Wanna Be a Steader!

Here's a real treat for all of us amateur star-gazers! Homeschool blogger, "Jay from Cleveland", has a neat presentation up on his OTHER blog, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/classicalastronomy/555979, of the July sky in animation. Be sure to click on the link above, watch the presentation and THEN go out tonight and see how many you can find!

CHEO Fun

Second...THANK YOU to my blog friends from both Homeschool and Homestead Blogger who stopped by!! Some of you didn't tell me your blog names...but you know who you are! lol I got to meet my friend "McBLOG" (http://www.homeschooblogger.com/mcblog) and she is JUST as sweet as I knew she would be! I even got to meet her dh of 10 years -- they spent their 10th at CHEO! Now THAT'S dedication!

Third...THANK YOU to those of you who came to my workshops. I truly hope that you took something away from one of them that you can use. Everything I share in my workshops has worked for our family, so if it works for us, it can work for someone else.

Fourth...After years of blogging, e-mails and a few business related phone calls, I FINALLY got to meet the famous Jen Ig (Igarashi) (http://jeneralities.com)!! She was at CHEO representing Rosetta Stone, so we FINALLY got to meet. I also got to meet 3 of her kids - Coie: driver extraordinair!, Emmiko: the Maze Queen, and Bo: boy wonder. I had so much fun meeting all of you. We'll have to do it again sometime.

Now...if you go to Jen's blog you will see a picture of me in the midst of hysterical laughter. Fortunately for me, you can't quite tell that black, watery mascara is streaming down my face all the way to my chin! The reason is because, once again, my slight hearing problem got me into a situation that was funny and embassassing all at once. After a long day at CHEO on Friday night Balinda, Jen and her family, and Spunky and her friends and I went out to eat at Wendy's. BEFORE we even got there though, our little caravan lost Spunky at least 3 times! How that happened I'm still not quite sure 'cause we only had about 3 turns to make between the convention hall and the Wendy's that was by our hotel. Anywoo...once we all got there Balinda placed her order, then me, then Jen, then Spunky and crew. As Balinda had already ordered, she moved to the left so that I could place mine. Understand here that after a day in a noisy convention exhibition hall w/crowd noises and exhaust fans blowing my hearing was a little "worn," now the fans were blowing in the Wendy's kitchen behind the young man who was taking my order. NOT ONLY were those fans going...BUT the young man MUMBLED everything he said!! No joke...I'm going to see if I can come up w/SOME SORT of letter combination that will adequately give you an idea of just how this kids sounded TO ME...everything this kid said sounded like "fledda, fledda, flubba, fleedda, fledda?" You know, there's only 'so many' times a person will listen to you say, "excuse me? pardon me?" before they start getting irritated at you...but "FLEDDA, FLEDDA" is all I could understand this guy saying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poor Balinda...she had NO IDEA why I was looking at her w/a combination of "HELP ME!" and trying not to laugh! So all I could do was answer what I thought he was saying to me...."Fledda, Fledda, Flubba, Fled?" "Yes, I'll have a #1 w/no onions, please." "Fledda, fledda, fled." "Um...OK...here's a $20."

So...the whole time I was standing in line waiting on my order, all I could do was TRY NOT to laugh, 'cause I KNEW that if I started there would be NO stopping! Once Balinda and I got seated I couldn't hold it in any longer! I laughed an embarrassingly long, loud time! There was no stopping it! While I was TRYING unsuccessfully to eek out some sort of explanation for why I was laughing Jen came over to sit down...so NOW I'm trying to explain to them, through uncontrolable giggles and snorts, what the kid at the checkout sounded like to me. THAT was not only when Balinda had to laugh herself right to the restroom (she was now laughing as hard as me!) but that was when Jen snapped her pic of me that's on her blog. It is God's great blessing to me, as I said earlier, that you can't see the mascara running down my face!

Well...a great time was had by all. You'll have to stop by the other blogs and get their impressions of the weekend.

Critic Claims: "Homeschoolers are Only Godd for Cleaning Toilets"

Critic Claims: “Homeschoolers
are only good for cleaning toilets”
by Gary DeMar

The title for this report is taken from a response to one of American Vision’s daily articles. The respondent is an atheist who claims he can refute any argument raised in defense of the Christian faith. I have irritated him so much by answering his poorly researched responses he sends to me that his true character is spilling out in a public way. His personal emails to me are worse than what I have reproduced here. If you want to know what the world would be like with atheists in control, here’s a little taste:

Here’s what I want homeschoolers to do: First, reply to this article and leave a comment describing what kind of work you are doing since you completed homeschooling. Second, send this article and its link to every homeschooler and homeschool organization you know and encourage them to leave a comment at the end of this article describing what they are doing since being homeschooled. Third, I don’t want to exclude those who have graduated from a private or church-related Christian school. You can get in on this was well by adding your comments.

The public school graduation rate is around 65 percent, and in large cities it’s lower as this April 1, 2008 report demonstrates. “New York City has one of the nation’s sorriest graduation rates, with less than half of city high-schoolers earning a diploma on time. . . . Even using the most optimistic calculation of the city’s graduation rate—including kids who earn GEDs and excluding special education students from the formula—only 60% of students graduated in 2006” Test scores continue to fall even though education budgets keep growing. It seems that all we hear from government educators is the need for more money. John Stossel’s 2006 “20/20” report (also see here and here) “Stupid In America: How We Are Cheating Our Kids” is a real eye-opener, especially when he asks South Carolina school official Dolores Wright, “How much money would be right?” Wright answers, “Oooh. Millions. And it would really make it right. . . . The more, the better.”

Is it any wonder that the judicial numbskulls in California and the new fascists in Germany are trying to wipe out homeschooling? They fear its superior product and how it makes public (government) education look so bad, especially when the cost of educating a student is factored in. While homeschooling has a great academic track record (also see here and here), enough so that some of the best colleges in the nation recruit homeschoolers, one of its greatest social benefits is its demonstration of true liberty. Liberals love to talk about freedom of choice as long as that freedom does not include the freedom to educate their own children. It would have been OK to kill the child while he was still in his mother’s womb, but once he’s born, he belongs to the State and its educational hacks.

IMPORTANT ALERT FOR OHIO HOMESCHOOLERS!!!

Homeschoolers Threaten Our Cultural Comfort ~ Article

I don't think this guy homeschools, but he certainly has taken the time to try to understand us more than most people do. His article is entertaining and his arguement compelling. KW<><

You see them at the grocery, or in a discount store.

It's a big family by today’s standards - "just like stair steps," as the old folks say. Freshly scrubbed boys with neatly trimmed hair and girls with braids, in clean but unfashionable clothes follow mom through the store as she fills her no-frills shopping list.

There's no begging for gimcracks, no fretting, and no threats from mom. The older watch the younger, freeing mom to go peacefully about her task.

You are looking at some of the estimated 2 million children being home schooled in the U.S., and the number is growing. Their reputation for academic achievement has caused colleges to begin aggressively recruiting them. Savings to the taxpayers in instructional costs are conservatively estimated at $4 billion, and some place the figure as high as $9 billion. When you consider that these families pay taxes to support public schools, but demand nothing from them, it seems quite a deal for the public.

Home schooling parents are usually better educated than the norm, and are more likely to attend worship services. Their motives are many and varied. Some fear contagion from the anti-clericalism, coarse speech, suggestive behavior and hedonistic values that characterize secular schools. Others are concerned for their children’s safety. Some want their children to be challenged beyond the minimal competencies of the public schools. Concern for a theistic world view largely permeates the movement.

Indications are that home schooling is working well for the kids, and the parents are pleased with their choice, but the practice is coming under increasing suspicion, and even official attack, as in California.

Why do we hate (or at least distrust) these people so much?

Methinks American middle-class people are uncomfortable around the home schooled for the same reason the alcoholic is uneasy around the teetotaler.

Their very existence represents a rejection of our values, and an indictment of our lifestyles. Those families are willing to render unto Caesar the things that Caesar’s be, but they draw the line at their children. Those of us who have put our trust in the secular state (and effectively surrendered our children to it) recognize this act of defiance as a rejection of our values, and we reject them in return.

Just as the jealous Chaldeans schemed to bring the wrath of the king upon the Hebrew eunuchs, we are happy to sic the state’s bureaucrats on these “trouble makers.” Their implicit rejection of America’s most venerated idol, Materialism, (a.k.a. “Individualism”) spurs us to heat the furnace and feed the lions.

Young families must make the decision: Will junior go to day care and day school, or will mom stay home and raise him? The rationalizations begin. "A family just can't make it on one income." (Our parents did.) "It just costs so much to raise a child nowadays." (Yeah, if you buy brand-name clothing, pre-prepared food, join every club and activity, and spend half the cost of a house on the daughter’s wedding, it does.) And so, the decision is made. We give up the bulk of our waking hours with our children, as well as the formation of their minds, philosophies, and attitudes, to strangers. We compensate by getting a boat to take them to the river, a van to carry them to Little League, a 2,800-square-foot house, an ATV, a zero-turn Cub Cadet, and a fund to finance a brand-name college education. And most significantly, we claim “our right” to pursue a career for our own
"self-fulfillment."

Deep down, however, we know that our generation has eaten its seed corn. We lack the discipline and the vision to deny ourselves in the hope of something enduring and worthy for our posterity. We are tired from working extra jobs, and the looming depression threatens our 401k’s. Credit cards are nearly maxed, and it costs a $100 to fuel the Suburban. Now the kid is raising hell again, demanding the latest Play Station as his price for doing his school work … and there goes that modest young woman in the home-made dress with her four bright-eyed, well-behaved home-schooled children in tow. Wouldn’t you just love to wipe that serene look right off her smug face?

Is it any wonder we hate her so?

Sonny Scott a community columnist, lives on Sparta Road in Chickasaw County and his e-mail address is sonnyscott@yahoo.com.

Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 6/8/2008, section 0 , page 0

A Solid Foundation in a Shaky World

Ah, yes. The “homeschool verse.” Nearly every homeschooler has heard, quoted or written this verse. Walk into most homeschool homes and you are likely to find it somewhere…on a cross stitch or a plaque on the wall, down to a bookmark in a well-worn Bible.

But why is this verse so special to so many homeschool families? Because it reminds parents that God has specifically given us the responsibility of impressing His teachings and His commands upon the hearts of our children – HIS children. Not a stranger in the building down the street, not even their Sunday School teacher or our pastors.

There’s something special, something lovely and spiritual about the bond between parents and their children. God has instilled this relationship of love between us because he expects parents and children to spend huge chunks of the day with each other. This was the way it was from the beginning. What better way to spend the day than with those who you love? Who better to learn from than someone who loves you like no other and wants the very best for you?

As the number of homeschoolers grow it is more and more apparent that parents are coming to this realization as well. Jesus said, “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40) Mike Farris, of HSLDA, put it this way, “Your children will become the disciples of the person with whom they spend the majority of their time and from whom they receive instruction. If they spend the majority of their time with their peers, they will become disciples of their peers. We call it peer pressure. Should we be surprised when a substantial number of children from solid, believing, Christian homes reject their parents’ faith and embrace the life styles and philosophy of the people by whom they have been discipled?” [emphasis mine – KW<><]

I see this happening so often. The justification I hear for Christians sending their children off to a public school is that they want their children to be witnesses for Christ. Fine. So do I. But I can find no place in Scripture when God tells someone to send their children out to evangelize. That task is left to mature Christians.

Yes, I know about Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. But they were captives in a foreign land. They had no choice. BUT…by God’s grace they had come from a godly home and obviously had been prepared by being “homeschooled” in the Scriptures before their captivity. They were forced by that foreign government to learn the ways of that culture, but their childhood training gave them the godly foundation to stand upon as young men. Because of their faithfulness to God, God was faithful to them and caused the hearts of many to be turned to Himself…including the king!

Oh that our children will stand strong for the Lord when they are making their own way in our fallen world because we were faithful to His call.

Growth in the Christian Homeschool

2 Peter 3:18 – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

In your mind, is the success of your sacrifice to homeschool, love, nurture and prune your children for the sake of Christ measured by academics? How high their SAT/ACT scores are? What Ivy League college they are accepted by? Is homeschooling strictly academic in your home? Or is the growth of your children measured in a different way?

How about by the growth of the out-pouring of GRACE to the needy, to those who may not have many friends, to forgiving a sibling for “barrowing” something without permission AGAIN. How about their understanding that we are saved by grace and not by “being good,” and taking that Good News to a lost and dying world so that they might be changed into a new creation and welcomed into life eternal. I Cor. 15:12 – “But by the GRACE of God I am what I am, and His GRACE to me was not without effect…”

How about by the growth of their RELATIONSHIP with Christ. Does the love and maturity that comes from spending time with that Dear Friend show in their countenance? Does it show in how they treat their siblings, in how they obey their parents? If our children are growing in their relationship with the Lord, we will see that shine through in moments that we least expect. It won’t always be the big things…look for those precious little reminders that give assurance…opening the door for an elderly couple, bending down to pick up something someone dropped without being asked, willingness to read the Bible or ask questions so that they may understand all the more. 3 John 1:4 – “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

How about growth in an OVERWHELING ASSURANCE that they were created with a purpose by a loving God Who is directing their paths. There may come the day when they will wonder out loud, “Why am I in this family?” Hopefully, their understanding that the Lord directs all things, even our decision to homeschool, will allow them to appreciate the choices we have made for them. As they grow and learn they will be able to see how they have been allowed to flourish in their homeschool environment and how their education and life-style compares to no one else’s…and that will be an overwhelming assurance that God knew what He was doing when He allowed us to be a family. Jer, 29-11 – “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

How about growth as they take pleasure in WORSHIP. I don’t know about you, but to me, worship is the way I “hug” the Lord! We need to help our children understand that. One wonderful fact to share with them is that this has been going on since time began! Songs of praise and worship help us to cultivate and express our love-relationship with the Lord. Talk to them about how God inhabits the praises of his people, that even the rocks and creation cries out to God in worship, or how David could calmed Saul just by singing praises to the Lord. David was such a worshipper! Do they know that the book of Psalms is a hymnbook? Worship isn’t always expressed in song…worship is also expressed in our tithes and offerings, our willingness to do all for God’s glory. Psalm 100:2 – “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.”

How about TIME. Do our children grow in the Lord by taking TIME to BE WITH Him? Do WE? Relationships do not grow unless time is spent together. The same with ourselves and the Lord. We grow in our relationship with Him by spending time reading our Bibles, time in prayer, time in worship, time in the fellowship of the saints! The Lord has been so good in all He has done for us, how can we NOT want to spend time with Him? Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is TIME to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.”

How about growth through HELPING. Cultivate a willingness to HELP others…this will improve relationships within our homes as well as cause them to grow a good reputation within our church and community. A wonderful, creative lady in our support group started a service club and they have done everything from bake and deliver cookies to election workers, to decorate a local library for holidays, to write encouraging letters to our servicemen and women, to sew teddy bears for abused children. One of the girls who delivered cookies to the poll workers was recognized by one of the recipients and was told how much those delicious cookies are appreciated and looked forward to every year! A little bit goes a long way! Those girls have learned so much about helping in the Name of Christ. Ecc. 4:9-10 – “Two are better then one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can HELP him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to HELP him up!”

Just as a little plant needs the ingredients of sun, water and soil for growth, our children need the ingredients that we have been endowed by the Lord to provide for them…

Get Out of That Boat!

Isaiah 41:9 & 10 -- "I [God] took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are My servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

In his book "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat," John Orterg asks this question: "Where is Jesus calling you to jump to Him with reckless abandon?" Have you given that any thought lately? Has God been nudging you to move a little farther out toward that water? Is there something Christ is telling you to "experiment" with in that still, small voice of His?...A new curriculum? A new way of structuring your homeschool day next year? Writing you own unit study? You may even have "stumbled" onto this blog because you know the Lord is calling YOU to begin homeschooling and you need some encouragement to get started!

Jesus calls us to walk in faith...faith in Him and how He will work in us through the call He put on our life. What's holding you bck in your homeschool walk of faith? Is it fear? The reason most people don't jump is fear. Of course, nothing as serious as a change in lifestyle, as homeschooling brings into one's home, should ever be attempted without much prayer. But what if you have prayed and, even though you know the call is still on your heart, the fear is still there? Then what do you do? Well...during the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Peter had to get out of that boat to walk to Jesus at some point. Was he afraid? Absolutely!

Fear can be either paralyzing or motivating. Fear can make your imagination run away with you so you'll never do what you are called to do (Will I completely ruin my child's intellectual growth? What if I make them social misfits? What if they won't listen to me? What will our parents think?)...or...fear can be healthy and keep us from danger or making wrong choices (Why should I send my children to a government school to be shaped by people I don't even know, in a system whose teachings are in conflict with Scripture and our family's values?). No one loves your children more or knows them better than you. Make no mistake, homeschooling is a calling. One that needs Christ's guidance everyday. So remember, Peter didn't start to sink until he took his eyes off of Jesus! We need to learn from his mistake.

What boat does Jesus want you to jump out of? In the opening verse God, Himself, promises "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Proverbs 16:3 declares, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed." Wow! What incredible promises! Why do I fail to take Him up on His promises? If God has called me His servant, has told me that He has chosen me; has told me that He will strengthen me, help me and uphold me IF I commit my plans to Him...WHAT in the world am I afraid of? What are you afraid of? What are we waiting for...a push? No, jumping requires action on our part.

Kim Wolf to Speak at Ohio's 2008 CHEO Homeschool Convention!!

The Homeschool Advantage

I would have to say that we were well along in my oldest daughter's 2nd grade year of homeschooling when I FINALLY realized that I - and my family - are NOT tied to the government schools' time-tables, their schedules, their systems of doing and "learning." My goodness! These were the things I KNEW didn't work and the reason why I was homeschooling - now I had caught myself making myself and my children slaves to "their way."

Our homeschool was doing well, but after that revelation school became something actaully enjoyable, something we all looked forward to. Now, I'm not going to say that every day is like that the whole way through, as far as enthusiasm - even good things can get 'old' after a while - but even our hardest days were so much better than any day I ever spent in government school or any day my children may have spent in a gov't school if they had gone.

When the weather cooporated, we liked to do things out of the ordinary...one of our favorite things to do was to take our assignments to a local nature center and do our lessons in the glassed-in bird watching room...up in the trees with all the birds! Or to do school outside on a blanket under the shelter of a maple tree. Spending the day at my cousin's Thorouhbred farm learning about horse care, breeding, breaking...even the difference in their horse shoes! I grew up around horses and I didn't even know that Thorouhbreds had special shoes!

Instead of being stuck in stuffy textbooks (not that there isn't a time and place for textbooks - math, grammar, etc.) we could read about a person, place, thing, animal, time period, etc. and spend as much time on the subject as we wanted - or didn't want!

Having all girls, I had to find ways to make war and other "non-girly" subjects attractive to them. NEVER did I have a gov't school teacher who COULD do that! They were always tied to "the book" and a schedule. We could go to a cabin and live like pioneers for a weekend if we wanted to. We could spend days w/older family members and learn what it was like to grow up in the Depression; what it was like - right from the source - to grow up on a farm w/out electricity, to have to hunt for your food, skin and slaughter your food, milk cows by hand, get water from the well when it was so cold outside that the water froze between the well and the kitchen door! Yes, we can all READ about those things, but as homeschoolers OUR "field trips" can take days instead of an hour or two - counting travel time - and WE can get out of the academic rut and actually EXPERIENCE learning!

GOODNESS! Makes me wish our school year hadn't ended already! Shucks, I only have one more year to go before my last one graduates! :-)

Subway Snubs Homeschoolers and then Tries to "Make Nice"

This week, homeschoolers were purposefully - as specifically stated in the rules - left out of the opportunity to win $5,000 of athlectic equipment by entering a contest hosted by Subway restaurants. It was just another opportunity for homeschoolers to 'educate' others to the fact that we, too, can use $5,000 worth of athletic equipment. Not that a family would keep it, but that homeschoolers use YMCA gyms, church gyms, and even some Christian school gyms for our physical education.

HSLDA spoke for all of us by sending them the letter below. Today, HSLDA recieved an apology from Subway restaurants and a promise to include us in other contests - see the letter at the bottom.

They don't know unless we tell them...so anytime something like this happens PLEASE LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!! Even now, we may want to write an e-mail on the Subway website to THANK them for finally recognizing that there are OVER 2 million homeschoolers in America and appreciate their change of heart.

Frederick A. DeLuca, President
Subway Restaurant Headquarters
325 Bic Drive
Milford, CT 06461-3059

By way of introduction, I am the President of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and we represent 83,000 member families nationwide. This letter is to draw attention to your “Every Sandwich Tells a Story Contest,” and the unfortunate fact that homeschoolers are not allowed to participate.

The rules clearly state: “Contest is open only to legal residents of the United States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted (emphasis added).”

It is extremely disappointing that Subway would choose to exclude the estimated 2 million homeschooled students.

We understand that the competition is focused on traditional public and private schools because the grand prize of $5,000 of athletic equipment is designed to be used by a traditional school and not an individual family. A potential homeschool winner, however, could simply donate the grand prize to a public or private school of their choice or to a homeschool sports league.

Homeschooling is a thriving educational option. All the available research shows that homeschoolers are excelling academically and socially. We do not deserve to be overlooked.

We hope that you will reconsider the rules of your competition and choose to amend them to include homeschoolers.

Subway Apologizes

We at SUBWAY restaurants place a high value on education, regardless of the setting, and have initiated a number of programs and promotions aimed at educating our youth in the areas of health and fitness.

We sincerely apologize to anyone who feels excluded by our current essay contest. Our intention was to provide an opportunity for traditional schools, many of which we know have trouble affording athletic equipment, to win equipment. Our intent was certainly not to exclude homeschooled children from the opportunity to win prizes and benefit from better access to fitness equipment.

To address the inadvertent limitation of our current contest and provide an opportunity for even more kids to improve their fitness, we will soon create an additional contest in which homeschooled students will be encouraged to participate. When the kids win, everyone wins!

Homeschool Objectors ~ Why So Afraid?

(1 Peter 4:4-5) – “They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to Him Who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

I knew from the moment I heard about homeschooling that that was the choice for my future family! I knew how government schools had damaged my life, my self-perception, the negative influence of peer- and teacher-pressure that nearly ruined my life; the shock of finding out, as I lived out in the world, the difference between real truth and the revisionist science and history we were force-fed in school. Coming to terms with the fact that NO WHERE ELSE in my life would everything be provided for me in one building…that NO WHERE ELSE in my life would I spend the day locked in a building with only those of my own age…that NO WHERE ELSE in my life would there be someone to spoon-feed information – true or false – into my mind as a member of a captive audience where freedom of thought and creativity was disallowed.

We were forced to stunt our mental and emotional growth by spending 12+ years in a false environment. It was bad enough when I went to school…it was worse when I saw my beloved niece grow up knowing all the in’s and out’s of “the system” so that her parents hands were nearly tied and they lived in fear when they needed to discipline her. And every time I go to a mall, movie theaters, a carnival, or to a park, I see for myself that the failed social, mock-educational “project” of the John Dewey’s and Horace Mann’s of the world and other elitists who envisioned a state (government) educational system that would raise “good little soldiers for the state.”

Here’s something to chew on from Chris Klicka’s excellent book, The Right Choice: Home Schooling. Did anyone ever tell you this?:

“…[E]ducation is the transmission of basic skills and values to the next generation. It is inescapably religious, and it cannot be neutral…How we educate our youth, therefore, is crucial for the future of our nation…The training of our minds ultimately affects all our action in this life…Taking place at this moment is a major battle for our children’s minds. This is a philosophical battle which has significant spiritual ramifications. The battle for our children’s minds is being waged by those who have a Christian mind-set (requiring the teaching of Scripture as the basis of all knowledge), and the humanists (who believe man is the measure of all things)….education is never neutral. Someone’s values will be applied to each and every subject…The humanists’ goal, as envisioned by many of the founders and present operators of the public school system, is to use education to manipulate and control masses of students…Today, we see the direct ‘cause and effect’ of the public school system on our youth and our nation…State education, as we know it today, did not begin to exist in the United States until the 1840s in Massachusetts. It was not until the early 1900s that state education became widespread. As a result, by the early 1900s the authority and responsibility of education shifted from the parents to the state. This shift was the beginning of the decaying process of American education…Horace Mann, called ‘the father of public education,’ led the crusade to establish a public school system throughout the country…He wanted to establish ‘a new religion, with the state as its true church, and education as its Messiah’.’” [Emphasis mine.]

Would you like to know what these founders of modern public/government education think about God and your family as pertains to their educational goals?

John Dewey: “Faith in the prayer-hearing God is an unproved and outmoded faith. There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, the immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes.” [John Dewey, “Soul-Searching,” Teacher Magazine, Sept. 1933, p. 33.]

Paul Blanshard (author of The Humanist magazine): “I think that the most important factor moving us toward a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is 16 tends to lead toward the elimination of religious superstition.” [Paul Blanshard, “Three Cheers for Our Secular State,” The Humanist, March/April 1976, p. 17 ~~ Emphasis mine.]

John Dunphy (another writer for The Humanist): “The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new – the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism.” [John Dunphy, The Humanist, Jan./Feb. 1983]

How about Dr. John Goodland in his report to the National Education Agency: “Our goal is behavioral change. The majority of our youth still hold to the values of their parents and if we do not resocialize them to accept change, our society may decay.” [Dr. John Goodland, from the report “Schooling for the Future.”]

Now here are two of my “favorites.” First, from Harvard Professor Dr. Pierce in a speech delivered to over 2,000 teachers at a seminar in Denver, CO: “Every child in America entering school at the age of 5 is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you teachers to make all of these sick children well by creating the international children of the future.” [Emphasis mine.]

Secondly, a past state superintendent of California (from 1863-1868), John Swett, helped form the government schools. Here’s a tell-tale quote from him: “Children arrived at the age of maturity belong, not to the parents, but to the state, to society, to the country.” [John Swett, History of the Public School System of California, p. 113]

Why do government school agencies – the NEA, in particular – and others involved with our failing public/government school systems fear the GOD-GIVEN power of parents to properly educate their children? Because they know that we are raising future family leaders…future moms and dads who will actually teach their children the truths they were taught in OUR homeschools. We are raising future political leaders…future college educators…future pastors and missionaries…and those who are just plain happy with their life! Those who will influence society for the good.

In his research study, Homeschooling Grows Up, Dr. Brain Ray (National Home Education Research Institute) found that “over 74% of home-educated adults ages 18-24 have taken college-level courses, compared to 46% of the general

U.S.

population.” Civic involvement: “…76% of homeschool graduates…between ages 18-24 voted within the last 5 years, compared to only 29% of the relevant U.S. population…” Older homeschool grads were even more active “with voting levels not falling below 95% compared to a high of 53%...” With 73% of the more than 7,300 homeschool grads who were surveyed said that they were “very happy” or “pretty happy” with their lives! According to Dr. Ray’s study, homeschool grads are more content and happier with their lives with 95% of them being glad they were homeschooled and with 74% of those having children 5 or over homeschooling THEIR families!

I’d say that our homeschooled children ARE a threat to the bogus, damaging effects of the government schools that we have worked so hard to escape. And rightly so. Yes, someone somewhere will bring up some mal-adjusted homeschool family that they’ve heard of, but NEVER on the scale or severity of what is suffered by so many children and teens in the government schools. But when they can’t dispute the well socialized people or the excellent education that homeschoolers receive, then they have to attack us personally. And we thought we left the bullies behind when we left government schools. At least for now they can’t come into our homes…unless they are invited.

Are Parents Really Necessary? A Guide to Preschool Education {Article by Amelia Harper}

Are Parents Really Necessary? A Guide to Preschool Education

Amelia Harper

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

A couple of years ago, in my role as a local journalist I was asked to cover a luncheon. The luncheon was held to laud the efforts of preschool educators and to raise awareness for more funding for federal Head Start programs geared to instruct children aged three to four. For nearly two hours, the speeches droned on: speeches from local educators, from policy makers, and from the wife of the governor of our great state. For nearly two hours, they discussed various issues regarding the health, education, welfare, and success of our tiniest scholars. Then I noticed a remarkable thing: the word parents had barely been mentioned.

This got me to thinking, “Are parents really necessary?” If I were a disinterested observer at the meeting, I would certainly conclude that they are not. I would conclude that the government alone had the responsibility to provide for the future of its citizens and that parents were simply accidental providers of a human commodity: the youth of our nation. In fact, from the tone of the speeches, I would conclude that parents were often obstacles to a child’s education and that his greatest chance for success was to be removed from the home as soon as possible and placed in the state’s more nurturing bosom.

Certainly, the National Education Association (NEA) must feel that way. In a report titled “Taking Steps Toward PK-3 Success,”¹ the NEA outlines suggestions and strategies for improving educational outcomes for our children. In this fifteen-page report, parents are mentioned only once, and that is in the context of how we should provide full-day preschool programs because working parents would have a tough time dealing with part-time programs. The report encourages teachers to interact with policy makers, local businessmen, and other educators at all levels. Not once are teachers encouraged to interact with parents.

On its website (www.nea.org), the NEA outlines its goals regarding preschool education: goals that it encourages its members to push through at their local levels. The goals include the following objectives:

“States should expand opportunities for three- and four-year old children to attend full-day, full-year Pre-K programs.”²This is also called “voluntary universal preschool.”
“All states should make kindergarten compulsory and require districts to offer it and require all five-year-old children to attend.”³
“States should require publicly funded pre-kindergarten teachers to have a four-year college degree and be certified in early childhood education.”⁴
“Public schools should be the primary provider of prekindergarten programs, and additional funding must be allocated to finance them in the same manner as K–12 schools.”⁵

The report, “Taking Steps Toward PK-3 Success,” concludes with this statement: “Where state statutes and laws prevent it, change must be initiated by taking steps to revise the regulations and requirements. Policymakers, school districts, and educators have the ability to improve children’s educational experiences through policies and regulations that improve teachers’ job quality.”⁶ Once again, parents are left completely out of the equation.

It is not hard to see how the policies cited above would benefit teachers and the NEA, but does it necessarily follow that these policies are in the best interests of our children?

Many parents must think so. Today more than half of four-year-olds and more than a third of three-year-olds are in preschool programs. In families with greater incomes, the numbers are even higher. According to statistics supplied by the National Center for Education in 1996, families making more than $50,000 a year had more than 75% of four-year-olds and 55% of three-year-olds enrolled in preschool.⁷

“There is a big push for universal preschool. I think we will have it eventually,”explained Denise Kanter. Denise is a homeschool mom who hosts a website that promotes the benefits of preschooling at home (www.preschoolingathome.org), and she conducts research related to this issue. “The [prevailing] philosophy is that if you want your kids to be smarter, get them in school as early as you can. However, the evidence does not support this.”

Many people have bought into this philosophy and the preschool myths promoted by the NEA and their ilk. However, when you examine the issues closely, you find that the very statistics they quote are suspect and their motives may be less than pure.

Myth #1: Universal preschool programs for children aged three and four are necessary for success in school and in life and will save taxpayers money down the line.

The basis for this myth comes from an often cited and little understood forty-year-old study called The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project.⁸ In this project, conducted from 1962 to 1967, 123 low-income African American children were studied. Half were put in preschool programs at the ages of three and four and were given other extra educational help; the others were not. Throughout the next forty years (1962–2002), their lives were compared, and the preschooled students in the study were generally found to more often perform at grade level, earned more as adults (60% were earning more than $20,000 in their forties compared with 40% in the control group), had longer marriages, higher graduation rates, and lower amounts of time spent in prison. Throw in some "creative" mathematics (the NEA alleges that these students ultimately earned $2,000 more per month than the others,⁹ even though the study does not say that at all),¹⁰ and the result is a plan that looks as if it were actually saving the taxpayers money when they invest in preschool programs. Many politicians are completely snowed by this study. Even BusinessWeek quoted it to show what a great bargain preschool education is.

However, the problem with this study (other than the ridiculous conclusions drawn from so small a study) is that it is filled with flaws. First, the students had teachers who worked with them intensely at school and even came to their homes once a week to work with them (show me the preschool teacher who does that!). Of course, the intense attention and weekly home visits probably also impacted the parents’ view of the importance of the child and his education, which was a likely factor. Also, according to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Project, at age five, 67% of the preschooled students had IQs of 90 or higher, compared to only 28% of the non-program group, causing one to wonder which group had the most intellectual potential to begin with. Next, the program cost $10,600 per child in 2005 dollars (according to BusinessWeek).¹¹ It is hard to see how taxpayers can ever get that money back. Third, no one has ever been able to replicate these results, according to an article published by the Cato Institute.¹²

Other studies highlight another big hole in the preschool myth: its temporary nature. In an article titled “Preschool in the Nanny State,” which was originally published in The Weekly Standard, the author, Darcy Ann Olsen, states: “The most comprehensive synthesis of Head Start impact studies to date was published in 1985 by the Department of Health and Human Services. It showed that by the time children enter the second grade, any cognitive, social, and emotional gains by Head Start children have vanished. By second grade, that is, the achievement scores, IQs, achievement-motivation scores, self-esteem, and social behavior scores of Head Start students are indistinguishable from those of their demographically comparable peers. The net gain to children and the taxpayers is zero.”¹³

However, newer studies indicate that the plight of the preschooler may be worse, at least for those from “better-off” families. A study conducted at UC Berkeleyexamined 14,000 kindergarteners across the nation to determine the overall effects of preschool. The study concluded that though preschoolers generally performed better at cognitive functions such as pre-reading and math, their behavioral problems increased. “The biggest eye-opener is that the suppression of social and emotional development, stemming from long hours in preschool, is felt most strongly by children from better-off families,” commented Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley sociologist and co-author of the study titled “The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children’s Development Nationwide: How Much Is Too Much?”¹⁴

“These negative social behaviors children are displaying are getting worse,” explains Denise Kanter. “A child’s success in life and academic performance hinges on their healthy social and emotional development. Young children need to be home bonding with mothers and fathers.”

Myth #2: Children should be required to attend full-day kindergarten programs.

Okay, let’s look past the whole issue of whether starting school earlier is of any lasting benefit and the issue of whether compulsory attendance laws are really such a good idea at all. Those are topics for another day. The point here is that people are being told that children age five not only need to attend school, but need to be there all day.

However, a recent 2006 study by the Rand Corporation highlighted a fact about all-day kindergarten that you probably have never heard mentioned. According to the study, “Attendance in a full-day kindergarten program had little effect on reading achievement but was negatively associated with mathematics achievement and the development of nonacademic school readiness skills.”¹⁵

The study, titled School Readiness, Full-Day Kindergarten, and Student Achievement: An Empirical Investigation, went on to explain: “Children who participated in a full-day kindergarten program demonstrated lower levels of nonacademic readiness skills through the fifth grade, including poorer dispositions toward learning, lower self-control, and worse interpersonal skills than children in part-day programs. Children in full-day programs also showed a greater tendency to engage in externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors than did children in part-day programs.”¹⁶

Most parents could tell you why this is: God did not make little children to sit still that long. They are just not emotionally developed at that point. Before I had kids, I used to teach a multi-grade classroom of students who were in first, second, and third grades. The difference in emotional development between the first- and second-graders was amazing. The first-graders were much more sensitive, active, and emotionally needy. That is why they need parents more than ever in those tender years. When I had preschool-aged kids of my own, I knew that preschool and kindergarten would be futile for my active sons. At least three of them would have been labeled as “problem children” and given medication within the first month, for two were perpetual talkers and one was a wriggler. Maybe that is why one out of eight children in the U.S. today is now on Ritalin.¹⁷

Myth #3: You need a degree to teach preschoolers.

This is another myth propagated by the NEA which, according to their website, has roughly 2.3 million members. And they want more members. Their preschool plan holds up Connecticut as an example: “Associations such as the Connecticut Education Association are working to ensure that new Pre-K programs in their state will employ teachers that hold bachelor’s degrees and who are eligible for NEA membership.”¹⁸ Degreed and certified professionals can demand higher pay, and higher pay for teachers is one thing the NEA is focused on.

Included with this article is a guide on ten good things to teach your preschooler. As you look it over, you will see that it is not rocket science. If you cannot teach a child to recognize colors or count to 10, you have bigger problems to worry about. No homeschooling requires a degree if you have the right resources, and preschool education is the easiest (and most delightful) area to teach. Think about it: If a big yellow bird can teach preschoolers on television, you should be able to handle your crew at home!

Myth #4: Public schools should be the primary providers of preschool education.

Of course, this myth falls in line with the general notion that public school should be the primary provider of all education. The public schools do such a great job, right?

Recent findings of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study¹⁹ indicated that twelfth-grade U.S. students placed nineteenth out of twenty-one countries in math and sixteenth out of twenty-one countries in science. Study after study indicates the failure of our public school system, yet they want us to turn our tiniest scholars over to them when they are barely out of diapers.

The truth is that homeschoolers tend to outperform public school students in all areas of academic success. Several studies show that while the average achievement test scores for public school students is the fiftieth percentile, homeschoolers average in the eightieth.²⁰

Additionally, many studies indicate that parents are the biggest factor in academic success, particularly at the early ages. A 1999 study by Parker, Boak, Griffin, Ripple, and Peay²¹ examined the way that parent-child relationships affect school readiness. According to a report titled “Supporting Young Children as They Enter School,” this study concluded: “Main findings were that children have better school readiness outcomes when parents spent more time helping them at home. Parents that had a better understanding of the importance of play in child development also contributed to better cognitive outcomes for children.”²² Fortunately, homeschooling is the ultimate in parental involvement.

If you are not certain that you want to homeschool, preschool can be a great place to start. Children are natural learners, and you will soon discover the incredible joy of being the one who guides them into knowledge. Many people who “try” homeschooling in the preschool and kindergarten years become committed, long-term home educators. Parents are necessary to preschool education. In fact, you are the most important part.

Footnotes:

1. <www.nea.org/earlychildhood/images/pk3takingsteps.pdf> accessed March 24, 2008.

2. Ibid, p. 7.

3. Ibid, p. 7.

4. Ibid, p. 9.

5. <http://www.nea.org/earlychildhood/index.html> accessed March 24, 2008.

6. <www.nea.org/earlychildhood/images/pk3takingsteps.pdf>, p.15, accessed March 24, 2008.

7. <http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/UniversalPreschool.pdf>, p. 1, accessed March 24, 2008.

8. <http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=219> accessed March 24, 2008.

9. <http://www.nea.org/earlychildhood/index.html> accessed March 24, 2008.

10. <http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=219> accessed March 24, 2008.

11. <http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_43/b4006099.htm> accessed March 24, 2008.

12. <http://www.cato.org/research/education/articles/nannystate.html> accessed March 24, 2008.

13. Ibid.

14. <http://pace.berkeley.edu/reports/summary_23DA10_new.pdf> accessed March 24, 2008.

15. <http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/2006/RAND_RB9232.pdf> accessed March 24, 2008.

16. Ibid.

17. <http://www.worldandi.com/public/2000/november/sax.html> accessed March 24, 2008.

18. <www.nea.org/earlychildhood/images/pk3takingsteps.pdf>, p. 9, accessed March 24, 2008.

19. <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/twelfth/A2-1.asp> accessed March 24, 2008.

20. <http://www.nheri.org/Strengths-of-Their-Own.html> accessed March 24, 2008.

21. <http://www.nde.state.ne.us/ech/HeadStart/schoolreadiness.pdf> accessed March 24, 2008.

22. Ibid.

Amelia Harper is a homeschooling mother of five and pastor's wife. She is the author of Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, a complete one-year literature curriculum for secondary level students. She is also a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. http://www.homescholarbooks.com. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MiddleEarthMom

Competent to Instruct

Romans 15:4-6, 14 -- "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God Who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another."

As homeschool parents, not only has God called us to educate our children in the godly environment of our homes; He has called us together as a homeschool community. Whether by belonging to support groups, HSLDA, being magazine subscribers or regularly reading information posted on our favorite websites and blogs, God has allowed technology to bring us together as a community and has enabled us to spur one another on.

If we look closely at the opening verses, we find that God has given us His Word as the foundation of our homeschools. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (vs. 4)

God's goodness, mercy and order are evident all around us. In using Christian curriculum and our Bibles, we can help our students see and understand that our God has woven science and art together. Is there anythig anymore amazing that the beauty of God's creation and how He has caused all to work together? He shows us that, as Ecc. 1:9 says, "there is nothing new under that sun" and that the Bible is the ONLY TRUE accoun of world history. That as we study our health books we learn that we truly are "fearfully and wonderfully made" as David said (Ps. 139:14). And as we learn the dynamics of music and maybe learn to play and instrument or develop our voices that we can write our own Psalms of praise and worship, or simply participate in Sunday worship with the saints.

Vs. 5 says, "May the God Who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In our support group we are body of believers meeting together with like-minds. By signing our membership form we say to each other that we agree with the basic doctrines of the Bible listed in our policy section and agree to help each other uphold them. In the Name of Jesus Christ we have told each other that "if you leave you child in my care during a field trip or during a class or club meeting I might host in my home, tat y ou can trust me to insturc tand guide your children in a godly manner...and I can trust you to do the same."

Vs. 14 says, "I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another."

I hope that you will look upon this blog as you support group via the web. I don't now your circumstances...you may live in a very rural area and do not have access to a support group or you may be unaware of a group in your area or, maybe, you choose to be independent of a group setting. You are always welcome here. Our cyber "support group" is here to help and encourage each other to persevere in the journey of homeschooling because, as homeschool moms, we are "competent to instruct one another." When you are starting out, especially if you have started homeschooling from the very beginning, the raod looks so long and scary. We "seasoned" homeschool moms are here for you. This is our Titus 2 duty: "Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:4 & 5)

In these two sections of Romans and Titus, Paul hs told us...1) what we are expected, as women, to do and 2) that we ARE complete, competent and fully capable of doing it!!

If God has called us to this lifestyle and has told us in His Word that He trusts us with the responsibility, we should be all the more encouraged!