I went to a school that taught science. Guess what? I was not good at it. My chemistry partner went on to be a dentist. My best friend in the class went on to major in Science Education. Our valedictorian went on to become a leading medical researcher--very well known in his field.

Guess what else? I went to a school in a state that questioned evolution. Do you know how it was handled? Teacher said: "I am going to teach you about different theories of creation." She spent a couple of minutes on Creationism, a few minutes on a few other things, and then proceeded to start the unit on Darwin and Evolution which went on for at least a week or so. (It's been a long time.)

What I am saying is that just because someone is smart, they can still be "weak" in Science. That does not mean no one taught it to them.

My first roommate in college came from a religious schooling background. She struggled tremendously in the required science classes that were part of every major, even the arts majors. I'm not talking Chemistry or even Physics, but Bio 101 with very basic concepts. Her Biology education prior to college was pretty much God created ___. Nothing evolved from something else; it was just created by God and then existed. One of her most fascinating theories was on dinosaurs: God did not create the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were savages created by Satan to ravage the earth. God caused the dinosaur's extinction so that he could then recreate a peaceful Earth and could create man. Also, the timeline for dinosaur's living on Earth is wrong according to her teaching.

She ended up going home after the fall semester and then applying to transfer to Trinity Christian College. She's now an elementary school teacher at a private Christian academy in the Virginia area... cultivating new generations of dinosaur-thruthers.

OP here.

For the record, I've gone on the MYOB track. Honestly, this was just a singular rant because a) the girl is genius smart and b) the mom is REALLY crazy. I won't give too many specifics, but for those of you who are thinking that I'm a troll: I'm not. I just think that for all of the arguments that women aren't going into the sciences because we're not biologically inclined to do so, there is a lot of other factors, including this instance. And it's frustrating, because she really is incredibly intelligent and could be the next Tesla based on what I've seen her do at her age.

And to be perfectly clear: my rant was about how she wants to raise this truly brilliant daughter of hers but as so many pointed out-- it's not my kid. The mom believes that the schools don't have enough religion because there is too much emphasis on science and math-- her words. And that's her choice as a mom. In the end, we all try to be the best moms we can be, come what may.

For those of you who told me your personal stories, thank you. You give me hope and perspective.

OP, I am curious if you feel the same way about Catholic schools. Also, what makes your school "highly regarded"? Have you compared test scores with the Baptist school's scores?

Anonymous wrote:Most women would prefer to sah and be married to a rich man. Rich men typically would like a sweet and caring wife, not a bull headed know it all arguing engineer.

This, if you are ugly study hard

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else here thing OP's real concern is that ANYONE would opt out of her "well regarded" public elementary? She's not really worried that this little girl is headed to Baptist school, just super defensive that anyone would look at (invariably W school feeder) elementary and decide it wasn't gon Tuesday enough.

How do YOU not see that you're just as judgmental as her then?

My niece and nephew are in a similar situation. SIL has a masters degree in education but can't get a decent teaching job because she went to religious schools that weren't accredited. (Pretty sure she went there for her MRS degree, which worked, because she met my brother.) And my niece, who is WAY more athletic than her brother, isn't allowed to wear shorts or pants, which pretty much rules out sports. Their school is so small that they have blended classrooms, sort of like a one-room schoolhouse with kids of all grades and abilities lumped together. Drives me nuts, but what can you do?

Are they extreme fundamentalists? I can see them wanting to shy away from science. Read Homeschoolers Anonymous.

My niece went to a Christian school. One of her teacher's told her Obama was a Muslim bent on destroying America. Of course, she questioned his competence, but didn't help her grade.

Anonymous wrote:It is a tragedy when children are forced to learn primitive superstitions in place of useful facts.Religion, particularly the American evangelical variety, is a blight on society.

Here's a list of some notable Christian scientists. I'm sure you'll recognize many of the names as they made significant contributions to the advancement of science. Reading the extremely abbreviated descriptions, it seems that many of these scientists' research was inspired by their faith.
Most do not list specific denominations.

While there were several that were identified as evangelicals, there was only one who was specifically identified as Baptist - Arthur Compton, who won the Nobel prize in physics. In fact, in the Wikipedia article, under the heading 1901-2000 A.D. (20th Century), it gives statistics showing that a sizeable majority of Nobel prizewinners identified themselves as Christians (percentages by prize subject are given).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology

I went to a Baptist school for 7th-12th grade (20ish yrs ago). It was my parents' choice. My education in the sciences was very weak. I had a good science teacher for one year out of 6--we learned equations, dissected animals, etc--I felt like I really knew something after that year. However, the other 5 years were a revolving door of poor teachers and/or substitutes (usually retired pastors with no science training). My physics teacher just had us build toothpick bridges every day. I had to try to teach myself physics. From a book. Pre-internet. Do you know how hard it is to be 17 and try to teach yourself physics from the one textbook you have?

I never felt science was an option in college because my background was so weak. I stuck to the liberal arts. Got a graduate degree. But I wish I could have had the option to pursue something in the sciences. It's pretty much all I read about in my spare time. I'm also now an atheist. I'd never send my kid to a Baptist school and I feel sorry for those who attend because their parents force them to.

Btw, I was high school valedictorian. Only a few of us ever made it out of that highly repressive world.

The girl will probably be OK as long as she can go to the library and read more or less what she wants.

Anonymous wrote:Most women would prefer to sah and be married to a rich man. Rich men typically would like a sweet and caring wife, not a bull headed know it all arguing engineer.

Really? Are you a woman? Are you Donald Trump or married to him? No thanks. I prefer not be be chattel. I prefer to be able to stand on my own two feet and make my own money so that I have a right to my own opinions. And I also happen to be a caring wife but I don't have to be for fear of losing my living.