That's what we would have done except another teacher in that grade told us that the math teacher expected it to be done that particular way. If it wasn't, it would be marked wrong. That may or may not have played some factor in my decision to start homeschooling. After all, if she can do the problem and get it right, I'm not sweating whether she knows four other ways to do it.

My daughter was kind of the same. Which surprised me a bit. I mean, she'd struggle with her homework--homework I couldn't help her with because I had no clue how they were wanting her to solve these math problems and it had to be done their way--and yet she'd still manage an A somehow. At least now, I can see her grasping math.

Once upon a time, it was fairly easy to separate a person from their politics. For most, it was one of those topics you simply didn't talk about in polite company and everyone knew that. Oh, people still talked politics, but you could also agree to disagree and then not see someone's political views outside of a bumper sticker on their car ever again. Then social media rolled around. While it's great for so many things, it's also used by many to express their political views. That's certainly their right, of course, but there's a dark side to that. It makes it harder for people to ignore those differences anymore. It pushes them to the front and center. My best friend and I don't share the same politics. We used to, but I grew a different direction. We don't really talk politics face-to-face because we know we disagree on it and we don't want to jeopardize the friendship over that. However, she still posts this stuff on Facebook which makes it much harder for me to ignore. I've been tempted to unfollow her, but she posts just enough other stuff--stuff we both enjoy and like talking about--that I don't. I'm someone who discusses politics for a living, so getting into political debates on Facebook is the last thing I actually want to do. I'd rather stir up hate and disconent when I'm being paid for it. 😄 But the truth is, though, I do think we'd be better off moving political discussions into private rooms on Facebook meant for the topic. Yeah, even those social commentaries we all probably do from time to time, especially because so many of those do have political overtones. At least for some people. After all, none of us want to lose friends over this stuff. It's especially hard when someone who has known you for so long says they can't see how anyone who thinks like you can be a good person. It would seem to me that the friendship is long over, though, if she can actually say something like that to you.

Can't speak for schools in your neck of the woods, but here, they almost never finish a textbook in public or private schools anyway.

Based on the informal survey I've taken of people in my social sphere, that wasn't really it, though that doesn't help. It also is a case of how there's nothing universal in education. Some people loathe the books, some hate how they're taught. It really depends on where you are and who is teaching as to which is the big problem.

She may not approve, but I think your suggestion would do a whole lot to fix the problem. I mean, I know how many non-readers I've talked to who say they used to love books when they were little, but then they started having to read in school and grew to hate it. That's because of stuff like you just mentioned. But if you let a kid read the books he or she wants to read--and yeah, throw in the occasional book you think they need to read even if it's not something they think is fun--you'll damage their love of reading far less than schools seem to screw them up. That's just my thinking, anyway.

Yeah, I'm not sure how I'll feel about it without Nate as a character, but since Elliot, Parker, and Hardison were my favorites anyway, I'm hopeful.

Good news, Leverage is coming back. https://www.tvinsider.com/931862/leverage-revival-noah-wyle-original-cast-members/ And I've already seen pics of most of the cast hanging out for a bit.

Dentists tend to follow clean and sterile procedures to reduce the chances of infection anyway, particular with oral surgeries. I wouldn't worry about it in the least. I had my oral surgery before all this kicked off here in the U.S., thankfully, and have been delayed in getting follow-ups because of COVID, but I wouldn't blink about going to get the work done.

Jericho would be a definite. Firefly, even more so. There was a TV show called Life where the main character was a cop who'd been wrongfully convicted of his partner's murder. He filed a lawsuit and got out of prison and was reinstated to the force with a multi-million dollar settlement, which he used to try and track down his partner's real killer. It ended after one season, but I'd LOVE to see more of that one. I'd say Leverage, but we're getting more of that one, thankfully. 😄

I was planning on restocking the liquor cabinet about then. Does that work? 😉 Oh, joy. Seriously, I suspect there will be some degree of burnout from time to time. I'm going to play around with X number of weeks on, one week off to try and mitigate that, but we'll see what works and what doesn't. And how well that liquor cabinet stays stocked.

Well, I can't judge. That happens to me all the time, so why wouldn't it happen to her? But way to harsh my mellow! 😛 (Seriously, it's good to be reminded that's a possibility)

Oh I can imagine! I wasn't too far from that at one point last week, but not quite. I suspect those days are coming, though. I mean, a whole week of homeschooling isn't nearly enough time to run the gamut of emotions involved. But this one...this is one that's really hard to ignore. 🙂

It really, really is. I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😄

I've following homeschooling off and on for ages, though not seriously until the last little while. In that time, I've heard plenty of arguments in favor of homeschooling. I've seen people talk about how their kids began outperforming their peers. I've seen talk of how they can complete their educations early and start college sooner. I've heard some talk about eliminating what they perceive as biases in education. All sorts of reasons. Yet today, I experience a reason that makes all of those pale in comparison. On Wednesday and Thursday last week, my daughter was struggling with something in math. Since I don't move on until she really understands something, we held there. Friday was a local homeschool group's meeting and I wanted to check it out, so we didn't really cover much of anything that day. Fast forward to today. We pick up where we left off. This very same concept that was kind of kicking her butt last week suddenly clicked for her and she got it. She blew through the math problems--what I thought was a fairly basic concept that she swears she didn't learn last year, which may be true due to COVID--and aced it. That moment when everything clicked for her was kind of magical, at least for me. My heart swelled with pride and I could even feel tears welling up a bit. It wasn't that she got the concept, but to see her break through something that had been a struggle was just something I wouldn't have gotten to see if she went to public school this year. It was incredible and I'm glad I didn't get to miss it after all. This is the part of homeschooling I didn't hear people talk about, that magical moment when you child grasps a concept because of your teaching, one that they were having trouble with. It's hard not to feel amazing, not just for yourself but for them, watching them push through something that was challenging them until they grasp the subject so well they can ace a worksheet like it was on the easiest subject in the world. Seriously, have you all been hording these good feelings or something all this time??? 😉