Your friends shall be the Tall Wind,
The River and the Tree;
The Sun that laughs and marches,
The Swallows and the Sea.
Your prayers shall be the murmur
Of grasses in the rain;
The song of wildwood thrushes
That makes God glad again.
And you shall run and wander,
And you shall dream and sing
Of brave things and bright things
Beyond the swallow's wings.
And you shall envy no man,
Nor hurt your heart with sighs,
For I will keep you simple
That God may make you wise.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Roy H. Williams Quote
"Growing up poor gives you marvelous advantages. The people who love you are unable to hand you the things your friends take for granted, so you develop quick resourcefulness and humble audacity. .... Priceless."
Read more Roy H. Williams at
www.mondaymorningmemo.com
Read more Roy H. Williams at
www.mondaymorningmemo.com
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Reply to Insecure Homeschool Grad
The social insecurity of a homeschool graduate is the topic of an article in the September 12, 2009 issue of World Magazine: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15814 It prompted these thoughts.
I question if homeschooling is really the cause of Alisa Harris's insecurity. After all, "becoming comfortable in (one's) own skin" is not exclusively a struggle of homeschoolers, though theirs is the advantage of gaining some maturity before wading into it.
Harris's reason given for wishing to homeschool her own children is to spare them being hurt, or robbed, or demeaned, a rather negative way to approach the question, I think. Perhaps she is too close to notice the forest for the trees?
The benefits of homeschooling are often not easily quantified and may be missed in a profit and loss analysis. That Harris has the confidence to write candidly about her insecurities in a national magazine may actually be a testimony for her education.
It's hard to believe that being educated in one's home would prevent someone from knowing about Michael Jackson or some other element of pop culture. How many homes do not have a radio or TV in them? Internet access, a library card, or a daily newspaper ought to be sufficient to keep a willing learner abreast of current cultural trends.
Does homeschooling get an even hand in these debates? When a classroom child cops a 'tude, we shrug and say, "Well, kids are like that," but when a homeschooled child hits a social glitch, we say, "Well, he was homeschooled, you know." Would that instead, we said of the young person who resents authority, "Well, his education was farmed out to an institution, you know," and of the one awkward around the opposite gender, "Well, kids are like that."
I question if homeschooling is really the cause of Alisa Harris's insecurity. After all, "becoming comfortable in (one's) own skin" is not exclusively a struggle of homeschoolers, though theirs is the advantage of gaining some maturity before wading into it.
Harris's reason given for wishing to homeschool her own children is to spare them being hurt, or robbed, or demeaned, a rather negative way to approach the question, I think. Perhaps she is too close to notice the forest for the trees?
The benefits of homeschooling are often not easily quantified and may be missed in a profit and loss analysis. That Harris has the confidence to write candidly about her insecurities in a national magazine may actually be a testimony for her education.
It's hard to believe that being educated in one's home would prevent someone from knowing about Michael Jackson or some other element of pop culture. How many homes do not have a radio or TV in them? Internet access, a library card, or a daily newspaper ought to be sufficient to keep a willing learner abreast of current cultural trends.
Does homeschooling get an even hand in these debates? When a classroom child cops a 'tude, we shrug and say, "Well, kids are like that," but when a homeschooled child hits a social glitch, we say, "Well, he was homeschooled, you know." Would that instead, we said of the young person who resents authority, "Well, his education was farmed out to an institution, you know," and of the one awkward around the opposite gender, "Well, kids are like that."
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