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Hope44

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Posts posted by Hope44

  1. I'm probably going to get chastised for saying this, but it is uber popular in both extremes of homeschoolers (far right and far left) to hop on the essential oil/non-vax/homebirth/non-circ/cloth diapering/breastmilk for lots of other things than just nutrition for the baby bandwagon.  Of these, I think the cloth diapering and breastmilk as the new wonder food may be the least problematic.  Cloth diapering is not marketed as a substitute for proven effective vaccinations against dangerous communicable diseases.  Other than being nauseated at the thought that the overly zealous woman who put breast milk in her food and served it to guests (yes, she did that), it isn't going to hurt anyone (unless she served it fresh and she herself were ill).  

     

    I don't know how many outbreaks or sad outcomes for babies and children on the other parts of the bandwagon for the supporters to wake up and at least acknowledge it is a fad they're following and not medical science (remember oat bran from 1990's anyone?), but I hope it is soon.  All this from a pro-nutrition, vitamin loving, breast fed supporter, cloth diapering when I could momma.  

  2. I'm asking because I've had a friend who is considering doing this looking at all of the options.  I'm pretty sure the cons about what types of parents and students would be attracted to this she has already considered.  The pdf link above I'm going to send to her.  Looks like there may be lots of hoops.  Too bad she doesn't live in Texas!  She doesn't frequent message boards, but I thought someone out there surely must know something!  

  3. Two of the teachers are not taking a salary, but the third (who is an assistant will be paid an hourly wage). It will be a nonprofit.  The state is Virginia and as far as I can tell, there are no laws against this, but I'm not certain of that either.  It sounds like a good idea and the home is actually large and on a few acres and pretty private.  If it works, it's a pretty good setup.  

     

    Just haven't seen anyone do this at all in our area before.  

  4. Ahh....ok.  It's interesting.  It seems as if it is only going to be in e-form and only available to purchasers of the corresponding class? I wonder why he decided to publish his own e-books instead of staying with Dr. Wile's tried and true Apologia editions - 1st and 2nd?  Oh well....for those who want to stick with Dr. Wile's original books, it looks like in the future, RWT will not be using his books.  

  5. Not isolated classes, but willostar3d uses mostly real books and articles for their classes.  Also, history and English classes are integrated.  It really encourages the students to be creative.  You might want to check them out, but just so you know, you have to enroll for the whole school.  Still, after you pay for individual classes, you may realize that paying for all classes combined is cheaper than paying for individual ones.  

  6. We live in VA and didn't choose RE for several reasons.  First, I want the school board to see what we are doing in a controlled manner, when we send in our description of curriculum and yearly test scores.  I want them to see that a functional, normal family that values academics can homeschool successfully.  We also end up sending our dc to college (school) eventually, so I didn't feel comfortable filling out paperwork stating that we didn't believe in sending our dc to school.

    This is us exactly.  Sometimes, my kids even attend community college while in high school.  So, I don't think that I would ever want to do the RE choice.  One piece of frustration are the homeschooling families who waffle back and forth, but claim RE.  One year they're homeschooling, the next year they're in public school for a few months then back to homeschooling, then the next year private school.  I realize every year tends to be different for most people and I have friends who have kids in all kinds of school settings.  I want to just tell them "If you are not ever sure what you are doing for their entire schooling duration, then please don't claim RE!"

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  7. That's true, you only need a high school diploma, but if I remember correctly, there is a little more to submit?  I've known quite a few families in my county who were interviewed, never the children, however.  Until about ten years ago, most people claiming religious exemption were interviewed.  I see it as a little archaic, but if the family changes their mind and wants to put their children in the public school system (and yes, I've known families who have done this), then I think interviews are helpful.  

     

     

    • Like 1
  8. I've never claimed religious exemption here.  However, for those who do who live in Goochland county, it appears an attempt was made to call in high schoolers and have their religious feelings explained and explored by a school board.  To me, that is invasive and goes beyond the state home education laws.  

     

    Still, there are some here who claim religious exemption and they don't want to have any oversight whatsoever.  I'm on the fence, truly, about this.  It would seem it allows negligent or worse parents to go under the radar.  However, this happens all of the time no matter what mode of educational choices is employed - public, private, or home education.  

     

    In VA, if you have a college degree, you submit your (parent's) diploma,  yearly standardized testing scores, a list of classes to be covered, and a letter of intent every year.  It is even less if you are a certified teacher. I think in comparison with other states, VA is in the middle as far a strict regulations - certainly not as strict as Pennsylvania or I can't remember which New England state had really stringent regulations, but not as easy breezy as say, Texas.

    • Like 3
  9. I have no experience with RWT, but I've found these kinds of classes actually helpful for the very reason you are frustrated Pemberly. Because of the nature of our homeschooling, my kids have little experience with hard deadlines that carry consequences.  So it can be a hard reality -- but reality nonetheless -- when they take outside classes and begin to have to work under the deadlines.  I want my kids to experience these when it doesn't cost quite as much, though a couple of my dc have learned about deadlines and following a syllabus when it really counted in dual enrollment.  It stinks, but it *can* be a good lesson.  Learning how to work with different teachers (or bosses or coaches) is helpful as our dc transition from school at home to school in university setting. 

     

    Lisa

    I agree.  These types of classes CAN be very helpful.  We've utilized both live feed and on demand classrooms from high schools and colleges.

     

    However, it isn't the accountability to someone other than mom that is the problem with my experience with RWT live classes - it is the customer service - and I DO believe not only is the parent the customer, but the student also.  In my experience, there are other educational companies providing live online classes or on demand classes with a superior product.  

    • Like 3
  10. If these are really high school classes maybe the instructor is annoyed that the parent is contacting him.  I would suggest that the student send emails for material clarification and other questions etc.

     

    (I would say that this guy should understand that the parent is the purchaser of the services provided and should respect that to keep growing the business!)

     Nope...I always have my teens do their own communications with teachers and other adults in supervisory roles.  

     

    His tone was not just rude, but demeaning as well.  I give him no excuses such as "he has so many students," or "it's just a small company," or "he's also a pastor," or "he has several businesses."  If you have too many students that you can't answer a simple question with a courteous tone EVER, then you are in the wrong business.

     

    I'm sorry, but I have other adult kids who have taken scores of online classes at various colleges, and NONE were to this level of unprofessional attitude.  

     

    I am sincerely glad others have not had this experience, but I assure you, there are quite a number of us who have.  I DO think he knows his topic.  I do NOT think he's the best at presenting information and I think his student interaction is as low as it can get.  

    • Like 6
  11. Although I like the way this family presents themselves better than the Duggars, I know that behind it all is an effort to make fundamentalism styled by Gothard more palatable and normalized and therefore, I just can't watch this.  Gil Bates is on the board of Gothard's IBLP and per the over 35 women who have come forward with the abuse of Gothard (who is still running the show over at IBLP), I just can't give a pass to this show knowing this.  

     

    I feel sorry for Erin.  Three miscarriages in a year is alot.  I feel so badly that all thatt is valued is being pregnant in this movement.  It is highly likely she is not going to use birth control and give herself a much needed break from conceiving.  Birth control is not an option in this group.  

     

     

  12. Update and response to the above:

    My husband sees great value in learning how to write a "proper" lab report for college.  He was never taught how to do that in high school and had to spend a fair amount of time learning it in college.  He felt that if Mr. R. could prepare our son for just that very thing through RWT, then it was worth the money.

     

    *I* am the enforcer of this program at home and there is a LOT of hand-holding for my son since this is his first exposure to strict guidelines with an online class. 

     

    I agree with EVERY. SINGLE. THING. you said above. 

     

    I have emailed a few questions to Mr. R. and to be honest, *I* am totally afraid of the response I will get!

     

    Mainly it's "If you will read the instructions you will have your answer."

    or, "If you paid attention in class you would have your answer." <---so, a few times we have had to go back through hours of lectures to find the 3 seconds it took him to answer the question.  I appreciate the accountability he puts on his students, but c'mon...at some point it might be easier (for his paying students) to simply answer the question!

     

    His lectures are not incredibly enlightening and I have found that sometimes videos found on the internet can be more informational and effective in explaining a concept.  

     

    I think that we have benefited from the deadlines he gives (chemistry is the only class we are on track with this year in school) and from the formal lab reports, but I'm not positive that we will use his class in the future...

     

    Here is one example of his most recent behavior ...

    Some parents reported that while their student was taking the online test, the server crashed, or something happened and their student was unable to finish the exam by the deadline.  

    He wrote a mass email to all of us and said "It's not my fault that happened (technology at its finest).  If you would have taken the test earlier in the day, you would have had time to fix the problem. Too bad for your student."

     

    and then... last week...our LIVE lecture was disconnected...

     

    He emailed saying that his system was down and that students needed to watch last year's lecture.  Funny how technology glitches are not his fault but he wanted understanding from his paying members for the error on his end.  I don't know that he apologized for his glitch, but it would have been nice if he had.

     

    Just that one example made me think...humility in all areas of life go a long way.

    :)

    I'm so sorry that you had this happen as well!  Apparently, this mentality is not new for Mr. Rosenoff.  I find it fascinating that there are some reviewers who consider his lectures interesting.  I can tell you there are other live online classes or even on demand classes that we consider far more engaging.  You will never find out the details of what it is your son is not fulfilling on these reports and what boggles my mind most is that there is almost never any time left at the end of the class for questions from the students. 

     

    My son is with one of the best online schools in the country now and he is grade point average is above a 4.0.  He has no problem understanding content. Stuff just comes easy to this kid in the academic sense.  He was doing labs with a college professor (Chemistry) and the professor thought his lab report was awesome.  

     

    The power of social media and forums is awesome and whenever I get questions from other parents about high school science, I tell them to avoid RWT.  Oh and yes, about the technical malfunctions.  There is no grace if it happens to you, but if he encounters it, of course you are expected to just find a way to participate anyway.  F

     

    For the life of me, I can't understand why Dr. Wile ever recommends RWT.  The only thing I can think of is that RWT uses Dr. Wile's material from before the sale of Apologia.  

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  13. I think it should be noted that ATI, Gothard etc is a cult, a creepy scary one, and yes, one the duggars belong to. This is why I don't support the Duggars, nothing to do with their number of kids, everything to do with their involvement with ATI.

     

    While all ATI adherents are quiverful to my knowledge, NOT all quiverful families follow ATI. This is an important distinction. You'll find many of the stories of abusive QF homes involved Bill Gothards beliefs, another case of blame being misdirected by people who don't want to acknowledge their choice and personal belief in Gothards teaching being their downfall, or that others held similar beliefs without ATI's added crap and made it work.

     I guess I just don't know ANY Quiverfullers who also did not delve into ATI/Gothard or some other patriarchy leader espousing Bible verses out of context about family size, women's roles in the family, man's headship in the family, etc.  But at the same time, I DO know large families that aren't Quiverfull.

     

    I may be wrong, but I believe Quiverfull movement has these things in common: 1) Not just no contraception, but an actual driven directive to TRY to have as many children possible (this is different than just being against birth control); 2) A fervent desire for alternative medicine in almost EVERY circumstance (not just as holistic, preventive medicine) 3) A shunning of real, higher education and an embracing or mostly rural, physical labor jobs 4) Children are seen as an embellishment of the parent, and not as individual human beings (especially females) 5) As time goes by, extreme tighter and tighter concentric social circles (distrust of other churches - even those in the same denomination; no socializing with any neighbors; no community involvement)

     

    Again, I know large families who are NOT Quiverfull, but do not use birth control.  There is a difference.  I also know large families that DID use birth control, but I digress...

  14. I just want to reply back about the title "Escape from Duggarville."  I'm an evangelical Believer who has had their entire world ROCKED by Duggarville, ATI, and all things Gothard.  How?  We never bought one item from ATI; eschewed the whole worship of Bill; encourage and insist upon highest educational callings possibles; encourage community involvement from our children in multiple facets; did not associate nor had any opportunities to associate with Quiverfullers.  

     

    In my opinion, it is a cultish group.  I, unfortunately, have been forced to learn and glean information about this subculture due to one of my close relatives recent brainwashing into the cult.  

     

    No, I've found they MAY not all dress in long dresses or denim skirts with ked tennis shoes, but most do.  Almost ALL do have VERY little to no regard to the professional medical field and stay as far away from it as possible...even if their children are showing signs of illness or injuries that requires a physician.  Almost ALL completely and fervently insist upon midwife birthing (opting for home birth as the best possible choice, a midwife clinic if they have to, and hospitals and doctors are to be feared).  There are a few who now even are going further pushing for "unattended births."  

     

    People look at the Duggars and think "Well, at least they aren't on government assistance." or "People should decide how many kids they want and that is their own business.  They just want to see how many the Lord will give them."  or now that some of the older ones are married and getting married "At least Jill's husband has a degree and seems like a normal guy.  He didn't grow up Gothard."

     

    That's true.  Derrick didn't.  He DID, however, become a close prayer partner of JimBob's and then requested to "court" Jill.  I believe he began attending their home church services?  Now, they are expecting their first child fulfilling the no birth control status that has been set by Bill Gothard.  This family IS completely Gothardites.  They hide it.  They deceive.  Their income depends on those deceptions and they do it to make themselves and their direction from Gothard seem far more palatable and normal.

     

    You don't have to read too much about the doctrine of Gothard to understand that outward successes indicate you are right and everyone else is wrong.  So, since it seems to all of us on the outside watching the Duggars their family is intact, and the show continues to be successful, both Gothard, the Duggars, and all of the other Gothardites become more entrenched in that they indeed have discovered the umbrella protection of Bill is the highway to earthly and spiritual success.

     

    That is why this group is so insidious.  It is now presented as a normal and fairy tale life to those of us who absolutely eschew the legalistic philosophy and now some of grown children look at these grown Duggars who have no education and think that it will just work for them that way too and having as many children as possible is just the sweetest and neatest thing. 

  15. Has anyone else noticed that it seems like a fad to give "introvert" as a reason for failure when dealing with new situations, lack of achievements that are group- based, etc...Like an extrovert can't really respond with, "I'm sorry I gabbed on far too long and monopolized the group's time, but I'm an extrovert," or "I'm sorry my obnoxious behavior made the meeting go awry and off schedule, but you see I'm an extrovert."  However, I've read or heard responses to situations where the person or their child behaved rudely (not responding when greeted, or sharp quick responses meant to insult) or when they've failed to execute something they signed up to lead or participate in and can respond with "You see, I'm an introvert."  I've been given that response several times and instead of it making me think "well, we can all have excuses, but that doesn't cut it,"  I think "wow, ok, that is difficult" and give the excuse a pass.  

     

    I guess what I'm saying is I DO think it is trendy to be labeled introvert. Possibly it used to be trendy to be labeled "extrovert."  

  16. Well it's an interesting subject and I'm open to learning more.  It almost sounds like both may be fear based in their extremes.  Extroverts = fear of being alone or Introverts = fear of being with people or situations that challenge them to move outside their comfort zones?  But notice I did say in their extremes...I think human beings are very complicated beings and are a little bit of both.  Maybe one dominates over the other and then there are always learned behaviors from childhood and infancy.  Again, a very interesting subject!

  17. I agree, I also know folks like this. Hope44, I think you just distinguished yourself as an introvert!

     

    It's not necessarily about what social situations you enjoy, it's about how you regather energy. Some need peace and quiet, others need the vitality of being with others.

    Hmm...it's possible, but after I do initiate conversations, I do find it is easy to dive quickly and deeply with people.  I guess even if I am an introvert I totally detest blaming that as an excuse to not participate or give up easily.  I'll have to think more on this.  Really interesting topic.  

  18. I haven't read all of the replies, but I have come to the conclusion that we are ALL introverts and some of us have learned to cope in extroverted ways and others have not or do not desire it.  All of it is ok.  I don't think getting to know people in a room full of strangers is high on anyone's list as a fun thing to do.  I just think some of us have learned how to "work a room" and others of us haven't or don't understand people that have learned those strategies.  Most people would say I'm an extrovert, but I love my private time at home and as far as meeting people and getting plugged in with them, yes, I'm good at it, but I've also learned strategies and certain skills that help me do it. Most of the time the first thing that comes to my mind is "uggh, what a bother."  Then the next thing is "but it's not about me."  

     

    At the end of the day, every single one of us could find things we'd rather do than to sacrifice our time and interests to get to know others and involve them in our lives.  

     

    I hope some of this makes sense, but due to lack of sleep last night, I fear it may not.

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