[Gender-free...and homeschooling]

How would these parents react if their oldest son truly wanted to be gun toting, ball throwing, power tool wielding, animal hunting, toy truck crashing, knife throwing, tree climbing, motorcycle racing, 'gator wrestling, stereotypical boy? If Storm is a girl and chooses to be an uber girly princess type girl by her own free will would we still hear them saying, "Let them be who they are. Let them choose."? If they would, then they get credit for consistency, but why do I have my doubts?

 

In general, I have to say the very concept of intentionally experimenting on people without the legal or cognitive ability to consent has serious ethical problems. This is not just a parental rights issue that we all have the right to raise our children as we see fit within the bounds of the law because these are people who seem to understand that what they are doing is an experiment.

 

It's interesting that the psychology community is so accepting of the idea of choosing gender (which is usually physically and genetically identifiable-the exceptions being hermaphrodites and chimeras) but they are very alarmed about the psychological impact of children of one race adopted by families of another race identifying themselves with the adoptive family's race. Seems to me those would be in roughly the same category.

 

 

I had the same thoughts.

[Freak Talents & Impressing the Kids]

I can make my eyes do this weird little shaking thing. I don't even really know how to describe it, but the kids think it's awesome.

[Do you ever want to just do...]

Yep, I'm like that today. Yesterday, too. I think it's the rain. I have to get up and do *something* though. Maybe during quiet time...

[Christian book recommendation for a just-turned-12yog trying to grow up too fast?]

Beautiful Girlhood is a great book. There's a study guide that goes with it, but I think for my DD, I'm just going to get her a really pretty journal and let her do her studying in that.

 

I'm agreeing with getting rid of the FB account.

[s/o Harold Camping: persecution]

Actually, the quotes were,

 

"No sane person jumps on that band wagon, but then again the second coming and organized religion is a contrived idea to control people...but that's just me."

 

and

 

"Opiate of the masses, indeed..."

 

Was there a more sensitive way to say to get your point across? Absolutely. Calling people's sanity into play who believe in the Second Coming, or any other fundamental belief of their faith, is offensive. It's just as offensive as calling someone's sanity into play who is homosexual, or transgender, or Pagan, or Buddhist, or atheist, or anything else. The fact that this particular statement was made about Christianity doesn't mean it's any less offensive.

 

Neither I, nor anyone else, was reading into motives. They're pretty plainly stated.

[I Wrote A Letter...Sex Ed A Must]

Very nicely said, Imp!

[s/o Harold Camping: persecution]

Therefore, I can only assume that suggesting people phrase their comments in a more sensitive way is really a suggestion that they just refrain from saying those things all together.

 

Or, it could be that it was just a very insensitive thing to say, and the same idea could've been gotten across with more sensitivity. I don't think that everyone should refrain from giving their opinions. I do think that it should be done in a respectful manner.

[s/o Harold Camping: persecution]

In my experiences, people make jabs about your religious faith and expect you not to defend it. If you do, you are seen as a religious fanatic. It's completely absurd.

 

:iagree: I am not one easily offended, as has been implied. But when that button is pushed, I have a right, just as anyone else, to defend my position, without my words being twisted and turned. And so does everyone else on this board. I don't go around making jabs and smart alack remarks about the many other faiths on here, and I expect the same respect in return. It's really not all that difficult, and the splitting hairs has gotten tiresome.

[A plea: Please do not take your kids for granted]

:grouphug::grouphug:

[Any secular users of TOG?]

I use TOG and love it, but I'm not thinking it can really be made secular, either. For example, most of our readings this week are strictly Scriptural. We've had a few weeks like that.

[3rd grade expectations]

My going-into-third grader is usually done with school by lunchtime. For him, that's Math (Math U See and Saxon), handwriting, grammar, writing, science, TOG, Latin, and Greek. He works pretty much independently. He watches the Math U See DVD first thing with his sister and I, and after they're both done with math, I take them through their Grammar lesson, then their Writing (provided the littles aren't tearing up the place. Sometimes, writing waits until after they're in bed). Everything else he does alone, unless we're working on a science or history project. That gets done during quiet time, too. At the absolute latest, if we have projects we're doing and the littles have been REALLY trying, he might get done between 2 and 3 pm. But, most days, with just book work, he's done around 11:30-noon.

 

ETA: He spends somewhere around an hour to an hour and a half on math, 20 minutes or so on grammar, and writing is between 30 and 45 minutes right now, but we're just starting that with Classical Composition. Once we get into our "groove," I'm not sure how long that will take. ;)

[Additional Curriculum/Supplement for Pre/Kinder?]

We've been using the Rod and Staff 3/4 year old books, and we'll go into their PreK series (the ABC books) next. It's pretty much busy work at this point for mine, but it keeps him quiet while the big kids do school. Mostly. Sometimes. :glare: It is teaching him how to color nicely, though, which is something my big kids never mastered.

[Gender-free...and homeschooling]

This is totally not about long hair on boys. It's about parents who seem to have forgotten that the baby is a child, not a social experiment.

 

:iagree:

[Our first fawns of the year were born!!]

Aww, sweet!!!

[More Storms]

We were directly in the storm's path. We had warnings, the sirens went off, but it was just a bad storm, thankfully. We don't have a basement, but our entire first floor is made of cinderblock, even the interior walls, so we let the kids just stay up late and watch Hardy Boys. Luckily, nothing ever developed.

 

The tornado in Stafford, KS, though, touched down JUST as it passed over a friend's house. She was in the basement, but she said the house was shaking badly. That one killed 2 that I know of.

 

I'm about over these tornadoes. :glare:

[OK, here is our new school room ***LOVE***]

Love it!! And am totally jealous!!

[S/O Funeral Procession...Stranded motorists]

I always do if I'm able. If not, I slow WAY down

[More Storms]

Our second big cell of the day just passed over. A friend posted on FB that she'd just lost power, and the house was absolutely shaking, so they were headed to the basement. She lives about an hour and a half south of us, in the direction this cell came from, so I'm hoping we're not in for another tonight. I've a feeling it's going to be a long night. :(

[Want to see the three most beautiful girls in the world?]

Gorgeous young ladies!!

[Just euthanized one of our dogs]

:grouphug::grouphug: I'm so sorry. Losing a pet is so hard. I still miss the dog we put down 3 years ago. :grouphug::grouphug:

[Funeral car procession question...]

I definitely think it's a regional thing. In Indiana, that's what I learned, too. My husband's from NY. He doesn't do it. I get on him all of the time about it.

[Need urgent prayers please]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

I'm so sorry. :( Praying here!

[Classical Academic Press opinions?]

We've only used their SSL, SSG, and Greek Alphabet Code Cracker so far, but I'm probably going to use their Logic eventually, and I really like the looks of the Art of Poetry.

[Are homeshoolers better?]

Are homeschoolers innately better people and parents? No. I've met some really... off... homeschoolers, and I'm sure there are people who think that about me. We're human, after all.

 

But, if I didn't think homeschooling was absolutely, without a doubt the best educational option available, frankly, I wouldn't do it. It's a heck of a lot of work, and it's a thankless job. But, yes, I believe homeschooling does provide a superior education (or at least has the potential to).

[s/o Harold Camping: persecution]

Gay students, though, are also targeted, over and over, in many school districts. I think it would be difficult to argue that Christian students face more bullying and harassment, with the complicity of teachers and administrators, than gay students.

 

I don't think that was the point. The point was that there is bullying, harassment, and discrimination against Christians, and saying there isn't or that it's not as bad as whatever-other-group doesn't make it any less wrong. Discrimination, bullying, and harassment are wrong, period, no matter what group it is aimed towards.