My father sent me a URL to a column by Michael Strong. Michael is a co-founder of FLOW. The column is about how many African-Americans want to pull their children from public schools, and the struggles they face.
The column starts with a great opening line: "While pundits and academics argue away, the quiet sucking sound you don't yet hear are African-American families leaving our public schools when allowed to do so."
A big part of the column is about the various groups which are fighting vouchers. Michael covers some of the same points I made back in December when I wrote why vouchers are not going to be wide spread any time soon.
Hopefully more families will realize they have the option of homeschooling, once they decide they have had enough with the public school system.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Michael Strong, voucher, public school
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
Getting an education vs. getting a credential
The University of Pennsylvania Gazette has a powerful article on credential inflation. Two professors, Ivar Berg and Randall Collins, point out that over the years employers keep asking for more and more credentials. The end result is that you'll need a PhD to be a janitor. This is a bit extreme, but they make some good points.
Dr. Berg made the point in Education and Jobs: The Great Training Robbery that employers are using credentials as crude hiring criteria. Berg shows the kind of credential inflation we've had over the last sixty years: "We fought WWII with four percent college graduates and 24 percent high-school graduates..." Berg researched how high-school and college graduates compared in various jobs. After on the job training high-school graduates did just as well as college graduates in many industries.
Dr. Collins wrote The Credential Society in which he claims that the rapid growth of high-school and college education in the 19th century was driven by "the desire of prosperous and middle-class families to secure status for their progeny." Collins studied other credential systems, for example the ancient Chinese civil service, and found that the dominant groups used credentials to control. In the United States he says we've had less mobility over the last couple generations.
Dr. Collins illustrated his point with a sad story about a young man who had been an Army medic in Vietnam. He had practiced medicine on the battlefield. He understood medicine, and Dr. Collins thought the young man would have been an excellent doctor. But the medical schools admission board wouldn't admit him because his grades weren't good enough. The process had become more important than helping students get a good education.
Homeschoolers recognize the basic issue here. There is a different between getting an education and getting a piece of paper. The public school system focuses on getting students through the 13 years of school and then giving them a piece of paper. That credential means they are a high school graduate. Unfortunately it doesn't mean the students were educated. Homeschoolers educate their children.
It is worth reading the whole article.
And remember, when (or if) your children start talking about going off to college, make sure they are planning on getting an education. The credentail is just a piece of paper.
(Hat tip: The Homeschooling Revolution)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Ivar Berg, Education and Jobs, The Great Training Robbery, Randall Collins, The Credential Society, credentials
Dr. Berg made the point in Education and Jobs: The Great Training Robbery that employers are using credentials as crude hiring criteria. Berg shows the kind of credential inflation we've had over the last sixty years: "We fought WWII with four percent college graduates and 24 percent high-school graduates..." Berg researched how high-school and college graduates compared in various jobs. After on the job training high-school graduates did just as well as college graduates in many industries.
Dr. Collins wrote The Credential Society in which he claims that the rapid growth of high-school and college education in the 19th century was driven by "the desire of prosperous and middle-class families to secure status for their progeny." Collins studied other credential systems, for example the ancient Chinese civil service, and found that the dominant groups used credentials to control. In the United States he says we've had less mobility over the last couple generations.
Dr. Collins illustrated his point with a sad story about a young man who had been an Army medic in Vietnam. He had practiced medicine on the battlefield. He understood medicine, and Dr. Collins thought the young man would have been an excellent doctor. But the medical schools admission board wouldn't admit him because his grades weren't good enough. The process had become more important than helping students get a good education.
Homeschoolers recognize the basic issue here. There is a different between getting an education and getting a piece of paper. The public school system focuses on getting students through the 13 years of school and then giving them a piece of paper. That credential means they are a high school graduate. Unfortunately it doesn't mean the students were educated. Homeschoolers educate their children.
It is worth reading the whole article.
And remember, when (or if) your children start talking about going off to college, make sure they are planning on getting an education. The credentail is just a piece of paper.
(Hat tip: The Homeschooling Revolution)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Ivar Berg, Education and Jobs, The Great Training Robbery, Randall Collins, The Credential Society, credentials
The Homeschool Blog Watch
Gary Davis, who runs HomeSchoolBuzz.com, has put together something pretty cool. He has a Homeschool Blog Watch which lists recent posts from various homeschooling blogs. Here is the announcement. Here is the blog watch. It is pretty cool.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Reminder - send in your submissions for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be help at Tami's Blog. As always check here for details on how to submit. Entries are always due Monday evening at 6:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, blog carnival, Carnival of Homeschooling
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, blog carnival, Carnival of Homeschooling
Maybe the Chicago school district was on to something
Last month we poked fun at how blind students in Chicago public schools were being required to take driver education classes.
One of my brothers forwarded me the URL for an article on new technology which is helping blind people to see.
It is an amazing world.
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Technorati tags: chicago school district, driver education, blind
One of my brothers forwarded me the URL for an article on new technology which is helping blind people to see.
It is an amazing world.
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Technorati tags: chicago school district, driver education, blind
Links to interesting postings - 6 April 2006
The Headmistress, at The Common Room, has a basic tutorial of A Charlotte Mason Education.
Valerie Bonham Moon, at the Home Education Magazine, has some more homeschoolers who are winning contests.
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Technorati tags: Charlotte Mason, spelling bee, spelling contest
Valerie Bonham Moon, at the Home Education Magazine, has some more homeschoolers who are winning contests.
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Technorati tags: Charlotte Mason, spelling bee, spelling contest
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Links to interesting postings - 5 April 2006
In the NY Times is an article No Child Left Behind? Ask the Gifted, about how children with high intelligence rarely get their needs met. As we've mentioned before Cheri Pierson Yecke's book The War against Excellence: The Rising Tide of Mediocrity in America's Middle Schools, the public schools spends something like 15 times more money for the children at the bottom 3% of the intelligence scale, than for the top 3%. The public school system is failing to help gifted children develop their talents. With homeschooling parents can help each children develop to their full potential.
It is always nice to have data. Joanne Jacobs found a census report on how much money the United States is spending on kindergarten to 12th grade. In 2004 it was $8,287 per student. Here are a selection of some of the comments to Joanne's post:
"So... we now spend about twice as much per student (adjusted for inflation) as we did fifteen-twenty years ago. Do you think we're getting twice as much for the money?"
"Problem is, it's a failing system. In the real world, failures don't survive that long."
"My main beef with the education establishment is over the quality of their product, not the price."
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Technorati tags: gifted, education, War against Excellence, school spending, school waste
It is always nice to have data. Joanne Jacobs found a census report on how much money the United States is spending on kindergarten to 12th grade. In 2004 it was $8,287 per student. Here are a selection of some of the comments to Joanne's post:
"So... we now spend about twice as much per student (adjusted for inflation) as we did fifteen-twenty years ago. Do you think we're getting twice as much for the money?"
"Problem is, it's a failing system. In the real world, failures don't survive that long."
"My main beef with the education establishment is over the quality of their product, not the price."
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Technorati tags: gifted, education, War against Excellence, school spending, school waste
The Carnival of Education is up, week 61
EdWonks has put up The Carnival of Education, week 61. At the end he complemented The Carnival of Homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: carnival of education, education, teaching
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Technorati tags: carnival of education, education, teaching
John Stossel reports on the challenge made to him to teach
As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, the United Federation of Teachers challenged John Stossel to teach a class. John said yes.
In a column this week John reports why it won't happen. It seems fairly typical of the public school system in general. His report on the union and public school system responded when John said he would be willing to teach was enlightening.
There were lots of meetings. Enough said.
They were not going to let John, and the cameras, into an average school. They found a school, Beacon High, where 90% of the students were graduating, as opposed to New York City public school's average graduation rate of 53%. What are they scared of?
Then just four days before what was going to be his first day of class, the public school administrators canceled. I'm surprised it got that close.
My guess is this story is not yet finished, and maybe the public school system will be on again and off again a couple more times.
I am glad John Stossel did the 20/20 report, Stupid in America. I am impressed that he has continued to try and report on the problems. Maybe at some point more parents will get involved and push through vouchers, and/or start to home school. He is trying to make a difference.
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Technorati tags: John Stossel, Stupid in America, public education, public schools
In a column this week John reports why it won't happen. It seems fairly typical of the public school system in general. His report on the union and public school system responded when John said he would be willing to teach was enlightening.
There were lots of meetings. Enough said.
They were not going to let John, and the cameras, into an average school. They found a school, Beacon High, where 90% of the students were graduating, as opposed to New York City public school's average graduation rate of 53%. What are they scared of?
Then just four days before what was going to be his first day of class, the public school administrators canceled. I'm surprised it got that close.
My guess is this story is not yet finished, and maybe the public school system will be on again and off again a couple more times.
I am glad John Stossel did the 20/20 report, Stupid in America. I am impressed that he has continued to try and report on the problems. Maybe at some point more parents will get involved and push through vouchers, and/or start to home school. He is trying to make a difference.
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Technorati tags: John Stossel, Stupid in America, public education, public schools
Good column about problems with Public Schools in Texas, and the US
Bill Murchison is a Senior Columns writer for The Dallas Morning News. He recently wrote a good column about some of the problems with public schools in Texas, and the US.
The Texas Legislature is convening a special session to "fix" public education. But Bill points out that problem is "We've been 'reforming' the public schools for two decades..." The results are dismal. For example: "... 35 percent of entry-level job applicants do not meet eighth-grade skill levels on a competency test administered by Texas Instruments." After spending around a hundred thousand dollars to send a student through public school, from kindergarten to 12th grade, many of them still can't do eight-grade work.
Bill says that years ago public education use to work, back when "Government wasn't yet an instrument for the leveraging of social change and economic redistribution." In the old days "A student could fail in the old schools. He can fail in the new ones, also, except that government doesn't let it show." (Look back at the paragraph above, the public schools are failing to teach about a third of the students.)
It is a good column, though sobering.
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Technorati tags: Bill Murchison, William Murchison, school reform, education, public school
The Texas Legislature is convening a special session to "fix" public education. But Bill points out that problem is "We've been 'reforming' the public schools for two decades..." The results are dismal. For example: "... 35 percent of entry-level job applicants do not meet eighth-grade skill levels on a competency test administered by Texas Instruments." After spending around a hundred thousand dollars to send a student through public school, from kindergarten to 12th grade, many of them still can't do eight-grade work.
Bill says that years ago public education use to work, back when "Government wasn't yet an instrument for the leveraging of social change and economic redistribution." In the old days "A student could fail in the old schools. He can fail in the new ones, also, except that government doesn't let it show." (Look back at the paragraph above, the public schools are failing to teach about a third of the students.)
It is a good column, though sobering.
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Technorati tags: Bill Murchison, William Murchison, school reform, education, public school
Selections from reddit.com - 5 April 2006
I found the following from reddit.com:
Awhile back we hosted two girls from Japan. They gave our daughters some Origami paper and showed them how to make some basic objects. I found this site of fancy Origami foldings to be fascinating.
Interesting, a recent study found "... that younger babies learn words for new objects based on how interested they are in the object, whereas older babies attach more importance to whether the speaker is interested in the object."
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Technorati tags: origami, babies, learning to talk
Awhile back we hosted two girls from Japan. They gave our daughters some Origami paper and showed them how to make some basic objects. I found this site of fancy Origami foldings to be fascinating.
Interesting, a recent study found "... that younger babies learn words for new objects based on how interested they are in the object, whereas older babies attach more importance to whether the speaker is interested in the object."
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Technorati tags: origami, babies, learning to talk
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Carnival of Homeschooling #14: Today in History
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
This is the 94 day of the 2006. There are 271 days left in the year.
We begin our carnival by reviewing the important historical events which took place on April 4th.
636 AD
Isadore, Bishop of Seville, collected science lore into his twenty volume Originum seu Etymologiarium libri XX. The Originium, incomplete at his death on April 4, 636, was edited and issued by his friend and disciple Bishop Braulio. Without Isidore's efforts, the Medieval world would have been much poorer of knowledge.
Becky at Farm School takes on the issue of textbooks and libraries. She makes the observation that "textbooks, which with a few exceptions tend to be committee-written, dumbed down, boring, uneducational, politically correct drivel."
Steve at Dad's Corner tells how the most important lessons aren't in the textbooks, they're in values and integrity.
Kendra at Preschoolers and Peace describes the organization of her home library. She even makes labels with the proper Dewey decimals.
The Deputy Headmistress at The Common Room blogs about what she learned on her visit to the Library of Congress. She was surprised to find that homeschool mothers today were not so very different from those in the Victorian age.
1561
Today in Odd History, an eerie battle raged in the skies above Nuremberg, Germany. It began at dawn, as dozens, if not hundreds, of crosses, globes and tubes fought each other above the city. It ended an hour later, when "the globes in the small and large rods flew into the sun," and several of the other objects crashed to earth and vanished in a thick cloud of smoke.
According to the Nuremberg Gazette, the "dreadful apparition" filled the morning sky with "cylindrical shapes from which emerged black, red, orange and blue-white spheres that darted about."
Sounds a bit stressfull. So, does attending a homeschool conference fill you with feelings of dread? Christine at The Thinking Mother has good advice on how to not be overwhelmed at a Homeschooling Conference.
Do you find teenagers a little scary? Not Maureen at Maureen Wittmann. She reports how homeschooled teens don't have the angst of their peers who go to "real" school.
Melissa from Home Sweet Home takes on a weighty issue. While exercise and healthy eating might seem daunting for some of us, she points out how children follow their parent's example.
And now for the really scary stuff, Harvey Bludorn of Trivium Pursuit recalls how homeschoolers living in Iowa in the 1970's and early 80's faced jail.
Henry at Why Homeschool brings us up to date on a homeschooler in Germany who was sentenced to 5 days in jail for homeschooling.
1609
Charles de L'Écluse died on this date. He was the French botanist who introduced the tulip to Holland. He travelled and collected botanical information throughout Europe, and introduced new plants from outside Europe. Leaving France to escape religious perscution as a Protestant, he spent time in Prague and Vienna. Late in life, in 1593, he succeeded Dodoens as the chair of botany at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He established the botanical garden there and grew a collection of flowering bulbs, including the tulip which initiated the Dutch bulb industry. He is also attributed with cultivating the peony, hyacinth, potato and chestnut.
Twice Bloomed Wisteria points out that "spring is a natural for nature study.
For more scientific discovery, Monica at Grizzly Mama suggests "playing with this odd substance that is easily made from ingredients found in everyone's kitchen."
For some more discovery fun, Meredith at Sweetness & Light shares a lovely day doing all sorts of arts and crafts.
1887
Susanna M. Salter became the first woman mayor in the U.S. She was duly elected by the people of Argonia, KS. Ms. Salter won by a two-thirds majority but didn’t even know she was in the running ’til she went into the voting booth. It seems that her name was submitted by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Susanna M. Salter received $1 for her year as mayor.
Maggieraye at Single Parents & Home Education shares a look back over her role as a Christian mother.
Melonie of Raven Writes describes her decision to homeschool even as a single parent, working from home.
Kay at Home on the Hill takes on the question of homeschooling mommy guilt. She reminds us that sometimes the most important lessons don't fall under the heading of academics.
Susan at Ladies in Training shares some of her homeschool insecurities. She also explores her role as a Christian mother.
1943
On April 4, 1943, the New York Times published an article under the alarming headline of "Ignorance of U.S. History Shown by College Freshmen." The article reported on a test of national history undertaken by 7,000 college students. The test showed that only 6 percent of them could name the 13 original colonies. Additionally, only 13 percent identified James Madison as president during the War of 1812, and only 15 percent knew that William McKinley was president during the Spanish-American War. Moreover, only a quarter could name two contributions made by either Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. This led historian Allan Nevins to contend that "such a historically illiterate bunch might be a liability on the battlefields of Europe in World War II" (cited in Mathews 2004). This was neither the first nor the last time that college students in the USA were tested on national history. This certainly happened many times during the 20th century, and in all cases the results were unsatisfactory.
Tami of Tami's Blog tells us a little about their year-end testing. She relates how their family uses faith to overcome obstacles.
Ali of My God Given Mission Field describes which curriculum they use and how their view and philosophy of education has changed.
Amber at Trying is Bravery share describes her typical day, using a Charlotte Mason approach. She also shares a link to a free online curriculum.
Sorah at Parah warns of the dangers of comparing ourselves to other homeschooling parents or our children to others (even college students in 1943).
Sebastian at Percival Blakeney Academy questions why do we spend so much time worrying about which level our kids are on?
1983
The Challanger space shuttle made her maiden voyage from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Patricia of Patricia Ann's Polywog Creek Porch shares her daughter's study plans for Florida State History. They are even planning a trip to the Kennedy Space Center.
From Another Bruggie Trek , we hear how a homeschool family from "Down Under" are also going on a trip. They remind us that "If you ever see a homeschool family away from home, now you know they aren't avoiding school work, they're on a field trip."
Mental Multivitamin gives advice for when "our students' brains are simply someplace else."
Just Call Me Jamin suggests planning a fieldtrip when we are stuck in a rut.
1993
On this date in 1993, the creator of Scrabble, Alfred Mosher Butts, died. Mr. Butts was the architect, artist and photographer, who invented the board game Scrabble. He carefully analyzed how often each letter is used (that's how he decided how many of each letter to include and how many points each one would earn), then drew a board and glued letters on some balsa tiles. Originally called Criss Cross (1931), the game, which was based on the crossword puzzle and anagrams, was redesigned, renamed as Scrabble, and marketed by James Brunot in 1948.
Scrabble is a great way to practice spelling. Dana from Principled Discovery describes some different methods to help improve spelling in children.
For more fun and games from Germany, Rina at Green Fields and Open Horizons suggests Yuginomics. It is a great game to teach how the laws of supply and demand affect market price.
Denise at Let's Play Math reminds us to look for that "Aha!" factor. Instead of drudgery, mathematics should be a game of discovery.
A homeschool mom at Sprittibee shares a list of computer games from Pre-K through college age.
To close our review of fun and games, High Desert Hi-Jinks share a homeschool mother blooper.
2005
.JPG/300px-US10DollarBill(New).JPG)
Department of the Treasury announced that the $10 denomination will be the next note slated for a make-over by the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). The newly designed $10 note is scheduled to be issued by the Federal Reserve in early 2006.
Barbara at Imperfect Homeschooler muses on the "opportunity cost" of homeschooling. She contimplates why a homeschool mom thinks giving up 20 years of her life and over $600,000 in lost wages to homeschool her children is worth it.
Spunky at Spunky Homeschool also addresses the issue of money in her post Answers Please! She responds to the comment, "I can't afford to have that many children."
Carmon at Buried Treasure Books joins the discussion about money. She points out that poor writing skills costs taxpayers money.
Nerd Mom at Nerd Family answers questions about the cost of homeschooling.
We end our carnival with a post entitled, "When Does Homeschooling Stop?" from A Father's View of Homeschooling.
If you have enjoyed this carnival, please spread the word. Please mention the carnival on your blog, and other appropriate places. There are other bloggers out there who haven't heard of the Carnival of Homeschooling.
Go here for the archives of previous carnivals.
Next week the carnival will be held at Tami's Blog.
If you are interested in submitting a post, click here for information.
For those interested, the Carnival of Education will be coming out on Wednesday.
This carnival is registered at TTLB's Uber Carnival.
I'd like to thank everyone who has helped out. Thank you to all the participants in this carnival. And thanks to all those who help promote the Carnival of Homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling, Isadore, Bishop of Seville, Nuremberg, Charles de L'Écluse, Susanna M. Salter, Susanna Salter, Alfred Mosher Butts, Scrabble
This is the 94 day of the 2006. There are 271 days left in the year.
We begin our carnival by reviewing the important historical events which took place on April 4th.
636 AD
Isadore, Bishop of Seville, collected science lore into his twenty volume Originum seu Etymologiarium libri XX. The Originium, incomplete at his death on April 4, 636, was edited and issued by his friend and disciple Bishop Braulio. Without Isidore's efforts, the Medieval world would have been much poorer of knowledge.Becky at Farm School takes on the issue of textbooks and libraries. She makes the observation that "textbooks, which with a few exceptions tend to be committee-written, dumbed down, boring, uneducational, politically correct drivel."
Steve at Dad's Corner tells how the most important lessons aren't in the textbooks, they're in values and integrity.
Kendra at Preschoolers and Peace describes the organization of her home library. She even makes labels with the proper Dewey decimals.
The Deputy Headmistress at The Common Room blogs about what she learned on her visit to the Library of Congress. She was surprised to find that homeschool mothers today were not so very different from those in the Victorian age.
1561
Today in Odd History, an eerie battle raged in the skies above Nuremberg, Germany. It began at dawn, as dozens, if not hundreds, of crosses, globes and tubes fought each other above the city. It ended an hour later, when "the globes in the small and large rods flew into the sun," and several of the other objects crashed to earth and vanished in a thick cloud of smoke.According to the Nuremberg Gazette, the "dreadful apparition" filled the morning sky with "cylindrical shapes from which emerged black, red, orange and blue-white spheres that darted about."
Sounds a bit stressfull. So, does attending a homeschool conference fill you with feelings of dread? Christine at The Thinking Mother has good advice on how to not be overwhelmed at a Homeschooling Conference.
Do you find teenagers a little scary? Not Maureen at Maureen Wittmann. She reports how homeschooled teens don't have the angst of their peers who go to "real" school.
Melissa from Home Sweet Home takes on a weighty issue. While exercise and healthy eating might seem daunting for some of us, she points out how children follow their parent's example.
And now for the really scary stuff, Harvey Bludorn of Trivium Pursuit recalls how homeschoolers living in Iowa in the 1970's and early 80's faced jail.
Henry at Why Homeschool brings us up to date on a homeschooler in Germany who was sentenced to 5 days in jail for homeschooling.
1609
Charles de L'Écluse died on this date. He was the French botanist who introduced the tulip to Holland. He travelled and collected botanical information throughout Europe, and introduced new plants from outside Europe. Leaving France to escape religious perscution as a Protestant, he spent time in Prague and Vienna. Late in life, in 1593, he succeeded Dodoens as the chair of botany at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He established the botanical garden there and grew a collection of flowering bulbs, including the tulip which initiated the Dutch bulb industry. He is also attributed with cultivating the peony, hyacinth, potato and chestnut.Twice Bloomed Wisteria points out that "spring is a natural for nature study.
For more scientific discovery, Monica at Grizzly Mama suggests "playing with this odd substance that is easily made from ingredients found in everyone's kitchen."
For some more discovery fun, Meredith at Sweetness & Light shares a lovely day doing all sorts of arts and crafts.
1887
Susanna M. Salter became the first woman mayor in the U.S. She was duly elected by the people of Argonia, KS. Ms. Salter won by a two-thirds majority but didn’t even know she was in the running ’til she went into the voting booth. It seems that her name was submitted by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Susanna M. Salter received $1 for her year as mayor.Maggieraye at Single Parents & Home Education shares a look back over her role as a Christian mother.
Melonie of Raven Writes describes her decision to homeschool even as a single parent, working from home.
Kay at Home on the Hill takes on the question of homeschooling mommy guilt. She reminds us that sometimes the most important lessons don't fall under the heading of academics.
Susan at Ladies in Training shares some of her homeschool insecurities. She also explores her role as a Christian mother.
1943
On April 4, 1943, the New York Times published an article under the alarming headline of "Ignorance of U.S. History Shown by College Freshmen." The article reported on a test of national history undertaken by 7,000 college students. The test showed that only 6 percent of them could name the 13 original colonies. Additionally, only 13 percent identified James Madison as president during the War of 1812, and only 15 percent knew that William McKinley was president during the Spanish-American War. Moreover, only a quarter could name two contributions made by either Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. This led historian Allan Nevins to contend that "such a historically illiterate bunch might be a liability on the battlefields of Europe in World War II" (cited in Mathews 2004). This was neither the first nor the last time that college students in the USA were tested on national history. This certainly happened many times during the 20th century, and in all cases the results were unsatisfactory.Tami of Tami's Blog tells us a little about their year-end testing. She relates how their family uses faith to overcome obstacles.
Ali of My God Given Mission Field describes which curriculum they use and how their view and philosophy of education has changed.
Amber at Trying is Bravery share describes her typical day, using a Charlotte Mason approach. She also shares a link to a free online curriculum.
Sorah at Parah warns of the dangers of comparing ourselves to other homeschooling parents or our children to others (even college students in 1943).
Sebastian at Percival Blakeney Academy questions why do we spend so much time worrying about which level our kids are on?
1983
The Challanger space shuttle made her maiden voyage from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Patricia of Patricia Ann's Polywog Creek Porch shares her daughter's study plans for Florida State History. They are even planning a trip to the Kennedy Space Center.
From Another Bruggie Trek , we hear how a homeschool family from "Down Under" are also going on a trip. They remind us that "If you ever see a homeschool family away from home, now you know they aren't avoiding school work, they're on a field trip."
Mental Multivitamin gives advice for when "our students' brains are simply someplace else."
Just Call Me Jamin suggests planning a fieldtrip when we are stuck in a rut.
1993
On this date in 1993, the creator of Scrabble, Alfred Mosher Butts, died. Mr. Butts was the architect, artist and photographer, who invented the board game Scrabble. He carefully analyzed how often each letter is used (that's how he decided how many of each letter to include and how many points each one would earn), then drew a board and glued letters on some balsa tiles. Originally called Criss Cross (1931), the game, which was based on the crossword puzzle and anagrams, was redesigned, renamed as Scrabble, and marketed by James Brunot in 1948.Scrabble is a great way to practice spelling. Dana from Principled Discovery describes some different methods to help improve spelling in children.
For more fun and games from Germany, Rina at Green Fields and Open Horizons suggests Yuginomics. It is a great game to teach how the laws of supply and demand affect market price.
Denise at Let's Play Math reminds us to look for that "Aha!" factor. Instead of drudgery, mathematics should be a game of discovery.
A homeschool mom at Sprittibee shares a list of computer games from Pre-K through college age.
To close our review of fun and games, High Desert Hi-Jinks share a homeschool mother blooper.
2005
Department of the Treasury announced that the $10 denomination will be the next note slated for a make-over by the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). The newly designed $10 note is scheduled to be issued by the Federal Reserve in early 2006.Barbara at Imperfect Homeschooler muses on the "opportunity cost" of homeschooling. She contimplates why a homeschool mom thinks giving up 20 years of her life and over $600,000 in lost wages to homeschool her children is worth it.
Spunky at Spunky Homeschool also addresses the issue of money in her post Answers Please! She responds to the comment, "I can't afford to have that many children."
Carmon at Buried Treasure Books joins the discussion about money. She points out that poor writing skills costs taxpayers money.
Nerd Mom at Nerd Family answers questions about the cost of homeschooling.
We end our carnival with a post entitled, "When Does Homeschooling Stop?" from A Father's View of Homeschooling.
If you have enjoyed this carnival, please spread the word. Please mention the carnival on your blog, and other appropriate places. There are other bloggers out there who haven't heard of the Carnival of Homeschooling.
Go here for the archives of previous carnivals.
Next week the carnival will be held at Tami's Blog.
If you are interested in submitting a post, click here for information.
For those interested, the Carnival of Education will be coming out on Wednesday.
This carnival is registered at TTLB's Uber Carnival.
I'd like to thank everyone who has helped out. Thank you to all the participants in this carnival. And thanks to all those who help promote the Carnival of Homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling, Isadore, Bishop of Seville, Nuremberg, Charles de L'Écluse, Susanna M. Salter, Susanna Salter, Alfred Mosher Butts, Scrabble
Monday, April 03, 2006
More information on homeschooling problems in Germany
In response to our post last week on Homeschool in Germany, go to jail, Gary Davis, of HomeSchoolBuzz.com, sent me a whole bunch of links to articles over the last couple years about homeschooling in Germany. Last year a number of parents were sent to jail. Here are some posts from 2004: one, two, three. Here are some more posts from 2005: one, two, three.
The first link leads to a chronology of one group's struggle with the German government to be allowed to homeschool their children. The last entry is dated February 2006 and says: "After a whole year of meetings and discussions, the Ministry of Education and the Community in Klosterzimmern agreed upon setting up a private school. We and our children are very happy about this and thank God for this solution." It looks like in some situations parents can teach their children at home.
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And on a related note, Scatty, a homeschooling blogger in Germany has written more about the current situation, along with a plea for help.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Germany
The first link leads to a chronology of one group's struggle with the German government to be allowed to homeschool their children. The last entry is dated February 2006 and says: "After a whole year of meetings and discussions, the Ministry of Education and the Community in Klosterzimmern agreed upon setting up a private school. We and our children are very happy about this and thank God for this solution." It looks like in some situations parents can teach their children at home.
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And on a related note, Scatty, a homeschooling blogger in Germany has written more about the current situation, along with a plea for help.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Germany
BATBACK - an article ranking and feedback tool for blogs
In the comments ona post of our from last week, Is there a way to get statistics on comments?, Dan Markham mentioned that he is developing a tool for helping user find similar articles to what a reader is currently reading. The tool looks pretty interesting. You can see batBack in use on his wife's blog, Home Sweet Home. Each article has a RATE ME! button. The reader can click on the button, and rate the article in terms of several different categories. You can also use batBack to find similar articles.
His wife, Melissa Markham, explains the tool in greater detail. Daniel also explains how to use the tool.
Here is the batBack home page. And here is the signup page.
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Technorati tags: batback, blog tool, article rating
His wife, Melissa Markham, explains the tool in greater detail. Daniel also explains how to use the tool.
Here is the batBack home page. And here is the signup page.
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Technorati tags: batback, blog tool, article rating
Is it good or moral to scarifice your child to make public schools better?
On JoanneJacobs.com, Joanne reports on a teacher who is upset that KIPP charter schools tries to provide a better education for some children. The teacher wrote a letter claiming that KIPP takes the best teachers and students and leaves public schools with the leftovers.
I thought the fourth comment by Richard Aubrey was insightful:
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The letterwriter presumes to tell us that the school will change if the families want it to.
Who does he think he's talking to? His own students? Who else would be that dumb? Public schools are the most resistant insitutions to outside influences I can imagine.
If the families who were concerned could change the schools, the schools would have been changed and none of this would be necessary.
In addition, he implies that KIPP and the families who choose to go there are somehow being socially selfish not to leave their kids in public schools as a sort of human sacrifice.
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I think this is a key point: "families who choose to go there are somehow being socially selfish not to leave their kids in public schools as a sort of human sacrifice." Many in the public school system seem to feel that they are being betrayed when parents find better options for their children. Public schools are supposed to provide a good education for children. Parents do not have an obligation to send their children to the public schools.
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Technorati tags: education, public school, KIPP, charter schools
I thought the fourth comment by Richard Aubrey was insightful:
-------
The letterwriter presumes to tell us that the school will change if the families want it to.
Who does he think he's talking to? His own students? Who else would be that dumb? Public schools are the most resistant insitutions to outside influences I can imagine.
If the families who were concerned could change the schools, the schools would have been changed and none of this would be necessary.
In addition, he implies that KIPP and the families who choose to go there are somehow being socially selfish not to leave their kids in public schools as a sort of human sacrifice.
-------
I think this is a key point: "families who choose to go there are somehow being socially selfish not to leave their kids in public schools as a sort of human sacrifice." Many in the public school system seem to feel that they are being betrayed when parents find better options for their children. Public schools are supposed to provide a good education for children. Parents do not have an obligation to send their children to the public schools.
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Technorati tags: education, public school, KIPP, charter schools
Links to interesting postings - 3 April 2006
I liked Linda Seebach's column on E.D. Hirsch's new book The Knowledge Deficit. E.D. Hirsch wrote the series of "What your (Kindergartner, First, Second, Third, Forth, Fifth, Sixth) grader needs to know" books. In The Knowledge Deficit E.D. Hirsch makes the point that we don't learn in a vacuum. Linda Seebach explains: "understanding what you read depends on your being able to fill in from your own knowledge all the things the writer assumes readers will know and therefore doesn't mention."
The Head Mistress at The Common Room writes about schedules, and some of the things she learned in reading The Parents Review. From the Ambleside Online web site: "The Parents Review was a magazine sent to parents and teachers of Charlotte Mason's schools and correspondence-type homeschools between about 1890 and 1920." The Head Mistress found this quote: "In these busy days, no one gets through all they intend." This was just as true in the early 1900s as it is today. The Head Mistress concludes by saying we shouldn't get discouraged when we can't seem to do it all.
Isabel Lyman of The Homeschooling Revolution found a book review of Public Education Against America: The Hidden Agenda by Marlin Maddoux. I haven't read the book, but it looks like yet another book exploring some of the problems with the public school system, from a Christian perspective.
Christine at The Thinking Mother writes some of her thoughts about the pros and cons of homeschooling in regards to being able to meet authors of children's books.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, E.D. Hirsch, The Knowledge Deficit, Linda Seebach, Charlotte Mason, Public Education Against America, Marlin Maddoux
The Head Mistress at The Common Room writes about schedules, and some of the things she learned in reading The Parents Review. From the Ambleside Online web site: "The Parents Review was a magazine sent to parents and teachers of Charlotte Mason's schools and correspondence-type homeschools between about 1890 and 1920." The Head Mistress found this quote: "In these busy days, no one gets through all they intend." This was just as true in the early 1900s as it is today. The Head Mistress concludes by saying we shouldn't get discouraged when we can't seem to do it all.
Isabel Lyman of The Homeschooling Revolution found a book review of Public Education Against America: The Hidden Agenda by Marlin Maddoux. I haven't read the book, but it looks like yet another book exploring some of the problems with the public school system, from a Christian perspective.
Christine at The Thinking Mother writes some of her thoughts about the pros and cons of homeschooling in regards to being able to meet authors of children's books.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, E.D. Hirsch, The Knowledge Deficit, Linda Seebach, Charlotte Mason, Public Education Against America, Marlin Maddoux
The Carnival of Children's Literature, month 3, is up
Sherry at Semicolon is hosting this month's Carnival of Children's Literature. She has enough to keep you busy for the whole month of April.
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Technorati tags: children, literature
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Technorati tags: children, literature
Selections from HomeSchoolBuzz.com - 3 April 2006
It is spring time and spelling bees and geography bees are breaking out all over the place. Homeschoolers seem to be doing well in many of these contests.
HomeSchoolBuzz.com found a homeschooler, Jonathan Horton, won the Arizona State spelling bee.
Homeschoolers are also doing well in geography bees. HomeSchoolBuzz.com mentions that Adam Krejci won the Oklahoma state contest. Autumn Hughes likewise won the Colorado state contest. (We really enjoyed the movie SpellBound, about the 1999 National Spelling Bee. Maybe someone will do a movie on the National Geography Bee.)
HomeSchoolBuzz.com also found a postive article about why Homeschooling is growing in popularity.
HomeSchoolBuzz.com is a great blog to follow for recent news about homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Jonathan Horton, Spelling bee, SpellBound, Adam Krejci, Autumn Hughes, Geography Bee
HomeSchoolBuzz.com found a homeschooler, Jonathan Horton, won the Arizona State spelling bee.
Homeschoolers are also doing well in geography bees. HomeSchoolBuzz.com mentions that Adam Krejci won the Oklahoma state contest. Autumn Hughes likewise won the Colorado state contest. (We really enjoyed the movie SpellBound, about the 1999 National Spelling Bee. Maybe someone will do a movie on the National Geography Bee.)
HomeSchoolBuzz.com also found a postive article about why Homeschooling is growing in popularity.
HomeSchoolBuzz.com is a great blog to follow for recent news about homeschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Jonathan Horton, Spelling bee, SpellBound, Adam Krejci, Autumn Hughes, Geography Bee
Saturday, April 01, 2006
More online courses for public schools
My mother sent me a link a couple days ago to an interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor. Online courses aren't just for home-schoolers anymore focuses on how online courses are being used more and more by public schools. There are a number of reasons. Some students want greater variety. If you attend a small rural school you may not have a chance out something like Latin, unless you go with an online course. It is a long article, and it is worth reading.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, online learning, distance learning
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, online learning, distance learning
Adult children living with Mom and Dad
Dr. Helen started a post yesterday with this startling statistic: "So now a third of all men 22-34 are living at home with little motivation to do much of anything." The WashingtonPost.com had a column by Leonard Sax who wrote about some of the reasons why more children, focusing on men, are still living with mom and dad.
Most complex issues have more than one root cause. That is part of what makes complex problems hard to solve. If there was a single contributing factor, many issues would be solved. I think one of the reasons for so many adults living with their parents is our country is prosperous, and many parents were able to pamper their children as the children grew up. The result is children didn’t learn to be competent adults. A hundred years ago few parents had the luxury of letting their children grow up without learning how to work hard. Michael Barone talks a bit about this in Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future. In the last couple generations parents were told that good parents made childhood one big party. The result has been many children never learned to handle adult responsibilities. And now it is very scary for some adult children to consider moving out on their own. It is easier to live under the sheltering wing of mom and dad.
At this moment there are 51 comments in response to Dr. Helen's post. At lot of the comments are about how men are treated today. In our society now there are many who treat men with contempt. In a column Doug Giles builds on this theme with an opening line of: "Can you imagine the African American uproar that would rightfully ensue if Hollywood produced a movie that painted black people as idiots that white people had to help or they just couldn’t make it life?" Doug says that many in today's society continually attack men for being men.
Doug says the best way for parents to raise sons is to train them to be Godly men, and help the young men be incredibly smart. Doug has several steps for helping sons be well education. Part of it is going against today's flow and convicing young boys that it is cool to be smart. (If you haven't checked out the comparison between Michael Jordan and Bill Gates, go here.)
Those of you with young sons, please work hard to help your boys grow into competent young men. Do it so they won't be living with you for the next forty years. (I have an ulterior motive, I want there to be lots of competent young men when my daughters grow up.)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, adult children, competent adults, parenting, raising sons, Leonard Sax, Doug Giles
Most complex issues have more than one root cause. That is part of what makes complex problems hard to solve. If there was a single contributing factor, many issues would be solved. I think one of the reasons for so many adults living with their parents is our country is prosperous, and many parents were able to pamper their children as the children grew up. The result is children didn’t learn to be competent adults. A hundred years ago few parents had the luxury of letting their children grow up without learning how to work hard. Michael Barone talks a bit about this in Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future. In the last couple generations parents were told that good parents made childhood one big party. The result has been many children never learned to handle adult responsibilities. And now it is very scary for some adult children to consider moving out on their own. It is easier to live under the sheltering wing of mom and dad.
At this moment there are 51 comments in response to Dr. Helen's post. At lot of the comments are about how men are treated today. In our society now there are many who treat men with contempt. In a column Doug Giles builds on this theme with an opening line of: "Can you imagine the African American uproar that would rightfully ensue if Hollywood produced a movie that painted black people as idiots that white people had to help or they just couldn’t make it life?" Doug says that many in today's society continually attack men for being men.
Doug says the best way for parents to raise sons is to train them to be Godly men, and help the young men be incredibly smart. Doug has several steps for helping sons be well education. Part of it is going against today's flow and convicing young boys that it is cool to be smart. (If you haven't checked out the comparison between Michael Jordan and Bill Gates, go here.)
Those of you with young sons, please work hard to help your boys grow into competent young men. Do it so they won't be living with you for the next forty years. (I have an ulterior motive, I want there to be lots of competent young men when my daughters grow up.)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, adult children, competent adults, parenting, raising sons, Leonard Sax, Doug Giles
Links to interesting postings - 1 April 2006
From Mother Crone's Homeschool is a wonderful example of what homeschooling is really about, start here, and then go here. Homeschooling is more of an attitude than just teaching children at home. Once we start realizing our children can be very capable, then our view shifts and we start looking for more opportunities to help them really learn.
Beverly Hernandez, of About Homeschooling, has some of the history of April Fool's Day. (Hat tip: HomeSchoolBuzz.com)
Beverly Hernandez, of About Homeschooling, has some of the history of April Fool's Day. (Hat tip: HomeSchoolBuzz.com)
Homeschool in Germany, go to jail
Recently I came across a blog which focuses on the German media, Davids Medienkritik. I have heard that there have been some problems for homeschoolers in Germany, but didn't know any details. So I asked if they had any recent news about parents trying to homeschool in Germany. They gave me this link, but the news article is in German. I had my brother read the article and he reported:
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The judge, in another article, off of the "MIRROR ONLINE reported in detail" link, basically says, "In my opinion, your kids will have a very hard time later in life." And later, "When your kids are with you at home, they have an ideal world. Unfortunately, that is not the society that we live in." So he's willing to take the kids away from the parents so they'll have a chance to develop on their own in the "real world". "They also need a chance to meet with people who think differently."
LOL! It would be funnier if they weren't serious. Apparently, the judge was concerned that sex education wasn't being taught. The parents said, "We have rabbits." Essentially, that the kids could see for themselves as the rabbits were having babies, and the care the rabbits had for each other and the babies. The mom said, "Pregnancy is always at our house, either me or one of the animals." It wasn't enough for the judge. "The children must have more explanation of every day situations." Every day situations?
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The children in this family understand the basics of sex. What the judge really seems want is that the children have certain values about sex.
Scatty at Green fields and open horizons reports that she talked with the father. The father seems upbeat and almost happy to spend a week in jail to prove a point.
In many ways it seems Germany is about 20 to 30 years behind the United States in how it treats homeschoolers. I am grateful that so many people made the effort to establish the right for parents to teach their children at home.
Scatty makes an interesting point: "In Germany an 8 year old is regarded by the law as being capable of choosing which parent to live with in the case of divorce but is not consulted as to how he or she wants to be educated."
It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I hope the higher judges in Germany rule in support of the right for parents to homeschool.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Germany
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The judge, in another article, off of the "MIRROR ONLINE reported in detail" link, basically says, "In my opinion, your kids will have a very hard time later in life." And later, "When your kids are with you at home, they have an ideal world. Unfortunately, that is not the society that we live in." So he's willing to take the kids away from the parents so they'll have a chance to develop on their own in the "real world". "They also need a chance to meet with people who think differently."
LOL! It would be funnier if they weren't serious. Apparently, the judge was concerned that sex education wasn't being taught. The parents said, "We have rabbits." Essentially, that the kids could see for themselves as the rabbits were having babies, and the care the rabbits had for each other and the babies. The mom said, "Pregnancy is always at our house, either me or one of the animals." It wasn't enough for the judge. "The children must have more explanation of every day situations." Every day situations?
-----------------
The children in this family understand the basics of sex. What the judge really seems want is that the children have certain values about sex.
Scatty at Green fields and open horizons reports that she talked with the father. The father seems upbeat and almost happy to spend a week in jail to prove a point.
In many ways it seems Germany is about 20 to 30 years behind the United States in how it treats homeschoolers. I am grateful that so many people made the effort to establish the right for parents to teach their children at home.
Scatty makes an interesting point: "In Germany an 8 year old is regarded by the law as being capable of choosing which parent to live with in the case of divorce but is not consulted as to how he or she wants to be educated."
It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I hope the higher judges in Germany rule in support of the right for parents to homeschool.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Germany
Book review: A Thane of Wessex by Charles W. Whistler
I was given a copy of A Thane of Wessex for review by Capricorn Publishing. This book is historical fiction, placed in early England. I enjoyed the book. I started reading it just planning to read the first couple chapters and then finish the book later in the evening. I ended up blowing off a couple projects to finish the book before dinner.
The hero is a young man who has inherited some property, after his father dies. The young man, Heregar, unwisely says things against the king of England. A neighbor with covetous eyes encourages the young man to say more, and then brings this to the attention of the local authorities. As punishment Heregar is kicked out of society. He is outside the protection of the law, he is now an outlaw. At this point in time an outlaw didn't always mean a criminal. An outlaw was someone who was on his own.
Heregar has some great adventures. My daughter also enjoyed the book, but this is more of a boys book. There is intrigue and fighting. There are great wrongs, which are righted by the end of the book. There is lots of sword fighting. The English are being attacked by Vikings. Even though Heregar is no longer part of society, he helps in the fight against the Vikings.
Through the book we learn about how people lived a thousand years ago. We see different facets of society. We see how society worked. In addition to understanding the origin of "outlaw" I learned a few other things about old England.
The author, Charles W. Whistler, lived from 1856 to 1913. He wrote a whole series of books of historical fiction spanning about five hundred years of English history. This is the first book I've read of the series. I would enjoy reading more of them.
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Technorati tags: A Thane of Wessex, Charles W. Whistler, Charles Whistler, Heregar, historical fiction
The hero is a young man who has inherited some property, after his father dies. The young man, Heregar, unwisely says things against the king of England. A neighbor with covetous eyes encourages the young man to say more, and then brings this to the attention of the local authorities. As punishment Heregar is kicked out of society. He is outside the protection of the law, he is now an outlaw. At this point in time an outlaw didn't always mean a criminal. An outlaw was someone who was on his own.
Heregar has some great adventures. My daughter also enjoyed the book, but this is more of a boys book. There is intrigue and fighting. There are great wrongs, which are righted by the end of the book. There is lots of sword fighting. The English are being attacked by Vikings. Even though Heregar is no longer part of society, he helps in the fight against the Vikings.
Through the book we learn about how people lived a thousand years ago. We see different facets of society. We see how society worked. In addition to understanding the origin of "outlaw" I learned a few other things about old England.
The author, Charles W. Whistler, lived from 1856 to 1913. He wrote a whole series of books of historical fiction spanning about five hundred years of English history. This is the first book I've read of the series. I would enjoy reading more of them.
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Technorati tags: A Thane of Wessex, Charles W. Whistler, Charles Whistler, Heregar, historical fiction
The History Carnival, 28th edition, is up
The History Carnival is up at Patahistory. One post is specifically mentioned as being a good resource for Christian homeschoolers.
I got started on a post awhile back for the History Carnival. I need to finish the post and submit it before the next carnival, April 15th.
The host for the next carnival is (a)musings of a grad student. If you are interested in participating in a future carnival, submit via this form or email Rebecca at rgoetz[at]fas[dot]harvard[dot]edu.
(Hat tip: World History Blog)
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Technorati tags: history, history carnival
I got started on a post awhile back for the History Carnival. I need to finish the post and submit it before the next carnival, April 15th.
The host for the next carnival is (a)musings of a grad student. If you are interested in participating in a future carnival, submit via this form or email Rebecca at rgoetz[at]fas[dot]harvard[dot]edu.
(Hat tip: World History Blog)
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Technorati tags: history, history carnival
The Carnival of Kid Comedy, week 4, is up
The latest Carnival of Kid Comedy is up. It is a good for a laugh.
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Technorati tags: Carnival of Kid Comedy, humor, blog carnival, children
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Technorati tags: Carnival of Kid Comedy, humor, blog carnival, children
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