Ya wanta see something cool?

Submission Initiative

I have recently learned a little bit more about our natural swing in life from times of submission to times of initiative and back again. It is a natural process of growth and maturity.

I have been swinging into submission. I am reading a wonderful book on how to be a better mentor called "The Student Whisperer." This book asks the reader to keep a notebook and write impressions and complete exercises. In the past, I have read several books that would ask the reader to stop and write about something before continuing on. I have never done it before. This time I am. I must be growing up.

In fact, I have been having so much fun reading and learning (I have some time to do it now that I slowed down my WGU pace). I haven't gotten around to updating the blog.

I also decided that if I had someone to report to, I would be better at reading my scriptures. So I am: you can be that person for me. I made a "days of consecutive scripture reading" counter to add to the blog. So that I will have to fess up if I miss a day. Now you can check up on me.


In other news. I survived my first motherless Mother's Day. I cried a bit, but it was a happy cry. I am so grateful for my mother and the things she taught me. I am so grateful for the joy that motherhood brings me. I am grateful for my children. I am even grateful for the experience of having the children that are not with us now. They are still mine and I know they are an unseen strength to our family; especially to my living children. I am so blessed.

Changing Educational Paradigms

I chose to homeschool because I felt strongly that my children would need a different learning environment than I had. As I studied how I might go about that daunting task I learned some more about our educational system. This little video shares some of what I learned. Essentially I homeschool because I felt I needed to; I continue to homeschool because of these reasons:

Subjectivity

I am taking a literature analysis class right now. One of the assignments deals with subjectivity. We all have subjectivities. This is natural. For this assignment we are asked to analyze a work and attempt to discover the authors subjectivities. We then think of our own subjectivities and apply it to the role of a teacher. What if I am required to teach something contrary to my subjectivity or if my subjectivity differs from a student in my class, how would I handle that? I certainly do not want to alienate a students or create an us verses them atmosphere is the class. So how would I go about mediating my role as teacher and my subjectivity.

The underlying premise in this line of thinking is that it is unacceptable for a teacher to expose or talk about his or her personal world view. I disagree with this assumption. Granted, I would not want to ridicule or belittle anyone just because he or she thinks differently than I do. I do not have to push my view on others, but do I really need to deny that I have any? It does not seem right to be forced to divorce myself from my worldview for a few hours each day. To do so for the years of my career, at some level would I not become divided? If I deny my beliefs, then I am separating my job from my passion. If I attempt to teach without my passion, then I cannot share my passion for learning with my students. If I cannot share my passion and love of learning with my students, then I cannot inspire them to find their own passion. No wonder students often feel that their teachers do not really care about what they are teaching. Yes, I suppose I could parrot the curriculum. But that is not why I want to teach. I want to share my love of learning with others; that requires passion.

Why are we so afraid of offending others? Yes, I disagree with others about religion or politics, but we usually have more in common than not. I believe it is certainly possible to be diplomatic; to acknowledge that there are many points of view. To even discuss those differences. I don't have to insist that Snape (Harry Potter character) really is a bad guy and alienate you just because you think he was a good guy. We could discuss it and we both might learn something new.

To take it one step further, Steven pointed out that after lessons at church his teacher usually bares her testimony about the topic of the lesson. Then she encourages the students to pray and find out if it is true. What if a teacher could bare testimony about the math principle just taught? Truth is truth after all. OK, maybe math is a little too much. But what about other topics? What about evolution, or climate change, or civil rights, or repealing the 17th amendment or...?

Maybe I am thinking too hard.

Or not hard enough.

C.S. Lewis would have been able to think this through much better than I did. I am amazed at his ability to take a line of reasoning through several steps to its logical conclusion. I am not that good of a thinker. I can follow him for about two steps. Then I just sit there with my mouth open, amazed at how well he continues for another 5 or 8 steps, long past the point of my brain getting muddled. The man was a genius. Anyway, I'll work on it. Maybe in another few decades I will be able to come back to this topic and do it right.

grace vs tolerance

I have never been comfortable with the concept of tolerance. Yes, it is good to show unconditional love, but if I practice "tolerance" then I cannot judge. Does that mean that I ignore what I believe is right, true, and good? Judging is important; discrimination is important, needed, and natural.

I have been reading a Princess Academy and the Hope Chest Journey: Rediscovering the Lost Arts of Godly Womanhood by my friend and mentor Donna Goff. In this thesis Donna spoke of the difference between grace and tolerance. Grace means favor, kindness, esteem. Some of its synonyms are attractiveness, charm, love, leniency, embellish, beautify enhance, honor. It is charity; the pure love of Christ, it is long-suffering. If you have grace you know the difference between right and wrong, but you are forgiving and have unconditional love.

Tolerance on the other hand does not distinguish between right and wrong. All views are equal.
Donna mentioned that grace is mentioned in the bible 237 times; tolerance never.

So I had an ah-ha moment. It isn't tolerance that I should be exercising but grace. I was buying into the modern showing-everyone-tolerance movement. I should instead be nurturing and cultivating grace. (Why do I fall for the philosophies of man?)

After discussing the difference between grace and tolerance, Donna proceeds to discuss many aspects of grace and how one can cultivate grace: comeliness, eloquence, grace of writing, etiquette, sisterhood, diplomacy, generosity, hospitality, hand work, and making a home.

The Need to Simplify

I am a self-proclaimed curriculum junkie. I love looking things up and researching various resources, approaches, and philosophies in education. Thankfully, I do not have the budget to allow me to purchase all of the wonderful things out there. But that does not stop me from reading up on it. Consequentially, I have made a sort of name for myself as someone to go to for questions regarding curricula. I must talk to much. I tend to do so when I am excited about something and education and homeschooling excite me.

Anyway, A few weeks ago I was asked what my bare bones curriculum selections would be. What would I use if I was homeschooling on the road, (or in a sailboat sailing around the world) or what I would like to have in an emergency type situation without any outside resources. I had not really considered this idea before and being the nerd that I am, I had to come up with an answer; it was a new challenge. I finally compiled a list and added it here. I really enjoyed the process.

I really am a want to be minimalist. I love the idea of getting rid of stuff and having an empty house. My brain would then be free from having to care for all that stuff that I only use on occasion if at all. So why do I have so much stuff? Yes all the extra is fun, but I don't need it. With education, it is that "school I want to have someday." I tell myself that "even if my children do not use it, someone will. I should keep it for then." Whatever!!! So my problem is that I am also a collector. I also love self-reliance and collect items that would be helpful in an emergency or back-to-basics type lifestyle. All this extra just-in-case just gets in the way of my purging.

But going through the process of analyzing my options, deciding what I would really need, I realized how little it was. I now feel free to let more of that stuff go. I do not need to complicate my life so much. Now I just need the time to de-clutter my junk.

So recently I have become a recovering curriculum junkie. On to recovery and the end of the eternal search for the "perfect curriculum".

Thoughts on Schooling

Perhaps I have given the wrong impression. I do not believe that everyone should be homeschooling. Nor do not think public schools are evil and that homeschool is the answer. Well, I do think that there is evil in the pretext of public schooling, why else would it be so high on Marx's list of must haves? But that is a digression. I certainly do not think the people teaching and administrating at the schools have anything but the best intentions. They are there because they passionately believe in what they are doing and are trying to make a difference in the lives of children.

I do not think that schools were necessarily better 100 years ago than they are now. What I do object to is the cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all way of teaching (much of which was around 100 years ago). I do not believe that children are all the same or should even have to learn the same things, let alone at the same rate or age. Daniel Boone is a good example for me. He had minimal schooling, but he was very educated. Yet, his intense schooling had nothing to do with a pencil and paper and books; he had a different mission. I do not object to standards. After all, I have standards that I want my children to meet before I let them graduate. But I do not think that politicians are the best ones to set standards.

What I like is options and variety: Choices. There are many ways of teaching that are perfect for others, even though I would not choose them. And I am perfectly fine with someone not choosing my way. I just want to have the choices available and the opportunities to take advantage of them. I would like to see each child mentored on an individual level with a curriculum catered to him/her; but that is my way.

One problem I do see in public schooling is that it has largely alleviated parents of their responsibility to school their children. Public schooling has become a crutch to lean on so that parents are not required to make some of these choices or even to consider possibilities. Not that all parents do not take it seriously, but many do not think it important; it is being taken care of. The one thing that repeatedly came up in all of my classes was "what about the parent's who do not care, or support, or etc.?)

Anyway, what it comes down to, is that I love education! I get excited when I see the many different approaches taken to learning both formally and informally. I do not want to see those options restricted be they public, private, charter, home, or something else. They all have a place and fill needs.

Enough of that.

Reading

When Steven was about a year old, I started reading about homeschooling and different philosophies about learning. One of the first books I found was by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore called Better Late Than Early. Raymond Moore was the California State school superintendent of instruction during the 70's. In this book he documented why it is better to wait for children to be developmentally ready to learn instead of pushing them during the preschool years. They followed several hindered children who did not enter school until they were about 8 years old. As long as these children were placed with their age-mates they caught up with their peers within a matter of months and generally passed them up. The only children who had problems were the ones who were not permitted to be with their age mates. If they were put in kindergarten instead, they suffered. The Moore's also cited studies that showed that pushing children could actually do much more harm than good, sometimes even physical damage.



This book was very influential for me. But this was not the only one. I seemed to be lead and guided to similar writers/educators who advocated waiting. As I began to explore further I did eventually come in contact with the opposite philosophy, but by then I felt strongly that, for my family, I should not push. It has been found that generally by the time children are 13, you can't tell who began reading at 4 and who began reading at 10. It all seems to average out. What does matter is if that love of reading is alive. Many children pushed before they are developmentally ready resist and never really love reading.



Now this did take some faith on my part. I ended up with an eight year old who would decline to read in church because he "couldn't read." Now he could, but not well, and he did not feel confident. I knew from my research that his time would come. That he would blossom.



So you can imagine how exciting the last couple of months have been for me as I have watched Steven's love of reading blossom. It is sometimes hard to have faith in what you know is right in your heart but what others question. It really does work. I just need to trust the process! (and wait 10 years)

Agency is a beautiful thing

After the interruptions of summer and moving, Steven reverted back into Core Phase in his education. He was not ready to have anything required of him and was just in play-learning mode. It took me a bit to catch on to what what happening. In my mind he should have been eagerly in love of learning phase spending his days on learning all sorts of things. Well, I decided to back off and give him the space he needed to get back to where he was supposed to be. So about 6 weeks went by with my battling between thinking he really should be doing more and knowing he needed time. Why do I doubt myself?



Well shortly before Christmas, he kind of started to get back in the grove. Then that silly Diary of a Wimpy Kid came along. He started reading like crazy. I had to make him turn off his light at night so that he would get a little sleep. When he was done reading those books as fast as he could get his hands on them, he went over and picked up The Jungle Book of all things. Now that book is NOT necessarily easy reading!! But he is sticking with it and enjoying it.


That Diary thing also got him wanting to write in his journal more, but he feels self conscience about his spelling. So he has been asking to work on that too. I am amazed at the amount of spelling practice he is going through. He is reading his scriptures a lot and reminding me when we forget. He is finding passages he wants to underline and is even quoting stuff. He did say that reading his scriptures helps him understand the older language in The Jungle Book.



I am grateful I gave him the space he needed. I could have decided he needed to be studying more and require more of him. But not only would it have been a battle and not fun for either of us, I could not require all that he is doing now: he is asking for this stuff. He is now back in his Love of Learning and it is stronger than ever.

I love agency education!

a good quote

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
Albert Einstein

13 down, 13 to go.

I finish another class this weekend. Yeah!! This one was Ethical and Legal considerations. It was interesting. Because education was taken over by the government, courts have ruled that first amendment rights (freedom of speech, expression,association, and 14th amendment rights (due process)apply to public school teachers and students, but not to private. The Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law..." In this case, Public schools are considered "an arm of the Government" or "one of its creatures." So, if you tell off your boss, or wear something offensive to school at a private school, you can be fired and that is the end of it. But if the same thing happens at a public school, that individual can sue for his job back and, considering the circumstances, get it back.

For some reason, this surprised me. Why should it be any different at a private and public school? Almost all of the cases we looked at were of this type.
I mentioned this to Jonny. He pointed out that if they were going to be consistent, 2nd amendment rights should also be allowed. He is right. If they were trying to be consistent, a teacher should not be denied the right to carry firearms onto school property. Not that I am advocating such a thing. The point is that it doesn't make sense.

The only time I could see where public school was not considered and arm of the government was in the case of copyright laws. Schools can not fudge on the copyright. In this case, the courts have ruled that public schools are not an arm of the government and thereby have to obey copyright laws. - probably the doing of the textbook writing companies.

It is just the inconsistency that gets me. I thought schools were there for the students, not to employ teachers. - what was I thinking?!?

The other interesting part of this class was my research into high-stakes testing. I was supposed to write on the value of high-stakes testing (tests being used to determine grade promotion, teacher and school quality, etc. mandated by the No Child Left Behind). I could not find anything positive. All I found was article after article, and study after study, on how this was bad policy for everyone involved. It is ineffective, not producing the desired results, very expensive to implement, and in many ways doing harm instead of good.

But, I'm off to my next class.

What is TJed?

In my homeschooling I have been greatly influenced by a book called A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, By Oliver Van DeMille. This approach is commonly referred to as “TJed.” In my community several families who also have been influenced by this book have banded together and started a homeschool group for support and social outlets. We are open to all, and although the majority of the group does follow the principles described in DeMille’s book, not everyone does. We have often had people come for a park day or two and not come back. That is fine, if we are not a good fit for their family, I would encourage them to keep looking.
Recently we had a new family come to our park day. The question of what is TJed came up. The group turned to me and asked “Flora, what was it you said the other day? You summed it up well.” “I did? If it was good, someone should have written it down!” So I will try to sum it up and write it down.
“TJed is a classical, mentored approach to education incorporating the principals of freedom with accountability.”
That is my one sentence answer. The problem with a one sentence answer is that it produces more questions. I’ll try to answer some of those later.

The Call To Brilliance

I wanted to share a book I just finished. “The Call To Brilliance” by Resa Steindel Brown. This is a true story about a small water plumbing company that sponsored a small private school for the children of its employees. These children were able to work on their studies in the mornings and spend the afternoons playing in the neighboring 20 acres of fruit orchard, building zip-lines across the ravine, turning a barn into a theater and so much more.

The author’s oldest son did not read fluently until he was 10. He entered college when he was 13. Her youngest son did not read until he was 11 and entered college at the age of 12. This became typical of all the students attending this school, yet none were ever considered exceptional. They simply allowed the children to explore, find their interests, and soar. They trusted that their children would learn. If trust is not involved teachers have to try to create interest, teach to all the levels of ability and learning styles. They then have to test to see if it worked. None of this artificial prodding was needed in this atmosphere. They trusted the children, and the children responded.

This is probably the most inspiring book on education I have read in a LONG Time. I will be adding it to my list of influential educational books. I received so many epiphanies while reading this book: epiphanies on educational theory, practical application, and vision. I am just blown away. Many of you know that for the last 2 decades I have talked about building a school. I was unsure of what it should look like. Now I know!! I started sharing some of it with Steven. He sat there and listened to me read for about an hour. Now he is excited.

My vision is clearer! My own confidence is greater! I do not think I have ever been so sure that this is what I want to do for me, for my children, and anyone else who wants this too. I see so much more potential than I have before! So siblings and any other interested persons please read this book. Would you like to join me? What do you think? I really want to know. I am looking at this as a practical thing not just theoretical; I want the pros and the cons.

Our local Blue Ridge school

The other day I was speaking with a friend who is debating whether or not to homeschool her children. Our local school district is going through some big changes. Arizona is having budget issues so the state has cut funding for schools. Blue Ridge now has “Open Enrollment” to increase the student numbers. At the same time they are letting teachers and aides go. They want more revenue, so they are increasing numbers, and class sizes. Each grade will increase in size about 5-8 students. That makes about 28, kindergartners to a class, and some of the Middle School classes will be at about 40. At the same time student test scores have gone down. Blue Ridge use to be the unchallenged leader as an A+ school in our area. The tests scores have been high for a long time. In the past two years the schools’ scores have dropped about 2 points on a 10 point scale. Now they are equivalent to the rival school Show Low and its other neighbors. I can’t imagine scores regaining their earlier high as the planned changes are implemented. This parent has been attending the planning meetings and is aware of what is happening. I am curious what will happen over the next couple of years; I would imagine that more families will be looking for other options.
This particular parent I was speaking with is not sold on homeschooling per se, but wants something different. She made several suggestions. 1. A coop, where parents get together and each teach a different subject. 2. A group of 5-10 families hiring their own teacher. 3. Starting a private school. I am open to all of these options. I would love to see them all given a try.
Maybe I will be ready, with my teaching degree in hand, just in time for the flood to alternative education.

What is Liber you ask?

Liber is not a word common to our modern language, but it used to be. To help explain it, I will share with you some excerpts from an article by Oliver DeMille. The full article is here http://newsletter.gw.edu/pre/august2000.pdf and definitely worth the read.

“Liber is the Latin word for tree or tree bark.” Tree bark was used for paper. The word Liber became “associated with those who could read, write, and engage in contract.” “In classical Greece and Rome, there were two classes of people: slaves and Liber.” “The fundamental difference between slaves and Liber was freedom. Liber is the rood word for Liberty, book, libro, and library.”
“Liberty is the state of being Liber. Liberty is not just the absence of bondage, but the fitness of the individual to act as a citizen.”
“Liber is also the root of the phrase ‘liberal arts’, such as in liberal arts colleges. Liberal arts are the knowledge and skills necessary to remain free.” “For the founders those liberal arts were the arts of reading the classics and thinking clearly and independently.” Not just the founding fathers, but the founding generation was Liber. “These regular farmers and housewives read and hotly debated the Federalist Papers in New York in 1789.”
“History has proven that Freedom is not free. It must be earned. And one of the ways the Founding generation earned it was in becoming Liber: getting the kind of education required to remain free. And by education they didn’t mean diplomas or degrees, but knowledge gained from reading the classics of history, law, government, and the arts.

I do not feel that I am yet Liber, but I aspire to be. So this is my journey; my small steps to become Liber. I want to be worthy of the freedom I inherited, and have the wisdom to keep it.