts have become superseded by the internet now. But you can still get quarto-size books which discuss the straight-forward scientific side of the world, without heading into credulous topics.

So - the solution is build a childhood that features enjoying books. Encourage a love of colour, visuals, discussion of the printed word and allow children to make links the next time they go to the museum because ‘they’ve seen that in a book they have at home’.

You can find good books out there which do have a grounding in good research. Books on Astronomy, which don’t acknowledge astrology; Geology without crystal healing; the body without saying that psychic powers are true and animal facts on dogs, cats, insects, dinosaurs and birds which don’t involve creationist claims. They’ll be in the second-hand store too - a book that might be slightly out of date which features bold, colorful illustrations and accurate information at least can allow for further research to fill in the developments since its publication date.

You know what ALWAYS seemed to get my students rallying around the library shelves, when they were resistant readers? The Guinness Book of World Records. Big, bright, colourful, picture-filled and demonstrates that you have to prove your claim in order to get listed. A great resource and certainly something to encourage in terms of seeing a book as good factual fun.

As mentioned previously, I have investigated several bookstores and have revisited them since my last post, with a focus on finding early-years texts. And it’s tough. We’re just not going to find ‘Baby’s First Scientific Method Book’. There’s no ‘Ethel the Aardvark Goes Debunking Dowsing‘.

To be brutally frank, I think we’re asking too much for too early if we have that attitude. I have found some texts which are enjoyable and aimed at the younger years, but we are outnumbered by so much. Despite the fact that even the likes of Dr Stephen and Lucy Hawking contributing to literature with their children’s book “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” - it’s just a drop in the ocean. We’re not in the Diamond Age… yet.

As you can see, this is in no way to discourage fiction books or even books which openly discuss myths and legends, fantasy and horror. These will always have a place in children’s lives and can encourage discussion of the difference between fact and fantasy. Considering the great number of interactive pop-up and folding books (particularly the very popular ‘-Ology’ books, which were being picked up by parents at every bookstore I was in), we can only see this as an encouraging sign that the printed word is still appreciated! Books which teach magic tricks, origami and general puzzles should naturally be encouraged and a great way to encourage an interest in skepticism, illusion, mathematics and geometry.

So - for the nice shiny books that you pick up that look interesting, always take the time and check through index, see if there’s a bibliography and note (as in my earlier post) that big publishers can get it wrong sometimes. But with science-based texts that openly base their reputation as a guide to Astronomy, Geology and the like, it’s less likely they’ll sneak in odd claims.

I know that Skeptic.com’s Dr Michael Shermer has written about the younger years in books like ‘Teach Your Child Math’ (now out of print):

…the problem, as we see it, lies in both the quality of teaching and in the timing of teaching, which we believe must begin early, at home, as the Japanese have already figured out. It has been reported that more than 80 percent of Japanese children learn to read, write and count before they even begin elementary school… as the leading math educators emphasize, this process must begin at home… you can give your child a giant head start… by teaching your child the basics at home, not only before he or she begins school, but during it as well. Education is an ongoing process, and the statistics of numerous studies tell us it is unqise to rely on the public school system for your child’s education.

Of course, reading doesn’t occur in a sterile environment - I would certainly like to encourage documentaries as being a great compliment to reading and in a modern world that actively promotes visual literacy, it’s actually become a lot easier to find them. Documentary viewing is ‘in vogue’ and funnily enough it’s mostly thanks to the rather biased creations of Michael Moore!

The Mythbusters is a natural in this case, of course, with their shows on TV. Take advantage of the release of documentaries like the recent The Shadow of the Moon, about the Apollo 11 landing, for example. A great many documentaries are now available on DVD for hire or sale, including Richard Dawkins ‘Growing Up in the Universe’ and the wonderful David Attenborough films.

Note that YouTube has people uploading documentaries for free in parts and The TANK Vodcast is just another example of concerned skeptics choosing to make kid-friendly shows available for free. ABC’s Sleek Geeks have all of their eps online too. Don’t forget that MIT Open Courseware is promoting their free online courses, including these ones aimed at high schoolers! Good for extension work, homeschoolers and certainly well worth listening to for yourself!

Indeed, much of what is shown in the highly successful Primary Connections teaching and learning model (Australian Academy of Science, 2005) can be emulated at a young age, such as the following elements:

Engage - engage and elicit prior knowledge; Explore - provide hands-on experience of the phenomenon; Explain - develop science explanations for experiences and represenations of developing understandings; Elaborate - extend understandings to a new context or make connections to additional concepts through student planned investigations; Evaluate - re-represent understandings, reflect on learning journey and collect evidence about achievement of investigating outcomes.

It’s more important to get an environment that fosters learning and literacy first - the rest merely builds upon what is established, because they’re not afraid to question and get into enjoying finding out things from the start.

By the way, if you’re a ‘Skeptic Dad’ yourself - you might like to check out this call for contributions at the Skep/Dad blog.

Continue onto Part Three.

Book / Author Recommendations:

Dan Barker - Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide for Young Skeptics (ages 6 and up)
Bill Nye
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki - all ages
Ray Spangenburg and Kit Moser
Ellen Jackson - The Tree of Life : The Wonders of Evolution by Ellen Jackson (4-8 yrs)
Diane Swanson - Nibbling on Einstein’s Brain: The Good, the Bad and the Bogus in Science (ages 9-12); Turn it Loose - The Scientist in Absolutely Everybody (ages 7 to 12).
John Gribbin - Dazzling Discoveries (ages 10-12).
Lynne Kelly - The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal (ages 10-15).
Tim Yule and Keith Baxter - Sasquatches from Outer Space : Exploring the Weirdest Mysteries Ever by Tim Yule, Keith Baxter (ages 9-13).
Philip J Klass - Bringing UFOs Down to Earth (ages 9-12).
Joe Nickell - Wonder-Workers! How They Perform the Impossible by Joe Nickell (ages 9-14); The Real Life X-Files and its sequel (ages 10-12)
Hyman Ruchlis How Do You Know It’s True? : Discovering the Difference Between Science and Superstition (ages 12-15)
Nathaniel Schiffman - Abracadabra! : Secret Methods Magicians & Others Use to Deceive Their Audience (ages 10-13).

References:

Black, P. (1993) ‘The purpose of science education’, in Whitelegg, W., Elizabeth, L.,Thomas, J. (eds.) Challenges and Opportunities for Science Education, London: Paul Chapman Pub.

Hawkes, T. 2001, Boy Oh Boy: How to Raise and Educate Boys. Pearson Education Australia, Sydney

Hackling, M.W. and Prain, V. (2005) Primary Connections: Stage 2 Research Report. Canberra: Australian Academy of Science. (Available at www.science.org.au/reports/pcreport1.pdf)

Costa, L. A., Ballanca, J. & Fogarty, R. (Eds.) (1993). If Minds Matter: A Foreword to the Future, Volume II (101-116). Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight Publishing, Inc.

9 Comments

Filed under All About Me, Challenges to Science, Cool stuff, Education, Literature, Media, Paranormal, Parenting, Pseudoscience, Psychology, Science, Science fiction, Skepticism, Technology, You Tube

Tags: blogs, books, Children, documentaries, Education, Ethel the Aardvark, Junior Skeptic, kids, literacy, Michael Shermer, MIT Open Courseware, online, reading, recommendations, Shadow of the Moon, Skepticism, Skeptics dictionary, Stephen Hawking, texts, YouTube