Now It's Everywhere

It seems everywhere I look now, I see new support for homeschooling. I suppose it's a combination of looking for it more and actively seeking it out. Here's a link to that great journal I've mentioned before, First Things:

Homeschooling and the Christian Duty

It's a good response to those (none of whom have spoken to me) who argue parents who coose to homeschool their children are withdrawing from the world. Now that we're living in a little house in a neighborhood just as she describes (including a large number of older residents who complain about the "young set" down the street), I understand exactly how we could develop stronger relationships with our neighbors by being home all day. Since I work, it's not quite the same, but my mother-in-law has been out and about meeting people often.

I've Known It All Along

All those big corporations really are evil.

Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture
by Juliet B. Schor

This book has made me realize the evils of marketing and advertising are even worse than I had imagined (mostly because I try not to dwell on them). I was shocked to read about the studies showing negative impact of advertising on kids that are just being ignored by politicians and even educators. Josh and I didn't need any more evidence of the benefits of homeschooling, but this book provided more. Compulsory schooling is forcing our kids to attend schools that allow marketing agencies in (for a fee, of course) to insinuate themselves into kids' lives. And that doesn't even count programming like Channel One (which I'm sorry to say was in my high school though I only remember watching it a few times).

Josh and I aren't big into brands and don't even watch a lot of movies or TV, but reading this book has opened my eyes to some of the "advertising" we've allowed in without even realizing it (examples: the Oreo cookie game, Cheerios books, Elmo clothes, and all the clothes with brand names like Old Navy). I don't think we're going to get rid of them altogether (seriously, the Lightining McQueen toothpaste has changed toothbrushing in our home much for the better), but some things will find their way out the door never to return and much more will never make it home.

Especially if you are considering sending your kids to public schools (and perhaps even private or parochial ones), read this book (or one like it).

[Update: Apparently, there can be good in advertising.]

A Well-Ordered Life

One of our favorite magazines (see previous post) had another little article I particularly enjoyed. It's one of the few they've chosen from the most recent issue to be available online to non-subscribers, so I wanted to post a link here.

Schooling at Home

Enjoy - and consider a subscription!

I Guess We'll Have to Home-School

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
by John Taylor Gatto

Josh came across this book and I convinced him to let me take it on my trip last weekend even though he hadn't read it yet. (I'm interested to see what he thinks.)

The main points (and some interesting tidbits) of the book seem to be (much abbreviated because I don't have much time to chat nowadays):

1. Contemporary education is doing exactly what it was designed to do: teach kids to do what they're told, when they're told, as they're told, so they can work for the man (my paraphrasing).

2. Contemporary education doesn't need to be "fixed"; it needs to be thrown out completely. Apparently, Mr. Gatto believes the whole model doesn't work and will never work. He did make a good point. We've been "educating" kids in schools (age-based classrooms, teacher certification), etc., for 100-150 years. If we're to believe the media and politicians, it's failing our kids. If they haven't gotten it right, perhaps the problem is the whole model is flawed.

3. Between school and TV, kids don't have any time to learn anything about themselves.

4. No one cares more about your child's education than you, the parent.

5. Teacher certification is designed to make parents believe they are unfit to teach their own children.

6. As a society, we compartmentalize people too often based on age. Kids are "locked" in schools and the elderly are "locked" in nursing homes (or isolated in their own homes).

7. The main job of institutions is not the "purpose" for which they are created; it's to provide for a future for the institution itself. All the teacher colleges, textbook publishers, standards consultants, administrators, etc., have a vested interest in keeping schools running and giving them even more money - because that's how they stay in business.

It's a series of speeches and essays, no hard scientific evidence or studies, but I did find most of his arguments compelling. Josh and I have talked often about sending our kids to parochial schools or home-schooling them. My sister-in-law is going to home school her kids at least through 8th grade. (She's trained as a middle school math teacher and says administrators often require a certain number of grades so teachers would assign worksheets they hadn't even reviewed as homework, just to get another grade in the book - how awful is that?)

I'm still not convinced I'll have the patience to home-school, but I'm beginning to see the advantages may be worth the effort. In particular, I like the idea of making learning part of all life, not confined to 8 am to 3 pm. I also like being free of bells to end a class period, avoiding homework, covering topics with kids of different ages, family field trips (with other home-school families, probably), and decreasing opportunities for bullies, drugs and alcohol to hurt my kids.

The debate about how the Papsdorf kids will be educated continues; I'm sure you'll hear more about it. In the meantime, I'd like to know if anyone can read this book and not wish the tiniest little bit that you could home-school (even if you have absolutely no intention of doing so).

I also really liked that it's printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. You don't see that very often.

Boys Will Be Boys

Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences
by Dr. Leonard Sax

Everyone should read this book. I was fascinated by the research Dr. Sax presents about the differences between boys and girls, and how their senses and brains develop differently. As always, I don't agree with everything in the book, but it's nice to have evidence of something I've always suspected - that boys and girls are different and need to be treated differently in some situations. Dr. Sax also provides exceptional endnotes with additional information and websites in addition to references to studies in journals like Journal of Genetic Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Child Development, and Nature. He also quotes from Hardwired to Connect, a book sponsored by Dartmouth Medical School (among others).

And, as have a number of other books I've read recently, this one tempts me with more reasons to home school, at least for a while.

My sleep deprivation (despite being better than expected at Reva's age) prevents me from giving a more glowing review. Hopefully you'll believe me enough to give it a try and then will be tempted to continue by Dr. Sax's own evidence.

p.s. Tip #1: Girls hear better than boys, so a dad might not think he's yelling, but his daughter might hear him that way. And boys who seem to be distracted at school may need to sit closer to hear a soft-spoken teacher.

A New Revolution

A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue
by Wendy Shalit

It's easier to propose this book as a married woman and as a devout Catholic than if I'd suggested it 10 years ago (unlikely as that would be since it was published in 1999), but I hope you don't discount it for that reason. This book is an insightful look at society today and how its standards for sex education and sex itself damage the very souls of women and girls. Essentially, she says that men and women are different, biologically and psychologically, in the way we view sex and its meanings. Modesty, particularly in women, is the natural, innate female response to that difference, and our culture has been battling it (partly unsuccessfully) since the 1960s.

You can read some excellent reviews of the book by clicking on the link above or by going to Eighth Day Books (where Josh first learned of it).

Instead, I'll quote a few sentencess from the book I found memorable.

Women had a special vlunerability in the past, we are told, only because there was a risk of pregnancy. Now that we have the Pill, all vulnerability is abolished. But we seem to be learning that there is more to sexual vlunterability that the risk of pregnancy. (page 91)

Modesty is a reflex, arising naturally to help a woman protect her hopes and guide their fulfillment--specifically, this hope for one man. (page 94)

At least when there is a risk of pregnancy, there is a physical corollary to the emotional risk--so you are careful. And because the women had to be careful, the men were careful too. Our bodies naturally protected our hearts....I'm talking about the young woman who hopes for marriage and is essentially waiting for "the right guy"; I think for her the Pill is seductive and, I would go as far as to say, dangerous, holding out the promise of sex without consequences, and without any "irregularities." (pages 207-208)

Now, I'm not sure I agree with all of her assertions. It seems to me that there are other causes to the struggles of young women (anorexia, cutting, rape, stalking, etc.) than just a lack of modesty. I do think, however, she makes a strong case for a better world for our daughters, and ourselves, with a return to modesty. There's also a good chance Josh and I will decide to pull our kids out of sex education when the time comes (even if they are in Catholic schools).

And don't forget to read the appendix. Trust me; some real gems only appear there.