An example of the mix of homeschooling and tourism

Maureen and her family took a recent trip to Hoover Dam. I was surprised to learn:

"The Hoover Dam was the first man-made structure to exceed the masonry mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The dam contains enough concrete to pave a strip 16 feet wide and 8 inches thick from San Francisco to New York City."

I'm sure her children learned a ton of information. Check out her post for cool pictures.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education

Another ADHD study

The day after I posted In the news: ADHD which documented the dangerous long term effect of most ADHD medications, I saw this related article.

3-year brain lag found in ADHD kids

The brains of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder develop more slowly than those of other children but eventually catch up, according to a government study published Monday that suggests ADHD might be a transient condition, at least for some people.

Using advanced imaging techniques, scientists found that the cortices of children with ADHD reach peak thickness an average of three years later than children without the disorder.

The cortex is involved in decision-making and supports the ability to focus attention, remember things moment to moment and suppress inappropriate actions - functions often deficient in children with ADHD.

Dr. Philip Shaw of the National Institute of Mental Health said that although brain development was slower among children with ADHD, it followed a normal pattern, which should reassure parents.

Shaw, lead author of the report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said the results could help explain why many children with ADHD appear to grow out of the disorder and become less impulsive and fidgety as they mature.

It is pretty horrifying to think about the number of children who have been drugged to treat a normal but slightly delayed development pattern. I wonder how many children are permanently damaged by ADHD medications such that their brain and physical development can never be normal.

I was surprised when I read the comments linked to this study. Everyone mentioned problems at school, yet I only saw one comment the recommended removing ADHD children from an obviously mismatched school environment.

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Related Tags: ADHD, school, parenting, antipsychotic drugs, Medicaid, atypicals, bipolar disorder, Risperdal, Zyprexa, Seroquel

Some back-to-school statistics

Lindalyn Kakadelis reports on Back-to-school statistics. As an engineer I like to have the numbers. Lindalyn writes:

"Nearly 50 million students are heading off to approximately 97,000 public elementary and secondary schools for the fall term. Before the school year is out, an estimated $489 billion will be spent related to their education, with an average of $9,969 to be spent per pupil for fall enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools.

Some 3.2 million teachers are projected to be employed in public elementary and secondary schools in 2007-08. And more than 1.1 million students -- about two percent of all students -- will be homeschooled. These are just a few of the statistics contained in "Back to School Stats," compiled by the Institute of Education Sciences' research and statistical centers. "

I have find the half a trillion dollar amount just amazing.

Lindalyn provides a link to a government site with more statistics.


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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education, statistics, cost

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - week 98

The Nerd Mom is hosting this week's Carnival of Homeschooling at Nerd Family.

She has put together a thankful edition of the carnival, sharing some of the things she is thankful for.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling

Good thing Henry was home sick today

My oldest daughter has been struggling a bit with Algebra. She is using Saxon Algebra 1. Even when I tried to explain concepts, she still wasn't getting it. She missed something like half the questions on her last assignment.

Henry is home sick today and spent a few minutes helping my oldest daughter correct her Algebra. In only a few minutes she was able to correct the problems. All of a sudden, she gets it. I was starting to worry a little that I would need to invest a lot more time into this problem.

Hurray!



By the way, this image is of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Entrance Examination, 1876


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A fun civics test to take

The Goldwater Institute has a column today by Thomas C. Patterson on how American colleges and universities are failing to teach civic literacy. College freshamn and seniors at 50 colleges and universities were given a 60 question test of civic literacy.

After four years the average score went up from 50.4% to 54.2%. The average score students at eight collges declined! I wonder if the parents can get their money back? Or atleast a partial refund.

I took the test and got 86%. I missed eight questions. I went back and realized there were two questions I hadn't read carefully enough.

Thomas C. Patterson concludes with: "Our only option is to insist that our colleges produce civic literates. Time isn't on our side. We must act now if we hope to pass on to future generations the wisdom and decency of what it means to be an American."

I agree that our country would be better served by having more people with an improved civic education. I'm afraid most colleges will not improve.


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Technorati tags: college, university, tuition, education, civic, literacy, civic literacy

Are schools moving closer and closer to prisons?

Last year we posted about several people comparing schools to prisons. These columns were tongue in cheek, but they were trying to make a serious point. Since then we've blogged about schools in Michigan deciding that students must wear ID badges and schools in the UK fingerprinting the students without asking or even telling the parents.

Judy Aron has another nail in this coffin with Police Now Have Live Feed of Videos From Inside School.

I remember reading a couple months ago that students in high school had less rights than prisoners. It was in a book published this year on how society needs to allow teenagers more rights and responsibilities.

Maybe the correct comparison is that jails are like schools.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, prison, jail

The Charlotte Mason Carnival is up

Cindy is hosting the Charlotte Mason Carnival at On Our Journey Westward.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason

Tourism loves homeschoolers

Valerie Moon reports on Homeschooling’s effect on tourism. As more and more people homeschool, more families travel while others are in school. This allows Tourism trade to extend visitor season.

We love to take advantage of cheaper rates and smaller crowds when we travel.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education

It is good to be positive, but not Pollyannaish

Hayley Mills stars in the Disney 1960 movie Pollyanna. Amazon lists other actors and actresses first, but in my mind it is Hayley Mills who was the star. The story Pollyanna was written in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter. Pollyanna looses her parents and goes to live with a cold aunt who has no love for her niece. Pollyanna was taught by her father to play a "Glad game" by her father, always looking for the best.

I enjoyed both the movie version and the book. They are both fun and entertaining.

The word Pollyanna has come to mean someone who is unrealistically optimistic: an excessively or blindly optimistic person.


People who are optimistic tend to be happier in life and to live more fulfilling lives. Martin E. P. Seligman has written several books about the benefits of having a positive attitude and how to have a positive attitude. In Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life he makes a number of interesting points. In the introduction he writes that much of psychology focuses on negatives attitudes and behaviors, but very little on how to be happy. He writes that "The skills of becoming happy turn out to be almost entirely different from the skills of not being sad, not being anxious, or not being angry."

It was interesting yesterday to come across a study that found that optimism is best in moderation. LiveScience reports that Manju Puri and David Robinson found:

"People who have a rosy outlook are more likely than others to make prudent financial decisions, but those who are extreme optimists make riskier investments and save less money than others, a new study finds."


As a parent I try to teach my daughters to be happy and be positive. I've found that most little children are pretty happy and optimistic. The goal is to help children stay optimistic as they grow up. According to this study I'll want to teach them to be optimistic, but no Pollyannaish.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, optimism, Pollyanna

The Carnival of Family Life is up

This week's Carnival of Family Life is up at All Rileyed Up.

To sumbit to the next carnival click on this carnival submission form.


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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting

No cotton wool here

Health and safety 'extremists' damaging children's development

Health and safety "extremists" were warned that they are hindering the development of children by wrapping them in cotton wool.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it was "positively necessary" for youngsters to take part in activities which could lead to a twisted ankle or cut knee.

Instead, said chief executive Tom Mullarkey, they were being cosseted by "small-minded bureaucrats".

Henry came over to see what I was blogging about because I was laughing so much. The article has some pretty funny examples.

Last year, a Government-backed study found teachers are so scared of being sued if a class day out goes wrong they are taking pupils on "trips" in the school grounds.

Earlier this year, teacher Margaret Fields was reprimanded for taking pupils on a picnic lunch without carrying out a risk assessment.

This isn't only a "school" problem. I must admit, I've met a few parents with obsessive safety concerns and I'm a worst case scenario planner myself. That's one of the reasons I could never have small children and live in house with a swimming pool in the back yard.

Still, a certain amount of rough and tumble is good for children. A friend of mine has a son with multiple birth defects. The child's physical therapist commented how much better his development is than most children with the same types of defects. The physical therapist attributed the difference to the fact that this little guy has 4 older brothers who are not very careful with him when they play.

Since they are homeschooled, all day long this little guy is in the thick of rough and tumble with his brothers. The therapist said that most children with these types of problems lay in their cribs all day.


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Are you curious what the FBI knows about you?

Judy Aron tells you how to Get Your FBI File. I will send in a request. I'll be very surprised if the FBI has anything about me.

It is also possible to see if the FBI had a file on your grandparents. After I get a copy of my file I may request the files on my grand parents.


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Technorati tags: FBI

Disney World with homeschoolers

The Home Education Magazine announced Disney Homeschool Days are in session! This will be down at Disney World, January 14 & 15 of 2008. If you are interested, check out: http://www.disneyhomeschooldays.com/.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, Disney

Susan Wise Bauer arrived in Korea

Susan Wise Bauer, author of The Well Trained Mind, is in Korea. On her blog The History of the (Whole) World she reports that she will be helping to sell her books which have been translated into Korean.

One of the perks to being an author. You can to work hard in exotic locations.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Susan Wise Bauer

In the news: ADHD

Danger drugs designed for schizophrenics used to calm children

Thousands of children with behavioural problems are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs with dangerous side effects, doctors warn.

The powerful tranquillisers, designed to treat psychosis and schizophrenia in adults, are being used to calm children who are simply hyperactive.

Translation: Normal child behavior is now being medicated.

The warnings come amid growing concern that ADHD is being diagnosed in children suffering from nothing more than natural boisterousness.

In March this year Dr Robert Spitzer, the U.S. psychiatrist who first identified the ADHD, admitted that up to a third of cases could have been misdiagnosed.

I'm glad to hear Doctors finally admitting how absurd the diagnosis has become.

Tonight's Panorama also reveals disturbing evidence that other drugs, much more commonly used to treat ADHD, do not work in the long term.

A study in the U.S. suggests that while medication such as Ritalin and Concerta is effective initially, the effects wear off after three years of treatment.

The drugs, taken by around 55,000 British children at the cost to the NHS of £28million a year, stunt growth, the researchers discovered.

Many children take the controversial drugs for years at a time though they have also been linked to heart problems, dizziness and insomnia, and blamed for a string of deaths in the UK and abroad.

This is my favorite part:

"In the short-run [medication] will help the child behave better, in the long-run, it won't. And that information should be made very clear to parents."

It is very sad the parents and doctors are willing to risk the long-term health of children for short term convenience.

Here's another article on the same issue.


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Related Tags: ADHD, school, parenting, antipsychotic drugs, Medicaid, atypicals, bipolar disorder, Risperdal, Zyprexa, Seroquel

How do you greet people on Vetrans Day?

I was going to start off this post with "Happy Vetrans Day!" But that seems inappropriate. We say "Merry Christmas." and "Happy New Years."

How do you greet people on Vetrans Day?


I received the poem below from Dan Galvin's Thought For The Day mailing list. It is a good reminder of why we celebrate Vetrans Day.

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It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protestor to burn the flag.

Father Dennis Edward O'Brian, USMC

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The Headmistress provides background information on In Flanders Fields, another good poem.

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In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

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What ever is the appropriate salutation, we hope you have a good Vetrans Day.


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Technorati tags: Vetrans, Day, Vetrans Day

Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling

The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted by the Nerd Family.

You have about 51 hours to send in an entry.

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

Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books is up

Semicolon is hosting her weekly Saturday Review of Books. This is a great place to look for a new book to read.

Her post is dynamic. You can add a URL to a book review, so if you have recently posted about a book, head over and add the URL.


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Technorati tags: book, review

NEA Resolutions

You've probably already heard about the NEA's 2006-2007 anti-homeschool resolution.

B-75. Home Schooling
The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education
experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.

The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)

Actually, there are quite a few creepy resolutions in the document. You can check out the over 200 resolutions here. It reads like something you would expect from a socialist dictatorship. It is not that I am opposed to all of the recommendations. I have a problem with the "Big Brother" attitude.


Here's a few of my favorites:

A-14. Financial Support of Public Education
Federal, state, and, as appropriate, local governments should provide funds sufficient to make pre-kindergarten available for all three- and four-year-old children

A-18. Financial Crisis The National Education Association believes that free public education is in a financial crisis. The Association seeks to maintain and expand educational programs for students by seeking adequate and equitable public and legislative financial support.

A-22. Tax Reform The National Education Association supports tax reform and believes that it should—

f. Provide for increased local and state funding of public education
g. Not be used to place arbitrary maximum limits on any state or local government’s ability to spend or tax, particularly since such limits have a negative impact on the full funding of schools
h. Eliminate tax laws and rulings that are harmful to education employees and educational needs

Translation: They want to raise your taxes.

A-24. Voucher Plans and Tuition Tax Credits The National Education Association believes that voucher plans, tuition tax credits, or other funding/financial arrangements that use tax monies to subsidize pre-K through 12 private school education can undermine public education; reduce the support needed to fund public education adequately; cause racial, economic, and social segregation of students; and threaten the constitutional separation of church and state that has been a cornerstone of American democracy.

A-33. Federally or State-Mandated Choice/Parental Option Plans The National Education Association believes that federally or state-mandated parental option or choice plans compromise free, equitable, universal, and quality public education for every student. Therefore, the Association opposes such federally or state-mandated choice or parental option plans. The Association also believes that local districts, in partnership with state and federal governments, must provide a quality education for every student by securing sufficient funding to maintain and to enhance excellence in each local public school district. The Association continues to support alternative programs for specific purposes in the public schools. (1989, 2001)

Translation: They don't want parents to make the choices.

B-10. Racial Diversity Within Student Populations The National Education Association believes that a racially diverse student population is essential for all elementary/secondary schools, colleges, and universities to promote racial acceptance, improve academic performance, and foster a robust exchange of ideas. The Association also believes that a racially diverse student population may not be achieved or maintained in all cases simply by ending discriminatory practices and treating all students equally regardless of race. The Association further believes that, to achieve or maintain racial diversity, it may be necessary for elementary/secondary schools, colleges, and universities to take race into account in making decisions as to student admissions, assignments, and/or transfers. (1999)

B-11. Racism, Sexism, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identification Discrimination

g. Eliminate subtle practices that favor the education of one student over another on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, disability, ethnicity, or religion

Translation: It is bad to discriminate against some pet races while it is a good thing to discriminate against less popular races. Oh, that's totally different.

If you have some time, the resolutions are worth a look. What's your favorite resolution?



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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, NEA, public school

Are you looking for a free education?

Cindy Downes found Teacher Tube. This is kind of a YouTube for education. Teachers put up videos of them teaching various topics.

This is part of the reason I believe there is a coming revolution in higher education. If you can get 98% online of what you want from college, but at a fraction of the price, many people will opt for the cheaper version. I don't think colleges will go away, but I do think there will be some fundamental changes, and the price will come down.


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Technorati tags: college, university, tuition, education, rising, cost, online

Book review: "What Happened To Penny Candy?" By Richard Maybury

Using LinkedIn I’ve recently connected with a friend from twenty years ago. We’ve exchanged some emails and will try to get together when he is back in town. When my friend learned that I had three daughters he recommended several books by Richard J. Maybury. I requested a couple from my library. The first one I got was What Happened To Penny Candy?

What Happened To Penny Candy? is a short book of 80 pages. It is a quick read. The book is structured as a set of letters from “Uncle Eric” to his nephew “Chris.” In these letters the book explains the basics of economics. It does a good job. Over the last thirty years I’ve read dozens, maybe even hundreds, of books on economics. This book does a good job of covering the basics. I even learned a few things. For example I didn’t realize that the reason quarters and dimes were lined with the little ridges on the side was to show if little pieces were clipped off the coin.

Richard Maybury, the author, writes from a strong Libertarian viewpoint. He explains why government manipulation causes problems. Someone who feels government is the solution to economic problems will not enjoy this book.

I’ll return the book to the library and buy my own copy. I plan to have each of my daughters read this book. It is short enough that they won’t fuss too much about having to ready a dry topic. Economics is an important subject, one that I want my daughters to master.


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Technorati tags: book, review, economics

Home School Radio Shows

Mandi of Under His Construction blogged on Home School Radio Shows. The Home School Radio Shows are rebroadcasts of classic radio shows. This week's episode is about the pilgrims taking the Mayflower to the New World. We'll have our daughters listen to these shows.


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Technorati tags: radio, broadcast

Now back to our regular scheduled programming

An update on I may be taking a holiday from blogging


Well, a social worker called and left a message on our answering system. They decided to let the baby go home, so they won't need us after all. Oh, well. I was so looking forward to getting new baby stuff.

What are arms for?

The anti-war movement had a phrase: "Arms are for hugging." They wanted the United States to stop participating in the arms race.

Conrast this with Girl gets detention for hugging friends:

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A 13-year-old junior high school student was given two days of detention after school officials spotted her hugging friends after school last Friday.

Megan Coulter, an eighth-grade student at Mascoutah Middle School, was hugging her friends goodbye after school Friday when vice principal, Randy Blakely, saw her and told her she would receive two after-school detentions.

Blakely had previously warned Coulter that she was in violation of the school's policy on public displays of affection after she was seen hugging a student at a football game.

The school's policy says that “displays of affection should not occur on the campus at any time.”
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Mascoutah Middle School has decided that arms are not for hugging.

This is a fairly classic case of Zero Tolerance taken to extremes. Public schools often do a poor job of stopping teachers from sexual abuse of their students, but they raise a fuss when one student hugs another. As Matt Johnston writes this is a double standard.

(Hat tip: Opinion Journal)


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Technorati tags: public, school, sexual, abuse