You'll surprised me. I thought it would be overwhelmingly anti-federalist... :001_huh:

If you lived back in the day, would you be a Federalist or an Anti-Federalist?

Found something of interest: Milton Gaither reviews John Taylor Gatto, "Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling" (New Society Publishers, 2009): http://gaither.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/gatto-on-the-evils-of-public-education/

Honestly... it's easy to die for things. I'd die for my wife and kids. That's not even a decision to me. I shouldn't be glorified for it. Could a parent sacrifice their children, like Abraham was going to do to Isaac, to God? No, I couldn't. Am I less for this? Should this be a measure of a parent's faith? What should be thought of parents that would do this?

If you attend a conference, are you allowed to tape/record them? I do this for my uni classes and it works well for me.

His earlier works do seem to highlight the problems of public education. His book, A Different Kind of Teacher, does provide examples of what he considers a true educational environment. They appear to be very doable in a homeschool environment.

Maria Montessori also had similar views. Her approach was to develop a different educational philosophy and hence alternative schools. But that's what it was designed to do. The history behind American schools is well documented.

Wasn't (the insane) Lancelot fighting a huge wild boar with a club, when King Arthur came upon him? Lancelot ran away into the forest. But, later he almost died from his wounds. He had to be healed with the Holy Grail. If Lancelot couldn't handle one of these creatures, then I'd think most would have trouble... :D

Sometimes, if there are many email transfer issues (bounce backs), yahoo groups will stop sending emails and you have to go back into the configuration for each group and set it back up. This happens about twice a year for me.

Many (if not most) American parents are disillusioned with the US public school system. They see the system not meeting our country's nor our children's needs and are usually rather vocal about the situation. Is this just an American phenomena? I've met many families from other countries, and they sometimes complain about the US public school system too, but they stop short of complaining about the system in their home countries. Are parents outside the US generally happy with their country's public school system? Or, are the school systems not up for criticism like in the US? Thanks!

Even if they AP or CLEP out of the intro courses, most colleges require that they be replaced with a course in the same area. So, if you CLEP out of Calculus, you have to take for, example, Calculus II. Even if math isn't your major - you're required to take a math course, etc. That way they get at least tuition for the ~120 credits for a degree. There is no real reduction in cost, time, effort, imo.

She is considered an American Realist. Her work appears to be considered feminist these days. Not that it bothers me - I love it either way. But, I wonder if Jewett wrote it intending it to be feminist. What do ya'll think?

My ds8 uses SM but, recently, he will not do the worksheets. He wants me to write out the same or very similar problems on a separate sheet of graph paper. He has no problem doing the work then. He can't explain why. The worksheets appear to be evil. Anyone else experience this?

Over the years, I've read many of John Taylor Gatto's writings. I'm currently finishing A Different Kind of Teacher. His ideas are worthwhile and I believe very doable for a homeschooling family. However, I can not find any constructive criticism of his work to consider. Can someone provide or point me towards any? Thanks

I try to have an open mind when my son talks about careers. I'd like to encourage him in whatever he chooses, but... When he mentions going into politics - I cringe. Am I the only one? Are there any occupations for your children that make you do the same?

That is a wonderful story. Everytime I read it, I hope Maine is still like that.

You might also want to visit Drexel at night. Phily is generally known for its high crime level, but at night the safety in the area is unacceptable. One day I'd love to send my kids there. My father, grandfather, two uncles, two aunts, and numerous other relatives graduated from there. But, with the safety issues we've seen lately, there will be no more family members graduating from Drexel.

Not necessarily, I've met many with BAs in Math from European universities. However, that meant they had only a total of four math courses at uni. Not much, if any, more than a graduate in another field. Each nation defines its requirements for educational standards. Degrees are not the same across the world.

This is not true. Microsoft is not recruiting overseas because they can't find qualified people in the US. I work in the field with many people from Microsoft and other multinationals. They are recruiting overseas because it's less expensive. The best programmers in India and China are paid $11/hr tops. So, we (as a nation) will become more competative when our workers are willing to accept less money.

As an adult, the scariest movie has been Training Day with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Being green and setup from the start by your superior seems overwhelming. As a teenager, Aliens was the worst, but not because of the monsters. Watching a whole team of the best marines fall apart was pretty disturbing. I'd say the same for Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks. The stress of lacking control does it for me.

I knew people in college who did this for money. They said you'd get a plastic taste in your mouth when the red blood cells were being returned to you. The idea was that the cells picked up some 'extras' in the filtering process.

Why not have both vigilance and a firearm? That's what the police officer taught in my conceal carry handgun safety class. You mention that a criminal with a gun has already decided to use it. If that is the case, I'd be more inclined to carry a handgun. A criminal, with a gun, breaking into a house is not there to rob. They are there to kill. Otherwise, why do they have a gun?

I've never heard of this before. I thought it was just an American thing. What is the cause of not speaking other languages well for southern European countries? And, why are most Britons monoglots?

Wonderful description...

We let our son listen to audio books that are above his reading level. Is there a rule of thumb for how many levels above his reading ability is best or the upper limit? Currently, he is a 2nd grader reading on a 5th grade level. He has listened to books up to 7th/8th grade level without problems.