Review: Flat Earth? Round Earth?
By AtheistDad
of AtheistParents.org
If key people throughout history hadn't dug deep into their critical thinking skills, our experience of the world would be vastly different than what we now know. Alchemy and astrology might still prevail as respected disciplines, and theories that now seem bizarre to most of us -- the young earth theory, for example, or the notion that the earth is flat -- might never have been deemed bogus.
It is this last bogus theory that concerns Theresa Martin's protagonist in Flat Earth? Round Earth?, and if the world is as full of children as reasonable and precocious as her Nathan, then we can look forward to another generation rife with innovation and level-headed consideration of our current body of knowledge. Martin places Nathan and classmate Stan in a science class, where they are making models of the earth with clay. Stan flattens his earth, and a debate ensues. Again and again, Stan knocks down Nathan's rational arguments with plausible, if not probable, rebuttals that share no common ground. Ultimately, Stan remains unconvinced that the earth is round. Nathan walks away a winner, however, having confirmed through critical thinking and cohesive arguments his acceptance of the common knowledge that the earth is round.
Flat Earth? Round Earth? demonstrates the dialectic process, showing children how to process observations to form complex ideas about how things work. Illustrations include diagrams and tables drawn during the debate and really do serve to illustrate or illuminate some of the story's points. Billed as a book for children ages 7 and up, Flat Earth? Round Earth? has intellectual expectations -- in both the sophistication of the argument and the prose itself -- that are probably aimed toward the higher end of that demographic. Parents of younger children should sit down with their children to read the book. Luckily, it's as appealing a read for adults as for children.
In a world that often seems deficient in critical thought among its young people, a book like Martin's is a must-read for children in a position to develop solid critical thinking skills.
Book Specifications
54 pages
Black and white illustrations throughout
Paperback $12
ISBN 1-57392-988-3
Publication: 2002, Prometheus Books
By AtheistDad
of AtheistParents.org
| ||
| ||
|
It is this last bogus theory that concerns Theresa Martin's protagonist in Flat Earth? Round Earth?, and if the world is as full of children as reasonable and precocious as her Nathan, then we can look forward to another generation rife with innovation and level-headed consideration of our current body of knowledge. Martin places Nathan and classmate Stan in a science class, where they are making models of the earth with clay. Stan flattens his earth, and a debate ensues. Again and again, Stan knocks down Nathan's rational arguments with plausible, if not probable, rebuttals that share no common ground. Ultimately, Stan remains unconvinced that the earth is round. Nathan walks away a winner, however, having confirmed through critical thinking and cohesive arguments his acceptance of the common knowledge that the earth is round.
Flat Earth? Round Earth? demonstrates the dialectic process, showing children how to process observations to form complex ideas about how things work. Illustrations include diagrams and tables drawn during the debate and really do serve to illustrate or illuminate some of the story's points. Billed as a book for children ages 7 and up, Flat Earth? Round Earth? has intellectual expectations -- in both the sophistication of the argument and the prose itself -- that are probably aimed toward the higher end of that demographic. Parents of younger children should sit down with their children to read the book. Luckily, it's as appealing a read for adults as for children.
In a world that often seems deficient in critical thought among its young people, a book like Martin's is a must-read for children in a position to develop solid critical thinking skills.
Book Specifications
54 pages
Black and white illustrations throughout
Paperback $12
ISBN 1-57392-988-3
Publication: 2002, Prometheus Books
November 17, 2002