3 Generations of Homeschooling to Dig Out of This Mess??

[justamouse]

I hate saying this because I'm really not trying to proselytize. So please, don't take this is that way.

 

Classical education and the traditions of Western Education have never left the Catholic Church's higher education. Jesuits. the college that I'm, looking at with Dd-WTM on steroids.

Edited August 9, 2011 by justamouse

[OrdinaryTime]

I agree with you, justamouse, until the last 25 years or so. Then the Jesuits (at least in the US) sorta fell off the deep end. At least in theology and philosophy. Very sad. I know some smart, orthodox young guys who have joined them over the last few years and have hope the order will resurrect itself.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Justa, interesting (I see/feel nothing religiously platformed about it)- do you mean you are seeing presentation/expectations as paralleled in discipline, breadth, application..or just a general restriction or exploratory sense?

 

I think what we face here in this particular districts culture in PS systems is a top down, pressured, almost a fight of agendas without regard of the final outcome.

 

It's to meet the issue of the day and to heck with any quality or instilling of skills. It's the testing, the unions, the politics mostly.

 

I don't feel it's invested in any higher values of life frankly, it's only a meeting of legalistic standards and the kids get lost in the fray.

[justamouse]

Justa, interesting (I see/feel nothing religiously platformed about it)- do you mean you are seeing presentation/expectations as paralleled in discipline, breadth, application..or just a general restriction or exploratory sense?

 

Everything. Great books, languages, the culture of the campus, the art classes, the medieval guilds, the student to teacher ratio. Everything that I am trying to create in my house as a culture of education this college has, pedal to the metal. She'll take her art classes AND greatbooks/philosophy as a core. It's not either or, it's both and, because as we know, they can't be separated.

 

I think what we face here in this particular districts culture in PS systems is a top down, pressured, almost a fight of agendas without regard of the final outcome.

 

I so agree.

 

It's to meet the issue of the day and to heck with any quality or instilling of skills. It's the testing, the unions, the politics mostly.

 

Again I agree.

 

I don't feel it's invested in any higher values of life frankly, it's only a meeting of legalistic standards and the kids get lost in the fray.

 

:iagree:

[justamouse]

I agree with you, justamouse, until the last 25 years or so. Then the Jesuits (at least in the US) sorta fell off the deep end. At least in theology and philosophy. Very sad. I know some smart, orthodox young guys who have joined them over the last few years and have hope the order will resurrect itself.

 

I see it too, but I also see passionate orthodoxy coming back, not just in their order. Too much fluff has creeped into the order.

[Bang!Zoom!]

I just have to say every Jesuit based educator I've ever had was for me, my most moving experience and changed me as a person.

 

I could rattle them off like my ABC's.

 

There's something really special about a teacher that spent a lifetime in that realm. Really special.

 

Oh, I just want to go light a candle and reflect on it...lol.

[OrdinaryTime]

I see it too, but I also see passionate orthodoxy coming back, not just in their order. Too much fluff has creeped into the order.

 

 

 

I am hopeful, too!

[Hunter]

...This is how I came to know Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, the real "stuff" of life, which is the point of education.

 

Truth, Goodness and Beauty have been discussed here in the past and I know I attempted some hunting down of resources...but...I don't remember what I learned before I got distracted by something equally fascinating.

 

Links????:bigear:

[Hunter]

Oh, and for those of you pulling out WRTR, hunt down a used copy of Understanding Writing from Exodus Books, if you don't mind unabashedly Christian curricula. The author writes in the style she teaches: concrete, concise, gracious. I am LOVING this curriculum. I've read all the general introduction and am already part way through level 2, happily reading every word, rather than skimming it. This curricula is even better than Aesop A at applying the writing/grammar parts of the integrated language arts suggestions in WRTR.

 

No nonsense--mom of 9 reality--but rigorous lesson plans, complete with character building and discipline instructions.

 

I don't know if my enthusiasm will peter out as I keep reading, but the introduction and level 1 and 2 are worth the $25.00 I paid for it. I'm really starting to get this Spalding and foundational language arts stuff. Oh how good a rock solid foundation feels!

[OrdinaryTime]

Truth, Goodness and Beauty have been discussed here in the past and I know I attempted some hunting down of resources...but...I don't remember what I learned before I got distracted by something equally fascinating.

 

Links????:bigear:

 

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are the three most often used transcendentals in philosophy and theology in general conversation. A transcendental is a property of Being. Plato began the development of the idea of transcendentals, though I think Artistole is the one who coined the term. Aquinas developed the concept of transcendentals further in his work and in relation to our understanding of God.

 

Basically, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are one because they are all properties of Being. Truth is Being as known, Goodness is Being as rightly desired, and Beauty is Being as rightly admired. Truth is Being as understood through our mind, Goodness is Being understood through the will, and Beauty is Being understood through the emotions. Wherever Truth is present so is Goodness and Beauty since they are all one.

 

 

Some good books on the subject, other than the primary sources in Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and other philosophers:

 

Mortimer Adler, Six Great Ideas (not theological, just philosophical)

Peter Kreeft, The Good, the True, and the Beautiful (more theological)

[Colleen in NS]

Still :lurk5: with this thread. Really enjoying it. And Hunter, your enthusiasm is inspiring.

[Knittinfarmgirl]

Still :lurk5: with this thread. Really enjoying it. And Hunter, your enthusiasm is inspiring.

 

 

:iagree:

[Hunter]

 

 

Some good books on the subject, other than the primary sources in Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and other philosophers:

 

Mortimer Adler, Six Great Ideas (not theological, just philosophical)

Peter Kreeft, The Good, the True, and the Beautiful (more theological)

 

Is there anything on this subject that is a little spoon fed?

 

I've still been thinking about that creepy youtube video. I think I'd rather go feral, than be subjected to too much of that. It felt dystopian. But "beauty" and anything cultural can often seem strange to me as I have never had the chance to fully assimilate to any culture before being forced to semi-assimilate to a new one. I just kinda float above all the cultures and watch, and have intimate knowledge of them, but never are a part of them.

 

It seems like all cultures value what is rare and difficult to do, and they clap and cry and praise what isn't normal for them, even if the normal is better. They invest so much time and pain in making their bodies as different from nature as possible. They get busy, busy, busy practicing things that are not a part of everyday life or sustaining. They collect the rare and discard what is plentiful. I guess this is part of being human? I think this is why I like geography and anthropology and urban ecology and science fiction. The human motives are the same, even if the outward manifestations are different.

 

Thank you everyone for being so nice to me :-)

[Bang!Zoom!]

Hey Hunter, just for kicks..on the creepy youtube video..do you know the story behind Carmina Burana O Fortuna?

 

It's a story of luck and sheer fate, here are the lyrics translated:

 

O Fortune,

like the moon

you are changeable,

always waxing

or waning;

hateful life

first oppresses

and then soothes

as fancy takes it;

poverty

and power

it melts them like ice.

 

Fate – monstrous

and empty,

you whirling wheel,

stand malevolent,

well-being is vain

and always fades to nothing,

shadowed

and veiled

you plague me too;

now through trickery,

I bring my bare back

to your villainy.

 

Fate, in health

and in virtue,

is against me,

driven on

and weighted down,

always enslaved.

So at this hour

without delay

pluck the vibrating string;

since Fate

strikes down the strong man,

everyone weep with me!

[justamouse]

Oh, and for those of you pulling out WRTR, hunt down a used copy of Understanding Writing from Exodus Books, if you don't mind unabashedly Christian curricula. The author writes in the style she teaches: concrete, concise, gracious. I am LOVING this curriculum. I've read all the general introduction and am already part way through level 2, happily reading every word, rather than skimming it. This curricula is even better than Aesop A at applying the writing/grammar parts of the integrated language arts suggestions in WRTR.

 

No nonsense--mom of 9 reality--but rigorous lesson plans, complete with character building and discipline instructions.

 

I don't know if my enthusiasm will peter out as I keep reading, but the introduction and level 1 and 2 are worth the $25.00 I paid for it. I'm really starting to get this Spalding and foundational language arts stuff. Oh how good a rock solid foundation feels!

 

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are the three most often used transcendentals in philosophy and theology in general conversation. A transcendental is a property of Being. Plato began the development of the idea of transcendentals, though I think Artistole is the one who coined the term. Aquinas developed the concept of transcendentals further in his work and in relation to our understanding of God.

 

Basically, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are one because they are all properties of Being. Truth is Being as known, Goodness is Being as rightly desired, and Beauty is Being as rightly admired. Truth is Being as understood through our mind, Goodness is Being understood through the will, and Beauty is Being understood through the emotions. Wherever Truth is present so is Goodness and Beauty since they are all one.

 

 

Some good books on the subject, other than the primary sources in Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and other philosophers:

 

Mortimer Adler, Six Great Ideas (not theological, just philosophical)

Peter Kreeft, The Good, the True, and the Beautiful (more theological)

 

thank you!

[prairiegirl]

 

Some good books on the subject, other than the primary sources in Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and other philosophers:

 

Mortimer Adler, Six Great Ideas (not theological, just philosophical)

Peter Kreeft, The Good, the True, and the Beautiful (more theological)

 

Another good book is "Beauty for Truth's Sake" by Stratford Caldecott (at least I think that is his name.) :001_smile:

[justamouse]

Another good book is "Beauty for Truth's Sake" by Stratford Caldecott (at least I think that is his name.) :001_smile:

 

Writing it down! The title alone speaks loudly to where I'm at right now.

 

“The greatest art helps lift our neighbors to God, even our neighbors who have not been born yet. It is not a passing thrill, but an inspiration for the ages.” G. K Chesterson

[justamouse]

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are the three most often used transcendentals in philosophy and theology in general conversation. A transcendental is a property of Being. Plato began the development of the idea of transcendentals, though I think Artistole is the one who coined the term. Aquinas developed the concept of transcendentals further in his work and in relation to our understanding of God.

 

Basically, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are one because they are all properties of Being. Truth is Being as known, Goodness is Being as rightly desired, and Beauty is Being as rightly admired. Truth is Being as understood through our mind, Goodness is Being understood through the will, and Beauty is Being understood through the emotions. Wherever Truth is present so is Goodness and Beauty since they are all one.

 

 

Some good books on the subject, other than the primary sources in Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and other philosophers:

 

Mortimer Adler, Six Great Ideas (not theological, just philosophical)

Peter Kreeft, The Good, the True, and the Beautiful (more theological)

 

I'm not finding the Kreeft book, that title is authored by Michael Boylan?

[Critterfixer]

Well, today I did something new. I did my first lesson in D'ooge's Latin for Beginners. I finally got to see a language the way my dear hFA son sees it, I think.

I'm coming to Latin with almost no phonemic awareness. I read his guide on how to say the vowel sounds, and really, I've been speaking Latin wrong most of the time, although I am familiar with some Latin and Greek from my medical training. So, I had to read and try to say those new sounds, having either not heard them, or said them wrong most of my life. Then I had to try to read with those new sounds! As I haltingly read through them, referred back to the sound pages and tried to wrap my head around when a vowel has a short sound or a long sound in Latin, I realized in an entirely new way how very hard it is for a child to learn to read without phonemic awareness, and auditory processing problems. I made it through one passage breaking down words into syllables and haltingly reading the sentence. More tomorrow as I digest the challenge.

[Hunter]

OneMom thanks for the lyrics.

 

Prairiegirl I will check out that book when I'm not so tired. I'm really tired the past few day. I've been getting less sleep than I usually get, which is...very little sleep to start with. Seriously tackling studying ITSELF, cuts into time and energy to study the THEORIES of education. I'm so tired this morning :-(

 

CritterFixer, I think everyone trying to teach phonics should have to study a foreign alphabet for a couple weeks each year :-) It certainly does help you become a better English teacher!

 

I'm almost done reading all of level 2 in Understanding Writing, but needed to find a few supplements because I don't have the handbooks suggested. Letter writing has changed over the past 100 years and I'm trying to figure out what has changed and what is just shoddy practices that I'm used to seeing from people who don't know how to write letters. And googling has been tough since pages are not loading on the ipad, and I fear surfing on my cheap, unprotected laptop, that I pretty much just save to use as a downloading and printing station, and backup for my ipad and ipod.

 

I'm going to be stalled out here on letter writing for awhile. I'm realizing how amazing ludicrous it is to gloss over letter writing with students :-0

[Colleen in NS]

Letter writing has changed over the past 100 years and I'm trying to figure out what has changed and what is just shoddy practices that I'm used to seeing from people who don't know how to write letters. ...I'm realizing how amazing ludicrous it is to gloss over letter writing with students :-0

 

:lurk5: :D I'll be hoping to hear more thoughts about this....

[SorrelZG]

So, I went through LCC last night with a highlighter. I keep thinking of a quote I read recently, "The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." (can I quote Bruce Lee in this context? :lol:) I'm not near laser-like but the review with highlighter helped. I may go back over Climbing Parnassus in the same way. I bought my own copy of WTM purely because I wanted to able to write all over it and couldn't read my library copy any further without being able to do so. {Disclaimer: I'm not saying everyone has to treat their books this way; just sharing what I'm up to in my own pursuits right now ;)}

 

My LCC review also inspired me to add Webster's Speller's syllabary to our phonics/spelling with WRTR. I'm going to intertwine them so I can follow the systematic approach (with tracing or writing of some form, according to ability) of phonograms/sounds - syllables - words of single syllables - multi-syllable words. I've been drawn to both books but was thinking it was one or the other but after reading the section on phonics in LCC, I realize it's not (well, that and Hunter's earlier response to a comment that kinda put WRTR and Webster's over against each other - about how no-one knows just how Webster's was taught).

 

OH! And I'm recalling that someone asked what I was having my child use a pen for. He's using it for everything, including math. Math in particular is where he was really bugging me with the writing without thinking and then spending half the time with the eraser in his hand. The eraser war has ended. Also, I found he doesn't apply so much pressure with a pen. He was forever breaking mechanical pencil leads and strangling his pencils but the pen makes a bold enough mark that eases up when using it.

[Hunter]

I need to buy LCC :-0 I talked to the author at length as he was writing it, and quickly scanned a preview pdf for him years ago, but have never sat down and read the BOOK, and have never seen even a page of the 2nd edition.

 

Hmm... now that I have myself pretty firmly set with WRTR and Riggs, I think I too need to take another look at Websters to see where it fits in.

 

Understanding Writing talks about the pen thing. I'm listening but not converting yet, as I don't yet have the ability/tools to write fully in pen without stressing myself out. And...increased stress...is NOT a good idea right now! Trust me!

 

I have more to say about letter writing tonight.

[Knittinfarmgirl]

OH! And I'm recalling that someone asked what I was having my child use a pen for. He's using it for everything, including math. Math in particular is where he was really bugging me with the writing without thinking and then spending half the time with the eraser in his hand. The eraser war has ended. Also, I found he doesn't apply so much pressure with a pen. He was forever breaking mechanical pencil leads and strangling his pencils but the pen makes a bold enough mark that eases up when using it.

 

Interesting. I'd planned to change over to pens this year with mine. I'm curious to see if my ds who has fought me over any assignment with writing will be more cooperative.

 

Love this thread! I'm learning so much here! I'm starting to read Climbing Parnassus. It's slow going. I don't know how mamas with more kids than I have actually read an entire book in a few days. :confused: I do find myself nodding in agreement at times.

 

You are all very inspirational! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :001_smile:

[SorrelZG]

 

Understanding Writing talks about the pen thing. I'm listening but not converting yet, as I don't yet have the ability/tools to write fully in pen without stressing myself out. And...increased stress...is NOT a good idea right now! Trust me!

 

 

This is another part of it. While teaching him to be thoughtful and put forth his best effort, I'm also working with him on having a realistic view of, and response to, his mistakes. This is SO much easier to develop at the age of five, imho, and so it is a lot easier for me to teach than it is for me to learn (although I am working on it - my problems, approaching these ideas for the first time now as an adult, are just in an entirely other universe to math and writing). His meltdowns over unfixable errors are fewer and further apart.

 

eta: This is NOT the example of parenting that I grew up with so instructing and training my child through such things is not like breathing. This is another example of why I don't see The Goal being accomplished in a single generation. Oh .. which reminds me vaguely of a CP quote I read the other night .. will try to really remember, find and share later. If I had been reading with a pen in hand, this would be no biggy. ;)

Edited August 11, 2011 by SCGS

[Hunter]

I took a figure drawing class along side a PS art teacher who said she only let her students use pens and that they were not allowed to erase. she cornered me after class to try and get me to abandon my pencil.

 

I can get free art class vouchers from several agencies in my city. Agencies that can't help me with my big stuff, feel better about themselves if I leave with an art voucher :-0 hmm...it's about time to spend some time in someone's presence that hands out vouchers even if they are otherwise useless to me.

 

The poor art teachers don't know what to do with me though. For someone with so little talent, I sure am set in my ways and start twitching if they get too close to me or act pushy.

 

I ask everyone to just leave me alone in my corner and let me listen and do what I want, but it seems to pain every one to do so :-0 One of the models even once cornered me outside and asked me if she could see my drawing. Then she got upset and said she had never seen anything so disturbing :-(

 

I like to scribble with pencil, then draw over the scribbles with just a VERY few lines to SUGGEST what was there, and then erase the pencil. As I erase the pencil marks, everyone starts screaming, because they say I am erasing the ONLY good parts and "ruining" my art. Sigh!

 

Maybe if I start with just the pen, and they never see the pencil marks, they will all stop screaming at me :-0 I'm going to have to read more about this pen stuff.

[SorrelZG]

I like to scribble with pencil, then draw over the scribbles with just a VERY few lines to SUGGEST what was there, and then erase the pencil. As I erase the pencil marks, everyone starts screaming, because they say I am erasing the ONLY good parts and "ruining" my art. Sigh!

 

Maybe if I start with just the pen, and they never see the pencil marks, they will all stop screaming at me :-0 I'm going to have to read more about this pen stuff.

 

Perhaps if you did it with pen so that you couldn't erase it you'd be stuck being the talented artist you never thought you were. :lol:

[SorrelZG]

In unconnected reading I was recently educating myself about what being "gifted" really looks like and now I'm suddenly reminded of something I read in the process about how gifted children could be paralyzed by fear of failure and perfectionistic tendencies just like the rest and so not reach their potential, just like the non "gifted" who have similar fears.

 

Just a random thought for the pot.

[OrdinaryTime]

I'm not finding the Kreeft book, that title is authored by Michael Boylan?

 

Sorry, it's an audio lecture, not a book. Here is a linkhttp://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/27_good-true-beautiful.htm

 

It covers more than just transcendentals.

[d.g.]

Ok, I've been meaning to come back and post on this thread for a while. The problem is, every time I do, there's more here to chew on, mull over, and otherwise assimilate. I'm actually having trouble putting thoughts and feelings into words right now, which just underscores how much *I* still have to learn. Thanks for the mental workout!

 

For now, I'm just going to go back to :bigear:.

[justamouse]

Sorry, it's an audio lecture, not a book. Here is a linkhttp://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/27_good-true-beautiful.htm

 

It covers more than just transcendentals.

 

Sending you squishy hearts and glitter.

[justamouse]

 

 

I'm going to be stalled out here on letter writing for awhile. I'm realizing how amazing ludicrous it is to gloss over letter writing with students :-0

 

Emma Serl's Intermediate Language Lessons goes over them fairly early, I believe. lemme go check...lesson 26

 

Emma Serl's Intermediate Language Lessons on Googlebooks

[FrogMom5]

I took a figure drawing class along side a PS art teacher who said she only let her students use pens and that they were not allowed to erase. she cornered me after class to try and get me to abandon my pencil.

 

I can get free art class vouchers from several agencies in my city. Agencies that can't help me with my big stuff, feel better about themselves if I leave with an art voucher :-0 hmm...it's about time to spend some time in someone's presence that hands out vouchers even if they are otherwise useless to me.

 

The poor art teachers don't know what to do with me though. For someone with so little talent, I sure am set in my ways and start twitching if they get too close to me or act pushy.

 

I ask everyone to just leave me alone in my corner and let me listen and do what I want, but it seems to pain every one to do so :-0 One of the models even once cornered me outside and asked me if she could see my drawing. Then she got upset and said she had never seen anything so disturbing :-(

 

I like to scribble with pencil, then draw over the scribbles with just a VERY few lines to SUGGEST what was there, and then erase the pencil. As I erase the pencil marks, everyone starts screaming, because they say I am erasing the ONLY good parts and "ruining" my art. Sigh!

 

Maybe if I start with just the pen, and they never see the pencil marks, they will all stop screaming at me :-0 I'm going to have to read more about this pen stuff.

 

Hunter - I completely disagree with your art teachers and others who don't like your drawings. Art should come from your experiences, heart and soul. If you draw and then erase those lines to form your image, then you have produced something more original and thoughtful than the average well-drawn image. Throughout history, great artists were often unappreciated, sometimes until long after their death, because they were different.

 

Don't let these people discourage you. Drawing exactly what is there, using "standards" is just drawing. What you are doing is art. Art comes from the inside out, not the other way around.

Denise

[Hunter]

From Write Like Hemingway:

 

In talking about where he learned his ability to capture setting, Hemingway credited painters more often than he did other writers...Painters such as Cezanne and Van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse were not aiming for the realism of a photograph in their works...Hemingway's descriptive technique blends elements of abstraction and realism alike...a carefully pared-down version of reality: a setting stripped down to it's naked, evocative essentials.

 

I like to just draw the parts "I" like to look at, and make people look at THOSE parts and not the parts they are used to seeing. They don't want to see what I like, though. They want to see what they like, and want me to draw that. And the teachers want me to make them look good by drawing in a way that looks like I have been well instructed.

 

Line fascinates me, especially the lines on non-erotic zones of nude females. The line of a jaw, nose, shoulder, hip, calf etc. and then I like to continue a line to where it isn't present on the model, and turn it into fantasy.

 

I have been drawing in all the muscles and shading as a cast, the way wood casts are built before the cement is poured. But when the cement hardens, the wood is supposed to be removed. It's a cast, to offer support only until the final product is completed.

 

I think I need to write scripts in my head, ala WRTR handwriting lessons, and confidently pour the concrete without a cast. If I just resist the pressure to immediately mark up the paper and LOOK longer and write those scripts in my head about where things are in proportion and location, maybe I can learn to just draw confidently in pen.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Hunter, this is a friend of mine helping me work with my daughter long distance.

 

Trust me, you'll dig it. http://theorynow.blogspot.com/

 

Read now and then when you get a chance, this is *way/way* up there theory work. You'll catch right on.

 

If you happen to see the post about graduate artists who can produce work but can't explain the reasons behind it, you'll get a lot of comfort out of it.

[Hunter]

Understanding Writing says that when observing we need to:

 

Get close enough

Look carefully enough

Watch long enough

 

Later on it adds

 

Use all 5 senses

Look for details never seen before

Look for details that will especially please the intended audience.

 

Susan Bradrick discourages the self-centered act of journaling, and encourages service through letter writing. I wonder if she would think I should draw what my audience wants to see :-0

 

I think I should memorize 1-5 at least, and think on 6.

[Hunter]

Am I supposed to be reading about Roman Opalka?

[Bang!Zoom!]

Anything in that blog should speak to you.

 

His voice/tone, subject matter and discourse are exactly what you are traveling though.

 

Looks like I missed his last few entries, but I have read every single one other than that.

 

Poke around, you'll find something there that's useful.

 

He does take a minute or two to "warm up" on, his command of language is pretty powerful.

[SorrelZG]

I think I need to write scripts in my head, ala WRTR handwriting lessons, and confidently pour the concrete without a cast. If I just resist the pressure to immediately mark up the paper and LOOK longer and write those scripts in my head about where things are in proportion and location, maybe I can learn to just draw confidently in pen.

 

Hunter, I want to know how this idea progresses for you. Obviously you and your critics have different goals for those classes. Be fearless. :)

[Hunter]

The blog is good! :-)

 

I printed out the primary level of The American Drawing Book last night and reread the part of "Drawing with Children" on how to deal with "mistakes". I'm all gung ho to start drawing in pen.

 

During my trauma recovery, I have learned the impact of very tiny changes in my behavior and body language, on those that interact with me. Trauma victims give off vibes of being an empty vacuum waiting to be filled, and of being easily overpowered. People push at them in ways they would NEVER consider pushing other people.

 

When I sit making tentative marks on paper and am frequently erasing those marks, while sitting with my shoulders pushed forward and my head bowed, people barrel into my space. The more they push, the more I give off submissive vibes, the more they push.

 

Art teachers have taken my paper and written on it many times, because we are both thinking the pencil is erasable. As soon as they walk away, I just erase everything they have done, but still, that isn't the way I want things to happen.

 

To draw with a pen is an assertive act. Few teachers or other students would mark a student's paper that was being drawn on with pen. It looks untouchable. The pen makes the artist look confident.

 

I've learned to hold my own with all the charities blocking my path on the sidewalks wanting my money. It is time now that I throw my shoulders back and change my body language and presentation while drawing. Becoming comfortable with a pen is going to be an essential skill to learn I think. As important as learning to use "the hand" and "the look" with the charities.

[SorrelZG]

Hunter, love it!

 

Going to be thinking on these things, making my own plan.

 

I've got so got some thoughts to share from some reading I was doing last night. Hope to get time later to come back and do that.

[Hunter]

The American Drawing-book is just blowing me away! I had this e-book years ago. Did I read all of it? I don't know :-0

 

The first line drawing exercises look easy enough to skip, but now that I know more about pen and ink drawing, and have done the WRTR handwriting, I now understand exactly what the lessons are designed to help the student master.

 

This is more of what I think of as generational homeschooling. Children who grew up doing these 1st line drawing exercises, wouldn't need curriculum to teach them to their own children. And they might not comprehend that others are not also doing them, or the results of having skipped them.

[stripe]

So what do you do when you manage to dig out, but you're still seen as "the other" and not intellectually worthy? You're not part of the club and therefore are at a disadvantage in professional networking?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=black-white-science-funding

 

(Btw Hunter, you might be interested in the discussion of slave conditions in the Florida tomato farming industry in the book Tomatoland. I was listening to an interview with the author on NPR's Science Friday yesterday.)