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RSSArchive for the ‘education’ CategoryReligious Rights of Students in Public EducationPosted April 22nd, 2008 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion10 Comments » A commenter made a good observation on my previous post about the case of the Wisconsin high school art student receiving a Zero and subsequent detentions for including in his landscape drawing a cross and the lettering “John 3:16.” The student, named as A.P. in a lawsuit against the school district, signed a policy the teacher presented at the beginning of the semester, which “prohibited any violence, blood, sexual connotations or religious beliefs in artwork.” Hmmm, placing religious beliefs alongside and seemingly on the level of violence, blood, and sexual connotations is interesting. Anyway, the comment was this:
Her question got me thinking. A minor can void a legal contract, true. The contract was not binding, but neither should it be meaningless. I don’t think it’s smart to be teaching kids that they can break contracts willy-nilly and be free of all responsibility. HOWEVER, this particular contract…oh boy. This student should have carefully read the contract at the beginning of the class and raised a stink at that point - because on the face of the policy itself is a violation of student rights, as set forth in legal precedent (Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District (1969) which upheld the right of students to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War). Tinker held that the First Amendment did apply to public school students and teachers, and that regulation of student speech in the classroom would be allowed only if there was a constitutionally valid reason, like “substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others.” A mere desire to avoid controversy is not a valid reason to suppress student expression. Tinker has since been limited by other cases, with the scope of free speech not including indecent speech (Bethel School District v. Fraser) and with school newspapers being regulated (Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier). See also Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators Association and Morse v. Frederick. Not only the Tinker case, but a document from the Department of Education, circulated in 2003 (Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools), makes it clear that students have a right to religious expression in the classroom. Here is the relevant portion from that D.O.E. document:
The fact that this “contract” the student in Wisconsin signed was ever conceived and drafted shows not only the ignorance, but the bias, of this teacher/school. There is a lesson here for all students and parents of students in public schools: Know your rights. Because it’s obvious that attempts will be made to violate and undermine your rights, often out of honest ignorance of the law and confusion among school leaders about the religious liberties of students. That Dept. of Education document is a good one to print out and go over carefully with your child. The prevailing anti-religious climate and the extreme, sometimes absurd, secularization of public life doesn’t appear to be letting up, so be on top of the issues and use favorable laws to your advantage while we have them. Vigorously protect religious expression - this is a unique American principle. The point of the First Amendment is to prevent a state-sponsored religion, not to squash religious expression in American public life. It is unjust and unconstitutional to mandate that public schools be religion-free zones. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof … — Religious-liberty clauses, First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Technorati Tags: religious liberty, First Amendment, religious expression, U.S. Constitution, religious freedom, public school It’s a good thing Raphael didn’t attend public school in modern day WisconsinPosted April 19th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, education, history, religion14 Comments »
The Tomah Area School District in Wisconsin has a policy that bans Christian symbols in students’ artwork, leading to a high school student receiving a Zero on his illustration depicting a landscape with a cross and the lettering “John 3:16.” Michelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Giotto, and the rest of the famous artists who produced the religious masterpieces of the world: I’m forever grateful that you didn’t live in 21st century America where you have to sign away your freedom of religious expression.
Technorati Tags: art history, famous artists, First Amendment, religious expression The Poison PostPosted March 31st, 2008 by Jen in education, family life, health/cooking/food11 Comments » I had a terrible scare this afternoon that led me to even know the following information:
Well, I did not want to write this post and have put it off, because I hate those stupid emails about freakish things that could happen to you. I always delete them, and just today a friend sent me an email about all the symptoms of a deadly form of breast cancer. I just can’t handle it all. HOWEVER, because MY CHILD just today nearly poisoned himself to death, I do feel compelled to give you all a reminder about Tips to Prevent Poisonings. I just wrote a post this morning about how Little L got into Big L’s candy basket. He is just one of those kids. He is 3 1/2, loves sweet things, and he is naughty, sneaky, and dishonest, God bless his cute little cheeks. We are working on all of these issues. And DAMN IT, children’s medicine is SWEET. I’m sorry, I’m just really angry about that right now. I couldn’t find Little L. He was supposed to be playing with Big L and the girls on the porch. They didn’t know where he was. I raced into the kitchen and there he was, and he blurted out, “I didn’t drink the medicine!” WHOA, what?? Thank you, Jesus, that the boy had a guilty conscience. Of course, I immediately knew he must have gotten into the Children’s Tylenol, because it wasn’t where I had stupidly left it on the counter in plain sight (and obviously with a lid not completely secure). Little L eventually led me to Grandma’s bathroom, where he had gone into hiding to do his evil deed. There on her toilet seat was the nearly empty bottle of Children’s Tylenol and I FREAKED OUT. Yes, completely. I had enough sense to call Poison Control, which phone number is posted on my refrigerator (Parents, take note, please have this number posted: 1-800-222-1222). The operator was wonderful. She was calm, and since I wasn’t, that was immensely helpful. Be prepared to know the weight of your child, have the bottle in your hand, and DO NOT take your child’s word about how much he ingested. Little L told me he had “just a little bit, Mommy,” but if memory served me, the bottle that was 3/4 full was now almost empty. And for the sake of LIFE, please keep your medicines locked up and NEVER refer to them as candy. She talked me through the ordeal. The total capacity of the bottle was 4 ounces, at 80 mg per 1/2 teaspoon. I measured what was left: 2 Tablespoons. We figured Little L had drunk 4 Tablespoons, based on what was left over and what was originally in the bottle. THANKFULLY, even though that sounded like enough to endanger his life, it was not a toxic level. This, folks, is why those bottles of Children’s Tylenol are so darn small. Poison prevention. Had this been ADULT medicine, this story would have a different ending. I was advised to have Little L drink some water to dilute the medicine in his tummy. He laid down and slept for two hours. This close call really rattled me. I held all of my little ones tighter and counted my blessings. And clearly, I need to get a handle on my casual way of leaving medicine on the counter. Dad and I had a talk with all of the children about medicine, and how it is POISON if taken in the wrong amount. Based on information I’ve read today, children who have episodes like Little L today are likely to do it again. So, here is a list I’m copying from the Centers for Disease Control website for your safety: Keep Young Children Safe from Poisoning • Put the poison control number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every home telephone and save it on your cell phone. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What to do if a poisoning occurs 1. Remain calm • the victim’s age and weight 3. Stay on the phone and follow the instructions from the emergency operator or poison control center. God bless you, dear friend, as you parent and care for your little ones. I’m tucking Little L into bed now. Technorati Tags: children, Poison Control, medicine safety Business 101 From an Eight-Year-OldPosted by Jen in education, family life, the office11 Comments » Hello, and welcome to Business 101. Today, I share a story from my lovely family. I am Mom, Dad is my husband, Big L is our eight-year-old son and first-born genius. There is also Little L, the three-year-old who hangs around the fringes of this story, and not to be forgotten, the girls (in between the bookend boys), JJ and JoJo. Principle #1: Never Miss an Opportunity Big L doesn’t like candy. He just never has. He’ll eat an occasional Smarty, and perhaps a Skittle every blue moon. Give him a piece of bread, oh, he loves bread, but the candy he’ll pass. There IS an exception. We had the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Aunt & Uncle’s house, and Big L was caught up in the wild excitement. He collected 43 eggs, all brightly colored and filled with candy. The fact that candy is not one of his indulgences was no matter. Big L had a plan. Several days after Easter, he set up shop at our dining room table. He earned about $3.25 from his sisters who love candy, and were more than happy to buy his goods after they’d gobbled up their own baskets. “That will be 10 cents,” he’d say, eyeing the size of the candy. And “If you buy three, you get one free,” he would bargain. Even Mom and Dad bought some. (Some merchandise was eaten by Little L while he was “napping” one afternoon, else Big L would have earned much more.) Principle #2: Fill a Need This morning, Big L asked Dad a question: “Dad, what is something that every human needs?” I overheard the conversation, and thought perhaps Big L had a new joke, or a trick question. “I don’t know…why do you ask?” said Dad, not sure where the conversation was headed. “Well, I was thinking about inventing things, and figured I should make something that everyone would need, so they would buy it.” Dad was amazed at the eight-year-old’s business sense! He has a business degree in marketing and management and can spot good business principles (though, honestly, such common sense does not come by degree). Being an entrepreneur himself, Dad was amused to see his son following in his footsteps. When Dad was not much older than Big L, he started a detective agency, a candy store, and a football league. These little adventures into industry were short lived and not exactly successful, but are great examples of a child’s business mind at work. Dad had a string of other businesses in his young life, and continues to this day with new ideas. He encourages this inventiveness in his sons and daughters. He sat Big L down and told him all about patents and the role of the patent in American life as a protection and encouragement for new ideas - new ideas which have shaped America’s amazing progressions in science and medicine and agriculture and other areas. Dad has promised Big L that if he comes up with a really useful and unique invention, he will help him obtain a patent. For real. Even eight-year-olds should be given the opportunity to be the next Thomas Edison. p.s. Lest you think our girls are any less business savvy or industrious, they melted down all the chocolate purchased from their big brother, and attempted to sell it at a much higher price to Mom and Dad. You should have seen the smooth division of labor: JoJo did the purchasing (as she just had a birthday and was the one with more money), while JJ made up the recipe for “Roasted Chocolate” with a fancy recipe card and all, and kept driving up the price.
Technorati Tags: children, home education, homeschool, business, Easter eggs Oregon BeautyPosted March 25th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, education, family life, france/french8 Comments »
This is a view of Mount Bachelor from Sparks Lake, from a hike we took last summer. Talk about The Perfect Day - we hiked and picnicked with dear family friends, and also our French exchange student. Of course, our French guest had to mention the Alps. Mount Bachelor is part of the Cascade Range, and is the youngest prominent volcano in the Three Sisters (three volcanic peaks) area. Apparently, none of the three sisters could win over the bachelor. Anyway, I had to give you something pretty to look at while I make some public service announcements. Get your submissions in for the Christian Carnival by tonight, Midnight ET. Submit here, and also, Parableman has further information on the carnival. Publishing right here at Diary of 1 tomorrow. Other blog carnivals of interest: Make It From Scratch This concludes the public service announcement. You may continue to gaze at Oregon beauty. Two homeschooling families on a log; same hike (my four kids on the right end):
Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Central Oregon, Christian Carnival, France, Mount Bachelor, Three Sisters An Integrated Family in a Segregated WorldPosted March 5th, 2008 by Jen in education, family life9 Comments »
I have faced this dilemma many times, and still don’t have a firm philosophy on this issue of Who is Invited to the Party. We are probably in the minority, but we do most things as a family, and I cringe at age-segregation. Do you realize that this seemingly harmless age segregation of little children continues all the way on to the age segregation of our senior citizens, put away in nursing homes with no honor? And the age segregation in between those years has been noted as the cause of many ills from bullying and youth gangs to low intelligence? Probably because we are a homeschool family, and obviously not separated into different rooms according to age, our kids are sort of confused by this idea of only other four-year-old girls being invited to a four-year-old girl’s birthday party. My kids haven’t yet been socialized into segregation. I consider that to be a very good thing, even though some would disagree with me and say just follow the culture! People tell me that it’s just natural for kids to drift into their narrow age groups, but I disagree–there is one big force out there which causes this unnatural age segregation, and it’s called school. It makes complete sense for kids to only play with other children their age when they’ve been trained in that way since preschool. That doesn’t make it right or natural, it just explains the phenomenon. I tend to stand on principle. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing to allow JoJo to go to the party by herself. But it just undermines our philosophy of living an integrated family life, and my husband and I want to present a connected, cohesive family model to our children. And logistically, it’s difficult. I have three other kids. I don’t drop a four year old off at a birthday party, so I’d have to stay with her. What do I do with my other three kids if my husband is working? Hire a babysitter so my child can go to a birthday party? That’s simply not in my budget. What I’m up against, however, is a mammoth cultural icon. Little boys invite all the little boys in their class at school to their birthday party. This is how it’s done. Let’s say there are 15 boys in the class. That’s a lot of children eating cake and blowing noise makers. If each of those boys also brought siblings, it’s just too much for the party host to handle. Me and my four kids would tip the scales into chaos. This is nearly impossible to overcome. What’s a family like ours to do? Be counter-culture? Anti-birthday party? Weird? Taking a stand on this “we all come or no one comes” conviction certainly puts us at the fringe of society. However, I think strict age-segregation is unhealthy, unwise, artificial, and impractical. Where an important principle is at stake, maybe I just need to be okay with the fringe. Technorati Tags: birthday party, children, age segregation, homeschool, integrated family Art Heist: What’s Your Theory?Posted February 12th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, germany, politics/world news5 Comments »
The spectacular art heist of this past Sunday at the Bührle Museum in Zurich has rocked the art world, and police are working around the clock to solve the case and find any possible connections with other recent thefts, including the theft the previous week of two Pablo Picasso paintings stolen from a Swiss exhibition near Zurich. A note on the museum’s website says “The museum remains closed.”
The stolen art work has been valued at $180 million and comprised four Impressionist masterpieces: Poppies near Vetheuil by Claude Monet (1879), Count Lepic and his Daughters by Edgar Degas (1871), Blossoming Chestnut Branch by Vincent Van Gogh (1890) and Boy in a Red Waistcoat by Paul Cezanne (1888). Since this month my blog features have been about great artists, and the first artist I covered was Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, this breaking news certainly caught my attention. The Bührle Museum did have a Renoir on display, Little Irene, but it wasn’t touched, probably because the three masked gunmen couldn’t carry anymore heavy paintings, and the robbers appeared to have just taken the first four they came to. Motive? I mean, you can’t go out and sell the famous stolen art. “It’s extremely hard, if not impossible, to sell these works,” said Michaela Derra of Ketterer Kunst GmbH, a Munich, Germany-based purveyor of modern and contemporary art. Here is a speculation:
However, I have my own little theory. There is apparently a Saudi collector sending his thugs out to steal art for his private collection. None of the current stories I’ve found on the Bührle theft have mentioned this connection, so I could be promoting an absurd idea. Nonetheless, just two months ago, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, paintings by Picasso and Portinari were stolen, but recovered. One of the suspects in the case told detectives the paintings were to be delivered to a Saudi collector, who has not been publicly named by authorities. The history of Mr. Emil G. Bührle is very interesting, and perhaps he himself was a collector who obtained stolen art, and conceivably everything has come full circle. Bührle, born in Germany, was an industry tycoon who provided weapons to the Third Reich during World War II. In the aftermath of the war, he amassed one of Europe’s most valuable collections of art. It’s a tragedy of the war that the Nazis looted much of the great art owned by Jews, and many of Bührle’s pieces were on a “looted art list.” Exactly how Bührle obtained his collection is unknown, but some of it is “flight art,” works smuggled out by Jews and sold at bargain-basement prices to avoid confiscation by Nazis. Maybe this art heist was Jews taking back their rightful property, via a Saudi collector, who will ask for a ransom. At this point, any theory can be thrown into the ring. Reactionary Homeschooler, Inquiring About OptionsPosted February 11th, 2008 by Jen in education9 Comments » Frankly, I homeschool more for reactionary reasons than for proactive reasons. I much agree with many of the “why homeschool” reasons I hear about, like the ability to fine tune your educational approach to meet the specific needs of your child, the wonderful freedom of learning through living, the pleasure of having your own child at your side and imparting the best of what you know as well as learning new things together. However, I also have no problem with sending my child off to school, either, provided it’s a safe, quality, moral environment. And that’s where I become reactionary. I am anti-school violence, anti-indoctrination in secularism and humanism, anti-standardized, one-sized education, anti-teacher-knows-best, anti-parent-serves-the-state. And so I homeschool. I enjoy all the positive aspects of homeschooling, don’t get me wrong. It’s just interesting to explore the roots of my motivation. Parents are joining the homeschool movement in droves for reactionary reasons. When will we get a New Deal? If there were some better choices out there, this wouldn’t be happening. I think a lot about the plight of many parents who are unable to homeschool for a variety of reasons, yet can’t afford a school of their choice, and I’d really like to see something done about this. I think many homeschool families would be wise to think beyond their own four walls for a moment. For true, global change to happen, is it possible that you need to think outside the care and education of your own children? For the majority of children who have no choice but to attend the local propaganda center (pick up your straight jackets and bullet proof vests at the door), otherwise known as public school, can you do something? What are some options we can pursue and promote? School choice. Charter schools. Private, church-run schools, hosted by nearly every church, with a very minimal cost. Large homeschool co-ops. Let government money follow the child, no matter what the educational choice. I like all of these options. Can reactionary homeschoolers do something proactive about the state of education? I Really Like Homeschooling, I Just Want Someone Else to Do It For MePosted January 14th, 2008 by Jen in education, family life, parenting, religion, the office9 Comments » There are days, there are seasons to be sure, when a homeschooling parent has a tough spell. After spending a week investigating a local fine arts charter school, a private Christian school, and homeschool co-op options, I’m back to where I started. At home. My many conflicting commitments have sent me into a tailspin. With pressing financial obligations that require me to leave Homeschool Fantasy Land, I’ve seriously looked at my options. How can I homeschool and run a business? When I can’t afford outside tutors, how do I teach my kids in the disciplines in which I’m not equipped, like music, but which are very important to me? Can’t someone else do this for me? I did what I have to do in cases of extreme distress: I called Catherine. I look upon her as my Homeschool Mentor-Mom Mentor-Wife Mentor, and she’s always the one to help me readjust my perspective. She gave me a real talkin’ to this time. She’s not one to say, “Oh, honey, you poor thing, I feel for you.” It’s more like, “Are you even thankful for what you have? You are where you are, now work with it.” I complained about not being able to afford private music lessons, and how, unlike her, I don’t have 10 years of music training in the French conservatories. “You can listen to CDs of classical music, can’t you?” I grumbled about having to work at our family business. “Do you know how many people would die to have a family business? To have that opportunity to teach their kids a life skill at their side?” I groused about feeling inadequate. “Jennifer, I would say that about some people, but never you. You’re intelligent, educated, and love the Lord.” However, she maintained that all my education and degrees may actually hinder me, as I’m tempted to reproduce an educational institution in my home. Her main point, as she talked, and I humbly listened, was that God has our family where He has our family. She is adamant about just living life with your children, and learning as you go. Her style is much more un-schooling than mine, and her children are so bright and lovely and competent. “You just need to ask the Lord, how do I accomplish this? will You please provide what I need?” she asserted. Nothing has changed about my situation. I still have to find a way to spend several hours a day working on the business; I still have to buckle down and really stretch myself on the music education; I still don’t have anybody to pass my kids off to; I still don’t have any more money than I did a week ago. However, I’ve regained a little bit of the mind of Christ, which was lost over the past month of holiday insanity. The mind of Christ seems to be telling me to chill out. Chill out and educate my children one day at a time. “Why do you homeschool?” Catherine had pointedly asked me. Oh, yeah. It affords us the opportunity to bring up our kids as children of God. It empowers our family to grow together in ways that we can direct. It enables me to take advantage of those daily moments where training happens, moments I can even set up in advance to teach my children life lessons on character and friendship. And homeschooling, perhaps most importantly, ensures that my children are not trapped in an artificial construct, but are learning to live a real life in the real world. Okay, I’ll do it. No guns, oh, and no free speech on public transitPosted January 1st, 2008 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion5 Comments » The Texas woman who was kicked off the Forth Worth, Texas public transportation system “T” bus this past Saturday - was she concealing a weapon, endangering passengers with violent behavior, or selling drugs? No, she was reading her Bible to her children, enroute to church. Public Transportation is rife with problems. Last April in St. Paul, Minnesota, the city saw a 16 year old shot and killed while a passenger on the Metro Transit bus. In November, a 71 year old man was brutally beaten with a baseball bat in Gresham, Oregon by a 15 year old gang member at the MAX public transit station. Just two weeks ago in Baltimore, a 14 year old boy was shot and wounded on a Maryland Transit bus. And here’s just two paragraphs from the Baltimore Sun article to give you a taste of the real problems facing public transportation in major cities:
So don’t give me this flap about a lady reading the Bible on the bus. Is there nothing more interesting happening in Fort Worth, and the terribly bored bus drivers must resort to throwing off Bible reading mothers? According to MyFox Dallas-Fort Worth, the woman kicked off the bus, Christine Lutz, sees this as a clear case of religious persecution. Lutz told FOX 4 that she was sitting in the back of the bus, not being disruptive, and reading to her children from the Bible. She said she was stunned when the bus driver asked her to stop reading her Bible. Lutz responded, “No, I’m reading the Bible, I’m teaching the kids, I’m going to continue.” Before she knew it, the bus had pulled over, and she and her kids were escorted into a supervisor’s van and driven the remainder of the way to church. Now, as a homeschooling mom, I’m quite familiar with teaching on the go. In the van on the way to Cub Scouts, along the grocery aisles, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, in line at the Post Office. I’m always teaching, reading the kids a story, answering questions. When dealing with children, animation is often required. I’ve surely annoyed some people along the way. However, the person waiting in line behind me to get his package shipped has no constitutional right to not be annoyed by my teaching. And I have a right to free speech. So does the obnoxious person shipping that package talking at full volume on his cell phone. So does the mother reading the Bible to her children on the public transit system. Officials at the Fort Worth T (Trinity Railway Express) claim that their treatment of Lutz had nothing to do with the content of what she was reading, but that she was simply too loud. They point to signs on the bus warning against playing radios and loud behavior. “If she were reading Moby Dick or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or reading anything else, the same thing would have occurred,” said bus representative Joan Hunter. Really, Joan, does everyone sit in complete silence on the Fort Worth T? Perhaps I’ll try riding the T and read Winnie the Pooh to my children and see if I get thrown off. Given that not a single passenger had complained, this story is pretty weak. Given the real, bona fide problems facing mass transit systems in large cities, like thieves, gangs, and drug dealers, it’s clear to this blogger that the bus driver was in fact engaging in a form of religious persecution. Or maybe just an extremely low annoyance tolerance level. This woman deserves the public apology she is seeking. Veterans History ProjectPosted November 11th, 2007 by Jen in education, history, holidays3 Comments »
My family is participating in the Veterans History Project as part of a homeschool history project. We will be interviewing a family friend who is a Vietnam veteran. You don’t have to submit the oral history you collect to the Project, but it’s really simple and would benefit us all if you’d be willing to contribute and help preserve these stories as part of America’s folklife. The Veterans History Project is primarily focused on first-hand accounts of U.S. veterans from the following wars:
The Project also invites U.S. civilians to share their stories of their active support of the war efforts, such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, and medical volunteers. The participation guidelines are straightforward, and includes a Veteran’s Release Form, which is included in the Project Kit. Only one interview, between 25-90 minutes long, is allowed per veteran or civilian interviewee. Sample interview questions for veterans are available at the Project website, and are an invaluable resource! The questions are divided into segments, making it easy to conduct interviews in sessions if required: Jogging Memory, Experiences, Life, After Service, and Later Years and Closing. “Do you recall the day your service ended?” is a question I’m sure all veterans will have no trouble recollecting. This weekend my children were in two different Veterans Day parades. My son, who is a Cub Scout, marched with his troop in the neighboring town on Saturday, and my daughter, who is a Brownie (Girl Scout), marched with her troop on Sunday in our town. I took several photos of veterans who lined the streets with the other parade watchers, and I so wish I could have sat down with them all right there and heard their stories! Here are some of my favorite shots: A World War II veteran: Two Vietnam veterans: Navy Lieutenant Commander, veteran of WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War: Since I walked the parade route, I only had time to stop and ask permission to take a photo, and thank these men for their service to our country. From this last fellow, though, I had the privilege of hearing a snippet about his thirty year military career. No matter where your politics lie in regard to war, please be pro-veteran. Someone handed my husband a card which said Pro-Troop. War-Neutral. That’s a nice non-partisan way to honor our military men and women. Please let me know if you participate in the Veterans History Project! What We Really DidPosted November 5th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life8 Comments » It’s always a little nerve-wracking to post a schedule, proclaim a goal, or shout out to all of blog-land what you intend to do. Because then you have invited accountability of sorts. What if someone asks me about what I said I was going to do? And what if I didn’t do it? Then do I look like a loser or a liar? I did post a schedule for our homeschool, and I know that doesn’t make me answerable to you, gentle reader, but I will follow up. There’s a certain amount of accountability I need to function well, to stay disciplined, to maintain the course. Like I said in that post, I was feeling overwhelmed with inability and disorganization, and writing out our homeschool schedule - and posting it - was just the framework I needed to lock down on myself. Now I get to tell you that writing out a rigid schedule doesn’t mean you have to be chained to it. Let it act as a mere suggestion on the days you don’t need it because all is well; let it serve as the guiding principle when your objectives have become dim; or demand that it be the strictest procedure when reigning chaos requires order. I have the first few months of school behind me, and I can say that our schedule has been somewhere between a strict procedure and a guiding principle. I’d like to tell about what we really did mostly for those who are freaked out about their ability to homeschool. A comment I hear fairly often from non-homeschoolers is this: I could never do it because… I’m just not organized enough, I don’t have enough patience, I’m not smart enough…and so on. You’ll see following that there is, and arguably should be, a lot of room for flexibility. Here’s what was in the planner, with what we really did on one particular day below each subject entry: 9:00 Math: Ray’s New Arithmetics
“Mama, look at my pretty float on the St. Clair River,” says little L., pridefully pointing a chubby finger at his stack of Cuisenaire rods.
9:30 Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
10:00 Language Arts: First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, by Jessie Wise.
10:30 History: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, by Susan Wise Bauer.
11:00 French
11:30 Science
12:00 Art/Music
Formal schooling for the day is done. Next, we ate lunch and had a clean up time. Now the three year old needs his nap, and the rest of the children have a quiet time for 1 1/2 hours. I’m busy on the computer, catching up with the business, maybe a little blogging. Once afternoon naps and/or quiet time is complete, we head over to the office for about an hour. I pack up orders for the day while the kids play with projects they’ve brought with them. Today it’s gluing beans onto cardstock, making interesting designs. Back home, it’s time for dinner, clean up, storytime, and bed. There you have it, a day in the life of a homeschool family. Of course, no two days are ever the same, but you get the flavor. Speaking of flavor, my six year old just brought me a cup of something that she made. “Here Mom, it’s a banana shake I made for you! It has cinnamon, milk, yogurt, mashed up bananas, and that’s it - it’s a simple recipe!” Project Generation ConnectionsPosted October 22nd, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, parenting9 Comments » Do you sense a disconnect between generations? This report is one of many which shows a detachment of today’s young people to their heritage and history. Many factors could be at work, including the breakdown of families, loss of respect for (including neglect and abuse of) elders, an ultra-mobile society in which children, parents, and grandparents rarely live in the same town anymore, and even technology heightens the disconnect.
If that’s not the case for you, try to make it a priority to include grandparents or other seniors in your daily life. I’m sure there is a neighbor, a friend’s grandmother, or your own parent or grandparent in close enough proximity to make this a reality. My current project is a series of interviews with my mom to try to capture a bit of life in her generation. I came across a great article entitled Family History is American History which makes a positive case for this kind of documenting:
Here is one of our recent interviews, where my six year old daughter, J, helped me conduct the interview:
Well, you get the idea. I like including my children in the interview process, because they will be more involved, absorb more of her life as she speaks to what they want to know about, and she will be communicating directly to them. When I teach my kids about World War II, they will already have this framework to layer the information upon - a very real, tangible fabric that brings to life dry facts of history. Here’s a fun generation-connecting lesson to be learned from the American Crow:
Generational connections can bring health to our extended family life, increase our knowledge of family history, and surely promote knowledge of our national history. Are your children terrified of “old people”? My kids certainly have that tendency, because our society is prone to segregating our senior citizens. I have to be purposeful about fostering these generational connections, even with Grandma living with us. Tell me if you have any ideas for a Project Generation Connections! Feeling Like an IndianPosted October 12th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life2 Comments » From Benjamin Franklin’s (1706-1790) Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America.
I just had an interesting conversation with a friend from Bulgaria. He’s been here ten years now, and his insights on our public school system were interesting. He’s seen communism and post-communism in his homeland, and now American democracy. Given the distance of ten years, he can see both the good and bad in all the systems. On education, he finds it appalling the lack of discipline in American schools. When he was counseled to not use the word “punishment” with his rebellious teenager, but rather “consequences,” he threw up his hands. We just had another school shooting in Ohio, and the violence, bullying, and drugs in our schools are famous. These problems begin in the home, where there is not proper training of children, then spill over into the schools where the hands of the school officials and teachers are usually tied - they can not hand out the kind of discipline that is meant to be dealt by a parent. Like the Indians noted in Lancaster, our children are emerging from our public schools almost “totally good for nothing.” They are disrespectful, selfish, self-absorbed, undisciplined, and barely educated by the dumbed-down textbooks. They come back to us unable to engage in critical thinking, brainwashed with an atheistic, postmodern relativistic worldview, their love of learning destroyed. But the good Department of Education still asks that we turn over our children. While I am obliged by their kind offer, I decline to accept it. And I would call on all able parents to instruct their own children in all they know, and make men and women of them. Progress at the RanchPosted October 8th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, the ranch13 Comments » Building a house…we are determined to make this a positive experience for the family, despite the reality of the many pressures and strains such a project can create. We pray for grace and mercy in this endeavor.
So, here’s a little photo journey of the latest developments. We all worked and played there over the weekend, and our Friday homeschool day was spent learning about septic systems, barn building, pump houses, mixing concrete, and such.
I hope the kids remember this time. I would love to raise my family in this home, on this land, but I don’t know the future. Come what may, I hope the kids tuck away treasured memories of helping their daddy build a house.
Do your kids love to gather firewood? I don’t know any kids who don’t. The only problems encountered were fighting over choice pieces of wood, or arguing over whose turn it was to push the wheelbarrow. We somehow navigated those bumps without tears.
So, the day at the ranch ended with a stunning sunset closely followed by a lovely campfire, complete with the roasting of hotdogs and marshmallows, and even a few campfire songs. Kum-Ba-Yah, anyone? My husband said to me, “I hope we keep having these campfires even after the house is built.” The HunterPosted September 23rd, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, the ranch10 Comments »
I’ve mentioned our 20 acres in Central Oregon where we’re currently building a house. It’s not an enormous piece of land as far as hunting grounds go, but it’s situated in an ideal location for the sport. One end of the terrain drops down to a rimrock cliff which is the natural path of herds of deer and elk that run though here. The other end is bordered by a large canal which makes a nice watering hole, and the other sides of the property are bordered by large acreages. So it works. The Hunter has been rifle-hunting for years - mostly for elk in Eastern Oregon. Last year, he switched to bow hunting and seems to enjoy the sporting challenge. Since we lived on our property last year at this time, in our travel trailer, we had opportunity to see all the wildlife up close. There was an enormous buck (”Chester”) that came by nearly everyday during the late summer, and The Hunter was out looking for him all during the hunting season, but with no luck. The night before this hunt, The Hunter had taken our eight year old son (The Scientist) to the property to hunt, and with just two days left of the bow season, he was anxious. The Scientist has his own small bow, and just target shoots for fun - but you can imagine that he really feels like he’s hunting with Daddy. They were hoping that Chester would make an appearance. The hunters saw nothing that evening. So, the following morning, JJ begged to go with The Hunter, as she had been in tears the day before at not having gone. But The Hunter just wants one child at a time at this point. I’m sure you can understand all the noise made by a six and eight year old poking each other. I was home with the other children and had really forgotten about the morning activity. My phone rang, and there was a bad connection, but I did hear the word “spike.” Yes, The Hunter and his young huntress had accomplished the mission. Standing in our future master bath, they were getting ready to leave, when along came the buck. The Hunter waited patiently for the deer to change his head-on position, took the shot, and the well-placed arrow shot clean through the animal. Here’s where it was really neat to have him hunting less than 10 minutes away. I was able to grab the neighbor to come and help, pack up some supplies and the other three kids (and Grandma), and head over. Now all my children are well educated in the gutting, hanging, and skinning of a deer. If we were lost in the wilderness, we’d all survive. :-) Family Hunt: notice the various expressions…and the proud huntress posing next to her Daddy. The Scientist was so jealous, and on the way to the property, said, “I hope JJ didn’t help Daddy track the deer.” I said, “Honey, you will have your time.” Gutting the deer: the kids and I learned what an awful, dreadful, and vile smell is created in this endeavor. Hanging the deer: the old Juniper tree, rope and pole are skillfully used. Skinning the deer: not for the faint of heart, but now we all know the ins and outs of this.
The deer needs to hang for a few days, then The Hunter will take it to the butcher and we’ll have a freezer full of venison. Dinner last night? Backstrap, of course. According to The Hunter, tradition in the hunting camp calls for the backstrap to be cut off immediately and cooked for dinner, so this coincided well with the fact that the neighbor who helped him was having us over for a BBQ that night. Much to The Hunter’s delight, I’m now convinced that hunting can be a family activity for us. He likes that the kids are learning not just the sport of hunting, but the entire process, from field to fridge. We know where our food comes from. :-) Bonhoeffer and Gatto on EducationPosted September 15th, 2007 by Jen in education, germany8 Comments » For Natasha, a post for her International Freedom in Education Day. Since I just spent a great deal of time reading about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I’ll submit something interesting I came across in Eberhard Bethge’s Biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. From p. 17, where he briefly discusses the fact that Dietrich’s mother, Paula Bonhoeffer, homeschooled all eight children for their early schooling:
If Paula Bonhoeffer were raising her family in Germany today, would she have landed in jail? Would Dietrich and his siblings have become wards of the state? Those sound like ridiculous questions; however, that is the reality of what is happening in Germany today. John Taylor Gatto’s The Public School Nightmare: why fix a system designed to destroy individual thought is an excellent essay in which he describes the evolution of modern compulsory education.
Gatto continues his essay with a very interesting remark from none other than Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
I’ll wrap up this post with a simple warning given by Gatto. My hope is that if people understand what sinister objectives lurk beneath compulsory schooling, they will stop being so willing to comply. German citizens need to rise up, en masse, and rebel against this kind of tyranny that leaves them no options, no power to choose.
International Freedom in Education DayPosted September 14th, 2007 by Jen in education, germany5 Comments » Natasha over at Educating Germany is hosting the International Freedom in Education Day. If you have a post to add to her carnival, please head over there; she’ll be running this through tomorrow. If you would like to learn more about the education crisis in Germany, spend some time browsing her site. I’ve written several times, including here and here, about Germany’s mandatory school laws which leave homeschooling families living in fear, often being fined, jailed, or having their children taken away by the state - simply for refusing to send their kids to the public school, choosing instead to educate their own children. I’ll have something by tomorrow to add to Natasha’s effort. She just moved her family to Germany and certainly needs our prayers as she not only works for reform but is putting her words into action, homeschooling her children in Germany. There is also an incredible wealth of information on education/homeschooling in Germany at Dana’s site, just do a search on her site for Germany. Why do I care? I live in the United States and have the freedom to homeschool my kids if I want. Well, I could talk about the fact that there is indeed a trickle-down effect in the international community, I could talk about the U.N. trying to apply international law to the United States, I could talk about many legal or political issues. However, the reason I truly care is not even definable. It’s something about being human and loving and caring for other people, no matter where in the world they live. It’s about brothers and sisters in the Lord who are being persecuted for their faith. It’s about freedom. My Christian Carnival is ComingPosted September 7th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, education, family life, religion3 Comments » Hey, I get to host the Christian Carnival next week, and I really want a post from you! Do you have something to say from a Christian perspective? The current carnival is being hosted at Bounded Irrationality, so check it out if you’re wondering what kinds of posts might be appropriate for this carnival. Submission deadline for this Christian Carnival is: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 23:59, and will be up RIGHT HERE on September 12! Use the handy Carnival Submission Form to get your post in right away! If you have any trouble with that submission form, go ahead and email me your post: blessedinthewest at yahoo dot com. Share your best post from the previous week, and as the carnival description states, your topic does not necessarily have to be about Christianity, but the writer must be Christian to qualify, and whatever your subject matter, the post must reflect your Christian worldview. Please get those posts rolling in, I’m very excited to see what you all have to say! I will just mention that I’ve been both reading and participating in the Christian Carnival for several months, and have absolutely loved getting to know some of the regular contributors through their writings and I guarantee you will be blessed by something you come across there. And you will be a blessing to another, I’m sure. Do share. Elsewhere in Carnival land, check out the Carnival of Homeschooling, the Carnival of Education, and the Carnival of Family Life. How’s your end of summer/fall routine? We just completed Week 2 of our homeschooling year, and pretty much stayed on track. And what a refreshing thing to get back in a routine after the helter-skelter summer we had! We all thrive on order in some form, so blessings to you as you make good plans (and stick to them) for the coming months! Puzzling CommentPosted September 4th, 2007 by Jen in education9 Comments » I get a lot of peculiar homeschooling comments thrown my way, but this one was just downright tommyrot, eyewash, hooey. Those are just really fun words for nonsense.
I’m really not making this up. That’s about verbatim what this person said to me. I’m still shaking my head. Would these people please just come right out and say they think I’m a nut for homeschooling? That’s much preferable to codswallop. Planning for the Disorganized SlackPosted August 10th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, religion13 Comments » How are you? Have you been busy? Of course. Me, too. The long hot days are winding down, and the last of my summer guests is leaving tomorrow. My thoughts are turning toward fall, which for many of us with children, means school.
This is the first time, outside of teaching in a classroom of 30-some elementary students, that I’ve sat down and felt the need to fairly rigidly schedule our homeschool day. It’s sort of like do or die. I have that business to manage, and it’s not going away, and I have the rest of life to manage as well, such as house and husband. I was feeling so incredibly overwhelmed and unable to do anything just a week ago, but once I started planning our days, I slowly regained my sanity and my sense of I can do this. First, my husband gave me a kick in the pants when I said last week, “I don’t think I can do this. I need help.” His decidedly non-sympathetic response was, “Please, you have a Master’s in Teaching and you can’t figure out how to teach just four kids?” I shot back, “Well, it’d be a little easier without your business to run.” He corrected me, “Our business.” Oh, yeah. So, I don’t get to have a perfect little life where I just homeschool and run the kids around to fun activities all day. C’est la vie, right? Next, I ran to God. A good place to run. “Help!” I cried. You have to know, and I’ve said before, organization does not come naturally to me. I feel like I need serious help in getting control of the mess around me. There are solutions. Like getting up earlier. Scheduling. Making Lists. Taking baby steps to do even the little things. Constant prayer has been my companion on this issue lately. Do I trust God to provide for my needs, even helping me to be more organized? You bet. I can’t explain how insurmountable this appears to be at the moment - it’s like I’ve been tangled up in a web and I’m too weak to begin fighting my way out. Where does my help come from? Oh, that’s right, from the Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth. Ding, light comes on! Have I been spending time with the Creator? Not really, been too busy. Have I been studying His life-giving Word? Not really, been too busy. Okay, there’s the real problem. Somehow, I forget, until I’m at the bottom of the pit, that I truly can’t do anything apart from Him. But with Him, all things are possible!
Now I’m ready for the Teacher Plan Book! I bought it at Barnes & Noble the other day, and as I cracked it open this morning and penciled in a weekly schedule, my anxiety began to melt away. Here’s the rough schedule so far, for the older two, and it’s a very simple schedule. Half-hour increments, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. [My four year old will be mainly working her way through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, also she and the soon-to-be three year old will be playing with lumps of playdough or puzzles or reading with Grandma, who lives with us.] Monday through Thursday: [for my 1st and 2nd Grade Kids] 9:00 Math: Ray’s New Arithmetics
9:30 Spelling: Spelling Workout, Modern Curriculum Press.
10:00 Language Arts: First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, by Jessie Wise.
10:30 History: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, by Susan Wise Bauer.
11:00 French: Miscellaneous.
11:30 Science: Teaching Science to Children: An Inquiry Approach, by Alfred Friedl
12:00 Art/Music: Miscellaneous.
People often ask me, “What curriculum do you use?” Or “What is your homeschool style?” As you can see, I mix and match. I use what I have, what I can get cheaply, or occasionally, I will pay full price for something I really like. I lean toward the Classical Method of homeschooling, as you can see from some curriculum choices that are laid out in The Well Trained Mind. I also love and employ many of Charlotte Mason’s methods, and I’m a little bit Principled as well, and very unschooled on certain days. I’m certainly not definable. What is important to me are ideas like this: the knowledge of God is primary, discovering how we f | ||||
It’s 
“Can JoJo come to the birthday party?” read the email I hadn’t yet responded to. I still don’t know my answer and the party is at 3:30 this afternoon. The invitation was extended only to my 4 year old girl. My six year old girl had assumed that she would also be invited, and even my boys don’t want to be left out. Who knew the thought-provoking conversations that would result from a simple birthday party invitation.
The little ones (3 and 4 years old) sat with Grandma during math. Mulit-age teaching is possible and a beautiful thing, even if hectic at times. Grandmas sure come in handy right about now! In this photo, Grandma was telling little L. that he was building the arched entry way into 
In my family, I try to repair this disconnect by giving my kids ample opportunities to understand the lives of their elders. Since my (nearly 79 year old) mother has lived with us for eight years now, my children are accustomed to having a senior in their everyday life. 
As you can see, our house is framed, sided, and just about ready for roofing. We’re racing against the weather to be dried in before the rain and snow is upon us. This is my husband’s handiwork; he put an incredible amount of effort and detail in the design of this home. He’s been on-site managing and laboring from the beginning - and he’s doing an amazing job. His 
The pole barn/shop is on its way up, as well. I was dreaming of an Amish barn-raising, but it’s mostly just my husband doing the labor, with some help from whoever happens to be around. The poles are set in the concrete and this building will be done within a few weeks. It’s a simple structure, but the man is so excited to have a place for the tractor, the lawnmower, the bikes, the tools. Yes, we want to use the garage to actually park cars, not store the ranch equipment. Man, do you see those clouds rolling in? Hurry it up!
Some little child discovered the physics of wet concrete. There may be a shoe stuck down there. There is some magical, magnetic property of wet concrete, because my kids could not stay away from it. There were little piles of extra concrete that the mixing truck had dripped here and there between poles, and the kids were all over it. My 8 yr. old son quickly scooped together a pile, inserted a piece of metal rebar, and began to “build” something. He pounded with Dad’s sledgehammer and set the pole for his imaginary barn.
I wouldn’t have thought one could take such pride and joy in a septic system. However, this is a rockin’ septic system, folks! My husband could tell you all the reasons why, but I will not put you to sleep nor cause you to even imagine for a moment the reason one has a septic system. But when the inspectors come out and say, “You did this yourself?” you know it’s good. Actually, at every turn, the inspectors have said that to my husband. One even took a picture of his power trench to show the regulars how it’s done - step it up, a do-it-yourselfer is doing a better job than you.
This will be the pump house. I never thought about what a pump house was until we started this project. I think I was imagining the old days when people literally had to pump water by hand. The pump house is just a little storage building to protect the water pump and the pipes. The day after this photo, the older kids went back with Dad to finish the concrete for the pump house. They arrived home well after dark, and apparently the kids were an invaluable help. Sorry, I will admit I was a little surprised to hear this. My husband said he could NOT have finished it without them - they were the stir boy and stir girl, and he would have been facing a big glob of half-dried concrete without their tireless effort. When I gave the kids a bath that night, their hair looked gray.
It was not all sweat and labor, however. The kids and I gathered firewood, which they consider “fun,” not “work.” Because the purpose of gathering firewood is to have a campfire - nothin’ better than that! There is no shortage of firewood on the property, especially with all the downed trees which were cleared for the house. It was a quick and light task, and immensely rewarding. 
I had no trouble getting helpers to rebuild the fire ring, either. The original fire pit was bulldozed aside to make way for the path to the new pole barn. I’ve mentioned before the ROCK around here? I think the well-drillers went through close to 90 feet of solid rock before hitting dirt. Again, no shortage of rock, and with the purpose of gathering rock being to form a new fire pit, the workers were happy little helpers.
My husband (”The Hunter”) just had his first archery kill yesterday. It was special for several reasons. First, he had taken our six year old daughter (”JJ”) with him that morning, since it was her turn. Second, they were hunting on our own property. Lastly, the whole thing turned into a family affair and a great educational experience for all.
We all had a good chuckle as The Scientist put the front legs to good use. He strung them up and made some sort of deer puppet…he said he was making deer tracks. I love the creativity of this child.
Oh, did the Bonhoeffer family have it right, way back in the first decade of the 1900s! Does German schooling “break the back” of its children? Could this be a reason for the number of homeschooling families in Germany, despite the dire consequences? Yes, it’s illegal, since about 1938 (and do you know 
I spent the day pencil in hand, scratching out a schedule in my Teacher Plan Book. I have four little pupils - currently 2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? Okay, I just had to say that because after next week, I can’t say it anymore, as the two year old will turn three. I do little planning for the 2 and 4 year olds, but the two older kids need a schedule.