@Gratefulmom

People who disagree with science generally don't come out so well in the end--see anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers, etc. I'd change my mind about these kindergartens if there were solid science behind them.

And if you look into it, you'll see there is very little good science to support this style of kindergarten (i.e. the sample sizes are small, no case studies or longitudinal studies, studies rely heavily on self-reporting of either parents and children, etc.) whereas there is a lot of well done research that shows the lifelong benefits of "traditional" pre-schooling (i.e. longitudinal studies that show demonstrable effects even after controlling for external factors).

I would love to see a well thought out longitudinal study that compares how the outdoor kindergarteners fair against those from traditional classrooms but unfortunately the only research I could find compared the outdoor kids to kids who had never been to kindergarten at all.

And of course comparing kids who went to any sort of kindergarten to kids who haven't is going to favor the kindergarten kids if you're looking at things like social skills, ability to take direction from adults, etc. (which is exactly what the studies done on the outdoor kindergartens do).

So it's not about disagreeing with you so much as it is not finding any evidence that this style of pre-school is better than going to a traditional preschool that includes a healthy amount of outdoor playtime (at least 1 to 2 hours a day if not more).

@Gratefulmom

Hey, if parents want to send their kids to a completely unregulated daycare where the "education" is having kids swing sticks around in the rain and -20 degree weather, that's their choice (though it sounds to me more like ancient Sparta than a modern Kindergarten).

As for me, on the other hand, I prefer my daughter get the scientifically proven lifelong benefits of a proper preschool education. See this book for an example of the scientific evidence I'm talking about.

All the science I've seen on kids playing outdoors (including that on outdoor kindergartens: see for example this article) shows that around 1-2 hours a day outside is enough to see significant results. My daughter gets at least that much in the park after kindergarten most days when the weather is nice, so I'm not so worried about her development.

Yeeeeaaaah... this looks like more of a glorified daycamp than a kindergarten to me. My daughter is in a "traditional" bilingual kindergarten now and she's already learned her colors, shapes, letters, and numbers in both languages. They've just started learning to spell and do basic addition and subtraction. She also learned how to use the school computers to surf the Net--approved sites only of course, so don't expect her to be Sifting anything anytime soon! Oh, and she LOVES school. The "pedagogue" who says kids that young aren't ready to learn is full of shit. My daughter comes home from school wanting to practice counting and spelling every day.

I think I prefer that kind of education for her future than how to climb tall trees (though I guess that kind of skill might come in handy if we have a Walking Dead-style zombie apocalypse).

And no one formally checks on these kindergartens to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing? Fuck that. Sounds like pedophile paradise to me.

So basically this is a technical/vocational school.

It's great that they're embracing the constructivist/constructionist approach to education (i.e. experiential learning through project-based education) but they aren't fulfilling the most important role that universities in the U.S. serve--providing a well-rounded liberal arts education that ensures students have a decent foundation in a bit of everything (arts, literature, maths, sciences, and physical education). University differs from a vocational school in that it isn't supposed to be preparing you for a particular job--it's preparing you to be a (hopefully) better human being.

I'd also be concerned about the fact that the people who attend this school only ever interact with other techies. Another big part of the university experience is to bring you in contact with people of incredibly diverse backgrounds, interests, opinions, and ideas. This experience hopefully gets you to question your own beliefs and ideals and expand both your social circle and your mind.

That all said, college isn't for everybody and I have friends without college degrees (in the tech industry) who do just fine. If you know you really want to be a programmer and you just want to get out there and start making stuff then a program like this might be good for you.

Don't you have to check to make sure the airway is clear first before doing the rescue breath? It's been a while since my lifeguard training days, but we were told to check to make sure there was nothing (half-swallowed seaweed, vomit, etc.) obstructing before we began.

See, I can't understand this mentality. He knew the cops in his area were both poorly trained and stupid and set out to prove it. He did a fucking public service and didn't inconvenience anyone else in the process.

But people like you are going to criticize him rather than the cops who don't know how to do their own fucking jobs. Seriously, wtf?

*promote yet another example of how fucked up the American police system is.

Thanks for the promote!

Thanks for the quality!

Thanks for the promote!

Dude, don't forget to vote for your own video!

http://videosift.com/video/Stephen-Colbert-appears-to-host-Monroe-MI-public-access

We broke away from the British Empire primarily because of taxation without representation and now here we are some 200 odd years later doing the same exact thing to our own territories.

The American government has no sense of irony, apparently.

Whether he had one or not is irrelevant. The studies that were done on those who actually did have them later in life showed that it usually had either no effect on sex or actually improved it unless complications developed from the procedure (see the American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Technical Report on Circumcision).

The benefits of newborn circumcisions are well-documented at this point (see for example the Mayo clinic's most recent report on the topic.) We know it also can reduce the risk of HIV infection in at risk populations.

Basically, if it does no harm and can actually have benefits, it's a valid medical procedure regardless of whether parents are choosing to do it for religious reasons or not.

Of course, should future research actually prove the risks outweigh the benefits then it should be stopped. We need to base these decisions on the medical evidence and not on our cultural prejudices.