The NEW "Bible Teach" book

by Oubliette 50 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Oubliette

  Barrold: So it's really not surprising at all that the book is aimed at a low reading level.

  True, but the old Bible Teach book was not significantly higher. When I ran the opening paragraphs from it through the same reading level analysis software it only scored one grade level higher.

  This organization has absolutely NO materials designed to challenge an individuals thinking ability or satisfy a desire for deeper meaning and understanding. They used to have publications that at least appeared to do this, but those days are long gone. (For example, Crazy Freddie Franz' ideas were whacky and wrong, but at least they were interesting and as intellectually stimulating as a piece of good fiction).
  

  Please also see my comments in the post immediately ^^^^^ above.
  
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  Olivia Wilde

  I honestly believe they are going "lower in their simplified" versions of literature to avoid "independent thinking".... It makes sense the more "simplified spiritual food" the more stupid they want to keep us and it avoids good level smart individuals to "question" anything or do smart thinking and they want to avoid and not give room for people to think beyond what is printed.

  I believe that is why they will do away with the weekly bible reading to stop having people "express their own thoughts in the weekly bible reading of scriptures" in the TMS meetings. If i read it correctly with the new changes of this meeting this "wordbook" the letter reference talked abut questions being raised of the weekly bible reading and so you can find the answers. This is a perfect indication that no more freely "interpretting the scriptures" for yourself.... I commented a few times preparing my comments and all of a sudden I didn't get called anymore, hmmmm .... I found it very odd I don't get called on, now i don't raise my hand. I think they caught on, hey don't blame me I was trying to do some TTAT with my comments jejejejejeje
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  GrreatTeacher

  Thanks for the cool resource, Oubliette. I still think 5th grade reading level is a little optimistic. Reading for the 5th grade classes I have taught was more advanced than JW literature.
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  Village Idiot

  I pasted the URL for the first chapter and this is what came out:

  Readability Formula	Grade
  Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level	3
  Gunning-Fog Score	3.5
  Coleman-Liau Index	9.6
  SMOG Index	4
  Automated Readability Index	1.1
  Average Grade Level	4.2

  Text Statistics

  Character Count	5,006
  Syllable Count	1,661
  Word Count	1,159
  Sentence Count	262
  Characters per Word	4.3
  Syllables per Word	1.4
  Words per Sentence	4.4
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  Oubliette

  Grreat Teacher: I still think 5th grade reading level is a little optimistic. Reading for the 5th grade classes I have taught was more advanced than JW literature.

  I agree.

  However, this is our subjective opinion, albeit one informed by years of classroom experience as teachers working with real curriculum. This is why I used these AI analytical tools to score the reading level of this new "Bible education" tool. It is completely objective and no one can accuse me of bias.
  

  Another point I'd like to address in response to your comment as a professional educator: Even 5th graders can be taught emergent critical thinking skills. There is obviously none of that in any WT literature.
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  Oubliette

  Good job, VI!
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  OrphanCrow

  I think that the WTS is targeting ESL congregations with their "simplified" versions of the WT literature.

  A grade 4 or 5 reading level is common in adult ESL classes for introductory level English. The WTS is passing themselves off as an organization that promotes "literacy".
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  lurkernomore

  It all makes sense to me now!!! I found myself completely switching off at meetings for a good 3 years before encountering TTATT. I couldn't put my finger on why I didn't feel the same zeal for going out in service and why I couldn't be arsed to answer at meetings for months at a time.

  I would always get over excited when coming home from meetings (yes i was a grown man at this stage) and it used to drive my wife crazy, but there simply hasn't been any mental stimulation there for a loooong time now.

  The only people being enticed into the cult locally have been, let's say, the more cognitively challenged individuals in the territory... doesn't say much for their 'teaching program'.
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  TheOldHippie

  It's not the "old" TEACH book, oubliette - it's still the one to use. The new book is for those with limited capacity, and therefore it is no wonder it is written the way it is written. I don't see how you can critisize a book for those with learning difficulties to be written in a not-too-academic way.
  
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  GrreatTeacher

  So, I decided to use the readability index on a page from the children's picturebook entitled, "Stellaluna." It's the story of a baby fruit bat who loses her mother and is raised by birds. It's popular this time of year because of the bat - Halloween connection.

  This is something I would read to kindergarteners or first graders. Keep in mind that they have the ability to access text that is read to them before they can actually read ( decode) the words. If I were teaching the text for decoding, this would be about 3rd grade level.

  Here is one page that I typed into the readability calculator. Make a guess as to the reading level.

  "One night, as Mother Bat followed the heavy scent of ripe fruit, an owl spied her. On silent wings the powerful bird swooped down upon the bats. Dodging and shrieking, Mother Bat tried to escape, but the owl struck again and again, knocking Stellaluna into the air. Her baby wings were as limp and useless as wet paper. Down, down she went, faster and faster, into the forest below."

  Make a guess as to the grade level? Grade 6.0! I think these scores dramatically overestimate the difficulty of these texts! Just think, folks, this text from a children's picturebook has more difficult text than the Bible Teach book!

  Interestingly, the one index that measured grade 3.2 and seems to be the most accurate to me is called the SMOG index. What does that stand for? The Standard Measure of Gobbledygook! Not kidding!

  * source: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, 1993. Please see the book to find out whether Stellaluna and Mother Bat were ever reunited!