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RSSBack Issue: March, 2007Lucy FaullPosted March 31st, 2007 by Jen in poetry0 Comments Mom had great fun in the late 1960s early 1970s with her poetry group, The Rimers of Tucson, Arizona. She was the youngest of the group, and I don’t think any of those folks are alive anymore. One special lady from that pack of poets was Lucy Faull, from whom I inherited my middle name. Here’s a poem Mom wrote for Lucy:
LUCY FAULL Strong B.P. Daniel (1929 - ) The power of words, and DoorsPosted March 30th, 2007 by Jen in poetry0 Comments
Words cannot imprint Yet when the blackbird’s gone, Words are not the same,
DOORS When I am tired of opening and closing doors, I pile up words, hinge them with a phrase, It is an empire fit for a king and queen, Seeking to capture in its branches, taut and B.P. Daniel (1929 - ) Photo credits: Emily Blaylock (one of our wonderful nannies who took these photos on our last vacation to Victoria, B.C.) An old familiar streetPosted March 29th, 2007 by Jen in poetry0 Comments AN OLD FAMILIAR STREET
Will I suddenly find myself walking Will heaven be the earth again, Will flowers be even sweeter then? Will that day surely come B.P. Daniel (1929 - ) Scopes in reversePosted March 26th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion, science5 Comments »
Pebble Chaser has covered this superbly, so I won’t go into the whole terrible ordeal; go see what Heidi said. I did just want to add that I found it incredibly ironic that a brief glance back in history shows that the Butler Act, 1925, prohibited teachers from teaching anything but the Divine Creation of man as set forth in the Bible, and specifically banned teaching that man was descended from a lower order of animals. (Of course, the ridiculous publicity stunt of the Scopes trial changed that.) But here we are, just 80 some years later, and those same teachers are prohibited from teaching anything but that man was descended from a lower order of animals. photo by: Gary Albertson Stop the world, I want to get off!Posted March 22nd, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news3 Comments »
And what of the new German case of the Brause family?! What in the world? Two parents with college degrees, a judge who acknowledges the children are “well-educated,” yet the court has taken custody of the five children away from their homeschooling parents (though not yet removed from the home)…The crime, again, is not providing the children with a public school education. (Just in case you haven’t been following, homeschooling is illegal in Germany.) The fears of the International Human Rights Group, and so many others, have come true. The German state has been emboldened by the court’s decision in the Busekros case, and continues to TERRORIZE homeschool families. What planet am I on? “Stop the world, I want to get off!” When I read of the Brause case, on the heels of the Busekros tragedy, I immediately thought of Randy Stonehill’s song, “Stop the World.”
STOP THE WORLD
Stop the world
No, no
In Germany you can prosti*ute
Well, I think I’ll go throw up now. I certainly can’t sleep after thinking about this. If you want to comment, click on the title above, go to the bottom of this post and comment. What about Mom?Posted March 21st, 2007 by Jen in family life, parenting8 Comments »
A big misconception I hear about homeschooling is,”What about your time for yourself?” People seem to think that I require all this time alone, or time to shop, or time to visit with friends, or get my nails done, whatever. So, supposedly, homeschooling infringes on your time to yourself, and thus you will suffer from an overburdened life. Well, first of all, nearly all the people I know who don’t homeschool and don’t have school-age children at home, are working outside the home. So, the kids are gone to school all day, Mom and Dad are both gone to work all day, and come home to the most hectic scene you can imagine. Racing to get kids to afterschool activities, racing to get dinner on the table, racing to help with homework, and on and on. It’s exhausting just thinking about it! So where’s all that extra “time to yourself” that you’re supposed to get when you don’t homeschool? Also, I LOVE being with my kids all day! They shop with me, visit friends with me, and usually come along on whatever errand needs to be done. They are learning how “real life” works, and are around people of all ages, instead of being isolated in a classroom all day, which stunts their emotional growth. Of course, Mom does need time to do her own thing, I won’t deny that. I do have the luxury of having a husband who is self-employed and flexible. I also have other homeschool-Mom friends I can swap “afternoons out” with. And after the kids are in bed, I have plenty of time to be with my husband, read, relax, (do dishes!). People needing time to themselves is NOT a problem unique to homeschooling moms! I do admit I require less “time to myself” than most. I brought my children into the world to enjoy them, train them myself (with my husband), and be with them! Not to put them in school 8 hours a day and let someone else shape them. I don’t tire of teaching them new things, laughing at their silliness, or even changing diapers. Isaiah 41:31 is a great verse to lean on: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” True, there are days I’m feeling exhausted, and that’s when I get to trust the Lord to renew my strength - just like any other person, homeschooling or not. ****** In Him we live and move and have our beingPosted March 20th, 2007 by Jen in education, poetry, politics/world news, religion5 Comments » I thought I’d take the Apostle Paul’s tactic with Athens, and quote some poetry for Germany. Around A.D. 50, Paul went to preach in Athens, then eminently famous for learning, philosophy, and fine arts. And godless idolatry. The Athenians actually had an altar with the inscription, “To the unknown god,” just in case they missed one in all their god-worshipping.
So, on to Germany…I must say I was inspired by commenter John’s post at Principled Discovery. Regarding the German homeschool case of Melissa Busekros, which I’ve written about here and here, John gave a historical context of the intellectual elitist mentality in Germany:
Many people do not realize that prior to what took place in the late 1930’s and early to mid 1940’s Germany had become the most intellectual and erudite nation on the planet. It is this very mentality that spawned the horrible dilemma of WW2 and the Holocaust that is now part of our World history. Germany reminds me of Athens, I must say. Intellectual, erudite…And John ended his comment with these words: Every civilization that has forgotten God has failed. Well, the Apostle Paul was probably the greatest teacher and most successful evangelizer of all time (besides Jesus), and if he quotes Athenian poetry to Athenians, I can’t go wrong quoting German poetry to Germans.
Excerpt from Faust, Part 1 Der Allumfasser, And in English: The all-embracing one, Goethe Learned men and women of Germany, do not worship intellectualism or philosophy, but worship God, “the all-embracing one, the all-preserving one,” as your own poet has said. Here comes the trainPosted March 19th, 2007 by Jen in arts & crafts, education, science0 Comments I love a picturesque, rural landscape, and my kids adore trains. I caught this scene a few days ago, as we were stopped at a train crossing in Terrebonne, OR. You can see Smith Rock in the background, and if you could hear, you’d be listening to my kids whooping in delight above the loud cry of the train whistle.
We were too inspired to pass up Smith Rock after seeing this, so the next day we headed over to the climbing mecca of the Northwest. Yeah, we go here a lot, and you would, too, if this was in your backyard.
Here I am with the kids, about to head down into the gorge where you see the Crooked River running through. This was part of our school day, and so here we are sketching the amazing spires of rock (…how did this get here, the kids ask). A local artist happened to be hiking by as the kids were happily engaged in their creative drawings, and had some kind words to offer.
What you see here is a wonderful little snapshot of the flexibility I love about home education. An inspiring moment with a train can lead to an afternoon of hiking, exploring, discussions about volcanic origins, creative art, and more nuances of my children’s development than I can know. To comment, click on the title above, then go to the bottom of the post and add your comment. Name that owl! Science outside the classroomPosted March 16th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, science2 Comments »
Our adventure began nearly two years ago, when we first saw the owl. My husband and I, along with our children, were looking at some real estate in Central Oregon. We fell in love with this big juniper filled parcel the minute we set foot on the rugged soil. The rock outcroppings, the tall, scraggly juniper trees, and the untouched feel of the land had us mesmerized. Then, suddenly, a screech, a whoosh, and gone in a flash. We knew we had an owl.
I’m not sure I realized it at the moment, but as parents, we were shaping and developing our children’s scientific thinking. Our owl hunt was just an everyday activity born out of natural curiosity, but more valuable than any classroom science lesson.
The kids and I visited the Museum again last week, and spent most of our time with the Birds of Prey exhibit, naturally! We decided that most likely (but we could totally be wrong!), our owl is a Long-eared Owl. He sounds like a Screech-Owl, but those owls nest in natural cavities in trees, and ours has a nest. He looks a bit like the Great Horned Owl, but their strongest Oregon habitat association is grassland with fir and ponderosa interspersed. And the Long-eared Owl has a high nest, typically an abandoned nest of another large bird of prey, and their strongest Oregon nesting habitat association is in western juniper woodland. That fits! At first, we nearly discounted the great nest we discovered, because it looked old and abandoned. Yes, exactly what our owl likes - these nocturnal creatures do NOT like to build their own nests. And of course, the juniper woodland describes our property to a “T.” I can’t stress enough the idea that when families pursue scientific inquiries together, and when children are carrying on their own intellectual quests, a natural and deep science foundation is taking root. If you’re lucky enough to have an owl, all the better. ********** Happy 78th, Mom!Posted March 15th, 2007 by Jen in poetry1 Comment »
Mom adds another year every ides of March, and here she is at 78! I caught her by a great old Juniper tree on our property that is about as much a character as she is. She said this particular tree “looks like it could be the backdrop for a horror movie.” Well, maybe at night it might look scary, but it’s one of my kids’ favorite little fort areas. For her birthday, we’ll spend the morning hiking around at Smith Rock, because it reminds her of Stone Mountain (where she lived for a bit and of which she has the fondest memories), and then enjoy some pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I couldn’t find a poem she’d written about junipers, but here’s a lovely one about willows (because we grew up with a willow in our yard, not a juniper): THE WILLOW TREE When God made trees, so long ago, There are trees so tall and straight and proud B.P. Daniel (1929 - ) And also, a birthday poem, which she wrote for herself in a way, because I’m giving her a birthday card with this poem inscribed inside! She may have forgotten that she wrote this…uh, probably not. She can forget what day it is but never a poem she’s written. She actually thought we forgot her birthday, because on March 14, she thought it was March 15.
May your birthday be: Slow as molasses in January so you Fast as an ostrich so you can cover Sudden as a pheasant flushed to Brilliant as a herd of flamingoes Chipper as a sparrow to give you Wild as a wild goose to give you Beautiful as a swan to give you Strong as an eagle so you can reach Exotic as a parrot to show you the Wise as an owl with listening ears, Happy as a lark singing, Haunting as a whippoorwill so you Carnival of Homeschooling is here!Posted March 13th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life0 Comments
The child is not the mere creature of the statePosted by Jen in education, politics/world news6 Comments »
The famous words from Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925), would be helpful for the German judges to take to heart: “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” This landmark case held that the Oregon Compulsory Education Act that required attendance at public schools was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. There have been a string of other courts cases which have solidified the rights of parents to homeschool their children. An interesting note in the Pierce case is that it was the Ku Klux Klan that was behind the amendment to Oregon’s Compulsory Education Act which would have made it illegal for students to attend private schools. Of course, we know the strong ties during WWI between the KKK and the Nazis. It seems like the same types of people are intent on passing the same types of laws.
Aha! So the German State has further indicted itself, and this is even worse than just saying homeschooling is illegal. They have just violated their own Basic Law (Grundgesetz). The Basic Law, by the way, is the constitution of Germany, and came into effect in 1949 after being ratified by all the German states (Lander) - with the exception of Bavaria, where not so coincidentally, the Busekros family resides. Right off the bat, Article 1 of the Basic Law says “human dignity shall be inviolable.” Skip to the heart of the matter and read Article 4: “Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.” Saying so doesn’t make it so. It’s violable, all right. It says right there that everyone should have the freedom to say that their State is despotic and fascist! Everything the Busekros lawyers need to back up their case is spelled out in the German constitution. Or they can look at similar wording in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights - which, I must point out, specifically addresses parental rights in education: Article 26(3) says “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Prior rights means the parent’s right is prior to the state’s right. So what in the world is wrong with these German judges?? I have no idea what German case law looks like, or what legal precedents are in their courts. Is this judicial tyranny? Is Germany still too “newborn” to stand up on it’s wobbly legs of democracy? Would their judges show enough wisdom and humility and look at some of our legal rulings? (At least look at them now, before the tide turns over on this side of the world). The poet on artPosted March 9th, 2007 by Jen in poetry1 Comment » Time to continue the March tribute to my mother’s poetry. See the in-house poet if you missed her introduction. Mom loves art as well as poetry, so her poem entitled “Art” is the perfect marriage of the two. I asked her earlier this evening if she could recollect some of her favorite artists or works. She couldn’t think of a thing, her usual answer these days. I pressed her a bit, asking about her involvement in the Blue Water Art Club in Port Huron, Michigan, in the 1950s. She remembered her art instructor, Rusty Patterson, and suddenly came up with Piranesi.
Mom called Piranesi’s work “black and white ink” and said “he drew prisons, with staircases winding about and going up.” This sounded really awful to me. Why did you like these, I had to ask. “I don’t know, they just appealed to me. They were very spacious looking.” A bit of research on Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) revealed an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome as well as the Carceri d’Invenzione (imaginary prisons). There’s a whole stack of these prints (16 total) which are said to record a series of his own visions during the delirium of a fever. Someone else called them visual metaphors for the endless creative inspiration of the past. Whatever they are, I did not find them appealing, or spacious, but that’s just me. ART Art is a mixture of paint and oil, Art is a mixture in the mind B.P. Daniel (1929 -) *********** Saving up for the tooth fairyPosted March 8th, 2007 by Jen in family life, parenting1 Comment » I don’t know where he got the idea, but as of this morning, my seven year old son now has three teeth saved up for the tooth fairy, in hopes of getting a bigger prize. I am quite clueless on the tooth fairy thing, because I didn’t grow up with this particular fairy. I do think she must be a deranged little sprite for collecting teeth, some bloodied, some rotten, some stained. What does she do with them, my son wants to know. My daughter heard that she builds her castle with the pearly whites. At any rate, what’s the rate? I mean, what’s the tooth fairy paying these days, I *must* know. Is there a limit on the number of teeth she can carry at once? Three, four, five? I guess she must have a bank somewhere to get all the money she leaves the expectant, gap-filled little children. This is all too bizarre for me. Condoleezza, what about Germany?Posted March 7th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news10 Comments »
“A problem for some groups” is truly an understatement of the horrific human rights violations occurring in Germany. Because of a 1938 law prohibiting homeschooling, German families who have a need or desire for an alternative education are literally being persecuted. The Busekros case is unfolding in 2007, so I can’t hold the Human Rights Report to task for this oppression, however, 2006 and previous years are rife with examples of egregious violations. A February, 2006 letter to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights details several violations of German homeschoolers’ civil and human rights, including the following acts enforced against home educating parents by the German state: imprisonment, fines, loss of custody of children, criminal charges, children forced to school by police, and forced admission of children into a psychiatric clinic or foster home. The Busekros case is simply a continuation of a pattern of abuse. Yes, this is current, I am not pulling stories from 1940s era Germany, as it would seem. The 1938 law enacted by the Hitler regime was an effort to control every aspect of free thought, and we all know the results, unless you’re one of the “Holocaust-never-happened” people. And how is the modern German state justifying its position that compulsory education can not include home education? A few quotes I came across shed some light. Here’s an excerpt from a letter from the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, in response to inquiries on the Melissa Busekros case: “The public has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole.” That doesn’t sound a whole lot different than old Germany, and I can think of an entire parallel culture that was nearly wiped out by that philosophy. Another telling quote, from a 2005 case involving seven homeschool families in Northwest Germany, is even more insidious. Heinz Kohler, the county education director, said that “the parents’ rights to personally educate their children would prevent the children from growing up to be responsible individuals within society…” Clearly, something is going on here, because studies of homeschoolers show higher test scores, greater community involvement, and very well-rounded individuals. What Kohler and the German state meant to say is that the children will grow up to be free-thinking (horrors) responsible individuals within society. I can understand compulsory education in that the state has a legitimate interest in an educated public, but there are many, many ways to educate, and many individual circumstances that call for an alternative education. For crying out loud, an eight year old disabled boy was forced, against his parents’ wishes, and with the threat of removal of custody, to attend the school the German officials demanded he attend (the Gerber case). So, there are strange things going on in Germany. Prostitution is legal and widespread, while homeschooling is illegal and families are fleeing the country. And a precious young girl is still held hostage away from her family. Please visit the International Human Rights Group website for a list of high ranking German officials to contact to voice your protest and demand in the name of human rights that Melissa be released back into the custody of her parents. As for Condoleezza Rice and the State Department, I’d ask that they take a closer look at Germany. The in-house poetPosted March 5th, 2007 by Jen in poetry5 Comments »
I’m a terrible poet, and can barely judge good poetry, but I hope I choose some that will brighten your day. Here’s Mom by an abandoned house down the lane from where we live. I took this picture two weeks ago, and ironically, there’s an enormous bulldozer out there as I write, tearing that old house down to make room for a hay shed. A subtle lesson to enjoy the old, weathered, beautiful things while you can. The Poet A Poet is a man who tries A poet is a man who sees A poet is a man who stores B.P. Daniel (1929 - ) Kids at workPosted March 2nd, 2007 by Jen in family life, the office3 Comments » A family business can blend well with homeschooling, as many have discovered.
We have an online sports merchandise company, TeamMASCOT.com, that I have to juggle along with the needs of the family every day. But as far as jobs go, this isn’t too bad. It’s online only, so no need to keep store hours or tend to walk-in customers. I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into this part of our life. First, a few FAQs: 1. Are you big sports fans? No, we just have a sports store because, well, other people (lots of them) are sports fans. The sports marketing industry is enormous and rapidly growing. My husband just came up with the idea, along with another buddy of his, and he built the website (it helps to be a computer programming genius). 2. Where do you keep all your products? Well, up until a year ago, it was the home office, the hallway, the bedroom (yes, my bedroom full of NFL trashcans…very romantic), the garage. You can imagine the tripping that occurred, so we now have a warehouse in town where we keep it all. 3. What’s your role in the business? My job is mostly product management. We carry various items, from bumper stickers to wall clocks, with team logos (NFL, NCAA, NBA, MLB, NHL, and NASCAR). I order products to maintain our inventory, look for new vendors, manage customer service, and pack orders on the days our part-time help is out. There was quite a learning curve when I came on to help my husband over two years ago, since I didn’t know whether the Steelers belonged to Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, or whether they played football or baseball. I’ve learned a thing or two since then, and can now fairly accurately predict the contenders for the Superbowl, the World Series, the Bowl Championships, etc. 4. How do you fit your business in with homeschooling? This is a question that some days I ask myself as I’m ready to throw that Indianapolis Colts hammer out the window. I have to spend an average of 2-3 hours a day on TeamMASCOT, depending on the season. Less during the offseason, much more during the Christmas rush. I have a computer set up at home that is remotely connected to the warehouse, allowing me to order products from my vendors, add new products, reply to customer inquiries - really anything except pack up the order. So, I try to work very early hours and very late hours and save the bulk of the day for the family. OK, there’s a little run-down. The kids sometimes come to the warehouse on the days I have to go in, for a few hours, and I get to teach them some business skills. My son pictured above, who is 7, is very capable of learning the various teams and their logos, and can pick orders for me. He’s learning about buying and selling - wholesale, retail, and profit margins. Even my five year old daughter is eager to help:
Is this the Steelers, Mom? And right down to my three year old, who LOVES to put the labels on the packages (I won’t even go into the large packages that require packing peanuts, such fun for a three year old): Some customers might get a crooked postage tag! There are actually a lot of skills to teach, and I think that figuring out what size box to use for what product is a great math lesson. Then there’s the matter of weighing and deciding on the postage amount.
Overall, a family business/homeschool model can be a great tool for teaching your children about responsibility, life skills, and money matters. And just like any family chores, kids’ involvement increases their self-confidence and happiness, because they are an integral, important part of your life, and they know it. “There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained.” Winston Churchill What to do with a dusting of snowPosted March 1st, 2007 by Jen in family life0 Comments It doesn’t take much…truly this was barely covering the ground as you can see, but my kids couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
By afternoon, the snowgirl was gone, but I luckily recorded the making of her, for we’ve had no occasion since then (no snow) to build another. In fact, this bit of snow a few weeks ago is the most we’ve had all winter (my apologies to the Midwest and Eastern U.S.). It took some endless rolling of snowballs to create this small carrot-nosed frozen girl, since the snow had a crusty top and powder was hard to come by. And I’m not sure how the snow creature ended up being a snowgirl - I think we just had pink things handy (along with two girlish daughters), but my oldest son didn’t even mind having his picture taken with her. |
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