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Wind-in-my-hair

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Everything posted by Wind-in-my-hair

  1. I agree with you on this front more than you assume. My own father was injured on the job, out of work, medicated, became mentally ill, owed child support, threatened with jail time, and committed suicide. Luckily or unluckily, I was not part of his life when this occurred, because I had already been given up for adoption to my step dad. I have always believed that he was terrified of going jail and that is what lead to his fatal decision (if it could be called a decision, owing to mental illness). There were a lot of bureaucratic messes involved and a lot of blame thrown around the family. It was an awful end to a young man's life. He was 29. I do not consider myself a man-hating feminist-- quite the contrary. I do not accept scapegoating against feminism, as if it is responsible for every social ill. Feminism is, at its core, a human rights movement for women in response to myths and traditions that perpetuate old forms of woman-hatred and relative deprivation. Hatred of anybody has to be carefully taught: it is not inbred. So it is not a movement against men. No, it has to be broad and high-minded or else it becomes a system of passing blame. I will concede to traditionalists and evolutionists the possibility that maybe we want men and women to relate a certain way because it is so ingrained as to be psychologically important to us as humans. It turns us on, or it helps us feel at peace, to know that we are provided for, or that our spouse is home safe with the children. That is still not a reason to engineer our society along sexist lines, though we should be free to choose mates and participate in life by what answers to our psyche's calling. Examining ourselves is a very good beginning for any society that would consider itself free. My double-edged sword is referring to what I conceived of as two intellectual fronts of classical western thought. I was hoping to receive some thoughtful responses from Christian and non-religious feminists; and I did, plus a book recommendation, which I always value from within these forums.
  2. This is spot-on what I am interested in studying. I will check out the book you mentioned. Thank you.
  3. By "escape through submission" I mean the idea that to submit to male authority, to righteous male authority, may be more freeing than to be autonomous in a world that holds a deep skepticism of women's abilities to contribute. Both men and women of faith find power in submission to God's authority instead of mankind's unjust and often senseless modes of existing. Even an atheist may decide this is for her: an enlightened husband and a civilized local community can make it possible for her to rise relatively higher than she would in the wider culture. Many eco-feminists go this route to rise locally, as a small business owner or self-employed professional, an activist blogger, a naturopathic healer, or a housewife or homeschooler or homesteader (hearth-keeper), and oppose corporate power on general ethical grounds. Misogyny, at its essence, is a hatred of women that goes along with a moral argument against their being comparable to men professionally, spiritually, intellectually, physically. They are too different to be compared, almost less human than men (what is essentially human, is male). Whereas, sexism may come from practical arguments, however flawed, such as, "Well, this is the way it has been done, and it works for so many, why change?" misogyny actually goes on to regard women as so different from men that to be compared to them would be highly offensive to any self-respecting man, and they cite sages of old to prove this is metaphysically true, and latest science to prove this is evolutionary or biologically true. Misogyny is not mere argument from tradition (this is how our parents raised us) or choice (we became parents and decided to do it this way) that prevents women from rising to opportunities beyond motherhood and the sister-clan. Misogyny goes with the belief that it would be morally objectionable to have women alongside men in any serious human endeavor, that they are not possibly able to understand humankind's interests because they are not men. Men are representative of humanity itself; they take the general leadership, while women are merely women, taking specific leadership only in ascribed spheres. Going beyond this bleak sexism, misogyny says that it is because women are facile, too different to value on the same moral plane as men; but if they must be compared, they are in the negative. Misogyny, as a high-minded moral denigration of women, sustains the culture's material expressions of it. It's intellectual tradition is something that we, as classical home educators, should be aware of.
  4. Secular misogyny has classical roots in both the literature and the culture. I mentioned the mythology a little in my first post. In classical, intellectual spheres women were not considered capable of the same level of thought that men were; today we have men of great stature saying the same thing in a different way, decreeing that women are not as scientifically competent or mathematically gifted as men. In fact, the SAT's changed their math section several times so that the balance of men and women receiving high scores would be just right (in favor of men). Aristotle argued that women were a diminutive form of what man was the essential form, and might actually be regarded as physically and spiritually deformed. Ayn Rand, unfortunately, as one of the most heroically intellectual women of recent generations, agreed with this particular aspect of Aristotle in that women were, really, man in the diminutive form; even though her individualism guarded her own exceptionalism and allowed the loophole that some women were superior to the men. As for a doctrine of submission, most of the books marketed to Christian women that receive high marks on Amazon have this type of message: Obey God and be free. It really is the essence of religious submission, and I mentioned that the Jewish men "effeminated" themselves before God in order to show their respect of God's authority. "Israel" was personified as a woman, as God's pure and holy bride. There is freedom in being intimately close to God; through discipline one is purified of all undesirable qualities which may be naturally endowed; hence man and woman may regard themselves as able to reinvent themselves in Christ's image. May women study, discuss, and preach to the same degree that men can in their religious community? As importantly, will their religion turn them away for deeds that it has allowed its men to commit? This will vary among local church communities and sects, no doubt. But the point is, Christian women will say that the church's regard of them is far better than the way mainstream media objectifies and sexes-up the female persona. Better to prostrate oneself before God and the man who loves you; or no man, if one is in a convent; and its a fair argument. There is also the potential in Christianity that a woman may be called by God to do a man's job, and if that should be so, she must be empowered by her community to carry out the mission. So there is at least some heroic potential for the Christian female which, unless someone brings it to my attention, seems to be lacking in secular classicism. I am not really fit to argue this, however. I am really only writing out of a spirit of exploration of the topic. Like I said, I may want to take this to a whole new level of maturation by going to college for women's studies, a big commitment, and I need to rehearse my fitness for that. I do not mean to cause anyone annoyance or stress.
  5. I was just kind of thinking out loud. I am currently reading CS Lewis's The Four Loves and a biography of Ayn Rand by Anne C. Heller simultaneously. I recently have been reading articles on Mother Jones about the new media trolls and their rampant abuse of social media to perpetuate misogyny. The structure of my paragraph made it seem like I was talking about one woman flip-flopping between being a Christian and an atheist. I was actually trying to say that while some leave a religious community for that reason, others may actually find happiness in the church because they have found that it is less misogynistic than the secular culture. Women have left organized religion and women have come into organized religion on the invitation of a better love and spirituality than was presented in their old paradigm. I just find it rather interesting and was hoping to see the different perspectives. I have often asked myself whether religion-related anti-feminism has its roots in the secular cultures out of which the traditions had sprung to serve? If that were so, then it would be silly to expect change in any mode other than activism on each front.
  6. Or, is feminism compatible with Christianity as it is not with secular Classicism? This is the question that I become fired up about again and again. I am actually considering back to college to study these issues in an academic environment. I am particularly interested in the fronts of secular and religious misogyny- the "double edge" I referred to. It seems that when women leave the faith in protest of misogyny, they face the same or worse in the secular world. And then, to escape the misogyny of the secular world, they must usually embrace a doctrine of "escape through submission," to a husband or male church authorities. Even in liberal communities, the Classical roots of the church have misogynist overtones from ancient Hebrew, Greece, Rome. Even if it is removed by modern progressive clergies, the intellectual heritage of the church is anti-feminine. One wonders whether Judeo-Christian misogynist overtones come from secular sources, or vice versa. I think most likely they are mutually supportive and trace back to some common, essential reason for female-hating belief systems. Some men, that Farrell guy from the men's rights movement, for example, who wrote The Myth of Male Power, argues that women have sexual power over men and hence men do not have unequal power over women. This is simply ridiculous when you think about it for even a minute. The mythological Venus represents male sexuality, not female sexual expression. Her birth happens when a god's cut-off genitals are cast into the sea. She is the goddess of the male sex drive, but not a powerful goddess in her own right. Sexuality, mere sexuality, is not power. That is why it is said to be ruled by Eros, which represents the male sexual imagination. Hence, men decide, through their collective value judgment, which women are the Venuses of the generation. The men may argue that they concede this power rather unwillingly to the Venus, which only proves that they are, indeed, conceding it and that it is their power, not inherently the woman's. The myth of the Judeo-Christian tradition that stands out most in my mind is the Eve story. It is important to read this story in a traditional Jewish context to understand the hierarchy that requires every faithful Jew to be submissive to God, just like a faithful Hebrew wife is below her husband's authority. That hierarchy is proven to the religious through the creation mythology as it appears in the canonical books of the Torah and the Christian Bible. (The Midrash or other creative embellishments-- such as the Lillith story, a story which feminists often seize upon-- are not technically canonical as important as they are in some traditions). Because Eve has the double disadvantage of being created after Adam, that she is a secondary creation made after his substance; and because she performs the role of the first sinner, she becomes a justification for misogyny that spans the ages ever-after the allegory is accepted as truth-- be that material, literal truth or spiritual, inspired truth. Entrenched misogyny, perhaps, was not the intention of the story, but it has become the affect. And when you put the Eve and the Venus together in the Hellenic or classical Christian tradition, you have a doubly-entrenched anti-feminine worldview. And yet, many Christians argue that their religion is a safe haven for women who would be follower's of the faith. Thoughts?
  7. I was wondering what to include in a good love letter to one's partner/ spouse. This is for fun. It also might be nice to write to the kids for Valentines Day. Have you ever done these sorts of writing projects? I know at least some of you have. Please share what you have done so I might get an idea of how to begin.
  8. There is so much groupthink on FB, especially the local or regional small groups. There seems to be less when the group is broad and diverse (such as this). I've used breastmilk (my own) for my child's diaper rash and it did work, in combination with air and olive oil at intervals. It has medicinal uses. Its one very important bodily fluid that women produce and in some countries it is counted toward the GDP at something like $50 per liter. It has been called "liquid gold" for preemies and for immuno-compromised individuals. My friend drank donated breastmilk while she was undergoing cancer treatment. For-profit milk banking is an interesting topic of controversy. Did you hear about this Detroit open letter to a company that wanted to pay women to share their pumped breastmilk? http://www.momsrising.org/blog/open-letter-closed-door-in-breastmilk-bank-controversy
  9. I would always try to get the best I can afford granted that the kids will use it. If it seems the kids won't appreciate the new things, save the money and surprise them with something they may ask for (that you totally approve of, of course) when it isn't their birthday or Christmas; then say its from whoever that person was that gave them that money for Christmas. I think new bikes and things of that sort are good uses of kids' money. I bought an expensive set of Flyleaf Books to Remember for my 1-year-old with the birthday money sent by his uncle. I always say "these are from Uncle Ronald" when I open one of them up. Its a nice way to remind the children of their extended family's generosity to them. For the home school department, I try not to spend this sort of money on curriculum per say, but on nice children's encyclopedias, classic books with nice illustrations, and general things like that.
  10. As long as you love that person for who he or she is, as long as you are not deluded by the belief that women are inherently inferior to men, and hence any man should think twice before dating his intellectual equal because she may shame him; as long as a man's motive isn't that, and its true love, I think it could work. And I cannot tell if your friend's companion is lacking in wit or merely lacking in accolades. The two are not the same. Its too bad that women are often ridiculed when they "marry down," and seem to be the more intellectual or assertive or successful partner. I actually see this addressed in magazines as some sort of social problem, as if the women are either not right in their heads, or that our stock of quality men is withering. I don't think its anyone's business but the couple's, do you? There is virtue in an equal match, but I would say that if both don't have the brains at least one partner has to carry them. A good relationship, especially a married one, takes all the virtues between two people and spreads them over the whole, new entity. Two become one. At least that is how I look at it. So what is important is that the aggregate intelligence is high, and that the gap between the two partners closes as they get to know and share more of each other. And funny that this theme appears predominant in this season of Downton Abbey. Lady Mary just had a love affair with a suitor who has all the right looks and the right touch, but he seems a bit soft in the head to her, sentimental and doting in a way that she does not appreciate. Of course, what is happening to Mary right now is she is torn between two men that exemplify extremes of what Matthew was: while her late husband was both tender and sharp-witted, the two men that suit her are either of one sort or the other. I enjoy a partner I can talk to in-depth about controversial issues. I enjoy being able to learn as well as to connect and teach, so near-equality is something I value for the enjoyment factor of relating in a relationship.
  11. Then I had better bring Women Who Run With The Wolves and Nourishing Traditions. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, just in case. I would bring The Real Mother Goose for the kids, and my nice 4th edition of The Writing Road to Reading text and unfinished phonogram cards ( I lost my Uhu stick halfway through the process of making my own). If I found that Uhu stick I would bring that also. Usborne's Internet-linked History Encyclopedia. Van Loon's History of Mankind. I would bring The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph, and The Elements of Style and The Elements of Editing. I would bring William Shakespeare's Complete Works. I would also bring Ayn Rand's The Art of Nonfiction Writing: A Guide for Writers and Readers (in case we need to fight propaganda with propaganda). Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. (To rebuild the economy) Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee. (Phys. ed, you know). I would bring my college-level Spanish 1 textbook. I have one college-level Latin American History book I'd like to utilize. (It contains a lot of information about uprisings and revolutions). The Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee would come with us as a history help. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by John Meachum and Washington by James Thomas Flexner are the two biographies we own that I would bring if they fit. We don't want to forget our golden age! I would bring my Kindle which has The Railway Children and the complete works of George MacDonald as well as Charlotte Mason's volume 6 loaded on it. We would bring our small copy of The Hobbit. I would bring the Bible, mainly for the Psalms. I will bring The Art of the Infinite: The Pleasures of Mathematics by the Kaplans. I have enough Ray's to cover about two grades. I would bring my Right Start Math Card Games book and the cards themselves. I'll also bring Miquon Notes and Annotations. C-rods and popsicle sticks would complete this bundle of math. I cannot think of anything else. Thanks for this fun exercise!
  12. One more thing about Spalding: Spalding is notorious for annoying people with the insistence on NOT teaching the dipthong/ long-e sounds of i and y. However I don't have a problem with it as long as she does (and she does) include the long-e sound of the phonogram "ie" (and she does). We have a German surname with that sound, our town name has that sound. Our baby's name includes "ier" as "yer" or "ee-er" not "eer" or (short i) "i-er." Also, my sister's name is Amy which is a varied spelling from Amie, the latter of which would have the long-e. I am just going to teach that we pronounce these sounds as short-i, when we think of them for spelling, and it is because of the natural flow of speech that they lengthen into a long-e sound. After all, Noah Webster described how in fact the vowel sound we call short-e is actually an abrupted long-a sound in speech, and the short-i is the same thing to long-e: a shortened vocalization of the same form of sound.
  13. I bought the Vol. 1 book and activity guide. I got them both used so it was a bargain not to be passed up. I am glad I have the activity guide because it has plenty of enrichment. It really is a flexible program when these two are put together, because you have the option of omitting from and adding to Susan Wise Bauer's core text.
  14. We, too, are fans of Peter Dennis's reading of Winnie-the-Pooh. We also enjoy Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad series and the original Little Bear.
  15. Still wondering if anyone is going to reply to me. If I buy them I will post a review of my own!
  16. You've corrected me there. And my reaction was kind of off-topic. I apologize.
  17. In my opinion fathers should not be accountable to the state at all for child support. That is sexist against men and women alike, for it assumes a natural male headship and female dependency. And it forces a single mother to keep unhealthy attachments to a man who may have been abusive, cruel or irresponsible as a father figure. If a father is any good at all, he is there for his children, financially and lovingly, by choice. A welfare system should think of the requirements of the children needing assistance, no questions asked. This awful system has created a horrible, anti-woman, so-called "men's rights movement" that promotes a violent backlash against it and the women whom they scapegoat as its designers and beneficiaries. It also leads to fights for custody on financial premises rather than from a sincere interest in what is best for the kids. Its a winner take all approach and it creates strife, money problems, and the threat of jail time for the loser. My own father was threatened by jail time. I admit, he made so many bad choices in his relationships, having multiple children with multiple women in a series of marriages that ended badly. But he was also young, not well educated (having dropped out of highschool. Quite skilled he was in the building trades, math, and music, however, and probably suffered from ADHD), and he suffered a horrible back injury during his midtwenties. Basically, the government criminalized a cripple. He ultimately took his own life, having suffered innumerable losses in his rights to visit his children, to heal from a surgical infection after one of his many, many back problems occurring after his initial injury, and with the threat of jail time hanging over his head, for he had been out of work and owed much to his two ex-wives. When he died, the government for the rest of his kids' lives until age 18 would pay support to his kids. I think he did it for this reason, though his crippling pain and fear of going to jail must have had something to do with it.
  18. I am reading through The Writing Road to Reading, 4th Ed., and planning to follow this approach until my son is reading and spelling well. 1. I am wondering whether I should use the recommended reading comprehension tests available for purchase, or if it would be enough simply to do the spelling notebook as described along with the oral reading she describes. 2. I am also wondering what other supplemental materials, besides the phonogram flash cards and spelling journal, might be worth purchasing from the Spalding website. Are the grammar rule cards nice to have, for example? Can I really manage without many of the extras? 3. Also, my understanding is that the Spalding approach can be used between grades 1-6, or later for remediation, but I also believe I have read on these forums that it can be completed in just one year for the ready student. I want to use it for early intervention through mastery, so I expect I will use it for about 3 or 4 years, or more? 4. This is what I was thinking for grammar: Ms Spalding says to teach grammar in grade 6, as well as any grammar that comes up in the writing process in the earlier grades. I thought I'd actually use English for the Thoughtful Child in the early years. But what is your favorite grammar for grade 6 so that I might plan ahead or begin that program early? 5. My last question is, what language arts or spelling program do you like to switch to when Spalding is completed? I was thinking about just going straight into a Latin centered vocabulary in the middle grades. Or perhaps try Sequential Spelling? I am just gathering ideas. Thanks so much!
  19. My question is whether to buy the older editions of Writing Strands if I see them. Normally they are about half price or better compared to new. There seem to be many editions beginning in the late 80s to the early 2000s. Is there an edition that is recommended more highly than other editions?
  20. Spalding is a highly structured program, and I am trying to bring more structure into the picture. Yet even unschoolers need to use curricula to supply content and get ideas. Every child needs to learn to read; unschooled children all the more since they will be working independently. But we will be doing more structure, for sure.
  21. I like the 4th edition of WRTR because its got everything I need to get a basic start. I can tell that Ms Spalding wants grammar taught during the writing process, which is why I thought EFTTC might come in handy. And WS would be for fun assignments that we could, you know, submit to the newspaper's kid's section if we wanted. TWRTR requires sentence composition as soon as spelling words can be written from dictation. I am just wondering what direction I should ultimately take with grammar. I guess I am in the camp of teaching grammar through writing. I have some ideas in mind of how I will go about it. I do not like the formulaic approach because I think it produces writers who only seem to know how to think and write: They think, instead of "What do I want to say, and what are the best words to say it in?" ... "Hmm, so I need to start this sentence with an article. Got one. Okay, now for a noun or something. Right, my character's name. Good..." and if this habit continues you have a student who is at risk of inventing thoughts through writing instead of thinking them and writing them. (Big tangent. So sorry.) I think a program that contains Latin in the middle years and a sentence diagramming component somewhere, and lots of writing, would be enough.
  22. We are not doing very much in the way of formal academics, but I have noticed some seriously positive maturity changes in my almost 7 year old son, and now I would like to un-unschool and try some new curricula at the same time. We will be working toward 2nd grade-- not yet there, so what I am about to list is looking ahead: 1st Grade (first step in un-unschooling): Start Spalding method- learn phonograms and handwriting strokes until words and sentences come fluently. Have him reading non-basal books recommended in the 4th edition of WRTR for first grade. AO Y0 and some Y1 read-alouds. Copy model sentences when writing strokes are mastered. Improve narrations. (Should I do Writing Strands 1 oral exercises in addition to narration exercises?) 2nd Grade: Spalding method using 4th edition. AO Y1 for read-alouds and narration exercises. English for the Thoughtful Child 1 - only the exercises he can handle. Writing Strands 2 - to add some variety to our writing practice. 3rd Grade: Spalding - intermediate phase of the spelling notebook. AO Y2 for read-alouds and oral composition. Do a commonplace book together as we enjoy literature. English for the Thoughtful Child 1- finish it and possibly begin 2. Writing Strands 3 4th Grade: Do Spalding to mastery. AO Y3... possibly having caught up to Y4. He is supposed to begin writing his narrations when he is able to, and keeping a few other notebooks, too. ... maybe pick up Story Starters? Latin - Any ideas? English for the Thoughtful Child 2 - complete it if possible. Pick up Simply Grammar... maybe. Writing Strands 4 - if extra practice is needed or desired. 5th Grade: If we do not need another year of Spalding I will be moving on to something like Sequential Spelling, or... I dunno. lol. I guess that's as far as I can go without feeling like a fortune teller. I mainly want to know if you can spot any glaring failures within this language arts line-up. Or, can you recommend anything else that might sub for any of these or add to it? Is there anything so redundant that I could drop it? I have obviously excluded math, as well as history and science which would call on us to write. If its of any value to you, we will be doing Developmental Math, Math Mammoth, and Right Start in some combination that we find works, and BSFU as our science springboard. AO has enough history, but we also own SOTW and will read from that since we won't be doing all of the AO suggestions. Also, I would like to do an oral language program for the first few years, something that we can just listen to for fun, at our leisure. A bilingual audio book, Muzzy, etc. Do you have any ideas for fun, non-reading or writing, foreign language for grades 1-4?
  23. I took your advice from an earlier conversation and DID buy the 4th Ed. of TWTR. I just got it yesterday and have read the first three chapters. I LOVE the graded classic book list in the back. I would consider TWTR 4th Ed. a "living book" in many respects. It is very well-written and inspiring; it is also concise, complete, and logically presented. My library has the older WTM editions. I never questioned whether they were very much different from the 3rd Ed. which I have. I am curious now, though. Is there really that much difference? Also, I was wondering if Simply Grammar makes the cut for adult grammar review?
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