Catching Up

Lake Michigan--gorgeous!

It really has been two months since I last made a blog post!  This summer has been full of traveling, gardening, and planning.  Two trips took us to four states I had never been to~~Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Michigan.
One was a ministry trip and the other a really truly vacation.  A quick trip to West Virginia was also a ministry trip, but we got to visit with some very old, very dear friends, so it felt more like a vacation.  Also, we attended the national convention of The American Association of Lutheran Churches, which is our denomination, in Minnesota in June.  I'm ready to stay home awhile . . .

The flowers have been spectacular this summer, especially the zinnias and marigolds.  For the first time, I grew the marigolds from seeds and they are enormous.  The zinnias are abundant too.  The vegetable garden has struggled somewhat due to lack of rain (yes, we water it, but it's not the same as rain somehow, is it?), and anyway, by this time of the year I'm ready for it to be over.  Not the flowers, just the veggies!  We have gotten a decent amount of green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and spaghetti squash.  For the second year in a row the cabbages were completely worm-eaten and a complete loss.  It seems they won't be successful without some sort of cage or netting to keep the loopers off, and spending money on it gets us quickly to the point of diminishing return.  I give up!



We've begun another year of ministry to our local college campuses, which means the resumption of our every-other-Friday dinners.  The array of nationalities represented at these dinners is really something wonderful.  Besides our American friends, we've hosted people from China, Turkey, Haiti, Brazil, Morocco, India, and Japan, and ages range from less than a year old to mid-fifties.  Educational levels include everything from special ed to post doctoral researchers and visiting scholars.  My job in all this is as a support person.  Along with my husband, I plan menus, shop, cook, prepare, clean up, and extend a glad welcome in the name of Christ to each guest.  For more on the various outreaches we're involved in through Wittenberg Door, go here. 

The big news for me is that I'm homeschooling again!  I loved homeschooling my own two daughters, so I  was thrilled when the opportunity arose to teach my granddaughters.  The older is in first grade and the younger is a preschooler.  Every morning, their dad drops them off and we learn and grow together until their mother collects them about four hours later.  It is so rewarding to lay out for them a feast of good things to nourish their hearts and minds!  I will try to post with specifics soon. 

Playdough Spelling

On a field trip to the nature center in a neighboring town.
The little girl in the middle belongs to another family. :)

We began school the Tuesday after Labor Day.  The first two weeks were a time of adjustment and working out a few kinks, but we are settling in now and making good progress.  I will keep you posted! 

 

Life Under Compulsion by Anthony Esolen

Last week I finished a book by one of my favorite authors of cultural commentary, Life Under Compulsion: Ten Ways to Destroy the Humanity of Your Child  by Anthony Esolen of Providence College.  It's a follow-up to his Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child.  However, it's not written in Screwtape-esque style as was the first one.  As you would expect if you've read anything by Esolen, the prose is well crafted, lucid, and fluid.  I'm looking forward to attending a conference in April in which he will be the plenary speaker.

Here are a few choice quotations from the book~

If you are not in love with beauty and goodness, you will be clutched by the drab and the listless if not worse.

What happened to this freedom-making education?  The short answer is that John Dewey happened to it.  Dewey, mild of temperament, was as narrow-minded a reformer as the world has ever been plagued withal.

Every encounter with what is good--the chivalry of General Lee, the willing poverty of Mother Theresa, the shy greathearted youth of Alyosha Karamazov--can expand the soul; it helps to set us free from the compulsions of false goods, which Christians have long grouped under the headings of the seven deadly sins.  Every encounter with beauty--the glint of a simple word in a poem by Herbert, the meditative subtleties of the late Shakespeare, the sweet charm of a ballad by Burns--can expand the soul; it helps to set us free from the heavy accretions of the drab, the dull, the mean, the spiritually sluggish, the smog of contemporary workaweek life.  Every encounter with human truth--Jane Austen deftly showing how little we know our own motives; Dickens revealing the meaning of "economy" in the cheerful and charitable housekeeping of Esther Summerson, his finest heroine; or Shakespeare offering us the foolish Lear, mad and childish and yet 'every inch a king'--can expand the soul; it helps to set us free from the common delusions of our time, the lies we believe and the lies we tell.

 That's just a taste.  Perhaps I'll post more another day.  Now, I'm off to read Esolen's latest release, Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture.

Art and Crafts

Lots going on this past week, as usual.  A few weeks ago, I was asked to teach the kindergarten religion class at the grade school attached to my church, so four days a week it's up-and-at-'em for me!  No more leisurely breakfasts.  I am enjoying the students and the time in an irl classroom.  I've been teaching for an on-line school for so long that I'd forgotten what it is like to actually be able to see the students!

Preschool with the granddaughters included making Indian corn.  Each week, the concentration on their faces is priceless.

Hannah and Arane impressively whipped up this sweet doll quilt in about an hour and a half, using scraps and leftover blocks from other projects, all chosen and arranged by Arane.  She ironed and used the sewing machine (with Hannah's help and supervision) for the first time.  She was so proud of herself!  

             

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yesterday was Museum Day, so Dave and I spent a couple hours at the Art and Archaeology Museum of the University of Missouri.  It's always free, but we thought Museum Day was a good excuse to visit.  We really enjoy museums of all types but especially art museums.  The AAM is known for its 100-plus-year-old plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman statuary. It's the next best thing to being in Greece and Rome!  We also looked at ancient Greek and Roman archaeological finds (jugs, jewelry, religious objects, and the like) and early Christian art.  (What can I say?  I married a pastor who is also a classicist!  Good thing I'm interested too. . .)

The stunning view of the cast gallery from the entrance~

Some favorites~

Homer

Nike

The feet of Laocoon and his sons

Thanks for stopping by!

This Week in Preschool

I've been enjoying Friday morning preschool with my granddaughters ever since they moved nearby in March.  I used to teach preschool and it's been fun getting my preschool teacher persona out and dusted off every week.

This morning, we began the day by dropping colored vinegar into pans of baking soda.  The girls loved it!  Look at the concentration on those little faces!  They stayed with it for an hour.

My son-in-law the chemist, who works from home, came by at one point and said with a smile, "Leave it to Grandma to turn science into art."  :)

Later, Arane did a couple math pages.  I'm not a big fan of worksheets for preschoolers, but these are really more like activity pages.  I found them at The Measured Mom's fabulous website.  Arane really seems to enjoy doing these.

Then we all three sat on the couch while I read aloud some nursery rhymes, illustrated by my beloved Eloise Wilkin, which included singing some of them, of course.  Call me old-fashioned (Please do~I'll consider it a compliment!), but I believe in nursery rhymes and singing.  

Then I read a chapter from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods.  I began it two weeks ago when the little ones spent the night at my house, and when I asked if they would like to continue today, they were enthusiastic.  I'm reading to them from my own crumbling copy, which brings back a flood of memories.  How I loved those books as a child!  I still do, truth be told, and was happy to read them to both my daughters many times as they were growing up.  I still have a fondness for pioneer stories!

Busy Week

This has been a busy week, but aren't they all?  Yes, but this one was busier than usual.  We moved Dave's mom from her current assisted living place to one that will provide a higher level of care.  I think it would have gone very smoothly if not for being interrupted by a lengthy, urgent, though non-emergency, trip to the doctor on moving day due to her having a 102 degree fever.  But she is recovering nicely and settling in well.  Her room is spacious and light.  Here's one part of it~

She even told me that she thought it was pretty, and she is not given to saying such things about her living quarters.  I am pleased she likes it. :)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dave and I took Arane to see a live production of Peter Pan yesterday on the University of Missouri campus.  She had never seen a live play before and she couldn't wrap her around the idea when we tried to describe it to her.  But she liked it and was very attentive.  Afterward, she was intrigued by the columns on the quad, so of course, we had to explore them for awhile. :)

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ May 15, 2016

It's time for {phfr}!

(Pretty}

I love watching the wildflowers emerge in the woods that surround our house.  There's always something new.  Right now, daisies and the darling blue but-unknown-to me flowers you see below are blooming.  Though I left most of them where they were so they can re-seed themselves, I picked a few for the kitchen windowsill.

Right now, allium are stealing the show in my flower garden.  They are beautiful, aren't they?  The blooms last and last and last.  I had some for the first time in our Illinois house, and I had to plant some here too because I love them so much.  These are bigger than softballs!

The bees love them too!

{Happy}

Since Elizabeth and her family moved nearby, I've been going to their house once a week to do a craft and/or fun activity with Arane and Verity.  They both look forward to it and so do I!  I used to be a preschool teacher, and it's fun to plan for that age once again, but it's even better when it's for my own grandkids.  Here they are painting "binoculars"~

~and playing balloon tennis.  That was a big hit!

{Real}

One day last week, I began to notice a most unpleasant smell wafting in the windows at the back of the house.  I recognized it as the odor of something dead and decaying, and when it didn't go away, Dave heroically went out to look for the source.  Look what he found!

Poor thing!

Right up against our back porch!  Dave determined it was a coyote, which is completely plausible because we can hear them howling at night sometimes and the woods are right outside our back door.  He fearlessly dragged it into the woods far, far away from the house where it is free to stink as much as it wants.  I do feel a little bit sorry for the coyote, though!

From My Commonplace Book

"You are indeed the heirs of a remarkable legacy~ a legacy that has passed into your hands after no little tumult and travail; a legacy that is the happy result of sacrificial human relations, no less than of stupendous human achievements; a legacy that demands of you a lifetime of vigilance and diligence so that you may in turn pass the fruits of Christian civilization on to succeeding generations.  This is the essence of the biblical view, the covenantal view, and the classical view of education.  This is the great legacy of truth which you are now the chief beneficiaries."~ Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

"The world is a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed."~ Oscar Wilde

"I have been feeling very much lately that cheerful insecurity is what our Lord asks of us."~ C.S. Lewis

"It is like walking up an escalator or swimming with the current~ to beget children, to love children, to encourage their growth, to ease their sufferings, and to suffer oneself with them even to our death . . . But the chilling truth is that industrialism brings on a paralyzing gluttony and greed in which the quality of life is quantified.  Paradoxically you cannot afford to have children in the affluent society.  The world has never been so rich and wretched as in these air-conditioned Edens where another child would sap the payments on the second car. . ."~ John Senior, The Death of Christian Culture

The Online Resources That Have Been Most Helpful to Me in My Efforts to Educate Myself

If you're like I am, you received an "okay" education from your government school system. The more I talk to people, the more I realize that my schools were actually better than average. Some vestiges of the classical education model that had been universally pervasive before the advent of John Dewey in the early twentieth century still remained. The old, time-proven methods hadn't been entirely jettisoned in favor of the new educational progressivism. That being said, there was still much lacking in my formal education, including my college education, though it is unfair for anyone to think that any form of education is going to give him all he needs or wants for life in twelve or sixteen relatively short years. There is so much to learn and know and understand and the world is so interesting that education should be a lifetime pursuit. But very few of us have the luxury of continuing our formal education indefinitely. There are livings to be made, children to be raised, needs to be met, other people to think of. Nor do I think formal education is always the best way to achieve a true education. A lot can be said for pursuing wisdom and knowledge on one's own, and a lot can be gained from it.

So, here are a few key online resources that have been invaluable to me as I pursue self-education. These have been the most helpful and valuable to me overall, and they are ones I keep returning to over and over.

Circe Institute

If you are interested in true education and not just the information-processing that modern schools engage in, then you can do no better than reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting what Andrew Kern and his fellow Circe-ites have to say. Read the blog and listen to the podcasts to enrich your life. Circe aims at helping the classical educator, but you don't need to be a teacher or homeschooling parent to gain wisdom and understanding from its resources. If you're alive and breathing, then Circe will help you to understand what "the good life" is and how to live it. There is much wisdom here . . . and it's FREE.

Issues, Etc.

IE's motto is "Talk Radio for the Thinking Christian." Hosted by Pastor Todd Wilken, this two-hour daily program (which is available on-demand at their website) is a treasure trove of political, intellectual, theological, philosophical, and sociological insight as relates to life in the 21st century. Guests are really top-notch and come from a wide diversity of fields and theological persuasions. Topics cover current events, recent scientific research, historical discoveries, theological debates, ethical conundrums . . . just about any issue you can think of is intelligently discussed by Pr. Wilken and his guests. . . and it's FREE.

ClassEd

ClassEd (short for CLASSical EDucation) is a Yahoo Group of eighty to a hundred classically homeschooling Christian parents (mostly mothers) who offer each other support and advice via email list. The month of May will mark my tenth annuiversary as a member of ClassEd, and I am so thankful that I have been a part of this group since almost the beginning of my family's homeschooling journey. I am a better educator, parent, Christian, and person because of the input of ClassEd members over the past decade. The collective wisdom and experience of this group is astounding. I sometimes feel like a swindler and a fraud because my contributions to the group are exceeded by far by what I receive from them. It's not a fair exchange, but the benefits for me and my family have been tremendous. If you are a Christian and are homeschooling classically (or attempting to), then I urge you join this list. There may be a bit of a wait, but it is worth it. . . and it's FREE (if you don't count all the books that you'll be tempted to buy based on member recommendations!).

Cranach: The Blog of Veith

Dr. Gene Edward Veith, author, literature professor and provost of Patrick Henry College, has a knack for finding news stories that get to the heart of American culture and for providing insightful and cogent commentary on those stories. He is adept at applying the Bible to the ethical and theological questions of modern life and excels especially in the application of the doctrine of vocation. He is humble, wise, and thoughtful. . . and, of course, it's FREE.

So, there you have it. There are many other online resources that are worthy of attention, but these are the four that I go to almost daily and that have had the biggest influence on me and input into my educational development. I heartily commend them all to you.

The Big Plan for 2011-2012

Last year I wrote about our homeschool plan for Girl of the House's eighth grade year. Things did not go exactly as we expected (do they ever?). She had a very challenging year dealing with acute acid reflux, which often derailed schoolwork. She worked hard during the days she felt well, but all told, she missed at least one day (and often two or three days) a week due to illness for all but eight weeks the entire schoolyear. We made up for some of the lost time during the summer, but she still managed B's in her on-line classes, and all essential things were covered by hook or crook. I have more than once thanked the Lord for leading us to homeschooling and never more than last year. I'm also thanking Him that Girl 2 is a thousand times better than she was this time a year ago. So I have high hopes for the coming months of school! Here's the plan:

Math ~ Continue Math-U-See tutored by That Boy. She's over halfway through Zeta and will be moving into pre-algebra during the year. But do you know what she brought home from the library the other day? The entire Demystified series of math books, starting with pre-algebra! You gotta love a motivated student!

Logic ~ This is something that got dropped last year. Using Traditional Logic by Martin Cothran, we picked it up this summer and will slowly work our way through it. Once it's finished, we will study . . .

History and Literature of Late Antiquity through the Renaissance and Reformation ~ Our resident classicist, Man of the House, took her through ancient lit. last year and over the summer. Since he'll have enough to do for the next nine months what with teaching, pastoring, and going to seminary and all, I'll pick up where he left off with Vergil's Aeneid, some Aristotle, on through Augustine, Dante, Chaucer,etc. Details still to follow. We'll cover the history at the same time using Jackson Speilvogel's Western Civilization and Philip Daileader's medieval lectures through The Teaching Company.

Music History ~ I teach this class for an on-line school. Okay, I'll come clean and say that it's The Potter's School. Any remaining anonymity we might have had is now blown. ;-) Not that I'm biased or anything, but I think this class is fascinating . . . at least I find it fascinating to teach! Girl of the House has already absorbed a lot of this through osmosis, but I think she'll find it an enjoyable class.

English Vocabulary from Latin and Greek Elements ~ This is Man of the House's class. (Need I say it's through The Potter's School also? Yes, my dh is Mr. Spotts of international reputation. LOL!) Girl of the House is eager to take it. I know she'll get a lot out of it. I know I did the year I taught it. The development of the English language is another fascinating topic.

Writing ~ The One-Year Adventure Novel curriculum is going to be more like the 18-Month Adventure Novel for Girl 2. Illness is the culprit again, but she's on the verge of actually writing her novel now. We both really like this program, and I know she has learned a lot from it because she uses concepts she's learned to discuss movies and books with us. She will also be taking some progymnasmata tutorials with Cindy Marsch of Writing Assessment Services. I can't speak highly enough of Cindy and her writing tutorials!

German I ~ Even though Girl 2 (okay, let's call her by her name, Hannah) managed a B in this class last year despite everything, none of us thought she really mastered the material well enough to go on to German II. Dratted reflux! Her foundation was too shaky, so she's happy to have a do-over this year. This is another Potter's School class with another excellent teacher, Frau Gilliam.

Christian Philosophy ~ This class is being offered by some on-line friends. One of our goals for both our girls' education is to familiarize them with the foundations of Western civilization. If they don't know where they came from, they won't know where they're going. We want them to be able to discern the spirit of the age and weigh it against a biblical perspective. That's why we spend so much time in the upper grades studying worldview and philosophy. The text is Norman Melchert's The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. Hannah seems very eager to tackle this discipline judging by the readiness with which she digs in every morning.

So there you have it! It looks like a full year full of good learning! May the Lord be glorified and His will be done.

Interesting Links

Here are some bits and pieces from around the web~~

Around here, winter is weakening, and, wow, what a winter it has been! Just in case you aren't tired of snow, here are some neato winter pictures.

On a related note, here's an article that explains that the climate is not getting more extreme.

An oldie but goodie from Mark Steyn

Since my husband is a Latin teacher, I'm always on the lookout for articles extoling the virtues of the language.

Studying Latin and/or (preferably "and") studying the grammar~the nuts and bolts~of your own language will help you to avoid making this kind of error.

When you look at the origins of the cosmos this way, materialism makes little sense.

Archeologists in Israel have found the remains of a 1,500-year-old church. Amazing!

Eye candy: the world's most beautiful libraries

Ear candy: Tolkien Recites the Ring Verse

Reading Jackpot

I have verily hit the jackpot with my reading lately. I have finished two beautiful and profound books and am in the middle of a simply fascinating book, but I won't tell you about that until I finish it. I will, however, tell you about the other two.


Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry~Oh! I am in raptures about this book! I had not read any Wendell Berry before, and actually I listened to this one on CD, but I will get myself to the library to get more soon. Berry writes with a beautiful simplicity and straightforwardness that was a joy to my ear. His prose is musical in rhythm and cadence. Hannah is someone I wish I knew. I loved listening to her tell her life story. I felt like I was sitting with a beloved elderly relative reminiscing about her past. Hannah's was a simple life and not very sophisticated, but she shares her wisdom freely and without pretension. This is a late book of Berry's, and so I assume that his fully formed philosophies and beliefs can be found in it. I've been mulling them over ever since. This book has made me a Berry fan!


Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen~More raptures! I actually put down the above-mentioned fascinating book to read this, so you know I must have loved it. I was wowed by Esolen's eloquent yet clear writing style and even more by what he had to say. Esolen is tongue-in-cheek throughout his book, reminding me of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. He gives ten methods in which children's imaginations are being destroyed today, why our society desires this, and how our schools and our very lifestyles assist in this. Since my oldest is now out of the house and my youngest is just shy of 14, I was a little apprehensive that I would be guilt-ridden after reading this book, but I wasn't. I plan to give this book at baby showers. Cindy at Ordo Amoris will be doing a book club about this book, and I urge you to join. This book is for parents, grandparents, teachers~~anyone who has a child in his life.

Merry Christmas to All!

Busy day today with the making of many pies this morning and then two divine services at the churches two hours away that Man of the House is temporarily serving. But before I ignore my computer for the next few days, I wanted to share this from Dr. Gene Edward Veith's blog debunking the myth that Christmas got its start as a spin-off of a pagan holiday.

Have a blessed Christmas, everyone, celebrating the One Who became flesh for us!

May I Just Say Something, Please?

I have a rant to make on a piddly subject, but it grates on my nerves, so here goes.

When you buy someone something for Christmas, you GIVE it to him. You don't GIFT it to him, for Pete's sake. You are GIVING presents, not GIFTING them. The hideous Thomas Kinkade knock-off statuette that you dear mother-in-law presented you with last Christmas? She GAVE it to you; she did not GIFT it to you. The nifty-neato present you've got for your husband all wrapped beautifully and waiting under the tree? GIVE it to him; don't GIFT it. "Gift" is not a verb in this context. It's a noun~a NOUN, I tell you! The child genius who lives next door is gifted, as in he's been given a gift of extraordinary intelligence, but he's not being given as a gift. The lady at your church who sings like Renee Fleming is a gifted singer. She is gifted with an incredible voice, but she is not being given as a present. I know you can see the difference. You're intelligent. You're smart. Please stop the madness before I'm driven mad myself!

If we didn't already have a verb to denote the bestowing of something, then I would not complain. But we do, and it's a good verb; it's a fine verb; in fact, it's an exemplary verb. Please, give "GIVE" a chance.

All right. There. Humph. I feel better now that that's off my chest. Please resume your regularly scheduled holiday preparations. Ho ho ho!

Happy All Saints Day!

All Saints Day is properly recognized on Nov. 1, but if Nov. 1 doesn't fall on a Sunday, it is celebrated the Sunday after, which in this case is today. Reformation Day last Sunday; All Saints Day today!

This video was made for Issues, Etc. (see sidebar) and reminds us Christians that we are a part of something much bigger and much more ancient than our own local church.

School Update

We have finished seven weeks of school and I thought it was time for an update. We finally, in this seventh week, had a "normal" week with no disruptions for illness, doctor's appointments, travel, or alien invasion. I tried not to let it get to me that each of the first six weeks were interrupted in some way. That's life. We just picked up where we left off and kept plugging away. That's a heck of a lot better than getting riled up and fretting. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint, and you can't let disruptions derail you. That and that doing something each day, even if it's only a little, adds up unbelievably fast. This is brought home to me each spring when I prepare Girl of the House's portfolio for the dreaded Annual Evaluation by a Public School Teacher Who Is the "Real" Educational Expert and Will Yea or Nay Our Entire Efforts for the Year. When I lay everything out and see it altogether, even difficult years like last year come out far better than I was hoping. It all adds up. Okay, so that's two things. :-)

So here's how our year is going so far. Let's start with Girl of the House's (aka Girl 2) Potter's School classes:

Physical Science~~Going very well. Girl 2 loves the textbook (Apologia) and while the teacher is new to TPS and has some challenging circumstances in her life, she's inspiring Girl 2's love of the subject. That's what I like in a teacher. :-) The math is challenging for our mathophobic daughter, but she's working hard to learn it. So far they've covered topics such as the atmosphere, atoms, and air. The experiments are the most fun part. This past week we made a stream of water bend~~no touching!~~by using a comb and a cat!

German I--This class and physical science are Girl 2's first forays into high school courses. The challenge of ramped up expectations and requirements were being met a bit shakily in the first two weeks, but we are on a roll now. Vocabulary, conjugations and the like are being mastered, and Girl 2 can now recite the Lord's Prayer in German from memory. The teacher is experienced and organized and knows her stuff. A real blessing!

Ancient History and Literature~~Man of the House is spearheading this. I am so blessed to have a husband who plays an active part in our children's education! They've moved into Herodotus after finishing the Iliad and Odyssey and were going to do selected portions, but Girl 2 insisted on reading the entire thing (a la Helene Hanff). Who could say no to that?? She's also doing work in Spielvogel's Western Civilization, which is going well as far as I know.

Math--Well. Humph. Math is not the favorite subject at our house, either to learn or to teach. That's where That Boy comes in. He's been tutoring Girl 2 and also helping her with the math for science. It makes a difference to have a tutor who loves the subject and knows the in's and out's of it. . . not like some I could mention . . . meaning myself. They've moved into the Zeta level of Math-U-See, which deals with decimals and percents and other mathematical perplexities. So you see we are "behind" in math, whatever that means~~we are where we need to be for Girl 2, and that's what matters. She also gets a dose of Calculadders each day when I remember. For some reason she never seems to remind me. ;-) This is the area where I need to constantly remind myself that doing a lesson each day really adds up over the long term. It's so easy to lose track of the great gains made through regular, faithful work each day.

Grammar--We've been devotees of Rod and Staff English for a long time. It's thorough if a little preachy, which we find amusing at some times and annoying at others. I had hoped to make it all the way through the 8th grade book this year, but it's beginning to look like that won't happen. Since I'm more concerned with my children learning the material than covering a certain amount of ground each week, at our current pace we'll have to continue next year, but that's okay with me. Who knows, though? Maybe we'll be able to pick up the pace. Right now we are in chapter 2 and slaving away at clauses~~dependent, independent, and otherwise.

Spelling--Progressing nicely, thank you. We are in the D section of our dumb spelling mistakes book. When we get to Z, we will leave spelling as a formal study forever. Hopefully, we will never leave proper spelling in actual usage.

Writing--I cannot say enough good things about the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum. Girl 2 loves it, and I've learned a lot just grading her work (which doesn't take much time at all). There are online webinars (phooey on that word!) and plenty of additional study aids on the website. This is just what Girl 2 needed to help her develop and hone her fiction-writing skills. Worth every penny!

Bible--We are studying our way through Luther's Small Catechism (and explanations) at the dinner table. Man of the House has also set Girl 2 to reading through an Old Testament survey. I don't really know how this is going, but since I'm not hearing sounds of wailing or the gnashing of teeth from either party, I assume all is well.

In addition, voice lessons are going well and Girl 2's singing is improving. She's spending time outside most days (though not as often as I'd like) either riding her bike (and falling off said bike all too frequently, walking in the park, or persuading a litter of wild kittens to take up residence in our backyard instead of the neighbors' by plying them (kitties, not neighbors) with food and the promise of much petting if they will comply.

So goes the first seven weeks of school. Only twenty-six more to go!

Sick Day=Shakespeare Day

Girl of the House didn't feel too well today. She has trouble with reflux at times, and today was one of those days. Since I knew when I was planning the schoolyear that there would be days like this, I prepared. Last summer I bought two copies of the Oxford School Shakespeare Edition of Henry V, the corresponding ArkAngel CD set, and the Kenneth Branagh version of the play on DVD to have on hand when needed. Girl of the House propped herself on the couch and we listened and read along. I like the Oxford School Editions because they include notes on the text, discussion questions, and the like. This is the fourth Shakespeare play that we've gotten under our belts this way: read and listen to the play and then watch a movie version. . . or two. . . or three. It's been a successful method for us. By her own admission Girl of the House loves Shakespeare. I can't complain about that! And as long as she's not too miserable to do even this much, the day is not a total loss. In fact, I think it's a day well spent. If she's still not feeling well tomorrow we'll continue. If she is, we'll pick it up next time she's under the weather.

To whet your appetite, here is Kenneth Branagh's inspiring rendition of the St. Crispin's Day speech. It sends shivers up my spine!

Getting Boys to Read, or Why We Homeschool Reason #8

There's been a bit of a controversy this past week over an article published in the Wall Street Journal about boys and reading. I was working on a post about it but then saw that Cindy at Ordo Amoris had already said it very well. She's a homeschooling mother of eight boys and a girl, several of whom are graduated, so she knows something about this topic. Go read her post and be enlightened. Links to the original WSJ article and a response from Scholastic are there too.

If you homeschool or plan to homeschool, making Cindy's blog a regular stop on your blog reading schedule will be well worth your time.

Why We Homeschool~~Reasons #3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. . .

Wow, Erica has a lot of guts. It's worth reading to the end.

One Valedictorian Survives the Soul-destroying Classroom by Erica Goldson

(The following was read as the valedictorian's speech at Coxsackie-Athens High School in recent weeks, creating quite a stir among administrators, to great applause from students and many of their parents)

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master: "If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen?" The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years . ." (The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast - How long then?" Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years." "But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?" asked the student. "Thirty years," replied the Master. "But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?" (Replied the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."

This is the dilemma I've faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Some of you may be thinking, "Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn't you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer - not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition - a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, "We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don't do that." Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.
H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim ... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States. (Gatto)

To illustrate this idea, doesn't it perturb you to learn about the idea of "critical thinking." Is there really such a thing as "uncritically thinking?" To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?

This was happening to me, and if it wasn't for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.

And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.

We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren't we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

The saddest part is that the majority of students don't have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can't run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, "You have to learn this for the test" is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.
For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

So, here I stand. I am not standing here as valedictorian by myself. I was molded by my environment, by all of my peers who are sitting here watching me. I couldn't have accomplished this without all of you. It was all of you who truly made me the person I am today. It was all of you who were my competition, yet my backbone. In that way, we are all valedictorians.

I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a "see you later" when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let's go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we're smart enough to do so!

Erica Goldson
Athens, NY

ht: Angelina

From My Commonplace Book

"Earlier in this century someone claimed that we work at our play and play at our work. Today the confusion has deepened: we worship our work, work at out play, and play at our worship."~~Leland Ryken

"The feeling that 'if nothing is happening, nothing is happening' is the prejudice of a superficial, dependent and hollow spirit, one that has succumbed to the age and can prove its own excellence only by the pseudo-events it is constantly organizing, like a bee, to that end."~~Vaclav Havel

"Wonder is the workshop of worship. The child who wonders is moving toward worship."~~Steven Faulkner

"We have also been the beneficiaries of an extraordinary web of relationships. We have begun to understand that true education is more about a culture than it is about a curriculum. It's more about a way of life than it is a way of doing. A vision of what God's called you to than it is about a mechanical set of prescriptives that are to be implemented in your life. It is about relationships, about community, about the rich covenant into which you have been grafted by God's good providence."~~George Grant

The History of Christian Theology

When I was a new Christian, in my foolishness I seldom gave a thought to my Christian heritage except to possibly wonder how and when my particular local church got started. Who cares what happened hundreds and thousands of years ago? Well, I learned to care and to realize that the Church’s history is important to understanding the Church today. It’s a fascinating study!

Man of the House bought The History of Christian Theology from The Teaching Co. with some money he got for Christmas. I finished the 36-lecture series not long ago and loved it, learned from it, and was occasionally confused by it. Professor Philip Carey is one of those people who knows so much about his subject that you wonder how his brain can hold it all. He himself is Anglican, but he treats all Christian traditions so fairly that wouldn’t know that from these lectures. (I know because I heard him say so once on Issues, Etc. [see the sidebar if you want to know what that is]). He speaks of everthing from Orthodoxy to Catholicism to the various Protestant denominations with an eye to accurately presenting their viewpoint without denigrating it. He insists that his listeners fairly treat other traditions with respect as well.

Beginning with the Gospels and traveling through the history of theology all the way to the present time, Prof. Cary covers each major stream of Christian thought with insight and enthusiasm. I admit that sometimes I didn’t understand every point, but I did gain a much better and broader understanding of the sweep of Christian thought over the past two millenia. It’s well worth listening to . . . and listening ag ain. I’m sure I will revisit these lectures in the future.

Unfortunately these lectures aren’t on sale right now, so they are very expensive. But keep your eyes open for them to go on sale. The markdown is usually 70%, which is very reasonable.



P.S. No hymn post this week because it's spring break.