Bob Gets Her Own Post

. . . and I get a really easy way to sneak another post in!

Thank you Bob for putting these thoughts into words for me:

Here’s the thing: Home schoolers don’t have to act “better than thou” for people to get defensive with us; just our existence makes some people uncomfortable. By “some people” I mean other parents who are painfully aware of just how awful the public schools are, but put their kids in them anyway, because after all, they’re free (“free” in the sense that we’ve already paid for them with our obscenely high property taxes), and if you didn’t send your kids there, you’d either have to spend a ton of money or a ton of time that you would prefer to spend on other things

In my experience, some parents are a lot happier if they can tell themselves that they really don’t have any choice in the matter, because after all kids have to go to school, and this is what’s available, so we’ll just send them there and hope for the best. It makes some of them very uncomfortable when they see home schoolers refusing to go along to get along; it shoots to pieces their theory that they don’t have any choice in the matter.

You’ve hit the nail on the head, Bob.  When acquaintances first learn that we homeschool, the response is often defensive.   Not in a mean, hostile way.  Not judging us.  More like, defending themselves against being judged.  “I could never do that” is a phrase I’ve mentioned hearing a lot, for a varying number of reasons, some quite valid of course.

Our mere existence is enough to make some feel uncomfortable.  And when folks are uncomfortable around me, that makes me uncomfortable.  Without realizing it, those experiences have made me more reticent about discussing homeschooling, even on my own blog.

I can be a bit silly about avoiding confrontation.

Happy Friday everyone!

Miracles Used to be Common in America

That’s what Citizen Tom told me when he linked my Miracles post.

He brilliantly positioned my latest homeschooling post into a cultural and historical perspective.  You should go read the whole thing, but here is the gist:

“We have lost so many of our freedoms so gradually and so slowly, we don’t know, understand, or appreciate what the founders created. . . .

Nonetheless, occasionally a miracle still occurs, and some citizen takes it upon herself or himself to do what needs to be done without waiting for the government to do it. . . .

When Alexis De Tocqueville visited America in 1831-32, he found our people doing something so remarkable he had to study it. He found of nation of self-starters, people who took it upon themselves to fix what needed to be fixed.”

I told him what a great point that was, and then Tom answered with a comment that warrants a whole post of its own.  Here’s an abridged version:

Linda, when you expressed reluctance to blog on homeschool issues, I was disappointed. I think you should write about homeschooling, and I wrote this post to help you understand why.

. . . . As a homeschooling mom, you have an unusual perspective. Please share it with others.

. . . [L]etting politicians educate our children is destroying our republic. That’s why I believe we must make school choice this generation’s civil rights issue. The public school system will never teach children how they can get things done without the soft tyranny of government.

. . . . Did Jefferson accuse King George III of not providing the American colonists with happiness? Was Jefferson campaigning for a welfare state?  Of course not. . . . Ultimately, the Pursuit of Happiness is about freedom of religion, and that is the freedom power-hungry politicians most hate.

To protect our children’s God-given right to the Pursuit of Happiness, we need school choice.

You are right, Tom.  I serve as a potential window for others who may be trying to decide whether to homeschool.  I should pull the shades back further.  It’s just hard.  I worry about whether my words are actually helping matters or just putting people off with an appearance of being ‘better than thou.’

At this point I’m wondering what exactly ‘school choice’ even means.  (Or, as our political opponents probably see it, what form of The Destructor do we choose?)

I used to think that education could be fixed through two complementary avenues: a) vouchers and b) parent-initiated change from within, starting at the school board level.  Frequent relocation sidelined me from pursuing those avenues, though.

It was for mostly personal reasons that I ended up abandoning the whole system for the short-term.  Older Son had such a tough time in 3rd grade.  I’ve never posted much detail, in an effort to maintain privacy–another aspect that makes blogging difficult.

Now, we’ve been settled in Tampa for a year.  As I read Tom’s wise words and ponder my old ”a and b” solution to education, I feel a little lost.  I’m not so sure the public school situation can be improved, given the current state of our culture.

In the short-term, vouchers would help a ton of children who are otherwise imprisoned in failing schools.  I am still pro-voucher.

But in the long run, I’m not so sure vouchers are a solution either.  Couldn’t they end up providing another way for government to dictate how kids are educated?  To make sure we are using that voucher money in an authorized manner, of course.  Or, if folks get dependent on voucher money, will that lead to the same situation states are now in, i.e., agreeing to certain curricula in order to keep the funds flowing?

The only sure way to give taxpayers “school choice” is to not tax them for schools in the first place, or at least drastically reduce the amount of government spending on schools.

What are my chances of successfully selling that one to the public at large?

Alright everybody.  Guess I’m done.  Please do share your thoughts.

Waxing Unpolitically

I’m still here, really really!

I’m just doing uncomputer-y things lately.  We had a wonderful trip to Tennessee, visiting people and places without internet connection, and I am too cheap to carry a smart phone or figure out the “air card” thing I’ve heard about.

It even snowed.  Snowed!  In the three days we inhabited the mountains of Tennessee, we “Floridians” got to enjoy a winter wonderland.  Serious you guys:

We were so enamoured by this east-Tennessee town’s beauty, quiet, and supermajority-ness that a survey of real estate within our price range became necessary.  (Note to property buyers:  “rustic and unique” is not as good as it sounds.)  Next, we traveled west, taking the same old I-40 of our youth and visiting loved ones along the way.

At one particularly delicious catfish restaurant in rural Dickson County, the boys began an immediate friendship in the way that only children can.  The only source of entertainment was a claw crane, and those kids wheedled enough coins from us grown-ups to garner a blue monkey, an orange monkey, an orca, and some kind of creepy pig-dog critter.

The arrival of deep-fried goodness interrupted their creature collecting.  Then, handwritten notes started passing from table to table.  When our out-of-town status was revealed, phone numbers were exchanged.  I didn’t put much thought into that exchange.  My boys are mostly monosyllabic on the rare occasion that they are forced into telephone conversation.

Well, they were mostly monosyllabic.  Now, our older son has become most decidedly polysyllabic, chattering on the phone every other night, often until we tell him to hang up.

Have you figured it out yet?  That new friend is a girl.

Yep.

Child-raising is a humbling hobby.  The minute you’ve got ‘em pegged, they enter a new phase.  A new and scary phase.

Now we are home, but still I stray from the computer.  Mostly because I had to get it fixed because it was overheating and the fan sounded like a commercial airliner preparing for take off.  Also because of the homeschooling.  Also because of my garden.

I am not a gardener; I am a mad scientist.  Or a mad gardener.  Anyway, the mealy bugs and tobacco worms (or things that resemble the worm my mother-in-law once authoritatively labelled a tobacco worm) did a fair bit of damage, and also my impatience has caused problems.

If I had been patient enough to read up before planting, then I would have known that drainage concerns dictate the plot should be on the highest point, or at least raised several inches from the ground around it.

Makes sense when you think about it.  Florida is dang swampy.

So, impulsive me has been forced to continually add dirt, after each thunderstorm washes wide gullies through my plot.  The pepper plants have languished as a result.  They sit, dwarfed and sad, feeding a single pepper and threatening to just give up and die.

The strawberry plants weather it all with good cheer, but every time the cheer results in a reddening berry, bam.  Something swoops in and consumes it.

Sigh.  The biggest successes are the unplanned additions:  yams and red potatoes that sprouted whilst being neglected in my pantry.  The farming book says don’t use grocery-bought potatoes for seeding.

Uh-huh.  My new potatoes beg to differ.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  I’ll be waxing politically again eventually.

Merry Christmas, Building and Loan!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season.  I sure am.  First of all, it’s Christmas Day and we are wearing shorts.  Snow looks pretty in pictures, and the kids lament the lack of sledding, but dang.  Snow is cold.

Second, we’ve had our first Christmas sans Santa, and I’m so glad to be rid of that fat man.  The following opinion offends a lot of people, but here it is anyway:  I hate Santa Claus.

There.  I said it.

I’ve never understood why parents are so protective of the Santa fantasy.  You stay up half the night, wrapping and assembling and crafting a Santa scene.  You do all the work, and he gets all the credit.

Santa also encourages the idea that a child can have whatever he wants, if he is on the “good list.”  Nevermind the cost, child.  Santa’s little elves will construct it for free in their little workshop.  Also, nevermind the “made in China” label.

So, I broke it to the younger son sooner than necessary.  Some folks were disappointed, but lemme be honest.  The fact that I maintained the pretense for seven years is just short of a miracle.  I found myself apologizing for spoiling the fun too early, but being told the truth isn’t what upsets my younger son.

“That’s okay Mommy,” he says.  “But I don’t get why everyone lies to their kids about Santa.  That violates the Ten Commandments.”

What do you say to this logic?  Feel free to berate my lack of Christmas cheer in the comments.  Don’t even get me started on the newest deception crowding the Facebook feed, however:  Elf on the Shelf.  Seems like maybe he’s just Big Brother’s easy-going little brother.

School is going well, and we’ve found a church to attend.  Who knows what is in store for all of us in the next few years, but nevermind.  At least it’s bound to be interesting.

We’ve had family visiting all week.  Tomorrow we travel to visit more family.  Just having some time off is reason to celebrate.  Yeah, the fiscal cliff, sequestration and all that still looms ahead.  Beyond personal preparation, there’s nothing much to be done, really.  Our fellow citizens want to play chicken with the Gods of the Copybook Headings, and in the short term we can’t stop them.

Here’s this year’s tree, looking suspiciously like last year’s tree:

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy New Year to you all.  Hold on to your butts, because 2013 is sure to be a bumpy ride . . .

Finding Post-Election Peace

I’ve been needing to find peace in the aftermath of the election.  I’ve written countless posts in my head, usually while driving to the myriad classes and activities in which the boys currently participate.  That’s as far as the writing gets, however.

The reelection of President Obama has so fundamentally transformed (nice reference huh?) my view of this nation and my role within it, that I hardly know what’s worth posting anymore.  “What’s the point?” is the basic question, now that I realize that a few Davidian foot soldiers like me might not be enough to quickly influence the American culture, after all.

This fact will not stop me from blogging, though.  Writing is pretty much the awesomest.  I’m so grateful for every single reader, and I hope that my words have substantively helped or maybe even inspired a person or two.

At this juncture of our political history, Freedom By The Way has the right idea:  it’s time to prepare.  Our culture didn’t turn stupid overnight, and it won’t experience a period of enlightenment overnight, either.  I don’t pretend to know whether things will go into total crisis mode, as in dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.  Maybe the likelihood is overstated.

Seriously, though:  QE3?  More bubbles on the horizon?  The possibility of hyperinflation?  Unfunded liabilities of 86.8 trillion dollars?  The examples could go on forever.

What do the Boy Scouts advocate?  Being always prepared?  And anyway, better safe than sorry.  Also, a bit of Murphy’s Law:  what can go wrong, will.

So, I’m focusing on more concrete changes.  The funny thing is, most of this preparation is already complete.  We have gone as far Galt as possible:  becoming a single income household, getting out of debt, homeschooling our children, and getting rid of cable TV.

Pretty much the only thing left is getting trained and comfortable with firearms.  My basic safety class is on Sunday.  Owning some land of our own would be helpful, too, but that will just have to wait.

If you can take some of these steps, please do so.  Also, give yourself some peace by shutting out as much liberal noise as you can.  I can only imagine how hard it was for conservatives to return to work and school amongst the gloating socialists and general know-nothings after November 6th.  For me, being surrounded by like-minded, supportive peers after the election was worth more than money could ever buy.