Last week Diamond to Be recommended AwesomeStories. She said:
"See this one also, http://www.awesomestories.com/. This website is full of primary resources for history, and it's amazing!"
I've just spent the last half hour checking out the web site. She is right, it is amazing. There are very extensive resources on hundreds of topics. One caveat, the site does ask people to register.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Carnival of Education is up
This week's Carnival of Education is hosted by Steve Spangler.
If you would like to submit to the next Carnival of Education, go here.
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Technorati tags: education, school
If you would like to submit to the next Carnival of Education, go here.
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Technorati tags: education, school
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Uh.....thanks, I guess
Today, Baby Bop began speech therapy. About 3o minutes before the speech therapist was due to arrive, I got a call from my neighbor. Her car wouldn't start and she and her son were stuck at the library. I jumped in the car with Baby Bop and left my second and third daughters at home while I went to pick up my neighbor's son. When I got back, the speech therapist had already arrived.
The speech therapist was quite complimentary of my older children. She went on and on about how impressed she was with my daughters. However, I wasn't sure how to respond to her last compliment.
"Your daughters are so wonderful. I wouldn't never have guessed that they were homeschooled."
Uh.....thanks, I guess.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The speech therapist was quite complimentary of my older children. She went on and on about how impressed she was with my daughters. However, I wasn't sure how to respond to her last compliment.
"Your daughters are so wonderful. I wouldn't never have guessed that they were homeschooled."
Uh.....thanks, I guess.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Rushing to fix education, without understanding why it is broken
Imagine you've just had a small accident so you go see a doctor. You think you've broken your arm. You start to talk with the doctor, but he interrupts and asks you to try on a set of glasses. Doubtfully you put them on. He asks, "Do you feel better now?" You tell him no, you start to mention this recent accident, but again he interrupts and suggests you put on an ear warmer. "Does that help?" Again you say no, a little louder this time. He pauses for a second and says "Well, maybe your blood sugars are high, I'll give you a prescription for insulin."
Most of us would be wondering if we were in the twilight zone and we would be edging towards the door to escape from this crazy situation.
The doctor was trying to provide solutions before he understood the problem. You never, never proscribe until you've gathered data and done some diagnosis.
Yet too often politicians seem to skip over the first step.
Recently a group of politicians have decided the Time is ripe to fix education. (Hat tip: Edspresso)
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Fixing the nation's schools is the civil-rights priority of this century because so many of them — particularly those serving poor kids — are not delivering high-quality service, a group of prominent city, civil-rights and education leaders said Sunday.
In the lobby of one of Denver's sterling charter schools, New York City schools chief Joe Klein, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, state Senate President Peter Groff and Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien, among others, said they would do whatever it takes to push education onto the crowded political agenda this fall.
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The politicians are planning to force other politicians to address education. There is no discussion of why decade after decade education gets worse in America. They don't seem to have a clue on why only half of the students in Denver who start school will end up with a high school diploma.
Education is an easy issue to get attention on. It is important to parents. People recognize there are so many problems and children are suffering for life with a poor education.
This new movement, the Education Equality Project, has a real nice sounding, but vague, set of goals:
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The Education Equality Project is a non-partisan group of elected officials, civil rights leaders, and education reformers that has formed to help ensure that America finally brings equity to an educational system that, 54 years since Brown v. Board of Education, continues to fail its highest needs students. The project will take on conventional wisdom and the entrenched impediments to real reform, focusing on teacher quality and pay; accountability for results; and maximizing parents' options. It will also challenge politicians, public officials, educators, union leaders, and anybody else who stands in the way of necessary change. This means challenging laws and contracts that preserve a system that fails students. The one measure of every policy, regardless of the depths of its historic roots or the power of its adherents, must be whether it advances student learning.
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The mission statement seems to be all sound with no substance. There is no mention of their understanding on why there is a problem. They'll probably end up trying to change the class size, or hire more teachers, or some such ineffective response. Then five years down the road education will be worse, but they'll be able to say they tried to fix education.
Sad.
Remember, you first have to understand a problem before you can fix it.
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
Most of us would be wondering if we were in the twilight zone and we would be edging towards the door to escape from this crazy situation.
The doctor was trying to provide solutions before he understood the problem. You never, never proscribe until you've gathered data and done some diagnosis.
Yet too often politicians seem to skip over the first step.
Recently a group of politicians have decided the Time is ripe to fix education. (Hat tip: Edspresso)
----------
Fixing the nation's schools is the civil-rights priority of this century because so many of them — particularly those serving poor kids — are not delivering high-quality service, a group of prominent city, civil-rights and education leaders said Sunday.
In the lobby of one of Denver's sterling charter schools, New York City schools chief Joe Klein, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, state Senate President Peter Groff and Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien, among others, said they would do whatever it takes to push education onto the crowded political agenda this fall.
----------
The politicians are planning to force other politicians to address education. There is no discussion of why decade after decade education gets worse in America. They don't seem to have a clue on why only half of the students in Denver who start school will end up with a high school diploma.
Education is an easy issue to get attention on. It is important to parents. People recognize there are so many problems and children are suffering for life with a poor education.
This new movement, the Education Equality Project, has a real nice sounding, but vague, set of goals:
----------
The Education Equality Project is a non-partisan group of elected officials, civil rights leaders, and education reformers that has formed to help ensure that America finally brings equity to an educational system that, 54 years since Brown v. Board of Education, continues to fail its highest needs students. The project will take on conventional wisdom and the entrenched impediments to real reform, focusing on teacher quality and pay; accountability for results; and maximizing parents' options. It will also challenge politicians, public officials, educators, union leaders, and anybody else who stands in the way of necessary change. This means challenging laws and contracts that preserve a system that fails students. The one measure of every policy, regardless of the depths of its historic roots or the power of its adherents, must be whether it advances student learning.
----------
The mission statement seems to be all sound with no substance. There is no mention of their understanding on why there is a problem. They'll probably end up trying to change the class size, or hire more teachers, or some such ineffective response. Then five years down the road education will be worse, but they'll be able to say they tried to fix education.
Sad.
Remember, you first have to understand a problem before you can fix it.
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is up
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Red Sea School.
Shaun has a set of lovely quotes about summer scattered among the many posts.
Enjoy.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Shaun has a set of lovely quotes about summer scattered among the many posts.
Enjoy.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Keep the camel's nose out of the tent
Camel's Nose In The Tent is a good reminder about how benign intentions can led to unintended consequences. Camel Story Tales, Folklore & Legends has this version:
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One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.
A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.
Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.
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I was reminded of this story as I read NHELD's analysis of S. 3076: Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008. The bill is suppose to give homeschooling families tax deductions for expenses relating to homeschooling. NHELD has several concerns about the bill. Here are a few:
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a) The bill does not define the term, “home school”. Right now, there are many definitions of the term, “home school”. For example, does the bill affect those “home schools” that are operated by the public school system in which students must participate in the curriculum generated by the public school but may follow that curriculum at home, or does the bill affect those “home schools” that are considered “private schools”, or does the bill affect those “home schools” that are affiliated with correspondence schools, or does the bill affect those “home schools” that are independently run by individual parents alone? The bill does not answer those questions.
b) Who will decide what the definition of “home school” is? The IRS, the Congress, each state’s legislature, the courts? Again, the bill does not specify.
c) Who will decide what expenses “qualify” as deductible? Answer: the IRS. That’s because the bill calls for “rules” to be established. “Rules” are promulgated by the agency that will implement the law. In this case, that’s the IRS.
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This bill seems like a bad idea. Mary Nix agrees. I encourage you to study it some and then contact your Senator. I will ask my Senators to oppose the bill.
I don't want the government's nose in my tent.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.
A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.
Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.
----------
I was reminded of this story as I read NHELD's analysis of S. 3076: Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008. The bill is suppose to give homeschooling families tax deductions for expenses relating to homeschooling. NHELD has several concerns about the bill. Here are a few:
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a) The bill does not define the term, “home school”. Right now, there are many definitions of the term, “home school”. For example, does the bill affect those “home schools” that are operated by the public school system in which students must participate in the curriculum generated by the public school but may follow that curriculum at home, or does the bill affect those “home schools” that are considered “private schools”, or does the bill affect those “home schools” that are affiliated with correspondence schools, or does the bill affect those “home schools” that are independently run by individual parents alone? The bill does not answer those questions.
b) Who will decide what the definition of “home school” is? The IRS, the Congress, each state’s legislature, the courts? Again, the bill does not specify.
c) Who will decide what expenses “qualify” as deductible? Answer: the IRS. That’s because the bill calls for “rules” to be established. “Rules” are promulgated by the agency that will implement the law. In this case, that’s the IRS.
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This bill seems like a bad idea. Mary Nix agrees. I encourage you to study it some and then contact your Senator. I will ask my Senators to oppose the bill.
I don't want the government's nose in my tent.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
A little update
I haven't been posting much lately. If I did post, the topic would be foster care, not homeschooling. Our "foster boy" has been with us about 8 months. Sometimes I wish we had an anonymous blog, like a dusty frame, so that I could give more details about what is going on. But since we use our name, I'm pretty limited in what I can legally talk about.
When people ask me how long "Baby Bop" will be staying, I reply, "Somewhere between two weeks and the rest of his life." Since last week, Baby Bop is no longer on the reunification track. Sometime in November the court could move to terminate parental rights, clearing the way for an adoption. I say "could" because the system moves pretty slowly. I'm expecting a few continuances and other court delays. After parental rights have been terminated, his adoption paperwork could take anywhere between 3 to 9 months. Our adoption home study is already completed, so there should be no delay on our part.
As a homeschooler with a healthy mistrust of government programs, I'm quite happy that the court moves so slowly. I don't want a world where the government can easily and permanently remove children from their parents. On the other hand, when you are caring for a young child, it doesn't take very long for you to become the parents from the child's point of view.
We actively supported the reunification process. As more time passed, we became more and more concerned about the trauma reunification could cause. We are the only home he can remember and his bio family are virtual strangers.
I believe for this and other reasons, the bio parents chose to drop out of the reunification process.
Sometimes I don't know what scared me more; Baby Bop leaving or him staying. Baby Bop is a complicated little guy with some long term health issues. The longer he is with us, the more confident I become that we can handle these challenges.
I would say more, but Baby Bop needs my attention.
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Technorati tags: foster care, parenting, family, children
When people ask me how long "Baby Bop" will be staying, I reply, "Somewhere between two weeks and the rest of his life." Since last week, Baby Bop is no longer on the reunification track. Sometime in November the court could move to terminate parental rights, clearing the way for an adoption. I say "could" because the system moves pretty slowly. I'm expecting a few continuances and other court delays. After parental rights have been terminated, his adoption paperwork could take anywhere between 3 to 9 months. Our adoption home study is already completed, so there should be no delay on our part.
As a homeschooler with a healthy mistrust of government programs, I'm quite happy that the court moves so slowly. I don't want a world where the government can easily and permanently remove children from their parents. On the other hand, when you are caring for a young child, it doesn't take very long for you to become the parents from the child's point of view.
We actively supported the reunification process. As more time passed, we became more and more concerned about the trauma reunification could cause. We are the only home he can remember and his bio family are virtual strangers.
I believe for this and other reasons, the bio parents chose to drop out of the reunification process.
Sometimes I don't know what scared me more; Baby Bop leaving or him staying. Baby Bop is a complicated little guy with some long term health issues. The longer he is with us, the more confident I become that we can handle these challenges.
I would say more, but Baby Bop needs my attention.
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Technorati tags: foster care, parenting, family, children
Monday, July 14, 2008
Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers is up
While you are waiting for the Carnival of Homeschoolers, check out the latest edition of the Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers.
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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
Summer homeschooling
We are very academically focused in our homeschooling from September to early June. Janine schedules what our girls are to study and do each week. But in the summer we relax and let our girls play more. In times past we've tried various approaches to keeping the learning process going while letting our girls have a little fun.
This summer is our most relaxed. We still have a foster care boy which keeps Janine pretty busy. The older two girls and Janine went off to a church camp for a week, and then we were gone for another week visiting family and attending a wedding. All these things have broken up our normal summer programs designed for stealth learning.
Yet our daughters are learning:
Our second daughter continues to try cooking various foods.
We have our weekly trips to the library. And often two trips. Cause you know I've finished the fifteen books we checked out four days ago.
Hours of playing Civilization IV has given them a little insight into history, technology, and how societies develop. (And I've learned that my youngest daughter is a bit blood thirsty.)
We had an short discussion of tactics and strategy after watching Return of the King Saturday.
Our oldest signed up for band camp. She wanted it enough that she paid part.
And then there is all the socialization now that they have more time to play with their children.
Even though we've stopped the official program of education, it is nice to see our daughters are still learning.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
This summer is our most relaxed. We still have a foster care boy which keeps Janine pretty busy. The older two girls and Janine went off to a church camp for a week, and then we were gone for another week visiting family and attending a wedding. All these things have broken up our normal summer programs designed for stealth learning.
Yet our daughters are learning:
Our second daughter continues to try cooking various foods.
We have our weekly trips to the library. And often two trips. Cause you know I've finished the fifteen books we checked out four days ago.
Hours of playing Civilization IV has given them a little insight into history, technology, and how societies develop. (And I've learned that my youngest daughter is a bit blood thirsty.)
We had an short discussion of tactics and strategy after watching Return of the King Saturday.
Our oldest signed up for band camp. She wanted it enough that she paid part.
And then there is all the socialization now that they have more time to play with their children.
Even though we've stopped the official program of education, it is nice to see our daughters are still learning.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Southern Cross in a Southern Sky
I greatly enjoy the Astronomy Picture of the Day. This picture was posted earlier this week:
It is by Yuri Beletsky, who game me permission to post this on my blog.
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Technorati tags: Yuri Beletsky, Southern Cross
It is by Yuri Beletsky, who game me permission to post this on my blog.
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Technorati tags: Yuri Beletsky, Southern Cross
Another book I've requested from the Library - The Call to Brilliance
Stef at ... and these Thy gifts found an interview by Gregory Mantell with Resa Steindel Brown in Homeschooling and The Call to Brilliance in the first ten minutes and last five minutes of this:
"The Call to Brilliance" looks interesting. I've requested The Call to Brialliance from my library. Here's the web site. Resa is a homeschooler. She says that by working with children we can help them discover their brilliance.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
"The Call to Brilliance" looks interesting. I've requested The Call to Brialliance from my library. Here's the web site. Resa is a homeschooler. She says that by working with children we can help them discover their brilliance.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Friday, July 11, 2008
Pretty impressive - may be making progress in cancer treatment, at 19
Eva Vertes got excited about medicine at age ten. She's been chasing her passion ever since. She gave this TED at age 19 in February 2005:
I am impressed.
An interview with her from last year started with:
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Eva Vertes isn’t a normal young person. At least, that’s what our culture would tell us. Her discovery of a compound that inhibits brain cell death was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer’s and won her Best in Medicine at the International Science Fair at age 17. Quickly labeled a microbiology prodigy, Eva now aims to find better ways to treat — and avoid — cancer.
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This is the kind of passion we are working to develop in our daughters. They may not rise to this level, but we keep exposing them to various subjects and support their interests.
(Hat tip: This Week In Homeschooling)
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Technorati tags: passion
I am impressed.
An interview with her from last year started with:
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Eva Vertes isn’t a normal young person. At least, that’s what our culture would tell us. Her discovery of a compound that inhibits brain cell death was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer’s and won her Best in Medicine at the International Science Fair at age 17. Quickly labeled a microbiology prodigy, Eva now aims to find better ways to treat — and avoid — cancer.
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This is the kind of passion we are working to develop in our daughters. They may not rise to this level, but we keep exposing them to various subjects and support their interests.
(Hat tip: This Week In Homeschooling)
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Technorati tags: passion
The 12th Edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival is up
Yet another homeschooling carnival is up - Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival.
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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
A lack of common sense?
Paul Jacob writes a set of columns about various issues. Yestereday Paul reporteds on an incident in Canada that had me wondering what was the judge thinking - Parental Authority: Grounded:
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A daughter sues her father for grounding her. A court agrees that the punishment was too severe. The court overrules father, overturns punishment. What?
This is happening in Canada. So it’s not anything we in the States need worry about. Yet.
I didn’t quite believe this story at first. But it’s true. The unnamed 12-year-old was forbidden to go on a field trip because she disobeyed rules about her use of the Internet. She chatted on websites that her father had tried to block. And she posted pictures of herself that he regarded as inappropriate. He says this is simply her latest misconduct.
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(Update I - 11 July 08)
Paul Jacob gave me permission to include the rest of his column:
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Justice Suzanne Tessier of the Quebec Superior Court acts as if grounding your child were tantamount to child abuse. And how dare Dad be concerned about online predators and such!
The lawyer for the father, Kim Beaudoin, says it’s the job of parents to set boundaries. Er, yes. Of course it’s the job of parents to raise their own children, not the state’s job. Or does Judge Tessier believe that a bureaucrat should be installed in every home, lugging a hefty manual stipulating exactly when a parent may send Timmy to his room?
Should a judge who would make such a ludicrous, totalitarian decision even be allowed to remain on the bench? At the very least, Tessier should be spanked. And no TV for the rest of the week.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Spunky made the point that teachers function as "surrogate parents." It looks like judges believe they should also be parents. Won't anyone let the parents be in charge?
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Technorati tags: parenting, government
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A daughter sues her father for grounding her. A court agrees that the punishment was too severe. The court overrules father, overturns punishment. What?
This is happening in Canada. So it’s not anything we in the States need worry about. Yet.
I didn’t quite believe this story at first. But it’s true. The unnamed 12-year-old was forbidden to go on a field trip because she disobeyed rules about her use of the Internet. She chatted on websites that her father had tried to block. And she posted pictures of herself that he regarded as inappropriate. He says this is simply her latest misconduct.
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(Update I - 11 July 08)
Paul Jacob gave me permission to include the rest of his column:
-----------
Justice Suzanne Tessier of the Quebec Superior Court acts as if grounding your child were tantamount to child abuse. And how dare Dad be concerned about online predators and such!
The lawyer for the father, Kim Beaudoin, says it’s the job of parents to set boundaries. Er, yes. Of course it’s the job of parents to raise their own children, not the state’s job. Or does Judge Tessier believe that a bureaucrat should be installed in every home, lugging a hefty manual stipulating exactly when a parent may send Timmy to his room?
Should a judge who would make such a ludicrous, totalitarian decision even be allowed to remain on the bench? At the very least, Tessier should be spanked. And no TV for the rest of the week.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
-----------
Spunky made the point that teachers function as "surrogate parents." It looks like judges believe they should also be parents. Won't anyone let the parents be in charge?
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Technorati tags: parenting, government
Interesting - Mapping Infectious Diseases
HealthyMap has a Global disease alert map.
The map is interesting, but I have to wonder how accurate it is for less developed parts of the world. It shows several dozen outbreaks in the United States, and only five in all of South America. I belief that there are probably more in South America, but that they are not being reported.
Still the map is interesting.
(Hat tip: Technology Review)
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Technorati tags: Infectious, Diseases
The map is interesting, but I have to wonder how accurate it is for less developed parts of the world. It shows several dozen outbreaks in the United States, and only five in all of South America. I belief that there are probably more in South America, but that they are not being reported.
Still the map is interesting.
(Hat tip: Technology Review)
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Technorati tags: Infectious, Diseases
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted at Red Sea School.
As always, entries 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 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
The Government and our children
The Head Mistress reports another abuse of power by social workers threatening to take children away from their powers - DNA and Chimeras:
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This story is so bizarre that I can't even begin to do justice to it. You'll have to read it yourself. To sum it up- a woman on welfare nearly lost her kids because DNA testing (required for Welfare now, apparently) indicated she wasn't the mother. Even when she gave birth in the hospital with a CPS worker standing by watching the DNA samples being take from her newborn and the mother, the DNA did not match, so CPS insisted she was acting as a surreptitious surrogate mother.
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It seems that with some social workers if there is any doubt then they want to yank the kids away.
Also The Head Mistress is staying on top of the FLDS fiasco. It just keeps getting clearer and clearer that the Texas CPS messed up, big time. FLDS July 10th. FLDS July 11th.
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Technorati tags: Child, Protective, Services, abuse
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This story is so bizarre that I can't even begin to do justice to it. You'll have to read it yourself. To sum it up- a woman on welfare nearly lost her kids because DNA testing (required for Welfare now, apparently) indicated she wasn't the mother. Even when she gave birth in the hospital with a CPS worker standing by watching the DNA samples being take from her newborn and the mother, the DNA did not match, so CPS insisted she was acting as a surreptitious surrogate mother.
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It seems that with some social workers if there is any doubt then they want to yank the kids away.
Also The Head Mistress is staying on top of the FLDS fiasco. It just keeps getting clearer and clearer that the Texas CPS messed up, big time. FLDS July 10th. FLDS July 11th.
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Technorati tags: Child, Protective, Services, abuse
Thursday, July 10, 2008
What do you see?
I enjoyed this line from Dan Galvin's Thought For The Day mailing list:
The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.
-Robertson Davies (1913-1995)
Novelist and playwright
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Technorati tags: eye, mind
The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.
-Robertson Davies (1913-1995)
Novelist and playwright
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Technorati tags: eye, mind
Pretty funny - why is the pool deck wet?
Dr. Helen reports on the Pool Mystery:
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Maggie's Farm: "These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture every time they came home after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were waiting for them to leave, and using the pool. However, they could never catch them doing it. So, they set up their video cam and left. This is what they found out:...."
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Technorati tags: humor
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Maggie's Farm: "These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture every time they came home after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were waiting for them to leave, and using the pool. However, they could never catch them doing it. So, they set up their video cam and left. This is what they found out:...."
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Technorati tags: humor
Anne turns 100
Joanne Jacobs reports that Anne of Green Gables turns 100! About twenty years ago I went through a period where I read most of Lucy Maude Montgomery's books. The series about Anne of Green Gables were my favorite.
Our family enjoys the two movies. (If someone tells you there is a third movie, they are not your friend.) We've probably watched the movies a dozen times in the last couple years. They caught the essence of Anne just right.
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Technorati tags: family
Our family enjoys the two movies. (If someone tells you there is a third movie, they are not your friend.) We've probably watched the movies a dozen times in the last couple years. They caught the essence of Anne just right.
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Technorati tags: family
This week's Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is up
This week's Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is up at Hearts and Trees.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason
A cool list of reference sites
Teaching Tips.com has a 100 Unbelievably Useful Reference Sites You’ve Never Heard Of. Here are a few I checked out:
RhymeZone - Have you ever worked on a poem about programming, but couldn't find the right word to rhyme with Java? This web site will provide you lots of options. A word to the wise, it seems to only be able to rhyme words it knows about. It couldn't handle homeschool.
Twain quotations - Who know that Mark Twain had so many quotable lines?
The Dialectizer - Translates into other dialects like Redneck, Jive, Cockney, Elmer Fudd, Swedish Chef, and so on. I'm sure you always wanted to read Why Homeschool in Redneck.
There are a lot of other interesting sites to check out.
(Hat tip: Clicked)
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Technorati tags: reference
RhymeZone - Have you ever worked on a poem about programming, but couldn't find the right word to rhyme with Java? This web site will provide you lots of options. A word to the wise, it seems to only be able to rhyme words it knows about. It couldn't handle homeschool.
Twain quotations - Who know that Mark Twain had so many quotable lines?
The Dialectizer - Translates into other dialects like Redneck, Jive, Cockney, Elmer Fudd, Swedish Chef, and so on. I'm sure you always wanted to read Why Homeschool in Redneck.
There are a lot of other interesting sites to check out.
(Hat tip: Clicked)
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Technorati tags: reference
What will you be doing November 21st?
My daughters will probably want to watch next Harry Potter movie the day it comes out, November 21st, but I'll probably wait till Thanksgiving Day.
Here are some pictures from the sixth film in the series "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
(Hat tip: Clicked)
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Technorati tags: Harry, Potter
Here are some pictures from the sixth film in the series "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
(Hat tip: Clicked)
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Technorati tags: Harry, Potter
The Special Ed Bounty
From Dr. Helen - Do Schools Overdiagnose Kids because of Financial Incentives?:
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Jay P. Greene, author of the excellent book, Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So has a column along with Greg Forster at Pajamas Media entitled "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Special Ed Bounty." It's an interesting piece pointing out that schools have a financial incentive to diagnose students as "disabled" and then not serve them.
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The column starts with:
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Recently, we wrote a column here on Pajamas Media drawing attention to the problem of financial incentives in special education. Laura McKenna responded with a column challenging a number of our assertions. Since her column raises far too many issues to be dealt with adequately in a comment thread, we’d like to thank PJM for giving us the opportunity to respond with yet another column.
Our original column went over the results of an empirical study we had conducted, showing that special education enrollments grew much faster in states that fund special education on a per-student basis. In most states, but not all of them, when a school places a student into special education that school gets an increase in funding. The empirical evidence establishes that growth in special education enrollments has been fueled by the presence of these financial incentives.
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I've heard several times about schools that diagnosis a child as learning disabled, and then the parent can never get the label lifted. The school would lose money. Sad.
The Greatest Management Principle Ever says out that which gets rewarded gets done. Government schools are rewarded for labling children Special Ed, they are not rewarded for helping children.
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
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Jay P. Greene, author of the excellent book, Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So has a column along with Greg Forster at Pajamas Media entitled "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Special Ed Bounty." It's an interesting piece pointing out that schools have a financial incentive to diagnose students as "disabled" and then not serve them.
----------
The column starts with:
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Recently, we wrote a column here on Pajamas Media drawing attention to the problem of financial incentives in special education. Laura McKenna responded with a column challenging a number of our assertions. Since her column raises far too many issues to be dealt with adequately in a comment thread, we’d like to thank PJM for giving us the opportunity to respond with yet another column.
Our original column went over the results of an empirical study we had conducted, showing that special education enrollments grew much faster in states that fund special education on a per-student basis. In most states, but not all of them, when a school places a student into special education that school gets an increase in funding. The empirical evidence establishes that growth in special education enrollments has been fueled by the presence of these financial incentives.
----------
I've heard several times about schools that diagnosis a child as learning disabled, and then the parent can never get the label lifted. The school would lose money. Sad.
The Greatest Management Principle Ever says out that which gets rewarded gets done. Government schools are rewarded for labling children Special Ed, they are not rewarded for helping children.
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
What good is "voluntary" service which is required?
Joanne Jacobs writes about a push to require students to perform service in Serve or flunk:
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Barack Obama wants to make federal funds contingent on schools and colleges requiring students to perform community service. He proposes 50 hours a year in middle and high school and 100 hours a year in college.
Actually, many young people volunteer voluntarily — often through their church, sometimes in political campaigns like Obama’s. Others work after school to help pay the rent, cover their expenses or save for college. In college, many students risk academic failure because they’re spending too much time working and not enough studying.
A Colorado superintendent, Cindy Stevenson, wondered how service would be defined. Who decides what counts?
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I agree with Cindy Stevenson. This proposal is fraught with problems.
But the fundamental question for me is why in the world should a government school be trying to force children to do voluntary service? Public schools should be focusing on education. Families, churches, and other organizations should be where children learn about helping others.
Oh, check out the comments on Joanne's post, there are 94 as of now. I liked Marshall's comment, the first comment:
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My local school has a graduation requirement that includes 20 hours of “volunteer” service.When my daughter ran up against that, I suggested several things she could do:
1) Campaign against school bond initiatives.
2) Hand out anti-CTA literature at school.
3) Start a school rifle team.
(and several others along these lines)
Sadly, she chose none of these.
“Mandatory volunteer” reeks of NewSpeak
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
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Barack Obama wants to make federal funds contingent on schools and colleges requiring students to perform community service. He proposes 50 hours a year in middle and high school and 100 hours a year in college.
Actually, many young people volunteer voluntarily — often through their church, sometimes in political campaigns like Obama’s. Others work after school to help pay the rent, cover their expenses or save for college. In college, many students risk academic failure because they’re spending too much time working and not enough studying.
A Colorado superintendent, Cindy Stevenson, wondered how service would be defined. Who decides what counts?
----------
I agree with Cindy Stevenson. This proposal is fraught with problems.
But the fundamental question for me is why in the world should a government school be trying to force children to do voluntary service? Public schools should be focusing on education. Families, churches, and other organizations should be where children learn about helping others.
Oh, check out the comments on Joanne's post, there are 94 as of now. I liked Marshall's comment, the first comment:
----------
My local school has a graduation requirement that includes 20 hours of “volunteer” service.When my daughter ran up against that, I suggested several things she could do:
1) Campaign against school bond initiatives.
2) Hand out anti-CTA literature at school.
3) Start a school rifle team.
(and several others along these lines)
Sadly, she chose none of these.
“Mandatory volunteer” reeks of NewSpeak
----------
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
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