Cheatle becomes 2nd best Director in Secret Service history; how Admin knew roof would be unguarded; democrats re-define 'voting'; Kamala lawfare begins; Zelensky tone change; Florida leading; more.
My daughter and her husband have started something like a micro school in Utah because they want their children to receive a first-rate education. Many parents have eagerly signed up. They have 2 teachers who want to teach and not belong to an education bureaucracy where they're hamstrung and compelled to donate a portion of their wage to a union. Their children are bright and happy and intelligent and spend something like 3 hours a day in a small classroom setting.
Back in the day, that's what "schooling" was: a community effort with no Gov't involved. The Problem with schooling today is spelled G O V E R N M E N T.
I home schooled my two boys. In the 1988 movie classic "Stand and Deliver", Ed Olmos makes this statement: "Children will rise to the level of your expectations and your expectations are too low." I found that to be very true.
My youngest who is now a Doctor of Pharmacology with 3 babies and is a national director for a company in Chicago (we live in FL) told a friend that he owed his success to his dad. When I was homeschooling my boys, I told them I had one goal: to give them the tools to do anything they want in life.
So right. I meet some fine young men. The common denominator (because one is attending public school) is their Christian faith, supportive and involved parents. One is my student and the other I met when I was getting landscaping done recently and the owner sent his son to sketch it out. I almost cried on talking to him and learning about him. Folks, these men and women are out there. We can't even comprehend what they face in the home and/or school. When you meet them and talk to them, encourage them and uphold them in prayer. Unless the Rapture happens first, I can't even comprehend what the world will be like for all of us.
I donβt regret the 3 years I homeschooled my two. Then they went to our church school and graduated from it. How did I do it? What is your desire for your children when they grow up? It took changing work shifts, much commitment and the help of the Lord! My hat is off to these parents and the governors commitment to a real life education!
True, true, true. Homeschooled both my kiddos, AND worked full-time. Its do-able. 3 to 4 hours daily, that's it. One had SAT score top 1% nationwide. Aerospace engineer at barely 20, now in flight school. Proud mama! Best thing i EVER did.
It doesn't take 12 years, either. My grandmothers finished school after the 8th grade, and were then qualified to be "school teachers." My third cousin was a well-loved teacher after graduating 8th grade, teaching for quite a while until she quit to become a bootlegger.
A lot of people will use dual enrollment for their teens. My son is using College Hacked to get his 4 yr degree in less than 2 yrs. He will have his pilot license within the month. He is 17 and still has his senior yr of high school left but is doing college and real estate training after his pilot license.
tell her to call hslda.org. they have a grant program for homeschoolers and can give links to local or state organizations your daughter could connect with to find local homeschoolers and resources. Facebook can have some good groups as well. my offer for you or her to call me still stands as well. good luck!
Not knowing what the situation is, one suggestion would be for you to tutor your grandson. Do you take care of him while your daughter works or does she use daycare?
Both my wife and I worked full time so we had to find ways to do this also. When my firstborn turned four, we enrolled him in a Pentecostal church school/daycare down the street from us. Unlike the public school, they had an academic half day for kindergarten. I had already taught my son the 1-2-3s and the ABCs. After the academic period in daycare, I paid the young teacher to teach my son phonics from this book which anyone could pick up to teach a child how to read....
I also home schooled my 2 sons. Never regretted that decision. They are both fine, intelligent grown men now with excellent careers and a good outlook on life.
So very true. I teach music lessons to children and lead a choir. That applies to all ages too. If you expect someone to do badly or not do something, they won't. If you expect them to do their best and expect excellence, you will get it. Well, that was before the 1990's and children born after that.
Every politically controlled educational system will inculcate the doctrine of state supremacy sooner or later. . . . Once that doctrine has been accepted, it becomes an almost superhuman task to break the stranglehold of the political power over the life of the citizen. It has had his body, property and mind in its clutches from infancy. An octopus would sooner release its prey.
A tax-supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state. βIsabel Paterson, The God of the Machine (1943)
Good on you Phil. If I only knew, I would have done the same. The best job is owning your own "in demand" business like plumbing, a/c, or auto mechanics.
The school system is worse than we think. They literally set up the system to be slaves.
My daughter was in private school until her final 2 years in public to get dual enrollment in a trade. As a senior, they take a semester of Civics and US History. I read her texts. The courses taught cherry picked history, how to pay taxes, how play the stockmarket, and the federal reserve is great. No exaggeration! I informed my daughter what was what and "helped" with her essays and truth bombed that teacher. Useless info for useless eaters... Thanks John Dewey for your help in destroying young minds. "They give the pupils something to do, not something to learn..."
I quit teaching after 25 years over covid. I taught at high and low income schools. By design, better performing schools get more money, so the poorest stay that way. They are literally teaching dependence on the state which is in their protocols.
Oh you are so right on every point. It's sad but the reality is anyone using the public school system is literally allowing the State and the social engineers to steal their child. For Christians, this is unconscionable. Churches should be teaching their flock discernment. Sadly, churches are mostly coffee clutches and entertainment and "the people perish for lack of knowledge."
"the people perish for lack of knowledge."... Meant for the truth of Jesus but applies to everything...
The church I went to was pretty good and preached Jesus' truth but considering they were trained in captured seminaries, they aren't informing their flock entirely, nor do they dare to, or they will be attacked for anti-BS, but most do not know. God's message gets out anyway, and to die is gain so...
I was friendly with the principle and asst principle of the school affiliated with the church. They followed the CDC and got jabbed. I sent them mask studies and the ingredients. I asked, "Would you take a medicine that contained an aborted baby so that you might not get sick?" After the rest of the email, I never heard back. I should have been louder and will be in the furture. They probably thought I was crazy, but I wonder what they think now 3 years later.
At that time, I put my daughter (11-12th )in a dual program public school. She needed a taste of the real world anyway. When she first got there a bunch of nice girls asked her what she identified as and she said, "human." They were all nice until she didn't agree with them. She said it was like they were trying to recruit her and that they were bullies.
Yeah, that's why I said elsewhere that from the inside, public schools are like prisons. The same behavior and psychologies are exhibited. You get thrown in with "your peers" and they recruit you into their clicks. We have been literally training our youth to behave, correction - to THINK like inmates.
Yes! It is more like a prison and they treat them like criminals. They now have metal detectors to enter the school and any event. When I came for a school safety meeting the board members had at our school, some guard wanted to scan me and told me I had to leave my purse in the car. I told the guard "I am not a criminal and that detector wouldn't stop an automatic weapon. Plus you leave us like sitting ducks in the auditorium since everyone knows we are unarmed and they are free to rob our cars since there is no security for that."
That was the last time I went for any school event and so glad my children are done.
One of the things that has become obvious from homeschooling is it takes *a lot* less time than six hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year to teach a kid the standard yearly curriculum. It's mind-blowing how much time in a typical school is wasted or used inefficiently.
It's also amazing to me how many parents are complicit in all this as they dump their kids at school every day and really have no idea (or even care to have any idea) what is actually going on. School is a babysitter that frees them of their responsibly of having to watch their kids for a good part of the day. Whether it's actually time well spent is the least of their concerns. They also don't seem to care that the school's main purpose is to turn their kids into gay race communists. No big deal, at least they don't have to pay for day care anymore.
I've gradually come to the ugly realization that parents must homeschool or have their kids in a biblical Christian school, not just to protect their kids from staff indoctrination. It's also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed, negligent parents.
@Jeff C βitβs also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed negligent, parents.β THIS! And where else in real life are people segregated into same-age peer groups? When your 13-yo is around only other 13-yos for the bulk of his/her waking hours, guess whoβs got the most influence on your child? Not you! Homeschooled kids benefit greatly by being around different age groups and responsible adults. They tend to be MORE, not less, socialized, and usually are less awkward than their government school peers in social situations. It was good enough for our Founding Fathers!
AS I SAID ABOVE: "It's also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed, negligent parents" Also gets them to stop keeping up the Jones e.g. $300 shoes, designer clothes etc
not only that, but they don't pick up poor eating habits. My son "loved" liver and spinach, until his friends at school told him "yuck" when they saw him eating them. He started liking them again after he graduated college
Too many parents, (my kids), now have poor eating habits because theirs are bad from being at desk jobs. They tend to eat out too often, and let their kids pick, which is the definition of βpickyβ eater. Give them a variety of good foods, sometimes making them clean their plates. Itβs not fun, but we abrogate being parents too often because itβs easier.
I know how that is - I am not a picky eater and I was probably the only one who would eat the horrible canned spinach they served us in school which turned people off to eating spinach... Fresh spinach cooked in breadcrumbs etc is delicious compared to that stuff...
Funny story - invited to a very wealthy familyβs home for dinner; overheard the hostess telling their cook to serve spinach. Recalling the horrors of the canned stuff, agonized the entire day until dinner was served and of course, it was delicious! Took several moments before I realized that they had indeed, served spinach. π€£ (The benefits of one room schooling outweighed the paucity of social interactions.)
Thank you, Phil! Hero. We brought him to Colorado to speak at our K-8 school once, years ago, and stayed up 'til dawn talking with him, finally in his car after we had to lock up the school. Irreplaceable ... <3<3<3
She was 100% right. David Fiorazo wrote a book entitled "ERADICATE: Blotting Out God in America: Understanding, Combatting, and Overcoming the Anti-Christian Agenda, Apathy in the Church, and the Decline of Morality in Culture." Really opened my eyes to what has happened the past 100+ years to our country.
On a side note: Please keep David and his wife, Rosanna, in your prayers. She has developed several neurological brain problems since she took the jab (don't start - she wanted to visit her family in Canada whom she hadn't seen) and they are really struggling. He has his own podcast and YT channel. Support him. He's trying to increase his viewership. Was on "Stand Up for the Truth."
This is my experience with my sisterβs six homeschooled children.
All are adults now (my sister is a home school pioneer) and my nephews have very good professional positions. My oldest nephew has done so well that he retired β retired! β at age 49.
Four are married; my sister crows about her 27 grandchildren. And when the rest marryβ¦
This! I was a teacher at a public school, then when we had kids, I homeschooled them
for most of their lives.
I can say unequivocally that there is time wasted in schools and if I had it to do over again, I would homeschool our three as I did the first go around.
As a friend says, βPutting your kids into public schools for 40 hours a week is tantamount to throwing them in jail with who knows what for 40 hours a week and expecting them to emerge good citizens.β
Same, Lynn. I finally pulled my last one from school after Covid and as Jeff C notes, it takes way less time to get through required curriculum than the schools let on. There is SO much wasted time in the school day not to mention the insane schedule of getting kids up at 6AM, shoving a half-eaten breakfast into them, stick them on a bus and expect them to have engaged brains ready for (4) 90 minute classes (our schools - both public and private - use "block scheduling"). With our homeschool schedule, my son starts his day at 9AM after sleeping about 10 hours. He is done with "school work" by noon and then can devote time to his true passion - music or even go work at a job.
Same here! We spend so much less time! Also when people wring their hands about parents being βunqualifiedβ to teach, we need to remind people that a lot of what teachers learn is classroom management, discipline and the like, which we donβt have to deal with when we homeschool. We also donβt have to get to know a whole room of kids weβve never seen in our lives and figure out how to best teach them.
I just wish Iβd gotten a housekeeper more often than I did and CALLED that money spent, tuition! π I had a little bit of a hard time being a good teacher, wife, cook & housekeeper.
Same. I do wish I could go back 20+ years and do it all over again. Thankfully we sent my daughter to a small Catholic school (part of our church), and stayed very involved with everything. So at least we got it almost right. π
Jeff, every word of your comment is SPOT ON. I know this from homeschooling my two boys through high school. Bottom line, for parents public education is a baby-sitting service.
My boys would accomplish their full curriculum in 3 to 4 hours. Public school is a huge waste of time and then the kid is loaded up with tons of homework. My boys had NO HOMEWORK.
We have several family members who were home schooled and besides no homework and all the other positives mentioned, they also had left over time to work, join social & church groups, travel and have other important life experiences.
Yes, if you look at time spent changing classes, study halls, time to get settled and started in class, lunch, and other time fillers, very little time is spent in instruction time, compared to how much time theyβre in school.
When I homeschooled (1990-2006), a public school day's actual education time averaged three net hours per day. A net hour is 45 minutes. That's right, a six hour day is actually about two and a half hours of education.
Your comment makes me think of the way schools were at one time (think Little House on the Prairie) where all the students went to a one room school, were taught the basics and then went home to work on the farm/homestead afterwards. I guess it was the government taking over education and then the unions made it worse?
The younger children in the one room schoolhouse benefit from absorbing what the older children are doing and learning. They can see where theyβre going.
The older ones can be helpful in instructing the youngers. Additionally, the older studentsβ learning is consolidated and reinforced when they hear what the youngers are getting into. The spiral approach has its benefits.
My granddaddy had a come to Jesus meeting with the local high school principal when he held one of his sons after school. The principal was told you have my sons a certain amount of time a day, after that they are mine. This was in the early 1930's and they had plenty of chores to do back on the farm- 15 miles away.
"I guess it was the government taking over education..." Those one room schools likely were run by government, a township school district. Every township in the U S midwest and west has a "school section," one square mile of land which was intended to provide for a local school.
Evidence suggests that these schools were independently managed by local governments - which in the day were actually responsive to citizens' demands. There was no overarching national government or organization "standardizing" everything and dictating how subjects must be taught. And, most important of all, there were no teachers' unions.
I heard a wonderful comment submitted to Dennis Prager by a listener. Dennis said it was one of the most profound comments he had ever received. Most people will say that they can't wait to have a baby. This young lady said, "I can't wait to be a parent." I've also heard it said as "Parent is not just a noun. It's also a verb."
Many years ago, I heard (or read) a comment from Brooke Shields: "I went from wanting to have a baby, to wanting to be a mom." That perspective has stuck with me. My own mama has said that was all she ever wanted to be - a mama, "to raise her children up in the way they should go."
My son was homeschooled starting in 6th grade. I wish I had started sooner. I didn't do anything special. He took classes in high school thru a local organization for homeschoolers that you pay per class (which had better teachers than he ever would've had in public school, actually there because they wanted to be educators and were trained in the subject, chemistry teacher worked as a chemist and english teacher taught english in college). He's 18 and one of the most responsible people I know. He's going to engineering school and living at home next year. I've had several people tell me how he needs to live on campus and I say "why?" and they give me some word salad mumbling nonsense. Then, when I tell them it'll save $15+ thousand a year, if they'd like to make a donation, and they shut up real quick. Oh and he busts the narrative that homeschoolers have no friends because the kid is never home because his social life is so busy.
Yup, that's why I always say a *biblical* Christian school. And by biblical I don't just mean that they hear a verse every once in a while, but that the Bible drives ALL decisions. Curriculum, counseling, staffing, discipline, financial, all of it. Teachers are there because they love Christ, love the kids, and want to make a difference in their lives.
There's an ELCA school near my house that calls themselves Christian. My kids would not go there if you put a gun to my head.
My son is also pursuing engineering at a local, respected state university and living at home. Not an elite school but a good one. Tuition all in is $7500/year (which we are cash flowing) and he'll graduate to starting salaries of $100k/year. That is a good value and he'll graduate with zero debt either to him or us.
We're in SoCal and the starting salaries may be a higher here. I'm in aerospace in a manager role and can confirm that a bachelor's degree from a decent school with good grades start in the $95k range for an electrical. Mechanicals are less I think (I'm EE so I don't see many of them).
My son is majoring in computer engineering which is even a little higher than EE. It's a tough degree though, not a cakewalk, and certainly not for everyone.
WOW--where do you live that tuition is that affordable. We live in PA and even the "state school" tuitions START at $20K/year - way beyond what I could afford now. Thankfully....my son who DID go to a state school in the 1990's got some grants, a student loan and his father and I helped out as we were able. He also worked during 'breaks' and that helped out a lot as well. His student loan had a 10 year payment schedule, and Jeremy repaid it in less than 5 years. He's a "saver" (unlike me--not proud of that about myself believe me!).
The state that everyone here hates, California. (Not everyone but you know what I mean.) There are some benefits to living in the land of fruits and nuts besides perfect weather. The Cal State University System is about $7200/year and my son attends Long Beach State one of the top two schools in that system. The University of California system is about $14k a year. For all its faults, California does have an excellent university system.
He may transfer to a UC school for his last two years, likely the University of California Irvine. It's a top-tier research university with excellent engineering programs (but no football team). We'll see how it goes, he likes Long Beach (he finished year one), it's respected and he won't have an issue getting a job, but a UC engineering diploma will open more doors. I don't mind paying the higher tuition for those two years as it's worth it if he wants to transfer.
More people should consider starting at a less prestigious school (though a good one) and transferring. Or even starting at less expensive community college with a curriculum designed for their intended major and transferring. In California, the CS and UC system schools hold slots specifically for community college transfers, and support the practice. Plus the diploma at the end is exactly the same, there's no asterisk on it.
Kids (and parents for that matter) need to get past the idea that they deserve to attend a "dream school" with Ivy covered walls and a great football team (unless they can get a scholarship). College needs to be viewed as a means to an end, not an "experience". The end needs to be practical and of value, that is something like an engineering degree in a booming field, not something of little value like humanities. All of this assumes the kid has the capability and motivation of course, college isn't for everyone.
At least in California one can get a solid bachelors degree for under $30k if they take this route (under $24k if starting at a community college). Mix in a UC school for the last two years and it's still under $45k. We were very frank with our boys from a young age that we would fully pay for their degree provided it was done practically and was a good value. We would not pay for them to go "find themselves" and party down at their dream school in some distant city.
Glad your son was able to quickly pay off the student loans and it's great that he had the discipline to do so. He's a wise kid. I've been listening to Dave Ramsey for years and the number of people still being crushed by student loans a decade or two after attending is heart-breaking. After listening to this I would not advise anyone to take out student loans ever but to figure out a way to pay as they go. Your son did it right, but for so many it ends up as decades of debt slavery.
I'm going to share what you just wrote with my grandson, Christian - it may "pique" his interest to explore entering the local community college taking "EE" elementary courses and then transferring to a more 'prestigious' school for that discipline.
When my second hubby and I lived in CA we were always flabbergasted at how AFFORDABLE the tuition was for EXCELLENT universities within the CA system. UC is EXCELLENT for all disciplines.
Yes, we hire them and that's the going rate here for electricals. But that's a decent school with good grades, good references, and provided they do well in the interview and demonstrate they can think for themselves. Being hired isn't guaranteed.
Thatβs a kid to be proud of. Itβs not enough to simply βsendβ our kids to school, and just because a school calls itself Christian doesnβt mean the students, their families, and all the teachers are. A so-called Christian school I shall not name was so desperate to collect tuition, it admitted students kicked out of public schools for behavior issues. Their influence was horrifying, and Christian parents stopped enrolling their kids.
Yes, I have seen many awful stories about private schools and church schools being fully on board with DEI/LGBTQ agenda. Thoroughly vet any place that you decide to school your children and know what they are being taught.
Yes! And for those who decide to send their children to public schools, check out the libraries. My son's wife thinks their local ELEMENTARY school "will be fine" for my newborn granddaughter without doing any research. The library catalog is online so I looked at the books and was aghast. Small sample: Twas the Night Before Pride; My Moms Love Me; Momma and Mommy and Me in the Middle; The Rainbow Parade; and The Pants Project (a transgender girl story). I didn't see Gender Queer or Lawn Boy in the catalog - perhaps the county saves those for middle schools.
Thank you for this invaluable piece of advice. Glad this school's library can be checked on line. Many parents are very naive when it comes to what is going on in schools, school libraries and local libraries.
YEPPIR - the perversion is SO ENTRENCHED now in ALL public schools--this has been the cas for over FOUR DECADES and it only gets deeper and more pervasive! Christians abdicated to the "secular educators".
We are on our 5th year of homeschooling and we could never contemplate going back! I am so very grateful that we were led on this path. We've also traveled the country for the last 4 years... roadschooling has been phenomenal. Our kids (ages 6-15) have now been to 45 states, both coasts, to every corner of the continental US, to many of the major cities (we will explore Chicago on Fri!) We were in DC to see the emancipation proclamation papers alongside the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution. We were in Gettysburg on memorial day to hear a recitation of the famous address. We walked the battlefields of Yorktown as we learned about the major turning point of the war. We've also visited 30+ national parks and countless NPS historical sites. What better way to learn about flora, fauna, and geography, than to be there in person? It's been an amazing adventure for us all. I know not everyone can homeschool this way - but MANY homeschoolers choose to use trips to learn from!
Over here in the UK the church of England has truly gone off its rocker. They are the ones pushing gender ideology on 5 year olds! The CofE high school that my son's friends go to is appalling. Their form teacher is a left wing loony trans activist, and she accused his mate of being homophobic because he said that the prime minister stated "a man is a man and a woman is a woman", isn't that true, miss?
Indeed, Fr. Calvin is a perfect example of the C of E's failings. They refused to ordain him for un-specific reasons that amounted to "because you're anti-woke", and he eventually had to be ordained in the Norse Old Catholic Church. (I gather it's doctrinally similar to the Roman Catholic church except doesn't accept the Pope's authority and some of the more recent Roman dogmas).
Worth bearing in mind though that the Anglican church globally is not all as bad as the Church of England is. Especially in Africa!
The African church seems in some ways to have been more faithful to following God's word than Anglican or American churches such as the now Divided-United Methodist Church.
I suspect it may have something to do with persecution. Only serious believers are going to identify as Christian when it could result in Muslim terror gangs slaughtering your village.
We flipped to a "University Model" Christian school model after our oldest finished 3rd grade and came out with almost exactly the same proficiency scores plus spent nearly the last month of the public school year being bored to death because she'd passed her standardized test and that group was just shunted to the side so all hands on deck could work to get the _rest_ to "pass". That largely worked well and the time was better spent, though still see too much "this age works on xyz" rather than "this student works at their level". While I kind of get some of that if you pool resources for teaching, it's still frustrating. Even now we're going through it with our youngest because the administration has an "all 6th graders take this math" mindset and can't grok "some kids are ahead/behind". :/
Of course, for those models, you can still get some peer drama. Less in the "buy $$$ stuff" but people == drama at times. It's still better than public school and the "at home" work typically goes quickly.
I believe you are mostly right One thing I would remind all is we are all sinners. We all do things that do not honor God. This even happens in Christian schools. Our church runs one. In my family bible study one of the moms talked about the shocking comments from SECOND graders to eachother (yes at this private school)β they were shaming and mocking other kids for not having more than 2 pairs of shoes. This is not right! My point here is do not assume that your school of choice is going to be better. We are sinners everywhere. Albeit they may be free from indoctrination which is huge. They may still suffer from βparents who are self-absorbedβ and/or judgemental etc.
Definitely an opportunity to educate your children on sins of the heart and getting to the heart of the matter. That's the essence of Deuteronomy 6:7 to teach your children diligently when you sit, walk, lie down and rise. Take every opportunity to point out that the heart of man is desperately wicked and no one is good but God.
This is why my parents sent me to Catholic school for grammar school and high school. The public schools were not good! And this was in 1981 when I graduated.
The same was true, at least in Pittsburgh PA, during the late 1950s - early 1960s. There were Montessori private schools there in those days, too, but with relatively high tuition.
Ditto in NY in the '50s-'60s. I was way ahead of my peers who were in public school. To this day I am complemented on my writing skills. Must have been that pointer held over my head by the nuns!! LOL.. Didn't kill me & made me a better person. Wouldn't trade the experience.
Some years ago I read a book written by The New York Teacher of the Year. He stated that children could be taught all that was needed in far less time than is wasted in today's schools.
And yes, it has become a babysitting racket and a money making racket for school districts.
When I was a junior in high school I only needs one more year of English in order to graduate. The superintendent would not let me double up on English and graduate that year so as a Senior I had one English class, and two industrial Arts classes and 4 study halls. The shop teacher had me teach the 7th&8th grade leather craft class as one of my industrial Arts classes.
The reason I couldn't graduate early was the school would lose headcount money and I further was told I could not take a Senior trip and didn't get to keep the senior class money even though I was the only student in my Jr and Sr class.
John Taylor Gatto!! Changed my view of the education system too! π
How frustrating about your senior year, Iβve heard many similar stories π It seems like school admins and teachers often do whatβs best for the school and not for the student π
"It's also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed, negligent parents" Also gets them to stop keeping up the Jones e.g. $300 shoes, designer clothes etc
I can tell you from experience with someone I work with - she is a Millenial who refuses to truly see what is happening to our country. Person is about to welcome a second child and you should see their distain when I mention being a stay at home mom. (But she gets 5 months off on leave in ADDITION to PTO time) These Millenials and younger weren't brought up on Christian values (I know not all) and the joy of having Mom at home running the home while Dad was working. I was born in the late 1960's. We were brought up to know Christ, be patriots and know right from wrong. These three things have been missing since the late 1980's - early 1990's (thanks Clinton Admin and "It Takes a Village.).
All this information is exciting! My daughter begins her new position, leaving years as an accredited public school teacher, to administer and instruct our Churchβs homeschool co-op in SD.
I wish there was a love button. My kids attended our churchβs school. I loved how involved the parents could be and the Christian education. Now it seems, Michigan is giving away tons of covid money to jumpstart all kinds of building in the public school sector. Most of this building is going to athletics, arts, and robotics buildings. Little to education that I can see.
This happened in NY too. Our local school district got a new bus garage with COVID money. I'm still trying to figure out a way to get a FOIA request fulfilled to see how all the COVID relief money was spent.
My daughter and her husband have started something like a micro school in Utah because they want their children to receive a first-rate education. Many parents have eagerly signed up. They have 2 teachers who want to teach and not belong to an education bureaucracy where they're hamstrung and compelled to donate a portion of their wage to a union. Their children are bright and happy and intelligent and spend something like 3 hours a day in a small classroom setting.
Adding to my original post: I had some of the details wrong. Here's the school's site: https://www.beautifulmindsacademy.org/
And of course if anyone feels so inclined, there is a donation link on the page!
Back in the day, that's what "schooling" was: a community effort with no Gov't involved. The Problem with schooling today is spelled G O V E R N M E N T.
I home schooled my two boys. In the 1988 movie classic "Stand and Deliver", Ed Olmos makes this statement: "Children will rise to the level of your expectations and your expectations are too low." I found that to be very true.
I homeschooled our two boys as well. I will never regret that choice!
My youngest who is now a Doctor of Pharmacology with 3 babies and is a national director for a company in Chicago (we live in FL) told a friend that he owed his success to his dad. When I was homeschooling my boys, I told them I had one goal: to give them the tools to do anything they want in life.
No greater testament to being an awesome Dad, Phil. Great job. Your heart must surely be near exploding with pride.
I feel blessed... and they know I'm proud of them.
for some weird reason I just wanted to cry after I read this. thank you Phil! for what you did for your kids and society.
So right. I meet some fine young men. The common denominator (because one is attending public school) is their Christian faith, supportive and involved parents. One is my student and the other I met when I was getting landscaping done recently and the owner sent his son to sketch it out. I almost cried on talking to him and learning about him. Folks, these men and women are out there. We can't even comprehend what they face in the home and/or school. When you meet them and talk to them, encourage them and uphold them in prayer. Unless the Rapture happens first, I can't even comprehend what the world will be like for all of us.
If only every parent could be like you. Good job!!
Well, I had a lot of help. I based my homeschooling on Dr. Art Robinson's curriculum. I wouldn't use anything else! The best investment I ever made.
https://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/rc/homeschool-curriculum-excellence/
I donβt regret the 3 years I homeschooled my two. Then they went to our church school and graduated from it. How did I do it? What is your desire for your children when they grow up? It took changing work shifts, much commitment and the help of the Lord! My hat is off to these parents and the governors commitment to a real life education!
True, true, true. Homeschooled both my kiddos, AND worked full-time. Its do-able. 3 to 4 hours daily, that's it. One had SAT score top 1% nationwide. Aerospace engineer at barely 20, now in flight school. Proud mama! Best thing i EVER did.
It doesn't take 12 years, either. My grandmothers finished school after the 8th grade, and were then qualified to be "school teachers." My third cousin was a well-loved teacher after graduating 8th grade, teaching for quite a while until she quit to become a bootlegger.
LOL... oh that is so classic Americana!
I would appreciate any information about how you managed it all.
A lot of people will use dual enrollment for their teens. My son is using College Hacked to get his 4 yr degree in less than 2 yrs. He will have his pilot license within the month. He is 17 and still has his senior yr of high school left but is doing college and real estate training after his pilot license.
My grandson is 5 & my daughter is a single parent that works full time. Do you have any advice?
tell her to call hslda.org. they have a grant program for homeschoolers and can give links to local or state organizations your daughter could connect with to find local homeschoolers and resources. Facebook can have some good groups as well. my offer for you or her to call me still stands as well. good luck!
Not knowing what the situation is, one suggestion would be for you to tutor your grandson. Do you take care of him while your daughter works or does she use daycare?
Both my wife and I worked full time so we had to find ways to do this also. When my firstborn turned four, we enrolled him in a Pentecostal church school/daycare down the street from us. Unlike the public school, they had an academic half day for kindergarten. I had already taught my son the 1-2-3s and the ABCs. After the academic period in daycare, I paid the young teacher to teach my son phonics from this book which anyone could pick up to teach a child how to read....
https://www.alpha-phonics.com/
I also home schooled my 2 sons. Never regretted that decision. They are both fine, intelligent grown men now with excellent careers and a good outlook on life.
So very true. I teach music lessons to children and lead a choir. That applies to all ages too. If you expect someone to do badly or not do something, they won't. If you expect them to do their best and expect excellence, you will get it. Well, that was before the 1990's and children born after that.
The Educational Octopus
Every politically controlled educational system will inculcate the doctrine of state supremacy sooner or later. . . . Once that doctrine has been accepted, it becomes an almost superhuman task to break the stranglehold of the political power over the life of the citizen. It has had his body, property and mind in its clutches from infancy. An octopus would sooner release its prey.
A tax-supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state. βIsabel Paterson, The God of the Machine (1943)
https://fee.org/articles/the-educational-octopus/
.Now you know where the Socialist Demon Rats come from .
.
Good on you Phil. If I only knew, I would have done the same. The best job is owning your own "in demand" business like plumbing, a/c, or auto mechanics.
The school system is worse than we think. They literally set up the system to be slaves.
My daughter was in private school until her final 2 years in public to get dual enrollment in a trade. As a senior, they take a semester of Civics and US History. I read her texts. The courses taught cherry picked history, how to pay taxes, how play the stockmarket, and the federal reserve is great. No exaggeration! I informed my daughter what was what and "helped" with her essays and truth bombed that teacher. Useless info for useless eaters... Thanks John Dewey for your help in destroying young minds. "They give the pupils something to do, not something to learn..."
I quit teaching after 25 years over covid. I taught at high and low income schools. By design, better performing schools get more money, so the poorest stay that way. They are literally teaching dependence on the state which is in their protocols.
Just sayin...
Oh you are so right on every point. It's sad but the reality is anyone using the public school system is literally allowing the State and the social engineers to steal their child. For Christians, this is unconscionable. Churches should be teaching their flock discernment. Sadly, churches are mostly coffee clutches and entertainment and "the people perish for lack of knowledge."
"the people perish for lack of knowledge."... Meant for the truth of Jesus but applies to everything...
The church I went to was pretty good and preached Jesus' truth but considering they were trained in captured seminaries, they aren't informing their flock entirely, nor do they dare to, or they will be attacked for anti-BS, but most do not know. God's message gets out anyway, and to die is gain so...
I was friendly with the principle and asst principle of the school affiliated with the church. They followed the CDC and got jabbed. I sent them mask studies and the ingredients. I asked, "Would you take a medicine that contained an aborted baby so that you might not get sick?" After the rest of the email, I never heard back. I should have been louder and will be in the furture. They probably thought I was crazy, but I wonder what they think now 3 years later.
At that time, I put my daughter (11-12th )in a dual program public school. She needed a taste of the real world anyway. When she first got there a bunch of nice girls asked her what she identified as and she said, "human." They were all nice until she didn't agree with them. She said it was like they were trying to recruit her and that they were bullies.
Yeah, that's why I said elsewhere that from the inside, public schools are like prisons. The same behavior and psychologies are exhibited. You get thrown in with "your peers" and they recruit you into their clicks. We have been literally training our youth to behave, correction - to THINK like inmates.
Yes! It is more like a prison and they treat them like criminals. They now have metal detectors to enter the school and any event. When I came for a school safety meeting the board members had at our school, some guard wanted to scan me and told me I had to leave my purse in the car. I told the guard "I am not a criminal and that detector wouldn't stop an automatic weapon. Plus you leave us like sitting ducks in the auditorium since everyone knows we are unarmed and they are free to rob our cars since there is no security for that."
That was the last time I went for any school event and so glad my children are done.
One of the things that has become obvious from homeschooling is it takes *a lot* less time than six hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year to teach a kid the standard yearly curriculum. It's mind-blowing how much time in a typical school is wasted or used inefficiently.
It's also amazing to me how many parents are complicit in all this as they dump their kids at school every day and really have no idea (or even care to have any idea) what is actually going on. School is a babysitter that frees them of their responsibly of having to watch their kids for a good part of the day. Whether it's actually time well spent is the least of their concerns. They also don't seem to care that the school's main purpose is to turn their kids into gay race communists. No big deal, at least they don't have to pay for day care anymore.
I've gradually come to the ugly realization that parents must homeschool or have their kids in a biblical Christian school, not just to protect their kids from staff indoctrination. It's also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed, negligent parents.
@Jeff C βitβs also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed negligent, parents.β THIS! And where else in real life are people segregated into same-age peer groups? When your 13-yo is around only other 13-yos for the bulk of his/her waking hours, guess whoβs got the most influence on your child? Not you! Homeschooled kids benefit greatly by being around different age groups and responsible adults. They tend to be MORE, not less, socialized, and usually are less awkward than their government school peers in social situations. It was good enough for our Founding Fathers!
AS I SAID ABOVE: "It's also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed, negligent parents" Also gets them to stop keeping up the Jones e.g. $300 shoes, designer clothes etc
not only that, but they don't pick up poor eating habits. My son "loved" liver and spinach, until his friends at school told him "yuck" when they saw him eating them. He started liking them again after he graduated college
Too many parents, (my kids), now have poor eating habits because theirs are bad from being at desk jobs. They tend to eat out too often, and let their kids pick, which is the definition of βpickyβ eater. Give them a variety of good foods, sometimes making them clean their plates. Itβs not fun, but we abrogate being parents too often because itβs easier.
I remember if I didn't like or finish what was being served it would stay for dinner! Tried that a few times and started eating was my mother gave me
I know how that is - I am not a picky eater and I was probably the only one who would eat the horrible canned spinach they served us in school which turned people off to eating spinach... Fresh spinach cooked in breadcrumbs etc is delicious compared to that stuff...
Funny story - invited to a very wealthy familyβs home for dinner; overheard the hostess telling their cook to serve spinach. Recalling the horrors of the canned stuff, agonized the entire day until dinner was served and of course, it was delicious! Took several moments before I realized that they had indeed, served spinach. π€£ (The benefits of one room schooling outweighed the paucity of social interactions.)
I'm talking about fresh cooked and raw (salad) spinach, not the canned stuff
CS, youβre also Jeff C? Just curious.
No - had made the same comment to him earlier but I forgot that comments move to the end of the thread after you leave the screen you are on...
Didnβt think so as your writing styles didnβt jibe. As I said, just curious. Itβs too easy to get lost in multiple replies to one comment.
π€
Amen. Segregation by age is totally counter productive.
My godmother, who died at age 95 last year, had her teaching degree. She blamed Dewey. She claimed that's when education started to decline.
And she be right.
https://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0998919101/ref=sr_1_1
Thank you, Phil! Hero. We brought him to Colorado to speak at our K-8 school once, years ago, and stayed up 'til dawn talking with him, finally in his car after we had to lock up the school. Irreplaceable ... <3<3<3
She's not wrong. He was a true-blue progressive.
She was 100% right. David Fiorazo wrote a book entitled "ERADICATE: Blotting Out God in America: Understanding, Combatting, and Overcoming the Anti-Christian Agenda, Apathy in the Church, and the Decline of Morality in Culture." Really opened my eyes to what has happened the past 100+ years to our country.
On a side note: Please keep David and his wife, Rosanna, in your prayers. She has developed several neurological brain problems since she took the jab (don't start - she wanted to visit her family in Canada whom she hadn't seen) and they are really struggling. He has his own podcast and YT channel. Support him. He's trying to increase his viewership. Was on "Stand Up for the Truth."
(And this is just from the heart. )
My grandfather blamed the teachers Union and the department of education for that.
This is my experience with my sisterβs six homeschooled children.
All are adults now (my sister is a home school pioneer) and my nephews have very good professional positions. My oldest nephew has done so well that he retired β retired! β at age 49.
Four are married; my sister crows about her 27 grandchildren. And when the rest marryβ¦
This! I was a teacher at a public school, then when we had kids, I homeschooled them
for most of their lives.
I can say unequivocally that there is time wasted in schools and if I had it to do over again, I would homeschool our three as I did the first go around.
As a friend says, βPutting your kids into public schools for 40 hours a week is tantamount to throwing them in jail with who knows what for 40 hours a week and expecting them to emerge good citizens.β
Not homeschooling is one of my (many) parental regrets. :(
Same, Lynn. I finally pulled my last one from school after Covid and as Jeff C notes, it takes way less time to get through required curriculum than the schools let on. There is SO much wasted time in the school day not to mention the insane schedule of getting kids up at 6AM, shoving a half-eaten breakfast into them, stick them on a bus and expect them to have engaged brains ready for (4) 90 minute classes (our schools - both public and private - use "block scheduling"). With our homeschool schedule, my son starts his day at 9AM after sleeping about 10 hours. He is done with "school work" by noon and then can devote time to his true passion - music or even go work at a job.
Same here! We spend so much less time! Also when people wring their hands about parents being βunqualifiedβ to teach, we need to remind people that a lot of what teachers learn is classroom management, discipline and the like, which we donβt have to deal with when we homeschool. We also donβt have to get to know a whole room of kids weβve never seen in our lives and figure out how to best teach them.
I just wish Iβd gotten a housekeeper more often than I did and CALLED that money spent, tuition! π I had a little bit of a hard time being a good teacher, wife, cook & housekeeper.
It canβt be easy, but I know you did great!
Thx for the encouragement, Fred!
Same. I do wish I could go back 20+ years and do it all over again. Thankfully we sent my daughter to a small Catholic school (part of our church), and stayed very involved with everything. So at least we got it almost right. π
Jeff, every word of your comment is SPOT ON. I know this from homeschooling my two boys through high school. Bottom line, for parents public education is a baby-sitting service.
My boys would accomplish their full curriculum in 3 to 4 hours. Public school is a huge waste of time and then the kid is loaded up with tons of homework. My boys had NO HOMEWORK.
We have several family members who were home schooled and besides no homework and all the other positives mentioned, they also had left over time to work, join social & church groups, travel and have other important life experiences.
So true. From the inside, public schools are more like a prison than anything else.
Yes! Exactly. This has been my experience with high school homeschool.
Yes, if you look at time spent changing classes, study halls, time to get settled and started in class, lunch, and other time fillers, very little time is spent in instruction time, compared to how much time theyβre in school.
When I homeschooled (1990-2006), a public school day's actual education time averaged three net hours per day. A net hour is 45 minutes. That's right, a six hour day is actually about two and a half hours of education.
You know, if parents had to pay for their students' schooling (instead of taxpayers), government-run (public) education would have ended decades ago.
Your comment makes me think of the way schools were at one time (think Little House on the Prairie) where all the students went to a one room school, were taught the basics and then went home to work on the farm/homestead afterwards. I guess it was the government taking over education and then the unions made it worse?
The younger children in the one room schoolhouse benefit from absorbing what the older children are doing and learning. They can see where theyβre going.
The older ones can be helpful in instructing the youngers. Additionally, the older studentsβ learning is consolidated and reinforced when they hear what the youngers are getting into. The spiral approach has its benefits.
Plus, I'm sure it helped build confidence in the older children when helping the younger ones.
Lived it. Truth! Gotta keep up with the older kids, and they worked harder so as not to be shown up by the youngsters.
My granddaddy had a come to Jesus meeting with the local high school principal when he held one of his sons after school. The principal was told you have my sons a certain amount of time a day, after that they are mine. This was in the early 1930's and they had plenty of chores to do back on the farm- 15 miles away.
And I bet they werenβt fat either!
"I guess it was the government taking over education..." Those one room schools likely were run by government, a township school district. Every township in the U S midwest and west has a "school section," one square mile of land which was intended to provide for a local school.
Evidence suggests that these schools were independently managed by local governments - which in the day were actually responsive to citizens' demands. There was no overarching national government or organization "standardizing" everything and dictating how subjects must be taught. And, most important of all, there were no teachers' unions.
Some of those one room schools were excellent!
I heard a wonderful comment submitted to Dennis Prager by a listener. Dennis said it was one of the most profound comments he had ever received. Most people will say that they can't wait to have a baby. This young lady said, "I can't wait to be a parent." I've also heard it said as "Parent is not just a noun. It's also a verb."
Many years ago, I heard (or read) a comment from Brooke Shields: "I went from wanting to have a baby, to wanting to be a mom." That perspective has stuck with me. My own mama has said that was all she ever wanted to be - a mama, "to raise her children up in the way they should go."
Mrs. "the Knife"
Ooh love that framing!
Have to be careful with "Christian" schools, too.
My son was homeschooled starting in 6th grade. I wish I had started sooner. I didn't do anything special. He took classes in high school thru a local organization for homeschoolers that you pay per class (which had better teachers than he ever would've had in public school, actually there because they wanted to be educators and were trained in the subject, chemistry teacher worked as a chemist and english teacher taught english in college). He's 18 and one of the most responsible people I know. He's going to engineering school and living at home next year. I've had several people tell me how he needs to live on campus and I say "why?" and they give me some word salad mumbling nonsense. Then, when I tell them it'll save $15+ thousand a year, if they'd like to make a donation, and they shut up real quick. Oh and he busts the narrative that homeschoolers have no friends because the kid is never home because his social life is so busy.
Yup, that's why I always say a *biblical* Christian school. And by biblical I don't just mean that they hear a verse every once in a while, but that the Bible drives ALL decisions. Curriculum, counseling, staffing, discipline, financial, all of it. Teachers are there because they love Christ, love the kids, and want to make a difference in their lives.
There's an ELCA school near my house that calls themselves Christian. My kids would not go there if you put a gun to my head.
My son is also pursuing engineering at a local, respected state university and living at home. Not an elite school but a good one. Tuition all in is $7500/year (which we are cash flowing) and he'll graduate to starting salaries of $100k/year. That is a good value and he'll graduate with zero debt either to him or us.
My son is going to a state school, too, a good school but unfortunately about double your tuition.
And yes, I'd like to see confirmation of those salaries because I don't think people around here are getting that at graduation but IDK.
We're in SoCal and the starting salaries may be a higher here. I'm in aerospace in a manager role and can confirm that a bachelor's degree from a decent school with good grades start in the $95k range for an electrical. Mechanicals are less I think (I'm EE so I don't see many of them).
My son is majoring in computer engineering which is even a little higher than EE. It's a tough degree though, not a cakewalk, and certainly not for everyone.
Mine is interested in civil or construction. He wants to play with adult legos the rest of his life :)
I'm a software engineer. If you have any remote jobs, please let me know!
WOW--where do you live that tuition is that affordable. We live in PA and even the "state school" tuitions START at $20K/year - way beyond what I could afford now. Thankfully....my son who DID go to a state school in the 1990's got some grants, a student loan and his father and I helped out as we were able. He also worked during 'breaks' and that helped out a lot as well. His student loan had a 10 year payment schedule, and Jeremy repaid it in less than 5 years. He's a "saver" (unlike me--not proud of that about myself believe me!).
The state that everyone here hates, California. (Not everyone but you know what I mean.) There are some benefits to living in the land of fruits and nuts besides perfect weather. The Cal State University System is about $7200/year and my son attends Long Beach State one of the top two schools in that system. The University of California system is about $14k a year. For all its faults, California does have an excellent university system.
He may transfer to a UC school for his last two years, likely the University of California Irvine. It's a top-tier research university with excellent engineering programs (but no football team). We'll see how it goes, he likes Long Beach (he finished year one), it's respected and he won't have an issue getting a job, but a UC engineering diploma will open more doors. I don't mind paying the higher tuition for those two years as it's worth it if he wants to transfer.
More people should consider starting at a less prestigious school (though a good one) and transferring. Or even starting at less expensive community college with a curriculum designed for their intended major and transferring. In California, the CS and UC system schools hold slots specifically for community college transfers, and support the practice. Plus the diploma at the end is exactly the same, there's no asterisk on it.
Kids (and parents for that matter) need to get past the idea that they deserve to attend a "dream school" with Ivy covered walls and a great football team (unless they can get a scholarship). College needs to be viewed as a means to an end, not an "experience". The end needs to be practical and of value, that is something like an engineering degree in a booming field, not something of little value like humanities. All of this assumes the kid has the capability and motivation of course, college isn't for everyone.
At least in California one can get a solid bachelors degree for under $30k if they take this route (under $24k if starting at a community college). Mix in a UC school for the last two years and it's still under $45k. We were very frank with our boys from a young age that we would fully pay for their degree provided it was done practically and was a good value. We would not pay for them to go "find themselves" and party down at their dream school in some distant city.
Glad your son was able to quickly pay off the student loans and it's great that he had the discipline to do so. He's a wise kid. I've been listening to Dave Ramsey for years and the number of people still being crushed by student loans a decade or two after attending is heart-breaking. After listening to this I would not advise anyone to take out student loans ever but to figure out a way to pay as they go. Your son did it right, but for so many it ends up as decades of debt slavery.
I'm going to share what you just wrote with my grandson, Christian - it may "pique" his interest to explore entering the local community college taking "EE" elementary courses and then transferring to a more 'prestigious' school for that discipline.
When my second hubby and I lived in CA we were always flabbergasted at how AFFORDABLE the tuition was for EXCELLENT universities within the CA system. UC is EXCELLENT for all disciplines.
Thanks again for the "spot on" advice, Jeff C.!!
SHALOM!
I guess the discipline will be rather stringent then.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
A Rebellious Son
18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,
19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.
20 They shall say to the elders, βThis son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.β
21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Yes...the O.T. is filled with 'harshness'--and so is the Koran!!
Perhaps we should not consider them a guide in modern times then.
Yes, we hire them and that's the going rate here for electricals. But that's a decent school with good grades, good references, and provided they do well in the interview and demonstrate they can think for themselves. Being hired isn't guaranteed.
Those numbers do sound rather high.
Depends on the location and the field, but here in SoCal it's very real for electrical engineers. There is a huge shortage.
Thatβs a kid to be proud of. Itβs not enough to simply βsendβ our kids to school, and just because a school calls itself Christian doesnβt mean the students, their families, and all the teachers are. A so-called Christian school I shall not name was so desperate to collect tuition, it admitted students kicked out of public schools for behavior issues. Their influence was horrifying, and Christian parents stopped enrolling their kids.
Yes, I have seen many awful stories about private schools and church schools being fully on board with DEI/LGBTQ agenda. Thoroughly vet any place that you decide to school your children and know what they are being taught.
Yes! And for those who decide to send their children to public schools, check out the libraries. My son's wife thinks their local ELEMENTARY school "will be fine" for my newborn granddaughter without doing any research. The library catalog is online so I looked at the books and was aghast. Small sample: Twas the Night Before Pride; My Moms Love Me; Momma and Mommy and Me in the Middle; The Rainbow Parade; and The Pants Project (a transgender girl story). I didn't see Gender Queer or Lawn Boy in the catalog - perhaps the county saves those for middle schools.
Thank you for this invaluable piece of advice. Glad this school's library can be checked on line. Many parents are very naive when it comes to what is going on in schools, school libraries and local libraries.
YEPPIR - the perversion is SO ENTRENCHED now in ALL public schools--this has been the cas for over FOUR DECADES and it only gets deeper and more pervasive! Christians abdicated to the "secular educators".
*** yes! *** the tragedy of the libraries is ongoing ...
We are on our 5th year of homeschooling and we could never contemplate going back! I am so very grateful that we were led on this path. We've also traveled the country for the last 4 years... roadschooling has been phenomenal. Our kids (ages 6-15) have now been to 45 states, both coasts, to every corner of the continental US, to many of the major cities (we will explore Chicago on Fri!) We were in DC to see the emancipation proclamation papers alongside the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution. We were in Gettysburg on memorial day to hear a recitation of the famous address. We walked the battlefields of Yorktown as we learned about the major turning point of the war. We've also visited 30+ national parks and countless NPS historical sites. What better way to learn about flora, fauna, and geography, than to be there in person? It's been an amazing adventure for us all. I know not everyone can homeschool this way - but MANY homeschoolers choose to use trips to learn from!
Over here in the UK the church of England has truly gone off its rocker. They are the ones pushing gender ideology on 5 year olds! The CofE high school that my son's friends go to is appalling. Their form teacher is a left wing loony trans activist, and she accused his mate of being homophobic because he said that the prime minister stated "a man is a man and a woman is a woman", isn't that true, miss?
They are running out all the conservatives. Calvin Robison was one of the conservatives. He was interviewed on Epoch Times. https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/calvin-robinson-newly-ordained-minister-churches-are-going-woke-4592868
Indeed, Fr. Calvin is a perfect example of the C of E's failings. They refused to ordain him for un-specific reasons that amounted to "because you're anti-woke", and he eventually had to be ordained in the Norse Old Catholic Church. (I gather it's doctrinally similar to the Roman Catholic church except doesn't accept the Pope's authority and some of the more recent Roman dogmas).
Worth bearing in mind though that the Anglican church globally is not all as bad as the Church of England is. Especially in Africa!
The African church seems in some ways to have been more faithful to following God's word than Anglican or American churches such as the now Divided-United Methodist Church.
I suspect it may have something to do with persecution. Only serious believers are going to identify as Christian when it could result in Muslim terror gangs slaughtering your village.
We flipped to a "University Model" Christian school model after our oldest finished 3rd grade and came out with almost exactly the same proficiency scores plus spent nearly the last month of the public school year being bored to death because she'd passed her standardized test and that group was just shunted to the side so all hands on deck could work to get the _rest_ to "pass". That largely worked well and the time was better spent, though still see too much "this age works on xyz" rather than "this student works at their level". While I kind of get some of that if you pool resources for teaching, it's still frustrating. Even now we're going through it with our youngest because the administration has an "all 6th graders take this math" mindset and can't grok "some kids are ahead/behind". :/
Of course, for those models, you can still get some peer drama. Less in the "buy $$$ stuff" but people == drama at times. It's still better than public school and the "at home" work typically goes quickly.
I believe you are mostly right One thing I would remind all is we are all sinners. We all do things that do not honor God. This even happens in Christian schools. Our church runs one. In my family bible study one of the moms talked about the shocking comments from SECOND graders to eachother (yes at this private school)β they were shaming and mocking other kids for not having more than 2 pairs of shoes. This is not right! My point here is do not assume that your school of choice is going to be better. We are sinners everywhere. Albeit they may be free from indoctrination which is huge. They may still suffer from βparents who are self-absorbedβ and/or judgemental etc.
Definitely an opportunity to educate your children on sins of the heart and getting to the heart of the matter. That's the essence of Deuteronomy 6:7 to teach your children diligently when you sit, walk, lie down and rise. Take every opportunity to point out that the heart of man is desperately wicked and no one is good but God.
This is why my parents sent me to Catholic school for grammar school and high school. The public schools were not good! And this was in 1981 when I graduated.
The same was true, at least in Pittsburgh PA, during the late 1950s - early 1960s. There were Montessori private schools there in those days, too, but with relatively high tuition.
Ditto in NY in the '50s-'60s. I was way ahead of my peers who were in public school. To this day I am complemented on my writing skills. Must have been that pointer held over my head by the nuns!! LOL.. Didn't kill me & made me a better person. Wouldn't trade the experience.
Some years ago I read a book written by The New York Teacher of the Year. He stated that children could be taught all that was needed in far less time than is wasted in today's schools.
And yes, it has become a babysitting racket and a money making racket for school districts.
When I was a junior in high school I only needs one more year of English in order to graduate. The superintendent would not let me double up on English and graduate that year so as a Senior I had one English class, and two industrial Arts classes and 4 study halls. The shop teacher had me teach the 7th&8th grade leather craft class as one of my industrial Arts classes.
The reason I couldn't graduate early was the school would lose headcount money and I further was told I could not take a Senior trip and didn't get to keep the senior class money even though I was the only student in my Jr and Sr class.
John Taylor Gatto!! Changed my view of the education system too! π
How frustrating about your senior year, Iβve heard many similar stories π It seems like school admins and teachers often do whatβs best for the school and not for the student π
"It's also to get your kids away from other kids that come from lousy homes with self-absorbed, negligent parents" Also gets them to stop keeping up the Jones e.g. $300 shoes, designer clothes etc
"It's mind-blowing how much time in a typical school is wasted or used inefficiently." Now do corporate in-person office work....
Wow, did you just explode so many brains!
I can tell you from experience with someone I work with - she is a Millenial who refuses to truly see what is happening to our country. Person is about to welcome a second child and you should see their distain when I mention being a stay at home mom. (But she gets 5 months off on leave in ADDITION to PTO time) These Millenials and younger weren't brought up on Christian values (I know not all) and the joy of having Mom at home running the home while Dad was working. I was born in the late 1960's. We were brought up to know Christ, be patriots and know right from wrong. These three things have been missing since the late 1980's - early 1990's (thanks Clinton Admin and "It Takes a Village.).
All this information is exciting! My daughter begins her new position, leaving years as an accredited public school teacher, to administer and instruct our Churchβs homeschool co-op in SD.
Care to share the school?
I wish there was a love button. My kids attended our churchβs school. I loved how involved the parents could be and the Christian education. Now it seems, Michigan is giving away tons of covid money to jumpstart all kinds of building in the public school sector. Most of this building is going to athletics, arts, and robotics buildings. Little to education that I can see.
Back to the one room classroom would be great.
This happened in NY too. Our local school district got a new bus garage with COVID money. I'm still trying to figure out a way to get a FOIA request fulfilled to see how all the COVID relief money was spent.