A 14-year-old unschooler goes to a public high school for one year to see what it's like.
Here's a quote from his poignant account: "I also understood why public school kids act like they do. It's called loss of motivation."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The IRS dressed as Lady Liberty
As I drive to my part-time job each day in Alpharetta, GA, Lady Liberty waves vigorously to me and other drivers.
She's dressed in that pale green dress, wearing a crown and holding a torch. She stands outside a tax preparer's office hearkening those who've been the victims of tax theft to come inside and review the amount of the theft -- for a price.
We are to pay Lady Liberty's employers our hard-earned money to discover how much liberty was stolen from us during the previous year. Irony, my friends, doesn't often come served so bounteously. The tax preparers, most likely, had some other intent in mind, but each day, as I see the muscular man inside the Lady Liberty costume wave at me, I'm reminded again that the tax preparer is preparing something in my mind far more dangerous than tax theft.
It is revolution.
She's dressed in that pale green dress, wearing a crown and holding a torch. She stands outside a tax preparer's office hearkening those who've been the victims of tax theft to come inside and review the amount of the theft -- for a price.
We are to pay Lady Liberty's employers our hard-earned money to discover how much liberty was stolen from us during the previous year. Irony, my friends, doesn't often come served so bounteously. The tax preparers, most likely, had some other intent in mind, but each day, as I see the muscular man inside the Lady Liberty costume wave at me, I'm reminded again that the tax preparer is preparing something in my mind far more dangerous than tax theft.
It is revolution.
My Texas and 7 other states defy ObamaCare
In the spirit of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, Texas and seven other states are making it illegal for any authority or private entity to execute provisions of ObamaCare inside their borders. Attempting to do so could result in five years in prison.
This is astounding and gratifying news. It is a welcome return to a republic, as our Founders designed it, with the federal government being scolded and warned by states when it attempts to breach the boundaries of the Constitution.
The current Tea Party environment is also a welcome one, in which average Americans are now reading and understanding the Constitution, as well as the thoughts of our Founders concerning the intent of provisions in the Constitution.
I am daily feeling more proud to be an American.
This is astounding and gratifying news. It is a welcome return to a republic, as our Founders designed it, with the federal government being scolded and warned by states when it attempts to breach the boundaries of the Constitution.
The current Tea Party environment is also a welcome one, in which average Americans are now reading and understanding the Constitution, as well as the thoughts of our Founders concerning the intent of provisions in the Constitution.
I am daily feeling more proud to be an American.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Homeschooling almost as bad as public schooling
To keep up to date on recent activities by homeschoolers and unschoolers, I'm a member of several lists on the subjects. But the homeschool lists are virtually worthless, outside of a few suggestions on good museums to visit or somesuch. The parents themselves are awash in the "schooling" mentality and have essentially nothing worthy to offer on the parenting of children.
The homeschooler parents continually complain about "problem" kids and "rebel" children. One "respected" homeschooling mom recently penned a long article on how to handle such children (evidently not understanding that ALL children are rebels when their lives are dictated to them).
The article outlined in great detail the manipulation (er, "handling"), giving extensive guidelines under the following titles: "intervention," "distractions," "breaking the procrastination cycle," "bad habits," "the reward in raising a rebel," "recognizing the triggers of rebellion," "making a disciple," etc.
At one point this concentration-camp guard, er "homeschooling mom," gives the following "helpful hint": "When your rebel is young, give your rebel the least amount of choices possible. Making choices can frustrate him and you. You make the choices for him."
This, my friends, is the nadir of parenting, the low point, the abysmal mindset of the schooling mentality, the skeptic of children's hegemony and rationality, the hater of all things good, the lover of ruling instead of rational rules of conduct that we all must abide by.
The very thing that enriches life, choices, is the very thing that this homeschooling "expert" wishes to deprive her children and other children of. She makes clear that homeschooling is different from public schooling only in the identity of the concentration-camp guard: parent or strangers.
If this woman and the other millions of schooling parents around the world would be honest about the "rebellion" and the efficacy of their children, they would see that the real solution is wrapped up in one polysyllabic word: unschooling.
Unschooling is the honoring of freedom and self-determination. It is the honoring of the child's choices in life. It is the recognition that our children are their own sovereigns, that what they make of themselves and their lives is on their lively shoulders.
To find excuses to send one's kid to any school or to homeschool means that you don't truly honor your child and his/her happiness. Whether it is convenience or an immoral conviction doesn't matter.
The only true honoring of another life, their lives, is to let them be free to explore this wondrous world at their leisure and initiative.
Then sit back, my friends, and watch a flower blossom into colors you could never have dreamed of. Watch the blossoming of an individual, not a rebel.
The homeschooler parents continually complain about "problem" kids and "rebel" children. One "respected" homeschooling mom recently penned a long article on how to handle such children (evidently not understanding that ALL children are rebels when their lives are dictated to them).
The article outlined in great detail the manipulation (er, "handling"), giving extensive guidelines under the following titles: "intervention," "distractions," "breaking the procrastination cycle," "bad habits," "the reward in raising a rebel," "recognizing the triggers of rebellion," "making a disciple," etc.
At one point this concentration-camp guard, er "homeschooling mom," gives the following "helpful hint": "When your rebel is young, give your rebel the least amount of choices possible. Making choices can frustrate him and you. You make the choices for him."
This, my friends, is the nadir of parenting, the low point, the abysmal mindset of the schooling mentality, the skeptic of children's hegemony and rationality, the hater of all things good, the lover of ruling instead of rational rules of conduct that we all must abide by.
The very thing that enriches life, choices, is the very thing that this homeschooling "expert" wishes to deprive her children and other children of. She makes clear that homeschooling is different from public schooling only in the identity of the concentration-camp guard: parent or strangers.
If this woman and the other millions of schooling parents around the world would be honest about the "rebellion" and the efficacy of their children, they would see that the real solution is wrapped up in one polysyllabic word: unschooling.
Unschooling is the honoring of freedom and self-determination. It is the honoring of the child's choices in life. It is the recognition that our children are their own sovereigns, that what they make of themselves and their lives is on their lively shoulders.
To find excuses to send one's kid to any school or to homeschool means that you don't truly honor your child and his/her happiness. Whether it is convenience or an immoral conviction doesn't matter.
The only true honoring of another life, their lives, is to let them be free to explore this wondrous world at their leisure and initiative.
Then sit back, my friends, and watch a flower blossom into colors you could never have dreamed of. Watch the blossoming of an individual, not a rebel.
Google's online global science competition
All that the government is bad, Google is good. And now, Google has created an online global science competition. Check out this creative video that is part of their marketing. Amazing stuff.
Bono's boner over Africa
For those of you who have watched the lead singer for U2 (Bono) descend from exhilarating front man of rock to the simpering Sally Struthers of African children, you'll love this joke going around on the web.
Bono is at a U2 concert and asks the crowd for some quiet. Slowly, to rapt silence from the audience, he begins clapping his hands and says into the microphone: "Every time I clap my hands a child in Africa dies." A voice from near the front of the audience yells: "Well, stop clapping then!"
Bono is at a U2 concert and asks the crowd for some quiet. Slowly, to rapt silence from the audience, he begins clapping his hands and says into the microphone: "Every time I clap my hands a child in Africa dies." A voice from near the front of the audience yells: "Well, stop clapping then!"
Thursday, January 06, 2011
A day with my daughter
A day with my lovely Livy doesn't have to be all play. It can be fun even when we're doing chores or hard work.
Today, we did the wash, made the bed, trimmed our neighbor's crape myrtles, went for a bike ride, fixed her bike twice, ate Chinese food at a restaurant, organized the shelves in our room, cleaned up the closet, brought tea home for her friends Ethan and Tori, talked about all sorts of stuff (including how she now officially knows "100 big words"), cracked jokes ("Daddy, your butt is the whole universe." ... "Oh yeah? Does that mean you are living in my butt?"), got warm gloves for each other, watched some of "Anastasia" together (what a great movie), sifted through mounds of wires to try to find her DS adapter (to no avail, but she took it so well), shared a smidgen of wine, and more.
Livy has grown into such a warm-hearted, hard-working, fun, intelligent, thoughtful, creative person that I love every single moment around her. And she's only seven years old. I can only imagine what kind of craziness and loveliness she'll be in three or seven or ten years.
Today, we did the wash, made the bed, trimmed our neighbor's crape myrtles, went for a bike ride, fixed her bike twice, ate Chinese food at a restaurant, organized the shelves in our room, cleaned up the closet, brought tea home for her friends Ethan and Tori, talked about all sorts of stuff (including how she now officially knows "100 big words"), cracked jokes ("Daddy, your butt is the whole universe." ... "Oh yeah? Does that mean you are living in my butt?"), got warm gloves for each other, watched some of "Anastasia" together (what a great movie), sifted through mounds of wires to try to find her DS adapter (to no avail, but she took it so well), shared a smidgen of wine, and more.
Livy has grown into such a warm-hearted, hard-working, fun, intelligent, thoughtful, creative person that I love every single moment around her. And she's only seven years old. I can only imagine what kind of craziness and loveliness she'll be in three or seven or ten years.
David Horowitz gets a Muslim hippo to admit backing genocide
David Horowitz used to be a blazing liberal. Now he's an eloquent neo-conservative -- not always right, but when he's right, he's one of the best at being right. Check out what he gets this Muslim cunt to admit after she insults him during a Q&A at his lecture on the Left Coast.
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