More Reading - April thru June, 2010

Here are the books I've read for the 2nd quarter of the year.

34. The Last Days of Socrates by Plato (Penguin Classic translation)
35. Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Maybury
36. Whatever Happened to Justice by Richard Maybury
37. PACE – 12 Minute Fitness Revolution by Al Sears
38. Life Under the Taliban by Gail B. Stewart
39. Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird
40. Capitalism for Kids by Karl Hess
41. The Aeneid for Boys and Girls by Alfred Church
42. Ancient Rome: How it Affects You Today by Richard Maybury
43. Good Life, Good Death by Gehlek Rimpoche
44. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
45. The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver & PriscillaWarner
46. Search of the Moon King’s Daughter by Linda Holeman
47. Are You Liberal? Conservative? Confused? By Richard Maybury
48. The Core – Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education by Leigh A. Bortins

My take on economics-

The Maybury books are fascinating. I found them while searching for an economics program for Alex. They are written from a Common Law viewpoint, and I must admit I am intrigued. Two rules:
1. Do all you say you will do; and 2. Do not encroach on other persons or their property.

If we followed those in our daily life and beyond think how many senseless laws and rules and taxes could be done away with! And remember, I'm not conservative - I love taxes!!! (Not really...)

And speaking of economics program - it is very hard to find one without bias. I think the courses taught through on-line "school" programs like Johns Hopkins and Northwestern are very one-sided and VERY confusing. Many of the homeschool economic courses are super conservative. I just want a "down to the basics" study. Any suggestions? I will probably use an interesting book I found called "Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth" by David Korten. We saw Korten at the Green Fest, and I think a lot of what he says about keeping things local makes sense. I also like how he disses the whole derivatives wave, of which I was a part during my Arthur Andersen days. (They're FAKE - no wonder I never understood them!) Anyway, I guess I need to create my own economics program - and maybe sell it on the internet to other discerning homeschoolers, thus creating my own "local" economy!

My take on happiness-

"Good Life, Good Death" is a great book for many things. It is a book that discusses the idea of reincarnation and living life while contemplating life after death. By discussing weaknesses such as anger, ego, obsession, jealousy and pride it shows how such emotions contribute to tension and unhappiness. One of many amazing quotes - "it's important to make the best use of human life, take the best care of it, and develop as best we can." Pat and Alex met the author while attending a Buddhist-led retreat on compassion. They have both read it as well. It is a book that helps improve attitudes, at least in the short term. This is a book about which I cannot adequately write, but should probably be read repeatedly.

"The Happiness Project". I actually found this book while searching for another book - "Happiness and Education". I have not yet finished the latter and must say the former was rather a waste of time. One area did particularily stand out for me though. The author loves what she calls kid-lit. Books written for youth and young adults. Like "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" or "Incredible Journey", or even newer ones like "The Thief Lord". And she gives herself permission to read them - guilt-free - and even starts a book club. I too LOVE kid literature. I have since I was, well, a kid. I love the historical fiction the best. I love how they move along quickly, but provide a great insight into past life. And I love the lack of baggage - love gone wrong, addiction problems, swearing - all the things that adult authors seem to think are necessary to sell books. I'm glad to be part of our mother daughter book club, too. Yeah kid-lit!

My take on education-

I always find it good to read books renewing my resolve to home-educate myself and the kids. Amazon kindly "suggested" I would like a new book - "The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education". I bought it, and they were right; I liked it!

I was hooked by page 2 upon reading "Before I embraced the classical model, I felt I was living in the wrong century and with the wrong tribe." I soo feel like this. I want to be back in the middle of history! Back when life meant working really hard at meaningful tasks. And I want to understand the where and why of it. Classical education instills true learning and understanding - not just learning to take a multiple choice test. It is what I wish I had as a kid. (See my detailed post about this.)

So, half a year and 48 books. Can I make it to 100???

Schooled, not educated

When I was a kid, I was a "perfect" student. I never cracked a book, had all A's, teachers loved me. Other kids knew I was in the smart kids group and didn't bother me. All I cared about was getting A's, checking the boxes, moving on. I went to college and was a little shocked to see that I had to study. But really, not much. I did not have all A's, but did well enough to join the Accounting honor society. I graduated, got a "great" job and worked my tail off for a bunch of greedy egoists for 8 or 9 years. I did like my last accounting job away from Arthur Andersen - but must confess never really understood the "product" - financial futures. And really, did any of it matter?

Fast forward to now. I know some grammar, but would really like to understand it all. What is a Subject-Verb Transitive-Direct Object-Object Complement -Adjective anyway? Before this year, I did not know that Socrates was first, then Plato, then Aristotle. And really? The Greeks were around during the Roman times? Didn't that all end when the Jews killed Jesus and St. Peter became the king? And this all happened where? Somewhere not in the world's center of the USA, I think. I'm great at math, though. That HP calculator sure works wonders.

I am so undereducated. And not alone in my feelings, at least according to "The Core".

Schooling is not educating. A University of Michigan school of education professor said "Schools are our most educationally impoverished institutions."

As support, here's a compilation of quotes from "The Core"-

Professionalized instruction has resulted in a large loss of literacy for both strong and dysfunctional familes. The factory has produced the product we asked for - a student who exists in the system and gets by until released from compulsory education. Between 1640 and 1700 the literacy rate for men was around 90% and for women 62%. In 2007, the adult American population had only a 15% rate of literacy proficiency! (And yet school attendance is greater today then ever before!) It's just not true that more years of compulsory school attendance have translated to a more educated populace. The main culprits reducing literacy and our ability to engage in reasonable discourse include the professionalism of education, federal mandates,
edutainment (making everything fun), and the desertion of memorization skills. In general, parents acknowledge that the modern educational system is in crisis, but few believe their own school has real problems. Many parents dismiss the message because their kids are getting A's, enjoy going to school and are learning basic skills like multiplication. In reality, standards of even basic literacy are too low. Too often an A means the curve was lowered, the student behaved and was pleasant to the teacher.

We need to offer our children a classical education. Memorization, preservation of the past and skills in order to be persuasive in expressing truth, beauty and goodness in the future. Not just entertainment and job-training. Parent-led, goal driven, community education must replace government-led, entertainment-driven, centralized education.

I can't summarize the whole book - but you get the gist. A friend and I were talking the other day. We concluded that it is so simple, yet so elusive. Will the system ever change? Probably not. At least we can choose to home-educate and lessen the world of a few more under-educated individuals.

El campamento de Espanol

Today we dropped Alex at Spanish Immersion camp in Great Barrington, Massachusetts for 4 weeks! I thought I would be much sadder, but it is such a great opportunity for him that excitement was more appropriate. He met the kid across the hall right away and was ready to run out and play soccer even before we were ready to leave! He managed to indulge our short stay while Rachel made his bed for him, we helped him unpack, and then went for a walk around the Bard College campus - his new friend joined us as well, as he really did just get the quick drop from his parents! The program Alex is doing is a joint effort of Johns Hopkins University and The Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy. The kids pledge to speak Spanish 23 hours a day, and are held strictly to this commitment. It's going to be hard, but Alex is so excited! (Do you think my kids know how lucky they are?!)

Team Players

I found this parenting advice column. Some of his advice is definitely too conservative for me, but some is right on. I love this column:

Parenting Today's Teens

Team sports are not the only way to teach a child teamwork and discipline.

Athletics can be a good physical outlet for a teenager, but outside of the very small percentage of kids who go on to make it a career, the benefits of organized sports can be short-lived. Parents shouldn’t allow it to replace other “team” activities that may do more to prepare their teenager for adulthood. This includes having meaningful responsibilities at home, working in a part-time job, volunteering, and spending quality time with the family.

Being a team player in all walks of life, including at work and at home, is often more important for their maturity than focusing all of their time on a sports team.