This is a large carnival. There are almost fifty entries!
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Heart of the Matter Online.
This is a large carnival. There are almost fifty entries!
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
This is a large carnival. There are almost fifty entries!
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Monday, September 28, 2009
A morbid reason to homeschool
Over the years Janine and I have written about dozens of reasons to homeschool. As we wrote in our Introduction to Homeschooling:
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A recent survey, by the Department of Education, found that about 85% of homeschooling parents were concerned about the environment of public schools. This ranged worries about safety from bullies, to gangs, to drugs, and so on. A second major reason, for 72% of the parents, was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction. The third major reason, 68%, was dissatisfaction with academic instruction at public schools.
There are also many, many more reasons. Some homeschool so their child can be in the movies. Some homeschool because it is hard to get rid of bad public school teachers. Others homeschool because of the father's work schedule. I know some parents homeschool to avoid assignments like researching internet porn. The reasons go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.
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Today I thought of a new reason to homeschool. It is a bit morbid. The reason came to me while I was having lunch with a good friend.
My friend's grandmother, living in another state, had recently died. She appears to have passed away peacefully at 101. She was mentally sharp and physically active up until the end. (That is my goal, to reach 100 mentally sharp and physically active.)
My friend said it was a good experience to get together with his sister and their cousins. They helped clean out some of the house and talked about memories. My friend had taken his children for the funeral, but then took them back home so they won't miss much school. He is going back this Thursday to help clean out the rest of the house over the weekend. His children will stay in school.
During lunch I thought about what a missed opportunity for his children. My friend will be on the road for most of Thursday. They could have dad all to themselves. They could chat about what is on their minds. He could share some of his best memories about their great grandmother. It could be a real bonding trip.
Then at his grandmother's house his children could have gotten to know their aunts and uncles better. Working together is a real bonding experience. And again treasured memories would be shared.
As it is they will be stuck in school learning merely academic topics. They'll miss out on some real meaningful lessons, life lessons about how a woman lived a great life and the influence she had on generations.
This is not a major reason for homeschooling, but I am glad that when my family members die, hopefully many years in the future, my children will be able to be more involved in the mourning process, and learn to a deeper level lessons from the death of a loved one.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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A recent survey, by the Department of Education, found that about 85% of homeschooling parents were concerned about the environment of public schools. This ranged worries about safety from bullies, to gangs, to drugs, and so on. A second major reason, for 72% of the parents, was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction. The third major reason, 68%, was dissatisfaction with academic instruction at public schools.
There are also many, many more reasons. Some homeschool so their child can be in the movies. Some homeschool because it is hard to get rid of bad public school teachers. Others homeschool because of the father's work schedule. I know some parents homeschool to avoid assignments like researching internet porn. The reasons go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.
----------
Today I thought of a new reason to homeschool. It is a bit morbid. The reason came to me while I was having lunch with a good friend.
My friend's grandmother, living in another state, had recently died. She appears to have passed away peacefully at 101. She was mentally sharp and physically active up until the end. (That is my goal, to reach 100 mentally sharp and physically active.)
My friend said it was a good experience to get together with his sister and their cousins. They helped clean out some of the house and talked about memories. My friend had taken his children for the funeral, but then took them back home so they won't miss much school. He is going back this Thursday to help clean out the rest of the house over the weekend. His children will stay in school.
During lunch I thought about what a missed opportunity for his children. My friend will be on the road for most of Thursday. They could have dad all to themselves. They could chat about what is on their minds. He could share some of his best memories about their great grandmother. It could be a real bonding trip.
Then at his grandmother's house his children could have gotten to know their aunts and uncles better. Working together is a real bonding experience. And again treasured memories would be shared.
As it is they will be stuck in school learning merely academic topics. They'll miss out on some real meaningful lessons, life lessons about how a woman lived a great life and the influence she had on generations.
This is not a major reason for homeschooling, but I am glad that when my family members die, hopefully many years in the future, my children will be able to be more involved in the mourning process, and learn to a deeper level lessons from the death of a loved one.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The Obama Song
I saw this news clip today. It pretty creepy.
I have no problem with respect for the office of president, but I'm guessing that these children will be taught nothing about the amazing things George Washington did for our country. And the school wouldn't dream of teaching that level of adoration for one of the founding fathers.
Here's a news report.
This comes on the heals of yet another suggested and soon to be mandated educational reform.
Obama Seeks to Lengthen School Year
Call me cynical, but I think it has more to do with more money, power and indoctrinating the next generation into the new world order than academic performance.
Of course, with all those children in school for longer hours and more days, homeschoolers will have that much more the advantage.
Think of the possibilities: less competition for teen jobs, shorter lines at amusement parks and museums, and quieter at the library in the afternoon.
The down side is that we will get stuck yet again, picking up the tab toincarcerate educated everyone else's kids.
Note: Spunky has some great behind the scenes info and updates about the Obama song here.
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Related Tags: Longer school days, indoctrination, public school, Obama
I have no problem with respect for the office of president, but I'm guessing that these children will be taught nothing about the amazing things George Washington did for our country. And the school wouldn't dream of teaching that level of adoration for one of the founding fathers.
Here's a news report.
This comes on the heals of yet another suggested and soon to be mandated educational reform.
Obama Seeks to Lengthen School Year
Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.
Call me cynical, but I think it has more to do with more money, power and indoctrinating the next generation into the new world order than academic performance.
Of course, with all those children in school for longer hours and more days, homeschoolers will have that much more the advantage.
Think of the possibilities: less competition for teen jobs, shorter lines at amusement parks and museums, and quieter at the library in the afternoon.
The down side is that we will get stuck yet again, picking up the tab to
Note: Spunky has some great behind the scenes info and updates about the Obama song here.
------------------
Related Tags: Longer school days, indoctrination, public school, Obama
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
This is the weekly reminder to send in your entry for the next Carnival of Homeschooling.
The Carnival of Homeschooling at be hosted at Heart of the Matter Online
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
The Carnival of Homeschooling at be hosted at Heart of the Matter Online
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Friday, September 25, 2009
Are learning styles valid?
Author and Professor Dr. Daniel T. Willingham says Student "Learning Styles" Theory Is Bunk:
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The Big Idea behind learning styles is that kids vary in how they learn: Some learn best by looking (visual learners), some by listening (auditory learners), and some by manipulating things (kinesthetic learners).
According to the theory, if we know what sort of a learner a child is, we can optimize his or her learning by presenting material the way that they like.
The prediction is straightforward: Kids learn better when they are taught in a way that matches their learning style than when they are taught in a way that doesn’t.
That’s a straightforward prediction.
The data are straightforward too: It doesn’t work.
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I don't really have an opinion. I know some people swear by it. Janine and I don't try to taylor the education process to each child.
I thought Dr. Willingham's video was also interesting:
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
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Technorati tags: learning styles, parenting, children, education
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The Big Idea behind learning styles is that kids vary in how they learn: Some learn best by looking (visual learners), some by listening (auditory learners), and some by manipulating things (kinesthetic learners).
According to the theory, if we know what sort of a learner a child is, we can optimize his or her learning by presenting material the way that they like.
The prediction is straightforward: Kids learn better when they are taught in a way that matches their learning style than when they are taught in a way that doesn’t.
That’s a straightforward prediction.
The data are straightforward too: It doesn’t work.
----------
I don't really have an opinion. I know some people swear by it. Janine and I don't try to taylor the education process to each child.
I thought Dr. Willingham's video was also interesting:
(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)
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Technorati tags: learning styles, parenting, children, education
A thought on bravery from J.K. Rowling
A caution on rushing to conclusions
A decade ago many poor parents were accused of killing their young babies by shaking them to death. This was called the "Shaken Baby Syndrome." There is now evidence that many parents found guilty may in fact be innocent.
A Shake to the System reports:
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In January 2008, a Wisconsin appeals court granted a new trial to Audrey Edmunds, a 45-year-old woman who had been sentenced in 1995 to 18 years in prison for murdering Natalie Beard, an infant in her care. The ruling was significant, because medical experts said Beard died as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), a diagnosis that grew increasingly common in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Wisconsin appellate court was the first in the country to recognize increasing doubts about the reliability of SBS diagnoses.
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My heart goes out to the parents who were hit with a double whammy of first losing their child, and then being unfairly condemned by society.
This is a great reminder that we need to be cautious about getting caught up in hysteria and rushing to verdicts.
(Hat tip: Hacker News)
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Technorati tags: Shaken, Baby, Syndrome
A Shake to the System reports:
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In January 2008, a Wisconsin appeals court granted a new trial to Audrey Edmunds, a 45-year-old woman who had been sentenced in 1995 to 18 years in prison for murdering Natalie Beard, an infant in her care. The ruling was significant, because medical experts said Beard died as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), a diagnosis that grew increasingly common in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Wisconsin appellate court was the first in the country to recognize increasing doubts about the reliability of SBS diagnoses.
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My heart goes out to the parents who were hit with a double whammy of first losing their child, and then being unfairly condemned by society.
This is a great reminder that we need to be cautious about getting caught up in hysteria and rushing to verdicts.
(Hat tip: Hacker News)
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Technorati tags: Shaken, Baby, Syndrome
Interesting thought on talent
From Dan Galvin's Thought For The Day mailing list:
Another example of what might help define talent takes us back to Polyclitus, the famous sculptor in ancient Greece. Polyclitus, it is said, once sculpted two statues at the same time: one in his living room, in public view, and one in his bedroom, which he worked on privately and kept wrapped in a tarpaulin. When visitors came by, they would comment on the public work, saying, "The eyes aren't quite right" or "That thigh is too long," and Polyclitus would incorporate their suggestions. All the while, however, he kept the other statue a secret. Both works were completed at about the same time and were mounted in the city square in Athens. The statue that had been designed by committee was openly mocked and ridiculed. The statue he'd done by himself was immediately proclaimed a transcendental work of art. People asked Polyclitus, "How can one statue be so good and the other so bad?" And Polyclitus answered, "Because I did this one and you did that one."
-Kinky Friedman
Texas Monthly
November, 2003
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Technorati tags: talent, Polyclitus
Another example of what might help define talent takes us back to Polyclitus, the famous sculptor in ancient Greece. Polyclitus, it is said, once sculpted two statues at the same time: one in his living room, in public view, and one in his bedroom, which he worked on privately and kept wrapped in a tarpaulin. When visitors came by, they would comment on the public work, saying, "The eyes aren't quite right" or "That thigh is too long," and Polyclitus would incorporate their suggestions. All the while, however, he kept the other statue a secret. Both works were completed at about the same time and were mounted in the city square in Athens. The statue that had been designed by committee was openly mocked and ridiculed. The statue he'd done by himself was immediately proclaimed a transcendental work of art. People asked Polyclitus, "How can one statue be so good and the other so bad?" And Polyclitus answered, "Because I did this one and you did that one."
-Kinky Friedman
Texas Monthly
November, 2003
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Technorati tags: talent, Polyclitus
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Interesting point about the Tea Party protesters in DC
From the Chicago Boyz is an interesting point in An Important Qualifier:
Via Instapundit comes a major (albeit British) media report that the Tea Party protest in Washington turnout could be as high as two million.
And Shannon Love goes out to say:
Two million people with jobs…
Getting hundreds of thousands of kids, the professionally unemployed and government workers to show up isn’t that hard (especially if someone buys the bus tickets). Getting two million middle-class, middle-aged people with jobs, careers, children and businesses is way, way more impressive.
We can safely assume that for every individual who made it to the protest that there are dozens of people whose grown-up obligations prevented them from attending.
This should scare many politicians. More and more people are getting upset about the gargantuan beast that the Federal government has become. An Army of Davids is getting ready to slay the best.
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Technorati tags: politics
Via Instapundit comes a major (albeit British) media report that the Tea Party protest in Washington turnout could be as high as two million.
And Shannon Love goes out to say:
Two million people with jobs…
Getting hundreds of thousands of kids, the professionally unemployed and government workers to show up isn’t that hard (especially if someone buys the bus tickets). Getting two million middle-class, middle-aged people with jobs, careers, children and businesses is way, way more impressive.
We can safely assume that for every individual who made it to the protest that there are dozens of people whose grown-up obligations prevented them from attending.
This should scare many politicians. More and more people are getting upset about the gargantuan beast that the Federal government has become. An Army of Davids is getting ready to slay the best.
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Technorati tags: politics
An essay contest - answer "What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?"
One of my brothers pointed me to an Essay Contest. The contest allows homeschoolers to participate!
The essay should be in response to: "What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?"
I've asked my oldest daughter to send in an essay.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The essay should be in response to: "What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?"
I've asked my oldest daughter to send in an essay.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - Learning About the Autumnal Equinox
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Apollos Academy. The Tutor teaches about the Autumnal Equinox.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Monday, September 21, 2009
Belated reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
You only have six hours to get in your entry to this week's Carnival of homeschooling.
The Tutor will be hosting tomorrow's Carnival of Homeschooling at Apollos Academy.
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
The Tutor will be hosting tomorrow's Carnival of Homeschooling at Apollos Academy.
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Another beautiful picture from APOD - The Tarantula Zone
John P. Gleason gave me permission to post his beautiful picture of The Tarantula Zone:
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Technorati tags: Astronomy, Astronomy Picture of the day, John Gleason, Tarantula Zone
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Technorati tags: Astronomy, Astronomy Picture of the day, John Gleason, Tarantula Zone
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The modern day version of the Wright Brothers
Since our flight out to Virginia and back Baby Bop has been fascinated by planes. Whenever the topic comes up he will sign that he wants "more."
At the library last week we picked up a couple books on the Wright Brothers. I was struck by just how primitive their plane looked.
The X Prize Foundation was created to stimulate research and development. They do this by offering a cash prize for some task. X Prize has a million dollar prize for doing two successful launches close together. They report:
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Armadillo Aerospace successfully completed the requirements for Level Two of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge yesterday. Braving rain delays, igniter problems, software re-compiles, and muddy roads, they put together two successful 180-second flights within the required 135 minute time period.
We offer our heartiest congratulations to Armadillo and our best wishes to the other teams. We look forward to attending launches by team Masten, team Unreasonable Rocket, and perhaps others in the coming weeks.
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One of my brothers found one of the flights:
The tiny little plane the Wright Brothers flew launched a $300 billion dollar a year business. Now millions of people can afford to travel to far distances that a hundred years ago were a pipe dream.
Developments like Armadillo's hint at what the future holds for us, and our children. It will be very exciting. I wonder if one of our grandchildren will be telling his parents that he wants another trip to the moon?
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Technorati tags: space
At the library last week we picked up a couple books on the Wright Brothers. I was struck by just how primitive their plane looked.
The X Prize Foundation was created to stimulate research and development. They do this by offering a cash prize for some task. X Prize has a million dollar prize for doing two successful launches close together. They report:
----------
Armadillo Aerospace successfully completed the requirements for Level Two of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge yesterday. Braving rain delays, igniter problems, software re-compiles, and muddy roads, they put together two successful 180-second flights within the required 135 minute time period.
We offer our heartiest congratulations to Armadillo and our best wishes to the other teams. We look forward to attending launches by team Masten, team Unreasonable Rocket, and perhaps others in the coming weeks.
----------
One of my brothers found one of the flights:
The tiny little plane the Wright Brothers flew launched a $300 billion dollar a year business. Now millions of people can afford to travel to far distances that a hundred years ago were a pipe dream.
Developments like Armadillo's hint at what the future holds for us, and our children. It will be very exciting. I wonder if one of our grandchildren will be telling his parents that he wants another trip to the moon?
----------
Technorati tags: space
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Good resource on Back Pain
One of the things I've struggled with now and then with getting older is back pain.
My mother found a good resource on back pain.
One of the best things I've found is just making sure to stretch every day or two.
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Technorati tags: Back Pain
My mother found a good resource on back pain.
One of the best things I've found is just making sure to stretch every day or two.
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Technorati tags: Back Pain
From the archives - Humor - Children and Church
A friend sent me these back in 2002:
*********************************************
A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd. While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear."
*********************************************
One Sunday in a Midwest City, a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally, the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!"
**********************************************
And one particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
*********************************************
A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."
**********************************************
A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
**********************************************
A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with fascination, looking at the old pages as he turned them. Then something fell out of the Bible and he picked it up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that had been pressed in between the pages. The boy called out. "Mama, look what I found!" "What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy's voice he answered, "It's Adam's first suit!!"
**********************************************
The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"
**********************************************
Six-year old Angie, and her four-year old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang and talked out loud. Finally, this big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."
**********************************************
A ten-year old, under the tutelage of her grandmother, was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible. Then, one day, she floored her grandmother by asking, "Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?"
**********************************************
A Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments. They were ready to discuss the last one. The teacher asked if anyone could tell her what it was. Souse raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted, "Thou shall not take the covers off the neighbor's wife."
**********************************************
I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen"
**********************************************
A couple, with their 5 year old daughter, were in church for the first time in a long while because they have season tickets for the 49ers. Everything was going just fine, until the minister raised his hands to give the benediction and then very loudly their daughter yelled "Touchdown"
*********************************************
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Technorati tags: Humor, Children, Church
*********************************************
A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd. While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear."
*********************************************
One Sunday in a Midwest City, a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally, the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!"
**********************************************
And one particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
*********************************************
A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."
**********************************************
A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
**********************************************
A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with fascination, looking at the old pages as he turned them. Then something fell out of the Bible and he picked it up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that had been pressed in between the pages. The boy called out. "Mama, look what I found!" "What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy's voice he answered, "It's Adam's first suit!!"
**********************************************
The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"
**********************************************
Six-year old Angie, and her four-year old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang and talked out loud. Finally, this big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."
**********************************************
A ten-year old, under the tutelage of her grandmother, was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible. Then, one day, she floored her grandmother by asking, "Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?"
**********************************************
A Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments. They were ready to discuss the last one. The teacher asked if anyone could tell her what it was. Souse raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted, "Thou shall not take the covers off the neighbor's wife."
**********************************************
I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen"
**********************************************
A couple, with their 5 year old daughter, were in church for the first time in a long while because they have season tickets for the 49ers. Everything was going just fine, until the minister raised his hands to give the benediction and then very loudly their daughter yelled "Touchdown"
*********************************************
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Technorati tags: Humor, Children, Church
Drowning in the internet ocean?
Walter Bristow asks Are You Drowning in the Information Glut of the Internet Ocean? Here's a Life Preserver. Walter quotes and responds to some points made by John Freeman makes in his new book, The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox.
For practical purposes we have an infinite amount of information and options available to us. The key is to use wisdom and dicipline to make good use of our limited time.
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Technorati tags: internet
For practical purposes we have an infinite amount of information and options available to us. The key is to use wisdom and dicipline to make good use of our limited time.
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Technorati tags: internet
Homeschooling and Divorce
Attorney Deborah G. Stevenson, Executive Director of NHELD, has published a bulletin on Homeschooling And Divorce. Recently there have been a number of cases where a judge ruled that a homeschooling child had to go to public school. Deborah explains what is happening:
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Did you know that there is a not so new threat to homeschooling? It’s called a decision by divorce court.
Recently, there have been increasing numbers of reports about courts ordering homeschooled children to attend public school. In virtually all of these publicized cases, the order has been the result of a divorce dispute.
Upon hearing that a court has ordered a homeschooled child to attend public school, the first thought that might cross your mind is that the Constitutional right of the parent to the upbringing and education of the child is being violated. While that may be true in some cases, before you reach that conclusion, it would be wise to understand all of the facts.
While it is true that the United States Supreme Court, in several well-known cases such as Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35 (1925); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 232 (1972), and the like, has found that parents do have a Constitutional right to the upbringing and education of their children, the Court also said, within those decisions, that the state has the right to regulate homeschooling.
In addition, the state, through the courts, also has the right to resolve disputes between parents during a divorce. In fact, during a divorce, when parents cannot come to an agreement between themselves, the parents actually voluntarily grant authority to the state court the right to decide all aspects of the upbringing and education of the child. Essentially, to a certain extent, they waive their Constitutional right and cede authority to the state court.
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Read the whole bulletin for more details.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Divorce
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Did you know that there is a not so new threat to homeschooling? It’s called a decision by divorce court.
Recently, there have been increasing numbers of reports about courts ordering homeschooled children to attend public school. In virtually all of these publicized cases, the order has been the result of a divorce dispute.
Upon hearing that a court has ordered a homeschooled child to attend public school, the first thought that might cross your mind is that the Constitutional right of the parent to the upbringing and education of the child is being violated. While that may be true in some cases, before you reach that conclusion, it would be wise to understand all of the facts.
While it is true that the United States Supreme Court, in several well-known cases such as Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35 (1925); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 232 (1972), and the like, has found that parents do have a Constitutional right to the upbringing and education of their children, the Court also said, within those decisions, that the state has the right to regulate homeschooling.
In addition, the state, through the courts, also has the right to resolve disputes between parents during a divorce. In fact, during a divorce, when parents cannot come to an agreement between themselves, the parents actually voluntarily grant authority to the state court the right to decide all aspects of the upbringing and education of the child. Essentially, to a certain extent, they waive their Constitutional right and cede authority to the state court.
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Read the whole bulletin for more details.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Divorce
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - Creatures and Critters
Mama Squirrel is hosting this week's Carnival of Homeschooling at Dewey's Treehouse.
She starts the carnival with:
"Welcome to the 194th Carnival of Homeschooling. Due to the number of critter-related posts we received this week, this week's Carnival is dedicated to the wonderful world of animals."
Mosey on over and see what homeschooling bloggers are writing about this week.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
She starts the carnival with:
"Welcome to the 194th Carnival of Homeschooling. Due to the number of critter-related posts we received this week, this week's Carnival is dedicated to the wonderful world of animals."
Mosey on over and see what homeschooling bloggers are writing about this week.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Thought about friendship
From Dan Galvin's Thought For The Day mailing list:
Do not keep the alabaster box of your friendship sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them, and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier. The kind of things you mean to say when they are gone, say before they go.
-George W. Childs
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Technorati tags: friendship, Dan Galvin
Do not keep the alabaster box of your friendship sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them, and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier. The kind of things you mean to say when they are gone, say before they go.
-George W. Childs
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Technorati tags: friendship, Dan Galvin
The Home Educator's Family Times
The current issue of The Home Educator's Family Times is available online.
Melissa Wiley, author, has the featured article. She writes about dealing with critics of homeschooling:
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Homeschoolers talk a lot aboutthe reactions and comments they get (so often negative) from people who don't know much about homeschooling. Nearly everyone has encountered a critic in the extended family, a naysayer in the neighborhood, a cross-examiner in the grocery store. Then there are the articles and editorials, a handful every week, in which some "expert" wags a warning finger about the disadvantages of home education.
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This edition of Family Times also has a number of other good articles. Here are a few:
The First Year of Homeschooling by Linda Dobson
When Kids Use the Internet to Research by Barbara Frank
Parental Rights and The Health Care Bill by Deborah Stevenson, Attorney
If you have lots of free time, you can check out back issues!
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Family Times
Melissa Wiley, author, has the featured article. She writes about dealing with critics of homeschooling:
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Homeschoolers talk a lot aboutthe reactions and comments they get (so often negative) from people who don't know much about homeschooling. Nearly everyone has encountered a critic in the extended family, a naysayer in the neighborhood, a cross-examiner in the grocery store. Then there are the articles and editorials, a handful every week, in which some "expert" wags a warning finger about the disadvantages of home education.
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This edition of Family Times also has a number of other good articles. Here are a few:
The First Year of Homeschooling by Linda Dobson
When Kids Use the Internet to Research by Barbara Frank
Parental Rights and The Health Care Bill by Deborah Stevenson, Attorney
If you have lots of free time, you can check out back issues!
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Family Times
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
Mama Squirrel will be hosting the next Carnival of Homeschooling at Dewey's Treehouse. She's put out a call for entries.
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I am so glad we homeschool
I don't have the words: Children as young as five to learn about masturbation and abortion under new UN guidelines.
The guidelines are due out the end of next month. Maybe by then they will be changed a bit. I don't plan to hold my breath.
(Hat tip: EducationNews.org)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The guidelines are due out the end of next month. Maybe by then they will be changed a bit. I don't plan to hold my breath.
(Hat tip: EducationNews.org)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Why so many economists missed the coming bad times
One of my brothers posted a link on Facebook today: Priceless: How The Federal Reserve Bought The Economics Profession:
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The Federal Reserve, through its extensive network of consultants, visiting scholars, alumni and staff economists, so thoroughly dominates the field of economics that real criticism of the central bank has become a career liability for members of the profession, an investigation by the Huffington Post has found.
This dominance helps explain how, even after the Fed failed to foresee the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression, the central bank has largely escaped criticism from academic economists. In the Fed's thrall, the economists missed it, too.
"The Fed has a lock on the economics world," says Joshua Rosner, a Wall Street analyst who correctly called the meltdown. "There is no room for other views, which I guess is why economists got it so wrong."
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Fascinating. The article is a bit long, but worth reading.
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Technorati tags: economists, Fed
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The Federal Reserve, through its extensive network of consultants, visiting scholars, alumni and staff economists, so thoroughly dominates the field of economics that real criticism of the central bank has become a career liability for members of the profession, an investigation by the Huffington Post has found.
This dominance helps explain how, even after the Fed failed to foresee the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression, the central bank has largely escaped criticism from academic economists. In the Fed's thrall, the economists missed it, too.
"The Fed has a lock on the economics world," says Joshua Rosner, a Wall Street analyst who correctly called the meltdown. "There is no room for other views, which I guess is why economists got it so wrong."
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Fascinating. The article is a bit long, but worth reading.
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Technorati tags: economists, Fed
Daniel Pink explains how incentives can decrease performance
In a TED talk, author Daniel Pink explains how higher incentives lead to worse performance, for cognitive thinking! His focus is on how business needs to rethink how they encourage their employees. The video is worth watching for parents.
It is good. I've watched this twice now. I've asked my two older daughters to watch it. I'm emailing some friends encouraging them to watch it.
It looks like I'll need to add another book to my reading stack. His book Free Agenta Nation appears to have more details about this theme.
As an aside, eight years ago Daniel Pink wrote a very positive article about homeschooling!
(Hat tip: Janice Campbell - Taking Time For Things That Matter)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Daniel Pink, motivation
It is good. I've watched this twice now. I've asked my two older daughters to watch it. I'm emailing some friends encouraging them to watch it.
It looks like I'll need to add another book to my reading stack. His book Free Agenta Nation appears to have more details about this theme.
As an aside, eight years ago Daniel Pink wrote a very positive article about homeschooling!
(Hat tip: Janice Campbell - Taking Time For Things That Matter)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Daniel Pink, motivation
The Carnival of Space is up
I often mean to mention the Carnival of Space, but get distracted. I remembered this week!
This Week's Carnival of Space is up at The Planetary Society Blog.
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Technorati tags: carnival, space
This Week's Carnival of Space is up at The Planetary Society Blog.
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Technorati tags: carnival, space
Software engineer tried to save his sister and invented a breakthrough medical device
Tom Foremski reports on How a software engineer tried to save his sister and invented a breakthrough medical device:
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I meet a lot of Silicon Valley companies but rarely do I come across a story as inspiring as this one. Robert Goldman is the founder of Vascular Designs, a company that just won FDA approval to sell a breakthrough medical device that could save the lives of countless terminally ill cancer patients.
It’s a story of Mr Goldman’s efforts to try and save his sister, diagnosed with terminal cancer. It’s a story of his stubbornness to try and succeed in an area he knew absolutely nothing about, and with experts that told him it couldn’t be done.
It’s also a story of discovering a calling, to help others.
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The complete article explains how Mr. Goldman worked to save his sister.
As a software engineer I find this exciting!
I do wonder if this kind of thing would happen much with nationalize health care.
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Technorati tags: medical, device
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I meet a lot of Silicon Valley companies but rarely do I come across a story as inspiring as this one. Robert Goldman is the founder of Vascular Designs, a company that just won FDA approval to sell a breakthrough medical device that could save the lives of countless terminally ill cancer patients.
It’s a story of Mr Goldman’s efforts to try and save his sister, diagnosed with terminal cancer. It’s a story of his stubbornness to try and succeed in an area he knew absolutely nothing about, and with experts that told him it couldn’t be done.
It’s also a story of discovering a calling, to help others.
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The complete article explains how Mr. Goldman worked to save his sister.
As a software engineer I find this exciting!
I do wonder if this kind of thing would happen much with nationalize health care.
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Technorati tags: medical, device
Pat Farenga appeared on Fox News about Unschooling
Pat Farenga talked about the power of Unschooling on Fox News. Pat made a great response that there is a huge difference between children who drop out of government schools and children who are being unschooled.
(Hat Tip: Corn and Oil)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
(Hat Tip: Corn and Oil)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
I want just one paper clip
Using one paper clip to represent $9 billion, this video puts the upcoming deficits in perspective:
I continue to be impressed by how a single individual can have a great impact using the power of sites like YouTube. Maybe we should have a homeschool project to produce a video!
(Hat tip: MiaZagora's Homeschool Minutes)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, deficits, paper clips
I continue to be impressed by how a single individual can have a great impact using the power of sites like YouTube. Maybe we should have a homeschool project to produce a video!
(Hat tip: MiaZagora's Homeschool Minutes)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, deficits, paper clips
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Would you like to be subversive? Claire Wolfe says start homeschooling!
Claire Wolfe has a nice column about education in America - Living the outlaw life:
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There are three fundamentally subversive things an Ordinary American Outlaw can do to increase freedom while going about daily life. Two can be dangerous to your well-being. The third is overwhelmingly rewarding and hardly hazardous at all.
Subversive acts #1 and #2 are: 1) don’t pay your income taxes and 2) quit using a government-issued centralized citizen tracking number—aka social security number. (See the sidebar concerning a future article that will be about not using your SSN.) Both of these acts of subversion are fine ways to help chop the tentacles off government and to retain some control over your own life and labors. But well...sometimes they can really mess up your tidy little routine.
The third act of everyday subversion—the nice one—is: teach your children at home.
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I greatly enjoyed the column. I think you will too.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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There are three fundamentally subversive things an Ordinary American Outlaw can do to increase freedom while going about daily life. Two can be dangerous to your well-being. The third is overwhelmingly rewarding and hardly hazardous at all.
Subversive acts #1 and #2 are: 1) don’t pay your income taxes and 2) quit using a government-issued centralized citizen tracking number—aka social security number. (See the sidebar concerning a future article that will be about not using your SSN.) Both of these acts of subversion are fine ways to help chop the tentacles off government and to retain some control over your own life and labors. But well...sometimes they can really mess up your tidy little routine.
The third act of everyday subversion—the nice one—is: teach your children at home.
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I greatly enjoyed the column. I think you will too.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Interesting - more money spent on education may hurt the economy
Andrew J. Coulson says Research Shows $100 Billion Ed. Stimulus Likely Hurting Economy:
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Tomorrow morning, the president’s Council of Economic Advisers will release a report assessing the short and long-term effects of the stimulus bill on the U.S. economy. As with previous iterations, this report will attempt to forecast overall effects of the stimulus across its many different components and the different economic sectors it targets. In doing so, it ignores the clearest research findings available pertaining to a key portion of the stimulus: k-12 education.
The president has committed $100 billion in new money to the nation’s public school systems, and required that states accepting the funds promise not to reduce their own k-12 spending. The official argument for this measure is that higher school spending will accelerate U.S. economic growth. But a July 2008 study in the Journal of Policy Sciences finds that, to the authors’ own surprise, higher spending on public schooling is associated with lower subsequent economic growth. Spending more on public schools hurts the U.S. economy.
How is that possible?
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Read the post for the explanation.
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Technorati tags: children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
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Tomorrow morning, the president’s Council of Economic Advisers will release a report assessing the short and long-term effects of the stimulus bill on the U.S. economy. As with previous iterations, this report will attempt to forecast overall effects of the stimulus across its many different components and the different economic sectors it targets. In doing so, it ignores the clearest research findings available pertaining to a key portion of the stimulus: k-12 education.
The president has committed $100 billion in new money to the nation’s public school systems, and required that states accepting the funds promise not to reduce their own k-12 spending. The official argument for this measure is that higher school spending will accelerate U.S. economic growth. But a July 2008 study in the Journal of Policy Sciences finds that, to the authors’ own surprise, higher spending on public schooling is associated with lower subsequent economic growth. Spending more on public schools hurts the U.S. economy.
How is that possible?
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Read the post for the explanation.
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Technorati tags: children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
Good resource: The British Sound Library
The Cranky Professor says Talk about a public resource! British Library Sound Archive goes online:
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Online and free of charge - the British Library Sound Archive.
Go read the article!
Here's the British Library website for the Sound Archive.
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Technorati tags: British, Sound, Library
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Online and free of charge - the British Library Sound Archive.
Go read the article!
Here's the British Library website for the Sound Archive.
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Technorati tags: British, Sound, Library
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
The trouble with being a parent
My daughter showed me this quote:
"The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced you are usually unemployed."
Author unkown
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Technorati tags: parenting, children
"The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced you are usually unemployed."
Author unkown
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Technorati tags: parenting, children
Ideas on what to teach your children
40 Things To Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home has some good ideas on what to teach your children. Sebastian have a few more Things To Learn Before Leaving Home.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The government velvet glove
This is the kind of reason why many parents are suspicious when the government wants to "provide" more services. Brigette Russell reports in They’re Uncle Sam’s kids now — he paid for them:
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When the news came that Santa Fe’s public schools would get some of the federal stimulus bounty being handed out by a benevolent Democratic Congress and president, few suspected that some of that federal pork would turn rancid.
One of the things the school district did with the federal largesse was to fund an after-school program at seven Santa Fe schools, including E.J. Martinez elementary. First, grateful parents felt the soothing touch of Uncle Sam’s velvet glove. Only when it was too late did they feel the iron fist inside:
Parents of students who registered for the after-school program at E.J. Martinez Elementary School were told last week that they would not be allowed to pick up their children until 5:30 p.m., even if they themselves get off work earlier than that.
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So the government wants to help working parents. It provides an after-school program, but if the parents have some free time and want to spend it with their children, the government says tough, go away.
Most children want to spend time with their parents. The government should be supporting the parents, not pushing them off to the side.
(Hat tip: PalmTree Pundit)
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Technorati tags: children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
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When the news came that Santa Fe’s public schools would get some of the federal stimulus bounty being handed out by a benevolent Democratic Congress and president, few suspected that some of that federal pork would turn rancid.
One of the things the school district did with the federal largesse was to fund an after-school program at seven Santa Fe schools, including E.J. Martinez elementary. First, grateful parents felt the soothing touch of Uncle Sam’s velvet glove. Only when it was too late did they feel the iron fist inside:
Parents of students who registered for the after-school program at E.J. Martinez Elementary School were told last week that they would not be allowed to pick up their children until 5:30 p.m., even if they themselves get off work earlier than that.
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So the government wants to help working parents. It provides an after-school program, but if the parents have some free time and want to spend it with their children, the government says tough, go away.
Most children want to spend time with their parents. The government should be supporting the parents, not pushing them off to the side.
(Hat tip: PalmTree Pundit)
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Technorati tags: children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - a Virtual Blog Conference
Sisterlisa is hosting this week's Carnival of Homeschooling at The HomeSpunLife.
She has put together a virtual blog conference. She starts with:
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Welcome to our Homeschool Carnival Virtual Blog Conference! (Well, a mock conference anyway) This week we are going to partake in each other's homeschool through this virtual blog conference. There's a bit of something for each of you, including a Hot Topics Itinerary. This is homeschool for you, mom and dad! So grab a cup of coffee from over there at the coffee station, get your mouse ready for bookmarking your favorites on this tour and don't be afraid to ask questions.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
She has put together a virtual blog conference. She starts with:
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Welcome to our Homeschool Carnival Virtual Blog Conference! (Well, a mock conference anyway) This week we are going to partake in each other's homeschool through this virtual blog conference. There's a bit of something for each of you, including a Hot Topics Itinerary. This is homeschool for you, mom and dad! So grab a cup of coffee from over there at the coffee station, get your mouse ready for bookmarking your favorites on this tour and don't be afraid to ask questions.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
More stuff on Obama's education speech
The text of Obama's speech to children in public schools has been posted.
At The Common Room the Headmistress provides an analysis of the speech.
This is kind of funny, but it is possible that Obama may be breaking the law by giving the speech. At Consent Of The Governed Judy has the details.
Spunky writes about the double standard in That was then, this is now.
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Technorati tags: Obama, children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
At The Common Room the Headmistress provides an analysis of the speech.
This is kind of funny, but it is possible that Obama may be breaking the law by giving the speech. At Consent Of The Governed Judy has the details.
Spunky writes about the double standard in That was then, this is now.
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Technorati tags: Obama, children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
Monday, September 07, 2009
The US National Debt Clock
The US Debt Clock is scary.
The numbers seem right to me. I couldn't find any details on where they get their numbers.
(Hat tip: Jericho's Journal)
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Technorati tags: National Debt
The numbers seem right to me. I couldn't find any details on where they get their numbers.
(Hat tip: Jericho's Journal)
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Technorati tags: National Debt
Proposed option for Obama's education speech tomorrow
One of my brother's found a fun column by Scott Ott with a draft copy of Obama's speech tomorrow: Scott Ott's Examiner Scrappleface: Obama will urge kids to go to private school. It starts:
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A draft copy of President Barack Obama's planned September 8 address to America's public school children, tells students that "If you want to grow up to be like me, you should beg your parents to put you in private school, right now."
Although Obama attended public school in Indonesia early in life, he soon switched to a private Catholic school, and from fifth grade through graduation went to a private college-prep school in Hawaii. His own daughters now attend a private school in Washington D.C..
"Do you think you're going to get into Harvard University with your one-size-fits-all public school diploma?" the president will reportedly say. "Come on! Don't make me laugh. You'll be lucky to survive through graduation. Seriously, you gotta get out of this mediocrity machine. Go ahead! Get up right now. Run for the door. What are you waiting for?"
While the White House would not confirm the content of the leaked speech draft, a spokesman acknowledged that "You don't get to be as smart and cool as Barack Obama by sitting in P.S. 152, listening to some union lackey droning on, and then eating government surplus in the cafeteria."
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In case anyone is wonder, at the end of the column is a brief descript of the author: "Examiner columnist Scott Ott is editor in chief of ScrappleFace.com, the world's leading family-friendly news satire source."
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Technorati tags: Obama, children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
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A draft copy of President Barack Obama's planned September 8 address to America's public school children, tells students that "If you want to grow up to be like me, you should beg your parents to put you in private school, right now."
Although Obama attended public school in Indonesia early in life, he soon switched to a private Catholic school, and from fifth grade through graduation went to a private college-prep school in Hawaii. His own daughters now attend a private school in Washington D.C..
"Do you think you're going to get into Harvard University with your one-size-fits-all public school diploma?" the president will reportedly say. "Come on! Don't make me laugh. You'll be lucky to survive through graduation. Seriously, you gotta get out of this mediocrity machine. Go ahead! Get up right now. Run for the door. What are you waiting for?"
While the White House would not confirm the content of the leaked speech draft, a spokesman acknowledged that "You don't get to be as smart and cool as Barack Obama by sitting in P.S. 152, listening to some union lackey droning on, and then eating government surplus in the cafeteria."
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In case anyone is wonder, at the end of the column is a brief descript of the author: "Examiner columnist Scott Ott is editor in chief of ScrappleFace.com, the world's leading family-friendly news satire source."
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Technorati tags: Obama, children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education
Friday, September 04, 2009
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
Before you head off to enjoy a three day weekend, please remember to send in your entry for the Carnival of Homeschooling.
Sisterlisa will host the next Carnival of Homeschooling at The HomeSpunLife.
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Sisterlisa will host the next Carnival of Homeschooling at The HomeSpunLife.
As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
The wave of the future? College at $99 a month?
This is from a post I wrote in February:
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I have blogged in the past about the problem of rising cost of a college education. In a nut shell the cost of college education has climbed twice as fast as inflation for decades. It has gotten to the point that a college education is not an economic benefit for many.
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We may be seeing the beginings of a solution.
College for $99 a Month has an interesting answer to the problem of outrageous college tuitions:
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The next generation of online education could be great for students—and catastrophic for universities.
Like millions of other Americans, Barbara Solvig lost her job this year. A fifty-year-old mother of three, Solvig had taken college courses at Northeastern Illinois University years ago, but never earned a degree. Ever since, she had been forced to settle for less money than coworkers with similar jobs who had bachelor’s degrees. So when she was laid off from a human resources position at a Chicago-area hospital in January, she knew the time had come to finally get her own credential. Doing that wasn’t going to be easy, because four-year degrees typically require two luxuries Solvig didn’t have: years of time out of the workforce, and a great deal of money.
Luckily for Solvig, there were new options available. She went online looking for something that fit her wallet and her time horizon, and an ad caught her eye: a company called StraighterLine was offering online courses in subjects like accounting, statistics, and math. This was hardly unusual—hundreds of institutions are online hawking degrees. But one thing about StraighterLine stood out: it offered as many courses as she wanted for a flat rate of $99 a month. “It sounds like a scam,” Solvig thought—she’d run into a lot of shady companies and hard-sell tactics on the Internet. But for $99, why not take a risk?
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One of the girls who use to be in a homeschool band with Janine and our oldest daughter did a variation of this. This girl found an accredited university that would allow her to challenge out of classes. In 20 months she challenged out of 90% of her classes. I think she spent one semester in classes. She ended up with a Bachelors degree before she turned 19. While many students her age are taking remedial courses, she is now able to start on a masters degree.
Has anyone tried StraighterLine? I wonder if it could be a university killer?
(Hat tip: Hacker News)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
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I have blogged in the past about the problem of rising cost of a college education. In a nut shell the cost of college education has climbed twice as fast as inflation for decades. It has gotten to the point that a college education is not an economic benefit for many.
---------
We may be seeing the beginings of a solution.
College for $99 a Month has an interesting answer to the problem of outrageous college tuitions:
---------
The next generation of online education could be great for students—and catastrophic for universities.
Like millions of other Americans, Barbara Solvig lost her job this year. A fifty-year-old mother of three, Solvig had taken college courses at Northeastern Illinois University years ago, but never earned a degree. Ever since, she had been forced to settle for less money than coworkers with similar jobs who had bachelor’s degrees. So when she was laid off from a human resources position at a Chicago-area hospital in January, she knew the time had come to finally get her own credential. Doing that wasn’t going to be easy, because four-year degrees typically require two luxuries Solvig didn’t have: years of time out of the workforce, and a great deal of money.
Luckily for Solvig, there were new options available. She went online looking for something that fit her wallet and her time horizon, and an ad caught her eye: a company called StraighterLine was offering online courses in subjects like accounting, statistics, and math. This was hardly unusual—hundreds of institutions are online hawking degrees. But one thing about StraighterLine stood out: it offered as many courses as she wanted for a flat rate of $99 a month. “It sounds like a scam,” Solvig thought—she’d run into a lot of shady companies and hard-sell tactics on the Internet. But for $99, why not take a risk?
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One of the girls who use to be in a homeschool band with Janine and our oldest daughter did a variation of this. This girl found an accredited university that would allow her to challenge out of classes. In 20 months she challenged out of 90% of her classes. I think she spent one semester in classes. She ended up with a Bachelors degree before she turned 19. While many students her age are taking remedial courses, she is now able to start on a masters degree.
Has anyone tried StraighterLine? I wonder if it could be a university killer?
(Hat tip: Hacker News)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
10 Tips on being happier
10 Tips from Happy People has several good ideas.
(Hat tip: digg)
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Technorati tags: happiness
(Hat tip: digg)
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Technorati tags: happiness
My children will go to school on the 8th of September!
There is a call to parents to keep their children out of school on the 8th of September. President Obama is scheduled to give a speech to the students, and many are concerned that President Obama will be over stepping the bounds of what is appropriate.
Michelle Malkin comments on Obama’s Sept. 8 speech to schoolchildren:
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ServiceWire has the announcement and broadcast schedule for the speech.
The Daily Paul picked up the story last week and linked to teachers’ manuals pegged to Obama’s address, which have now been linked on Drudge.
The documents have a heavy activist bent:
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In Indoctrination Obama Style the Right Wing Grandma is concerned that this is the first step towards an increase of government indoctrination of children.
Dr. Helen comments in "You are your child's moral tutor, not that shady lawyer from Chicago."
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Okay, this is just creepy--Obama is the first president to come in and give a speech directly to school children. This Hugo Chavez wannabe is really working overtime to get the American people riled up. Some conservatives and others are calling for parents to have their kids skip this day at school.
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September 8th is the start of our school year. Our children will go to school, but it will be in the kitchen. I don't have an intension of wasting their valuable time watching yet another speech by President Obama. Especially since I doubt he'll say anything really worth listening to.
Right now I'm only mildly concerned. I think this kind of use of government schools is objectionable. It is one thing to give a national address where people can choose to listen. It is another thing to speak to more than fifty million children, who don't get to decide if they want to listen, and then have teachers tell the students what to think about the speach.
Maybe I should use class time having my children write President Obama letters with reasons why he shouldn't be trying to brainwash children.
I love homeschooling. We have so many more choices.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Michelle Malkin comments on Obama’s Sept. 8 speech to schoolchildren:
---------
ServiceWire has the announcement and broadcast schedule for the speech.
The Daily Paul picked up the story last week and linked to teachers’ manuals pegged to Obama’s address, which have now been linked on Drudge.
The documents have a heavy activist bent:
---------
In Indoctrination Obama Style the Right Wing Grandma is concerned that this is the first step towards an increase of government indoctrination of children.
Dr. Helen comments in "You are your child's moral tutor, not that shady lawyer from Chicago."
---------
Okay, this is just creepy--Obama is the first president to come in and give a speech directly to school children. This Hugo Chavez wannabe is really working overtime to get the American people riled up. Some conservatives and others are calling for parents to have their kids skip this day at school.
---------
September 8th is the start of our school year. Our children will go to school, but it will be in the kitchen. I don't have an intension of wasting their valuable time watching yet another speech by President Obama. Especially since I doubt he'll say anything really worth listening to.
Right now I'm only mildly concerned. I think this kind of use of government schools is objectionable. It is one thing to give a national address where people can choose to listen. It is another thing to speak to more than fifty million children, who don't get to decide if they want to listen, and then have teachers tell the students what to think about the speach.
Maybe I should use class time having my children write President Obama letters with reasons why he shouldn't be trying to brainwash children.
I love homeschooling. We have so many more choices.
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Canadian judge says schools can teach children about various religions
I wonder how many parents up in Canada will turn to homeschooling because of a recent ruling?
Students must learn about other religions reports:
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MONTREAL -- Christian parents who objected to their children being taught about other religions in a mandatory new Quebec school course have suffered a serious setback with a ruling this week that the teachings do not infringe their religious freedoms.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Jean-Guy Dubois dismissed a bid by parents in Drummondville, Que., who said the course on ethics and religious culture introduced across the province last year was undermining their efforts to instill Christian faith in their children.
"In light of all the evidence presented, the court does not see how the ... course limits the plaintiff's freedom of conscience and of religion for the children when it provides an overall presentation of various religions without obliging the children to adhere to them," Judge Dubois wrote.
The course was controversial even before instruction began last September. During the year there were protest marches in some cities, and about 1,700 parents asked that their children be exempted from attending the class. All such requests were refused.
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The US Founding Fathers had great concerns about government controlling churches. That is why they had a separation of church and state. I don't know the history of Canada. It seems like they have much less concerns about government telling people what to believe.
I have a few concerns with Government schools forcing children to learn about various religions, especially at a young age.
1) Where do you draw the line in terms of which religions are taught? The are dozens, maybe hundreds, of Christian religions. Do you teach about each one? If not, why not? Do you teach about dead religions? If not, why not? Do you teach about religions that many people consider destructive, like Satanic cults? If not, why not?
2) How do you teach about religion without a moral context? Math has no moral context. Two plus two equals four. There is no judgment involved. Other topics like biology or weather can be more controversial. (Think about evolution and global warming.) Religion is highly subjected to our personal understanding.
3) How do you teach about religion without passing on some kind of endorsement, or disapproval? Teachers are individuals. They have preferences. It is hard, I believe impossible, to teach about a variety of religions, without giving some kind of support.
4) What business do the government schools have teaching young children about religion? The article says the government controlled exposure of religion starts as young as seven. Education should start with the basics, like reading and writing. Sadly too many public schools today can't teach the basics.
(Hat tip: EducationNews.org)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Students must learn about other religions reports:
----------
MONTREAL -- Christian parents who objected to their children being taught about other religions in a mandatory new Quebec school course have suffered a serious setback with a ruling this week that the teachings do not infringe their religious freedoms.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Jean-Guy Dubois dismissed a bid by parents in Drummondville, Que., who said the course on ethics and religious culture introduced across the province last year was undermining their efforts to instill Christian faith in their children.
"In light of all the evidence presented, the court does not see how the ... course limits the plaintiff's freedom of conscience and of religion for the children when it provides an overall presentation of various religions without obliging the children to adhere to them," Judge Dubois wrote.
The course was controversial even before instruction began last September. During the year there were protest marches in some cities, and about 1,700 parents asked that their children be exempted from attending the class. All such requests were refused.
----------
The US Founding Fathers had great concerns about government controlling churches. That is why they had a separation of church and state. I don't know the history of Canada. It seems like they have much less concerns about government telling people what to believe.
I have a few concerns with Government schools forcing children to learn about various religions, especially at a young age.
1) Where do you draw the line in terms of which religions are taught? The are dozens, maybe hundreds, of Christian religions. Do you teach about each one? If not, why not? Do you teach about dead religions? If not, why not? Do you teach about religions that many people consider destructive, like Satanic cults? If not, why not?
2) How do you teach about religion without a moral context? Math has no moral context. Two plus two equals four. There is no judgment involved. Other topics like biology or weather can be more controversial. (Think about evolution and global warming.) Religion is highly subjected to our personal understanding.
3) How do you teach about religion without passing on some kind of endorsement, or disapproval? Teachers are individuals. They have preferences. It is hard, I believe impossible, to teach about a variety of religions, without giving some kind of support.
4) What business do the government schools have teaching young children about religion? The article says the government controlled exposure of religion starts as young as seven. Education should start with the basics, like reading and writing. Sadly too many public schools today can't teach the basics.
(Hat tip: EducationNews.org)
----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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