Comments on teacherninja: Laetrile and Open Court

Thanks for the comment, Ed. I don't know if it wa...

2008-08-24T19:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the comment, Ed. I don't know if it was ever officially prescribed, but there were many people crossing borders to get their hands on some despite the spurious research.

I don't believe Laetrile was ever prescribed as a ...

2008-08-24T12:39:00.000-04:00

I don't believe Laetrile was ever prescribed as a cancer treatment. There were studies in the 1970's as well as tests on terminal patients. A co-worker of mine used Laetrile in once such study at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Studies concluded it was ineffective. That in no way invalidates the rest of your argument; however, opening with a false or misleading statement can make readers unfairly discredit the rest of what is said.

Thanks for the clarification and the comments. Ke...

2008-08-19T08:57:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the clarification and the comments. Keep up the great work!

Mathew is right:Both reviews simply say that there...

2008-08-19T01:54:00.000-04:00

Mathew is right:
Both reviews simply say that there is no evidence one way or the other. There is no evidence that Laetrile/Open Court are effective and no evidence that they are not effective, because controlled studies are not available. No evidence of harm or benefit.
I think both groups have a narrow view of science, by the way.
Steve Krashen

Exactly right. Exactly the same language used in ...

2008-08-18T19:36:00.000-04:00

Exactly right. Exactly the same language used in the Laetrile reports. Laetrile won't cause harm--it just won't cure cancer. Open Court won't hurt anyone--it just won't help them learn to read, either. Thanks for reading.

It's important to note that the study Krashen refe...

2008-08-18T13:45:00.000-04:00

It's important to note that the study Krashen references does NOT say that Open Court is ineffective...it says that there isn't enough evidence to conclude that it is either effective or ineffective.