March 31, 2004
Sun shines at WalMart
Five years ago, when I was selling millions of dollars of Sun systems to dot coms, I would have never believed that the day would come when I could buy Sun software at WalMart.
Unbelievable.
Permalink | Comments (3)March 30, 2004
VA Board of Education is clueless
In this worthless homeschooling article (notable only for the number of errors) published in a local paper, Margaret Roberts, executive assistant to the Virginia Board of Education, says "A parent in Virginia can't just go up to the school house one day and take the child, and say, 'I'm home schooling"
Wrong, wrong wrong. A parent in VA damn well can decide to start homeschooling on one day notice. In fact, you have 30 days to provide written notification to the local superintendent of a decision to homeschool. And who the hell uses a phrase like "school house" in 2004?
The article also includes this gem, "All parents must receive local approval before taking their children out of school."
Again, absolutely wrong. Local officials have zero authority to deny homechooling rights. The law requires us to NOTIFY, not ask permission.
And then we have this brilliant insight. "In Maryland, it is relatively easy for parents to take their child's education into their own hands. Parents are only required to notify the school system of their intentions. They are also required to submit portfolios of the child's work twice a year."
Submitting a portfolio twice a year is acceptable to Maryland homeschoolers? I sure hope not. What a horrible, intrusive law. Yet the article states that Maryland's laws are lax compared to VA.
What the hell is this reporter smoking?
Permalink | Comments (0)It's Baseball Season!
Baseball season has officially begun. Even better, it started with the Yankees losing to the Devil Rays 8-3.
The Red Sox open in Baltimore. I'll be there on Tuesday for Schilling's first start as a Red Sox.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 29, 2004
TV Ads & Kids. The answer is NOT more government
Dana found this article summarizing the findings of study on the impact of advertising on kids. It is just begging for commentary.
Research shows about 65 percent of America's school children have televisions in their bedrooms. Even one of four toddlers has personalized TV access.
Somebody needs to beat these parents with a cluestick. Turn off the TV's and interact with your children.
If you ask Joanne Cantor, this is not good. Part of her reasoning is based on a new, comprehensive report by an American Psychological Association task force calling for tighter government regulation of television advertising aimed at children
No, no, no. More government is not the answer. More parenting is the answer. Let's just look at this logically. Which solution is simpler, costs less, and is more likely to be effective?
1. A comprehensive new law from Congress, complete with 1000 pages of text in the bill (that 90% of Congress will never read), loopholes for favored industries, and an army of lawyers ready to file suit over every aspect.
2. Turn off the TV.
"Sponsors spend a lot of money for a 30-second commercial to make the product seem so incredibly fun and enticing," said Cantor, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and member of the APA task force. "Then Mom -- or Dad -- is left with only words to provide a counterpoint of view
If you have a decent relationship with your child this is a slam dunk, easy to win battle for the parent. That the experts don't get that is a sad statement on the state of child psychology in this country.
The typical American child will see 40,000 commercials this year. That's more than 100 per day.
I wonder how many commercials the typical homeschooler sees in a day?
Kids who are 8 or younger can't discern what is a sales pitch and what isn't.
I disagree. Both of mine could discern a sales pitch at age six. Basically, we taught them to question anything they see on TV. Then again, mine aren't seeing 100 commercials in a week, let alone a day. So maybe it's a cumulative thing over time.
"They believe everything they see on TV."
Something I learned a long time ago. Any statement with an absolute like everything, always, etc. - is almost always false.
Another new report, this one from the Kaiser Family Foundation, makes a link between rising obesity statistics and kids developing an emotional attachment to junk food advertised on television.
My kids have an emotional attachment to fruit. Must be those fruit growers PSA 's that I broadcast on their bedroom wall all night ;) Again, this is a parenting problem. Parents decide what their young kids eat. If the parents are shoveling junk food at the kids because its easier it's not really Nabisco's fault is it? Granted, Nabisco doesn't make my job as a parent easier, but that is life.
The APA task force said research shows children can develop a brand preference after a single viewing of a commercial
I'd like to see how they determined this. Kids under the age of 10 have very short term memories. Watch a Star Wars movie with them and there is a very good chance they will be playing with something star wars related after the movie. It's not an evil plot by industry and it's not brand preference either. It's the nature of kids, and again, it's the parents job to deal with it.
"It is all quite daunting and one reason Cantor recommends the family television (as in singular) be positioned in an "open-access room" where parents can easily monitor commercial messages."
This I completely agree with. Also important, watch TV with your kids. If you have to sit through 1 hour of Pokeman cartoons with them it is much more likely that you will find a way to distract them from wanting to watch in the first place!
The APA task force report calls for restricting advertising for kids 8 and younger. It recommends that all disclaimers be "clearly comprehensible to the intended audience" and that the government fund research to figure out how children are influenced by Internet advertising.
Here is the key line in the story. This is all about getting their hands on taxpayer money. Set up another 3 year govt funded study, which guarantees job security for a few dozen Psych majors.
Some of the task force members are optimistic that the United States can follow the lead of Sweden, which has banned ads directed at young children and aired during kids' programming.
And just how are they going to determine if the Madden 2004 ad is targeted at kids, or at me?
"It's hard to visualize business interests allowing for a change in law."
Ah, the old big business really runs the country meme. A favorite of Leftists everywhere.
"For all children, a time limit makes a big difference," she said. "Parents need to provide other options so TV isn't the first resort or becomes a constant background in a child's life."
The article ends with 3 or 4 very good suggestions on what parents can do. This should have been the emphasis of the article, instead of all the "we need government to fix this" whining.
Permalink | Comments (6)Homeschool High School
A few Fredericksburg VA families are starting a private Christian high school for homeschoolers. It looks like they are trying to be more organized than a co-op, yet not so organized that they lose the homeschool feel to the place.
Interesting idea. I'm not sure it will work long term. I suspect that if they are successful and grow, they will end up looking like any other private religious school. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Permalink | Comments (0)
March 28, 2004
WWHS: Jewelry hurts schools performance on standardized tests
A middle school school student in Pensacola FL has been suspended for wearing a small diamond nose stud.
According to the principle, "...facial piercings distract other students from learning and could hurt their performance on the state's standardized test."
If we follow his logic to the ultimate extreme, shouldn't everybody be attending school naked? Clothes can be very distracting. It would be good for security too. Nowhere to hide a gun or knife when your in your birthday suit.
Permalink | Comments (2)March 26, 2004
Friday Funnies
The Trunk Monkey, the latest in personal automotive security.
Permalink | Comments (2)The boring post meme
I normally avoid participating in memes, but I just can't pass up the chance to hang out (virtually speaking) with the cool kids while at the same time ripping on a A-list blogger.
I planted three weeping willow trees in my back yard a couple of weeks ago. Willows are really good for my yard, since willows soak up copious amounts of water, and I just happen to have copious amounts of water in my back yard. I was pleasantly surprised that the entire project, including planting supplies, cost only about $100. That's really a good price for high quality trees.
The evening after I planted we got hit by a terrible wind storm. I was really worried about my new trees. They came though the storm just fine and they are now greening up, and I think they are even visibly larger already.
Permalink | Comments (0)Sex Guide for Role Playing Games
If you know what the phrase "roll 3d6 as a constitution check" means you'll probably find this as funny as I did.(nsfw?) If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you probably already think I'm an idiot. In that case, this link will only serve to reinforce that opinion :)
Permalink | Comments (8)March 25, 2004
Keady taking his heart to SF?
ESPN and other sources are reporting that Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady is on his way to San Francisco.
I'm torn on this. I have the utmost respect for Gene Keady and everything he has done for Purdue. Winning basketball games isn't everything (although Gene has won over 500) and many of his former players credit him not only for their success on the court, but off the court too. Gene represents everything that is good and right about college athletics.
That said, Gene is 67 and my read on Gene is that he may never go quietly into the sunset on his own. He'll always want to try one more time, one more season. High school kids sign up to play for a coach for 4 years. Uncetainty in the coaching position will kill recruiting.
It may be a win-win scenario for him to leave now and coach out his last few years somewhere with less pressure. It sort of reminds me of the Lefty Driesell situation. Older, legendary coach wanted to coach a few more years but wasn't a good fit for any major program. He ended up at Georgia State due to a family connection, and rebuilt the program from the worst in Div 1A, and took them to the tourney for the first time ever.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 24, 2004
GA Teachers with fake degrees
Six public school teachers in Gwinnett County, GA have been caught with fake graduate degrees from the diploma mill St. Regis University (based in Liberia). The teachers collected a total of $30,000 in additional pay based on the degress.
They have not been fired, and the school board is *considering* making them pay back the raises.
I wonder if the school system is that easy on students that cheat?
via Techdirt
Permalink | Comments (0)New Homeschool Org?
I stumbled into this last night, The Homeschool Coalition
They appear to be a decidedly anti-HSLDA homeschool group. A little poking around reveals that the owner of the domain is Richard Seelhoff. If that name sounds familiar it is because he is the husband of Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff, the publisher of Gentle Spirit magazine who was at the center of a big controversy involving the Christian homeschooling community back in the mid-90's.
I have no idea if that means anything. I just thought it was interesting.
Permalink | Comments (0)Never Forget
The first post 9/11 issue of The Onion was seriously considered for a Pulitzer. They should have done it. It is 2-1/2 years later and it remains a stunningly brilliant work of satire. If you misssed it the first time go read it now.
via The Agitator
Permalink | Comments (0)Johnny still can't read...
but DC area schools have time to devote an entire day to teaching chidren to be nice to each other.
The day at Marshall began with a series of exercises in which students were paired off and asked to stand five inches apart and talk to each other for seven minutes. The facilitators told personal stories, played John Lennon music and quoted Mahatma Gandhi ("Be the change you wish to see in the world").
Well isn't that just special.
Permalink | Comments (1)March 22, 2004
The CS Monitor takes a jab at HSLDA
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I took at jab at Michael Farris and HSLDA for touting their influence in Republican politics?
I quote myself.
Publicity is not good for homeschooling. We are better off flying under the radar. The less the establishment knows about us, the better. As a small band of fringe wackos, we are no threat to anybody. When you start boasting about placing 7 interns in the White House, you might as well cackle as you proclaim that your evil plan is coming to fruition.
The CS Monitor managed to fit the terms "captive audience" and indoctrination into the article. I hate it when I'm right. The CS Monitor might not be the establishment, but they are generally supportive of HS'ing so the tone of this article is a change. The tone is not completely negetive. They do get quotes from both sides. However, on first read I got a "this is a problem vibe" from the article. Anybody else get that vibe too?
Note: I'm not saying I agree with the article. What I think about this is not material. My point is that Farris, in his quest for personal political influence, is a threat to all our homeschooling freedoms.
Permalink | Comments (0)A ding letter that really hurts
Life is bad when even mom and dad are sending you a ding letter.
via The Agitator
Permalink | Comments (0)HS'ers need to come out out of their cocoons...
From the comments on this post at The Zero Boss:
Homeschoolers would do well to emerge from their cocoons and help the rest of us understand how we can fix what's broken in public schools, rather than fiddling while Rome burns.
Feel free to join in on the fun.
Update: Comments on the post have been turned off. Apparently The Zero Boss isn't up to the challenge of actually defending his viewpoints in a public forum. If overwhelming a server is the Slashdot effect, can we call overwhelming the writer with intellect The O'Donnell effect? ;)
Update II
The Zero Boss doesn't allow comments from dissenters, but he has no problem taking cheap personal shots at said dissenters. I guess we should have expected as much. Let's dissect his rant using logic and reason.
Mr. O'Donnell, the militant homeschooler who redirected the Anarchist Convention to my site, felt fit to update his blog entry with this little nugget of maturity:
Update: Comments on the post have been turned off. Apparently The Zero Boss isn't up to the challenge of actually defending his viewpoints in a public forum. If overwhelming a server is the Slashdot effect, can we call overwhelming the writer with intellect The O'Donnell effect? ;)
He attempts to use militant homeschooler as an insult. Unfortunately for him, I consider it a badge of honor.
Also, the anarchist convention consisted of 4 homeschoolers, myself included. And I don't think Darby qualifies as an anarchist!
Let's be clear. I never, ever, ever wanted to debate this "issue".
That's funny, because he responded to both of the comments I left, and at no time did he indicate my comments were unwelcome. I posted my link after that - when it was apparent that he did respond to comments.
...blog is not a forum for debate, or a place for you and yours to preach your own private gospel. My blog is about me. Me and my experiences and my opinions. The post to which you linked was a statement of my experience. Yet you, you pent-up lagoon of intellectual insecurity, felt obliged to "defend" the homeschooling dogma.
And I'm the immature one? The fact is comments were open, and there was no disclaimer that you have to agree with him to leave a comment. Although I would love to see that disclaimer as it would be laughed off the Internet.
This blog is not a "public forum", you twitbag, any more than my mailbox is a "public forum". Usenet is a public forum. My blog is a one-way communications board...
So, he posts his opinions in a forum where they are available to over 200 million people, yet he considers it private? He also has comments on, yet thinks it is a one way forum.
He also has a tendency to edit things after he posts them. This morning the thread in question ended with "Thanks for the traffic Chris, but I'm shuting off comments..." That post is now gone, I guess because it doesn't conform to his opinion of the moment that I am an asshole for having the audacity to disagree with him. He also deleted my reply to the current attack thread, as well as the reply of one other homeschooler.
I will agree with him on one thing though. His kids are way better off in public school.
Permalink | Comments (10)March 21, 2004
Carnival of the Cats
Weblogs have definitely, 100% without a doubt, jumped the shark.
Permalink | Comments (8)See the planets
You might want to look up after dark a few times over the next week or two. 5 planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter) are visible to the naked eye. Your next chance to see all five will be either 2036, or the advent of passenger service to Mars. Whatever comes first.
Permalink | Comments (1)March 20, 2004
HS'ing in Massachusetts
Homeschool Buzz found this positive article in the The Boston Globe. I was expecting the worst as I clicked over, since the first line in the article is "No longer just for religious fundamentalists... " I was pleasantly surprised though. I like the homeschool teen center discussed in the story. I hope we can find something like that when our kids are teenagers.
My favorite line in the story..."We are never home, and it's not school. "
That about says it all!
Permalink | Comments (0)March 19, 2004
Doctors can be idiots too
A note on a local HS'er listserv relates the following experience:
1. Homeschooled kid needs to see doctor for allergies
2. Regular family doctor doesn't have an appt available
3. HS'er sees new doctor. (based on a reference to "pile of forms" - it sounds like they went to a totally unknown doctor - not somebody in the usual practice)
4. Doctor reacts oddly to news that kid is homeschooled. Asks a lot of questions, and does full body physical in apparent search for evidence of abuse. Then she requests parent leave the room so she can talk to child alone.
At that point the parent (much to her credit) realized this was a little odd and the doctor was quite possibly hostile to homeschoolers. She and her child left. Now they are justifiably worried that the doctor will file some sort of complaint or suspicion of abuse.
This could just be one wacky doctor, maybe she is married to a NEA official or something. But I do think there is a lesson here too.
With the "mainstreaming" of homeschooling, it can be easy to forgot that what we do is very odd to most people. The prejudices and pre-conceived opinions about homeschooling are still out there. When an authority figure holds these prejudices and acts on them, it can be a huge burden on the targeted homeschooler. (Let's hope not in this case..)
When we moved we polled local HS'ers to find a HS friendly pediatrician. Unless it were an emergency, we would never go to a new doctor that we hadn't vetted first. Partly because of the homeschool issue, but also because the bell curve applies to physicians too. I want to have some idea where on the bell curve a doctor is, before I start taking his medical advice.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 17, 2004
Who are your neighbors supporting for President?
Do you suspect that the cute blond next door is really a closet liberal? Now you can find out if she has given money to any presidential candidate. This info has always been public information, but the magic of the Internet makes it easily accessible.
Go ahead, punch in your zip code and see who your neighbors are giving to.
Permalink | Comments (3)Beannachtam na Feile Padraig
(Happy St. Patrick's Day)
May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows your dead.
And may the luck of the Irish be with Purdue tonight, as they play Notre Dame in the opening round of the NIT - in South Bend.
Nice scheduling NIT guys. Real nice.
March 16, 2004
Zero Tolerance Update
An update on the kid who didn't have drugs in his backpack - but was suspended anyway for passive participation, whatever the hell that is.
Renard's serving a two-day suspension for the drug incident and one for having a cell phone while on school property.
A cell phone? Well, that changes everything. We all know kids with cell phones are crackheads.
In a situation like Renard's, many people are asking the question, when is zero tolerance too much? We spoke with Dr. Freddie Gilyard, principal at Jenkins, and she said the zero tolerance policy is there for a very good reason, and if parents and students don't agree with the punishment, they can take it up with the school.
She is apparently unable to actually articulate that very good reason though. I'll do it for her. Zero Tolerance exists to shield teachers and school administrators from the potential liability that exists when making decisions. Of course, making good decisions mitigates 99.9% of the liability. That might be too much to expect from an educrat though.
"There's sometimes mitigating circumstances that will support the principal's decision to not go strictly by the zero tolerance rule," she said. "....She also says that when it comes to enforcing zero tolerance, there should be no exceptions, just like there were no exceptions for the kindergarten student who brought his toy guns--which were no larger than the size of a quarter--to school."
So is there ever an exception, or not? Talk about speaking out of both sides of your mouth....and uh, yeah, that kindergarten story really support your case.
"Decisions are not made in arrogance, but as we consider what is appropriate for all children in school, sometimes that hard decision has to be made," said Gilyard.
The fact that people like her are even allowed to make decisions is more than enough reason to homeschool.
There can be some exceptions in certain instances, but in others like Renard's, the student has to show responsibility for his actions.
How dare he show up at school without drugs on him. He probably even has the audacity to study and get good grades. We can't have that in the public school system. Next thing you know all parents will expect their kids to stay out of trouble and learn something. Oh, the horror....
Bah! I've had enough. I have zero tolerance for public school educrats and their assine politically correct bullshit.
Permalink | Comments (0)ROTFLMAO
A blow by blow, or maybe push by push would be a better description, of labor and delivery, from Dooce.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 15, 2004
Smells Like Teen Spirit
From the why we homeschool department...
When Jenkins High campus police called his name for a random drug check, he didn't think twice. "They searched our classroom, lined us up outside in the hallway, and had us empty our pockets," he recalled.
Are these kids in school, or prison? Is there a difference anymore?
When police searched Renard's bag, they found some books and papers, all the normal stuff a kid who goes to school would have. They did not find any drugs but suspended Renard and charged him with passive participation
That's right. They found nothing, but he is suspended anyway. And just WTF is passive participation? Is that like 2nd hand smoke or something? Maybe they can suspend every student who has a parent that smokes, or drinks. After all, it's passive participation, right? The school, of course, says it's part of the zero tolerance initiative.
The primary thing not tolerated in schools these days is common sense.
Where the hell is the ACLU on this stuff? I'd like to see some really aggressive lawyer take down a school system over something like this, with major civil penalties against the edu-crats involved for violating the civil rights of a student.
via Joanne Jacobs
On Line Public Schools
Wired reports on the failure of some cyber schools.
However, the interesting thing to me was the author John Gartner used the term "on-line public school," and there is no mention or hint of homeschooling anywhere in the article.
Yeah.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 14, 2004
Feminist Homeschooling
Interesting take on feminism and homeschooling from Sarah, who as a homechooler with a Women's Studies degree, is more than qualified to comment on the matter :)
For the record, I can think of no more noble act, by man or woman, than to stay home to raise and educate your children.
Permalink | Comments (0)Tight Security @ the Dry Cleaners
I was at the neighborhood dry cleaners yesterday. I noticed they have a biometric (thumb print) security system on their computers. What kind of data could they be storing in a PC based dry cleaners order management system that requires that level of security?
I thought maybe it was to combat employee theft - but I'm not sure how biometrics works any better than user id and passwords in that case. Anyway, the computers didn't seem to control the cash drawer, they appear to be purely for order entry and tracking.
Just to save any potential information thieves their some time...I like my shirts lightly starched and on hangers.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 13, 2004
The Kennedys @ Jammin Java
Last night Mrs. O'DonnellWeb and myself headed out to Jammin Java on an all too rare date night. If you are in the DC area you really should take in a show at Jammin Java. It's a coffeehouse in Vienna that has live music just about every night of the week. It's a no smoking facility, that serves beer and wine, and seats about 200 people max. The stage, and sound system, were nicer than a lot of rock clubs I've been to.
Anyway, we were there to see The Kennedys. They put on a great live show - you should check them out if they are in your neighborhood. They play very catchy up tempo folk-rock. A lot of their stuff is very pop accessible, and the fact that they aren't more widely known is just another tally on the "ways the music industry sucks" scoreboard.
Permalink | Comments (0)March 11, 2004
Outside The Beltway
Outside the Beltway, a well regarded Republican blog - is not too impressed with homeschoolers. He seems to be afraid that we are going to turn the Republican party into a bunch of foaming at the mouth Christian fundamentalists.
A few comments from us added to his blog might go a long way to educating him. He doesn't seem to be aquainted with any homescholers in real life.
Permalink | Comments (3)March 10, 2004
Somebody should whack this guy with a cluestick
Is it too much to expect that editorial writers will actually have a clue about the subject they are editorializing?
The Monessen School Board faces a decision tonight that might not be popular with parents of home-schooled students. However, the choice should be easy to make.
He is talking about homeschoolers playing on public school sports teams. Right away, he establishes that he doesn't know a damn thing about homeschooling. Every survey I've ever seen shows that the majority of homeschoolers do not favor this sort of thing.
Hopefully, it will vote down any change that would allow home-schooled students to participate in district programs on a limited basis.
He states his point of view - as he should in an editorial. So far, he seems to remember something from Journalism 101. Now he needs to support his case with facts.
Monessen offers a comprehensive educational program that includes extra-curricular activities. The goal is to provide a well-rounded education, one that provides both textbook knowledge and social interaction skills. Just as they do in classrooms, bandrooms, on stage and on athletic playing fields, students learn important life lessons while walking through the halls, eating in the cafeteria and riding on buses.
Did the NEA write this paragraph for him? I thought he was editorializing about homeschooling? When he refers to important life lessons learned in the hallways he must be referring to the ability to dodge gunfire, or maybe the ability to not use the bathroom for 8 hours because you are afraid to go into the boys room. Or I guess he could be referring to the ability to look cool while you pay off the bully to not beat your ass today. A good writer would have been more specific.
A public school system is not - and should not be - an educational department store from which parents pick and choose tidbits they believe will benefit their children.
Why not? Give us just one reason. This writer has done nothing to establish any credibility on education issues, yet he throws out a lame ass blanket statement with absolutely no supporting facts and expects us to believe it. The US university system operates exactly like a department store or buffet line, and it seems to be doing OK. Hundreds of thousands of young adults from all across the world come to the US each fall just to "shop" in our university system. They must be doing something right.
Public education is a package deal, a take-it-or-leave-it kind of thing. Through public education, students form short-term and life-long friendships, learn to deal with others in competitive and social situations, and learn important life lessons.
There are those important life lessons again. In school you are segregated in a room with about 25 other kids of the same age and usually the same socio-economic background. You are all expected to learn to material at the exact same pace from a teacher who teaches it the exact same way regardless of individual differences in learning styles or abilities.
Also, there is no such thing as a competitive situation in a public school. Competition is four letter word in government schools. Nobody fails, nobody can have better stuff than somebody else, and nobody can lose at dodge ball. Yep, just like the real world.
Whether she has a Monessen School District-based program in mind for her children, or is just waging a battle on behalf of home-schooled children everywhere, Hollis' words, at least tonight, should be ignored.
I actually agree with this bozo on the outcome. At some point in the future education will look exactly like the department store model that this guy fears. However, getting mixed up with the government school system today is asking for trouble. It exposes homeschoolers to additional regulation. If sports are that important she should find alternative means to get the experience for her kids, or she should enroll them in the school.
She has chosen a narrow path for her children, and should be satisfied with the opportunities available to them as they travel along it.
Narrow? There is nothing more narrow that the typical US public school experience. I don't know anything about the homeschooler in question or what she is teaching her kids, however we all know that homeschool provides an opportunity for an education far richer and more diverse than anything they can even imagine in a public school setting.
There are good and valid reasons to deny homechoolers access to public school sports teams. The writer of this editorial didn't bother to mention a single one. Most likely because he didn't do any research and doesn't have any idea what they are. Instead, he used the time to write a screed against homeschoolers that is completely devoid of anything resembling a fact or logical argument.
$5 says the writer was educated in the public school system.
Permalink | Comments (1)March 09, 2004
Schools, Age Segregation, and Homeschooling
Eve Tushnet weighs in with a nice take on the socialization issue, and how the homeschooler approach is the better approach.
Like we didn't already know that!
One of the most interesting developments in homeschooling, to my mind, has been the rise of what we might call partial homeschooling. A partially-homeschooled child may take chemistry and calculus classes at a local private high school, receive instruction in English and history from his mother, participate in an all-homeschooler French class taught by a neighborhood father, have a tutor for oboe lessons, and play on a public school sports team.
I think this is where education in the US will eventually end up. Although it will be a slow and painful journey to get there.
Did you score last night?
According to the Washington Post horoscope section, everybody except Pisces and Aquarius should have had hot monkey sex last night.
I wonder if there was some kind of weird database error that pulled in the sex prediction for 10 of 12 horoscopes, or if that really is what they meant to publish.
My horoscope called for soft pillows and massages.
Permalink | Comments (1)Teen Pregnancy Rates down
The reason? A lot of potentially "at risk" teenagers were never born because they were aborted before they got the chance to become teenagers and get pregnant.
The theory is the people most unable or unwilling (often related to age or income issues) to raise a child terminate their pregnancies. So millions of kids that would have grown up in circumstances that put them in a high risk group for teenage pregnancy, never grew up, and thus never got pregnant. This has also been seen with regard to teenage crime.
I think somebody called this the Roe effect. Where else could this have an effect? If you figure that 60% of those never born babies would have grown up liberal - how would that affect voter demographics today? Would Gore be President?
Will Ashton Kutcher make a movie about this?
Will I regret violating my "never discuss abortion" rule?
Permalink | Comments (0)It takes a village idiot to write an editorial
The Virginia Pilot editorializes about homeschool standards, and in the process proves they have absolutely no standards about who they hire for the editorial board at the paper.
Home-schooled children deserve high standards
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 8, 2004
Last updated: 7:46 PM
At a time of mounting global competition, when a consensus across the nation and the state calls for higher standards from public school teachers, the General Assembly is moving in the opposite direction for home schools.
Remember kids, government = good, individual freedom = bad.
The House and Senate have endorsed legislation lowering the requirement from a college degree to a high-school diploma for parents who teach their children at home.
Why is there any requirement at all? You can buy a college degree on the Internet for $249. It proves nothing. The nation's public school teachers are all college educated, and they are doing a bang up job, right?
Advocates argue that parents know better than the state how their children should be reared and educated. There is merit in this idea. Loving parents presumably will make the best choices for their children.
Ya think?
No doubt there are some high school-educated parents who are more capable of guiding a particular child than some college-educated teachers.
No doubt there are some family pets who are more capable of guiding a particular child than some college-educated teachers.
But, particularly when it comes to higher-level courses, such parents are more likely to be the exception than the rule. In weighing educational requirements for parents who teach their children at home, Virginia should aim for reasonable policies.
Why is it that schools get to divide the labor among dozens of teachers, but homeschool parents get crucified because a single parent might not be expert on everything a kid might want to learn? Anyway, once you are into the higher order stuff you pretty much teach yourself. Correct that, homeschoolers can teach themselves because they have learned how to think for themselves, and they have the base level of knowledge to build on. If Johnny can't read, the best Algebra teacher won't be able to teach him to solve story problems.
Such policies would recognize parental rights, but not to the exclusion of society's best thinking on what children deserve and what is in the long-range interests of the nation.
Is this the same best thinking that gave us whole language reading, fuzzy math, zero tolerance policies, and the elimination of kickball and dodgeball as childhood games?
If it were otherwise, then there would be no compulsory education, no standards for children left in day care, no mandatory vaccinations, no requirements for child car seats and seat belts, no prohibitions against parental child abuse.
So, if we homeschool anarchy will break out all over? Of course, there is no such thing as compulsory education, only compulsory attendance. I doubt any study exists, but in coming and going to cub scouts and brownies I see plenty of kids not properly buckled in, but it is never the homeschooled kids.
Lots of people question of value of certain vaccinations, but I guess since government made them mandatory we should just accept it and move on.
And of course, child abuse only happens in home school families. So, if we outlaw homeschooling completely, we will solve the child abuse problem in America.
Virginia currently has reasonable, parent-friendly standards for deciding who is qualified to teach their children at home.
There is that omnipotent government brain again, telling me what is reasonable and parent friendly. Isn't America great? I don't even have to think for myself anymore. Government tells me what is right, and what is wrong.
If the legislature wants to go further, then it should at least require that parents demonstrate some basic level of competence in the subjects they propose to teach? Perhaps by taking an exam themselves.
Are we going to require the same of teachers? How about legislators? How about newspaper editors? Funny how the voters can decide on the legislators, the free market can decide for the newspapers, but we need government for education, because after all, it's for the children. And we all know it takes a village to raise a child. The village idiot won't be available to help though. He has a job writing editorials for The Virginia Pilot.
via Daryl...
Permalink | Comments (1)March 08, 2004
What is Unschooling?
This is a very good explanation.
BTW, we are not unschoolers. It might work for our kids, but it would never work for my wife. She likes order and discipline in her day. How she reconciles that with marrying me is still an open question :)
Permalink | Comments (1)Vote Early & Vote Often
I made the final 10 in Michele's Book Contest.
My entry is The Dirt, by Motley Crue. Because sometimes all you want to think about is sex, drugs, and rock n roll. (The majority of the entries are serious, important books that we all should read. I thought a little levity was needed.)
Note - there are a bunch of great reading suggestions in the contest. Visit to get inspired to read something new. Don't visit to vote for my idea. That is just silly.
Permalink | Comments (0)Michael Farris is at it again
Patrick Henry college in the New York Times.. As you would expect, Daryl had it first.
Obviously, HSLDA / Farris has every right to work diligently and hard to effect a conservative Christian takeover of the government. I wouldn't bet on it happening though.
However, he is not doing homeschoolers any favors by boasting in the New York Times that "Home-school teens could become one of the most powerful forces in American politics, rivaling the labor unions in effectiveness".
Why doesn't he just paint a big ass target on the back of every homeschooler? I've said it countless times on this site, and I'll say it again. Publicity is not good for homeschooling. We are better off flying under the radar. The less the establishment knows about us, the better. As a small band of fringe wackos, we are no threat to anybody. When you start boasting about placing 7 interns in the White House, you might as well cackle as you proclaim that your evil plan is coming to fruition.
(Discussion point - if Michael Farris is Dr. Evil, who is Mini-Me?)
We don't need to get The People for The American Way, the NEA, or anybody else all worked up about Farris' coming revolution. (when I proofed this I noticed I left the "r" off of revolution - leaving me with evolution. heh.) Whatever response they cook up will be bad for all homeschoolers.
Permalink | Comments (3)March 06, 2004
Pinewood Derby Day
Breck's Pinewood Derby entry this year. He took 4th out of 11 in his den. It bounced off the track in one of his heats. He got 2 firsts, a third, and a fourth in his 4 races. The fourth coming in the race where he bounced off the track.
He had fun, which is the point. And nobody got hurt building the car either.
(In case you can't tell - it's a Humvee)
Permalink | Comments (2)
Diane Lane / Unfaithful
I watched Unfaithful last night.
Wow. Diane Lane. Wow.
She is one of those rare women that is getting hotter with age. I mean, she's looked good in previous movies, but in Unfaithful she is flat out smokin'.
Oh yeah, it was a good movie too. Like that really matters...
Permalink | Comments (2)March 05, 2004
The Problem with an interconnected system
I have an email address reserved just for listserv mail. Somebody on one of the lists must have saved the address to their Outlook address book, and subsequently got infected by the current round of viri. So now that address, that I configured to bypass my challenge-response set up, is delivering virus laden emails to me.
Bah! We need a flag or something that makes it impossible for an Outlook user to save your email address to their address book.
Permalink | Comments (0)Working Mothers = Successful Daughters?
In discussing The Pecking Order: Which Siblings Succeed and Why, economist Tyler Cowen concludes
If a mother works, her daughters are more likely to earn an income commensurate with their familial status. Working moms should feel less guilty.
Is the goal of parenting to raise daughters who make a lot of money? I can think of 1000 things my daughter could end up doing that don't pay well, yet by any reasonable definition will mark her as "successful." I thought the goal of parenting was to raise our kids into responsible adults.
And what could be more responsible that forsaking a career, and the income and status that go with it, to raise your own children into responsible adults? Economists are supposed to be worried about costs too. What are the costs of working mothers?
Higher divorce rates?
Higher crime rates among kids and teenagers?
Teenage pregnancy?
Note - I'm not saying any of these things are the result of working mothers. I don't have that data. However, they are serious societal problems that do coincide with the rise in two income families. If they are connected - do they offset the gain in income a daughter of a working mother is likely to see?
Working mothers that really do need to work should not feel guilty under any circumstance. Life is a serious of tradeoffs, and if you need to work to cover Maslov's first couple of needs that is not something to feel guilty about.
However, the fact that your daughter may earn more throughout her life doesn't strike me as particularly compelling argument in favor of two income families.
Permalink | Comments (6)March 04, 2004
Amazon RSS Feeds
Like I really need an easier way to spend money at Amazon.com
via Jeremy Zawodny
Permalink | Comments (1)March 03, 2004
Real Headlines from Real Newspapers
Rosie weds longtime girlfriend, slams Bush.
Did we really need the honeymoon details?
And it's from a real newspaper - not The Onion.
Note to Suntimes - fire your editor.
My source asked not to be identified. Let's just say you would expect better of him. But hey, I'm happy to do the dirty work ;)
Permalink | Comments (1)Google Knows All
Who is the best homeschool blogger?
Heh!
Unfortunately, the page coming up as number 1 has changed significantly - so I will lose my lofty title as soon as Google crawls my site again.
Permalink | Comments (1)Books for Kids
This thread at Mefi bears watching - book recommendations for kids - from the Mefi geeks.
Permalink | Comments (0)Calvin & Hobbes Database
A way cool searchable database of every Calvin & Hobbes cartoon. I give it 10 days before the lawyers have it shut down.
My all time favorite C&H:
Local Democrat puts parents first
In casting the deciding vote for a pro-homeschooling bill in the VA Legislature, Democrat Senator Ed Houck said "These children belong to the parents. That is the bottom line."
Why is that concept so hard for so many people to understand?
Also - note that I actually posted this hometown news before Daryl ;)
Permalink | Comments (0)March 02, 2004
Time to move....to Delaware
According to this report, Delaware is the most economically free state in the nation. Daryl, how is the real estate market? I might be headed your way ;)
Virginia was about middle of the road, only one place above CA. That is somewhat surprising. I think the ratio of government size to number of people is a major factor, and CA has so many residents that the ratio is skewered.
Even more surprisingly, Montana is one of the worst.
Permalink | Comments (4)March 01, 2004
Fantasy Sports, Homeschooling, and Revolutions
Daryl sent me this entertaining editorial from USA Today in which the author tries to find some bigger point in the popularity of fantasy sports. Something about taking control of the game and how we should use that energy to take control of healthcare, entertainment and also solve all the worlds problems.
Psychologist Richard Lustberg tries to connect homeschooling, fantasy sports, and even the divorce rate with some mumbo jumbo about how we are all just objects that can be replaced.
Whatever. It's a freaking game people! It's a game my wife would say I spend too much time playing, but it is still just a game.
But I'm not an addict - I stick to baseball and football. If I ever take up fantasy Nascar it will be time to get me some help.
Permalink | Comments (0)Better Off Dead - The Interview
The Sneeze scored an interview with the director of Better Off Dead.
It's autobiographical. And John Cusak hates the movie.
It's one of my all time favorites.
Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy, like that.
Permalink | Comments (1)