Comment by ReallyOldLurker | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ReallyOldLurker | Hacker News Reader

ReallyOldLurker

I'm not surprised at the rise in homeschooling.

When you have anti-education groups like the Oregon Department of Education [1] running the public school system, any parent that cares and can make the effort should remove their child from public schooling.

This semester they switched my son from high-school chemistry to "environmental science". I asked him, "is oxygen flammable?" He couldn't answer. I looked at the content of the so called environmental science. Its really just a repeat of some basic biology material that he covered last year and lots of politics on pollution and climate change.

[1] https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/10/oregon-again-sa...

Is oxygen flammable? I’m pretty well-educated and that question gave me pause. I know oxygen is involved in the combustion process, so I think the answer is yes, oxygen is flammable. That feels like a trick question though.

It is a tricky question, especially if you don't remember the precise definition of combustible/flammable. I believe only the fuel (the thing getting oxidized) in the reaction is considered combustible/flammable, not the oxidizing agent. So oxygen isn't flammable.

I imagine GGP would accept "what we call combustion is an exothermic (hence, fire is hot) redox reaction. Oxygen is a common oxidizing agent (hence, 'oxidation')" as an answer, and the point being made wasn't about the trivia around exact word usage.

Running away from the problem will only make it worse.

Implying "instead of path B, which is good for your child, do path A, which is bad for your child, to prevent A from becoming an even worse option?"

“Sacrifice your child for the greater good of society!”

Will it though? The pilgrims ran away from Britain with unashamed success. Running away turned them from oppressed minority group to the founding members of the richest, most prosperous, strongest society on the face of the earth

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