[Classical Conversations--conservative bias?]

Sigh. No, actually, I was happy with the answer Laura gave, thanked her, and thought that should be the end of the discussion. It was simple. Others made it more complicated by giving their own interpretations of what is or is not "conservative", arguing that all the facts were true (they are--just not related in the way that *it appears to me* that the card implies), etc. I tried to explain what, to me, made it a "conservative" card.

 

It was a simple question, folks, with no ulterior message intended. I know I can choose what I like. I was asking a question that I thought would help me understand whether I would like this. I'm sorry I allowed some people to drag me into a messy discussion.

 

Carry on, debate away, malign me as you will...I'm done.

[Classical Conversations--conservative bias?]

I'm sorry, I know I said I wouldn't post anymore, but I have to say I do understand the intended relationship among the three facts. However, I don't think cutting school lunches (part of the "big government" Reagan opposed) brought about the end of the Cold War...neither did all the privatizing of public programs that Thatcher undertook. What a conservative might call "big government," a liberal might call "important social programs."

 

While the three facts might all be related to the leaders' extreme capitalist views, and the fact that they held similar beliefs made them work well together, only one of these three offshoots of their philosophy related to the Cold War itself.

 

I know, I know, it's a prompt...but it's too complicated and subtle and issue to be used as one, imho.

[Classical Conversations--conservative bias?]

Hey, folks, I didn't want this to turn into a political debate and won't post further.

 

I would not have had a problem with the question card if it had asked about the impact of the two leaders.

 

Thanks for your thoughts,

 

Amanda

[Classical Conversations--conservative bias?]

We are Christians, just not conservatives when it comes to politics.

 

Laura, thanks for letting me know that the card I saw is not entirely typical; as I said, it's hard to be neutral about history (especially recent history), so I generally expect a bias one way or the other, but that card just seemed over-the-top.

[Classical Conversations--conservative bias?]

Hi,

 

I just read an old thread about Classical Conversations for a non-Christian family. My question is slightly different. A local group is starting near me, and I was pretty enthusiastic until I saw some of the sample flashcards in the CC store.

 

In response to the prompt, "Tell me about the end of the Cold War," one card says, "In the 1980s, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. President Ronald Reagan worked together to end the Cold War, lessen big government, and strengthen the conservative movement."

 

This is skewed in a way that is diametrically opposed to our family's political leanings (and my memory of the time--I spent years in the UK during Thatcher's time in office). While I appreciate that it is extremely difficult to present history--especially in bite-sized pieces--in any kind of objective way, is there a lot of that sort of "Go, heroes of the conservative movement" cheerleading?

 

Thanks!

 

Amanda

[Anyone have experience with the "Alert" program?]

We've been using this program and its terminology so long in our family (about 9 years) that I sometimes forget where it came from!

[New to this with an Aspie...]

Hi,

 

My 12-yo Aspie is currently enrolled in a public cyber charter--not sure if you were going to go that route or pay for K12 yourself.

 

We like the curriculum, and love the therapies the school pays for (lots of speech and OT). However, while we are able to bypass the negatives of the brick-and-mortar school experience, I feel we miss out on some of the positives of homeschooling, especially for an Aspie--we can't follow my son's interests nearly as much as we used to when we were homeschooling.

 

Also, because it takes my son so long to get through his work (partly just because it is assigned, and not his choice), we don't have time for him to have real life social interactions, which makes his social skills training kind of pointless! :rolleyes:

 

I am 90% sure we will be returning to homeschooling next year, although the thought of losing his wonderful ST has me chewing my nails!

 

HTH

Amanda