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"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up."

Arthur Koestler 

Entries in Homeschool (10)

Sunday
Nov152015

Modern Educayshun

Fun Video!

I have posted this before, but I always enjoy it and I hope you do too. 

Thursday
Dec272012

Sleepy Man Banjo Boys

Really outstanding music. 
Thursday
Dec132012

Another Brick in the Wall

What Babylon wants most is to have you a part of the system. While we might wish not to be a part of the system, in fact this is not practicable unless you do a Ted Kazinsky and live in a shack in the woods. No I am not advocating anyone become a crazed lunatic. 

But, and you knew that had to be a but, the issue is an important one, even if a certain percentage of those that understand the issue wear aluminum foil hats. 

I am advocating that you leave Babylon metaphorically. Even this is hard to do. 

There are many techniques I have mentioned for the past two years I have been blogging. Let me list some of them. 

Babylon at its worst. Pay cash. By doing this you opt out of a portion of the system. Of course, I will on occasion use a credit card, especially when I purchase things on line—also buying gas. I am seriously thinking about limiting my online purchases to things that are not available locally. 

Cancel cable television. The main issue for me is consumerism, so I want to avoid the ads. They really affect you more than you think. Why can I sing this? “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.” My younger readers may not know this, but anyone who watched network TV in the 70’s will. I must admit I forgot the pickles and had to google it, but still I remembered an old ad I have not seen in at least 30 years. 

The ads do affect you. 

If you decide to continue with cable, be sure to get a DVR and fast forward all the commercials. When I watched football, this was particularly helpful. I would watch the game starting an hour late and fast forward through the boring stuff and commercials and finish the game about the same time as the game finished in real life. I gained one hour of life!  

Dish TV has an interesting DVR that automatically removes the commercials. Get it. 

Have a game night. I must admit I have not done this consistently. Currently we are playing Russian Bingo a few times a week. 

I am sure you can think of many ways to “leave Babylon” in your own life. It is worth doing. 

Of course, one of the major areas you need to leave, to leave Babylon, is the education system. This Pink Floyd video succinctly illustrates that system. 

Yes, Babylon, Leave those kids alone. 

Wednesday
May232012

Modern Skooling

I remember my favorite teacher in high school. He was my 12th grade civics teacher. He began my life-long interest in economics when he had us read Robert Heilbroner's book, The Worldly Philosophers

I include the reference to the modern Amazon version. I must have read some of his earlier works. Looking back on that class, I never realized that the teacher was probably a socialist, as Heilbroner was. This is true education, the teacher letting the student think—not spoon feeding data and opinions. 

I think that such teachers have always been rare, but they are more rare now in our public school system. 

Rowan-Salisbury Schools officials suspended a North Rowan High School teacher Monday while investigating an incident caught on camera where the teacher told a student he could be arrested for speaking ill of President Barack Obama. In a nearly 10-minute YouTube video shot by a student in the classroom, Tanya Dixon-Neely, a social studies teacher, told students criticism of the president could lead to jail time.

“Do you realize that people were arrested for saying things bad about Bush?” she said of former President Bush. “Do you realize you are not supposed to slander the president?”

While I suppose that anyone can lose their temper, it seems obvious to me that the reason the student was ready with the recording device was that the student knew what was going to be said. 

 

This is very appalling. It is not the way I remember high school. Maybe I was lucky. Or maybe the quality of teachers has gone down. Or both. 

It is not fair to make sweeping generalizations based on one bad apple-but does one bad apple spoil the whole bunch girl? Maybe not. 

Sunday
Apr082012

I Pledge Allegiance