On Politics
Posted by Cyn | Filed under NaBloPoMo, politics
Plinky asked, “Where do you fall on the political spectrum?”
That depends on where you’re standing. In Europe, I’d be considered conservative, apparently. In the U.S., I’m progressive, so I’m considered a flaming liberal.
I agree with the libertarians on some issues, like gun control (it means hitting what you aim at).
I also think that any decent society takes care of its people in far more ways than just having a strong military force. Universal health care (not insurance, CARE), strong consumer protections and consistent, fierce environmental protection are just a few of the things that need to come from the federal government without interference from any other entity — including state governments.
I live in Georgia, where there’s talk of the state government creating a panel to review every federal law and decide whether or not to allow that law to be effective in Georgia. That’s a violation of the U.S. Constitution, as I understand things, as federal law is supposed to supersede state law. Georgia’s state government is pretty free and easy about violating the Constitution, as evidenced by the state house recently passing a bill to post the ten commandments in every public building in the state (including every public school). There’s an excellent chance that the state senate will pass it, too, because anybody who votes against it will be in trouble with the conservatives in their districts.
Decent education is important, too, and it’s too important to be left up to states like Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. It isn’t possible to have an institutional education that’s as good as a home education, since most people leave the education of their children up to the government, it is especially important for the future of our country that the job be done right.
Tags: Education, environment, health care, libertarian, politics, progressive
Nifty! Know a girl aged 8–11?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Education
Via the inestimable
“Kids learning to storyboard, brainstorm, critique, design, pitch ideas, psuedocode, actually code, and make toys do things.”
Tags: computers, Education, girls, learning, programming
Miscellany
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Links
I lost track of who originally linked to what, so I can’t credit them properly. But thank you to whoever they all were, anyway!
Filed under “another reason I’m proud to be a homeschooler”: California court rules that private school can oust lesbian students. I do understand that it’s a private religious school, and that their denomination doesn’t approve of homosexuality. On the other hand, the girls’ parents chose to send them to that school, not the girls themselves. And demanding that everybody in the school be heterosexual makes every bit as much sense as demanding that they all be right-handed! (It also sounds like the school went WAY the hell overboard in interpreting the “evidence.”)
Can I get an “Amen”?! Ending Weight Bias: The Easiest Way to Tackle Obesity in America
This is news? Readers build vivid mental simulations of narrative situations, brain scans suggest
Not Good News: Mercury found in kids’ foods — and in pretty much anything else that contains HFCS. I’m confident of my ability to kick the soda habit, but totally avoiding HFCS pretty much means avoiding all processed foods. GAH!
This is so cool! Implants Tap the Thinking Brain
No surprise to me, at least: Watch out. The Internet will cut you
Reality check: Sorry, you don’t have a 200 IQ
Another no-brainer: Video Games May Hinder Relationships
Tags: Civil Rights, discrimination, Education, GLBT, HFCS, Homeschooling, IQ, mercury, neurology, obesity, Reading, Relationships, technology, video games
TotD: Doris Lessing on Education
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Education, Thought of the Day
Doris Lessing, Introduction to The Golden Notebook
Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this:
“You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by people who have been able to accommodate themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors. It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself–educating your own judgements. Those that stay must remember, always, and all the time, that they are being moulded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society.”
Tags: children, Doris Lessing, Education, indoctrination
Professional Educators say “Trauma is good for kids!”
Posted by Cyn | Filed under News
That’s what their actions say, anyway.
They’d better be damned glad I didn’t have a kid in that school.
Edited to add:
I’m with Jon Carroll on this one.
The takeaway is: Don’t trust anyone. Grown-ups will lie to you and try to make you feel bad. The world sucks even worse than you thought it did. Guidance counselor Lori Tauber defended the exercise: “They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized. That’s how they get the message.”
These are professional educators, and they are comfortable with the following pedagogic theory: Trauma is good for kids. It’s an effective teaching tool. Why not teach American literature the same way? Harpoon a real whale and watch it die — “Moby-Dick” brought to life! They’ll remember that.
Maybe they’ll want to join Greenpeace too. Two lessons for the price of one dead whale! And then the “dead” whale could wake up and make a moving speech at assembly.
Are we that alienated from the adolescents in our midst? Do we think that their feelings don’t matter, that almost anything is justified in pursuit of making sure they get a Life Lesson? Are we that cruel? Apparently we are — a majority of the parents in Oceanside thought there was nothing wrong with this little experiment. Shake those kids up a little.
Fibrant Living: Chronic Illnesses & Education
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Blogging, Health
I’m mostly posting a note here for ease of recordkeeping for Blog365, but I also know a fair number of people who suffer from migraines or other chronic illnesses and probably don’t read Fibrant Living. Today’s post is over there, and has a pointer to a good resource for anyone who has headaches.
Tags: Blog365, chronic illnesses, Education, Fibrant Living, headaches, migraines
Reading
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Education, Family, Home, Homeschooling, Parenting, Reading, Relationships
So, the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas want me to talk about what reading means to me or my child. How about both?
You might have noticed that I talk, a lot, about reading. I think Now Reading shows at least four five of the books that I’m reading right now, and that’s a fairly normal number. I don’t include my textbooks, because they’d be there too long!
Reading is one of the things that I can still do, most of the time, despite the fibro and other crap. I can’t always manage to read on a screen, or follow something like a textbook. Fortunately, though, fiction by some of my favorite authors—especially an old favorite novel, like Partners in Necessity—is easier, and is a very good way to distract myself from the pain for a while.
I haven’t talked about it much, but Katie has had increasing health problems over the last year. Her migraines are no longer managed, despite taking high levels of preventive medications. The rescue medications aren’t working well because she has to take them too often. She had another round of sleep studies, too, and a new neurologist has been trying different medications to help her get a decent night’s sleep (which should help the migraines and other problems). So far, anything that helps her sleep despite severe restless leg syndrome leaves her zombified the rest of the time. Provigil, even taken twice a day, can’t keep her awake and aware enough to function in school. She’s literally sleeping like a cat, 14–18 or hours a day, just never deeply. Her dark circles have circles, now.
But she can still read, too. Slowly, some days, and going back to re-read some pages, but she gets the same comfort from it as I do. You know she’s mine when you realize that she’s never without at least one, and often two, books in her purse.
I started reading to her during my pregnancy, along with talking and singing and playing music for her. I read out loud to her from her first week out of the womb, too, sometimes while breastfeeding, other times while just being with her. She talked at an early age, and was very clear. She learned to read quickly, too, and has always been very opinionated (where did she get that?) about her choice of reading matter. One of her favorite things about leaving the public school system was being free of that damned Accelerated Reader program and its ridiculous restrictions!
It’s no surprise that I hope my nephews and niece are readers, too—although that’s far less likely, since their parents aren’t, really. My brother used to brag that he’d never read any whole book, even those assigned for classes. (I never understood that being a point of pride, even if he did get good grades.) My sister has never read anything that wasn’t required. I don’t know their spouses very well, but I’m fairly sure they aren’t recreational readers, either. At least the grandbabies have our mother (their Nana), who got me started reading, and will sit for hours with any child, reading book after book (or the same book, over and over) patiently.1 I’m not close to my siblings, geographically or otherwise, so I don’t have many chances to influence the babies. I can give them books, though, and hope to catch their fancy so they ask to have them read!
Being a fluent reader gives one more of an advantage that any other skill you can give your child. Readers can use that skill to learn absolutely anything else. They can explore math, science, critical thinking, history, current events, art—you name it. If you teach them to read, get them in the habit of doing so, and teach them to judge their sources well, you’ve given them an incredible start on life.
1 Mom (and I!) did read to my siblings, but neither of them ever wanted to sit still long.
Tags: Books, children, Education, media literacy, Parenting, Reading, thinking