Don't forget about the Workbook that now goes with Weston... http://www.amazon.com/Workbook-Arguments-Complete-Critical-Thinking/dp/1603845496/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZBFZDQ89W7KVGVRPXH8&dpID=61JEX%2BFMonL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR124%2C160_

I tried out a number of the suggestions on the board. Melatonin seems to have made the biggest difference...

Using X to represent Christ has a long tradition among people of faith. In fact, C. S. Lewis used to use this shorthand frequently. "X" stands for the Greek letter "chi." Interpreting one particular member's use of it as derogatory is inference. Stop arguing about the X and talk about things that really matter. Thank you. SWB

We actually do have really good anti-spam software, but there's not much we can do to block real people who sit up all night somewhere in Kazakhstan and post over and over again. Don't ask me why they do it. I can't imagine that anyone ever clicks. If you report one post by a spammer, we can ban and block the spammer, which removes all of their posts at the same time. Don't report every post. Only thing more depressing than seeing 180 spam posts first thing in the morning is seeing 180 individual posts reported. :0 SWB

If you can talk about the issue rather than each other, this thread can stay up; otherwise it's going away. SWB

Well, that went downhill. Imagine my surprise. Scarlett and Mergath: You have both stepped well over the bounds of reasonable discussion. And both of you have been members of this forum long enough to know better. Please take any further insults to PM. SWB

Stay on topic, don't attack each other, and the thread stays open.

We were also a little surprised by the fact that the recorded sessions didn't include the video of the speaker (particularly since the conferencing software was far from cheap). Recorded audio and video is definitely on our "must" list for next summer.

Dear boardies, We're planning out our second online conference, and I need your help. Topics? (I've already had a request for teaching drama and/or Shakespeare.) Speakers? And please, I'd love to see some suggestions "off the beaten path." Our "parent speakers" this summer did an amazing job sharing their expertise. If you feel like you can give even one workshop, please PM me! And nominate each other too. OK, I'll be watching! SWB

Deleted for privacy reasons.

Carol and Mergath, Take it to PM, please.

OK, thunderstorm intervened, so you all got 2.20 hours extra. Now take it to PM. SWB

It's 2:34 on the East Coast. This thread is closing at 3 PM. Fair warning. SWB

Is there value in leaving this thread open? Seems to be cycling back around in a circle now. SWB

Farrar--I do think it's a good program, and we'll be recommending it in the new TWTM. In support of my evaluation, though, I would like to point out that what you--an experienced math teacher--find to be "enough support" might not seem like enough at all to someone who is uncertain with math. The OP did mention that she thought her own math education was lacking, so she's in a very different position than someone who feels confident enough with math to teach it in a classroom setting. SWB

You won't miss anything, but it sounded to me like maybe he could use a little extra maturity before starting WWS, so I wanted to suggest something that would help him practice his narration skills (that's what CAP Fables would do) while he works on his typing and grows up just a little bit more. You can start WWS, but if he struggles PLEASE stop and wait another year and do something that will give him plenty of practice simply putting sentences down on paper. WWS is all about organization, and that "sentences on paper" skill has to be pretty firm before you start it. SWB

Dancingmama and Tranquilmind, Move on. If you must, take it to PM. SWB

If the original topic still bears discussing, discuss it. If not, the thread has served its purpose and should close. SWB

1) Typing! Typing! 2) Kilgallon sentence composition for middle school, followed by CAP Fables. 3) Try Writing With Skill in seventh grade.

I really would like to hear what Kate and the other folks say. FWIW, I just did a pretty extensive review of MM for the new edition of TWTM, and while I think the program is awesome at teaching mathematical thinking, I also think it's a problematic choice for a parent who's not comfortable with math. It is absolutely not "self-teaching" like the website says, and there's very little teacher support. SWB

That's right, folks, we're a top pick for Post-Apocalyptic Survival. http://bookriot.com/2015/09/08/post-apocalyptic-survival-month-read-want-live/ SWB (This is making our day over at the PHP office...)

I think I agree with the posters who are pointing out that personal failings unconnected to the area of expertise are in a different category. So if, for example, you all found out that my academic degrees are fake (THEY'RE NOT) and that I wasn't actually home schooled (I WAS), I'd think you would be justified in tossing out most of my home schooling advice. But I'm not a Family Togetherness spokesperson, so if my husband and I split up (WE'RE NOT), I personally think you should keep my materials. Which goes towards the Doug Wilson question. The little book on classical education I cite is a good and helpful one and has nothing to do with his theological weirdnesses. But this is a personal issue for me, because I am a Christian and Doug Wilson is a Christian, and I am particularly sensitive towards anything implying that he and I are on the same wavelength in our interpretation of our faith. To be perfectly honest, if he were of another, or no, faith, I'm not sure I'd have the same "I need to distance myself" recommendation. (But I do, and I'm distancing myself. Just trying to sort out my strong emotional need to do so.) I actually reject Bill's assertion (I think it was in the other thread) that quoting someone in TWTM is an endorsement. Good heavens, if that were the case I'd be endorsing scores of people of whom I know very little and certainly wouldn't stand side-by-side with. And although I don't think I have the energy to battle Bill on the A Beka issue, I'd like to point out that recommending a book from any publisher most certainly does not imply support of that publisher's goals and other materials. Although I'm not consistent in that, I think. When I wrote TWEM, I remember hunting all over the place to find an edition of Mein Kampf (recommended for its historical value) that wasn't published by a white supremacy organization, since I didn't want folks to be channeling their money into neo-Nazi coffers. I'm in the throes of picking whom to recommend at the moment, so this issue's very much on my mind. SWB

Ooh, Quill did an awesome first post! Take the discussion here... http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/562990-so-the-epic-fail-when-someone-you-looked-up-to-is-now-an-embarrassment/ and then this thread can stay on its own (disturbing) topic.

Any interest in a spin-off thread? I think most of us who've been homeschooling for more than a few years found initial help and inspiration from people that we'd now prefer to distance ourselves from--but I also think that's a common human experience, whether you're homeschooling or not. Makes me think of a few other questions. Is there anything we can still learn from our former mentors? Under what conditions is it necessary to entirely sever ourselves from any advice offered by them? (I might, for example, quibble with Bill's equating of A Beka grammar books with the entire Doug Wilson complex, but I don't want to derail this thread too much more than I already have.) How embarrassed should we be, fifteen years after the fact? And so forth. Just a few thoughts. SWB

Interesting this has come up, because I'm working on the fourth edition of TWTM now, and part of the (fairly major) revision has been removing the six (or so) Doug Wilson citations. Those citations are holdovers from the very first edition, when Doug Wilson was almost the only person who had written about classical education. They are quotes from his reprint of Dorothy Sayers' 1920s speech about the patterns of classical education, and from a couple of his early works on classical education in which he very clearly describes the place of language studies and how it changes from grammar to logic to education. Also a quote about how to develop a love of books, and one about how classical education isn't something that can be delivered in a box. (And the Latin pronunciation one.) Back when we first wrote the book, it would have been unthinkable not to cite him, since he was the classical education guy, and his writings on classical education were actually very helpful. I think the first edition also recommended some of the Logos School curricula--as I remember, it was the only Latin for young children out there. We were able to replace those with Memoria Press editions in the second edition. Although Doug Wilson was always patriarchal, he wasn't nearly as outrageous as he then became. He had, I think, already published his book about slavery, but I wasn't aware of that book's existence until just a couple of years ago. I wish I had been more alert to the weirdness developing out there much earlier on. I wish I'd removed those citations before now. All I can do is remove them now. SWB