I'm going to wait 20 years to watch a Duggar show. I hope, by then, some of the children may be willing to give something of a more realistic idea of what went on, not just the highly sanitized brand there is now.

We sleep nude :) Very comfy.

I'd suggest having non-Christian friends, for starters. When we were in the ministry, we were constantly encouraging students to get out of their "holy huddle". I think same goes for families, and particularly families who have very little in the way of non-religious interactions/friends/events. Don't just let your kid go to piano lessons where the children have a recital every other month with some non-Christians. Actually have lots of non-Christian friends--people you love, spend time with, and interact with on a regular basis. Not all Christians can manage to do this, particularly in a religious homeschool setting, but I think it's worth trying.

My brother was like this. My parents never told him it was gross, but they told him that whatever he wanted to do with his p*nis should be done in private. If you have a private bathroom policy, you can tell him that touching his private parts is a private thing, like going pee. You can tell him that most other people don't like to see him touching his private parts, just like they don't want to see him pee. Hope this helps. But I'd avoid telling him it's gross. It's just not appropriate in a mixed setting :)

I love our "twaddle." Junie B. Jones, graphic novels, Twilight (yes. yes. For me!), Goosebumps. Rarely classical music. . . unless you're talking classic rock. And a propos to nothing, this smiley (uh, I can't find it, so I'm quoting Night Elf)--the smiley that's tapping its toe, I just figured out it's not a yellow Muslim smiley dressed in an abaya. It's a purple smiley. Honestly. I'm around lots of Saudis right now, it's affected how I see smileys. :lol: (This smiley is not drunk, just laughing :))

I heard a radio program on these types of outfits several years ago. I had always been curious myself. Here's an interesting article for more info. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21magcrew.html?pagewanted=all

I haven't read the rest of the posts yet, but I intend to do so after I share. For my husband and I, we grew up Christian, and were Christian for the first 10 years of our marriage. We raised our children as Christians during that time. Now, as atheists, we still maintain the traditions we did as Christians, mostly. We'll still share the Christmas story with the kids, and probably go to a church service, but we do that as a learning experience, to explain why Christmas is a holiday. We'll also explain other holidays that occur around the time of Christmas, and explain why dh and I like Christmas and celebrate it, even though we don't believe in God/Jesus, etc. I'd love to develop our own rituals around the pagan holiday of the year, but that doesn't have the same feeling for us. Even if everyone isn't celebrating Jesus, the Christmas season is one where people are all feeling (or trying to feel) more generous and loving to one another. It's a cultural, social coming together. Sharing some of these rituals, and an outward manifestations of love and peace and goodwill are meaningful, even to those who don't worship Jesus. Christmas is largely a secular celebration. In that way, I don't feel I'm co-oping a certain religion, really. Christianity is embraced, and expected, mostly in America, and so I'm acknowledging the spirit of it, and the traditions in a way that makes our lives happier, and allow us to enjoy our fellow people.

Ooh, got the gum. I'll definitely the the doing-things-out-loud. I actually have him do this when he works on homework and chores--when I remember. I'll try this more. I know that in some classrooms at school they have the balance balls. My daughters class (5th grade) uses only the balls in class. I may see if I can have him use one. Thanks so much! I appreciate the ideas!

Hi, all. My third-grader is in public school this year. His teachers love him and say he's a polite, clever kid. And I'm very proud of him. His big challenge is focus. He spaces out a lot. He gets his math classwork done about half the time. He chews things up constantly. The metal on his pencils, his big, pink erasers. I'm going to allow him to chew gum to help with that nervous chewing. What can we do to help him focus. He knows it's a challenge for him. He tells me, "Sometimes, I space out." Do you have any suggestions? I don't think he needs medication, and he's a little young (his birthday is in Feb). He has a good diet, and not much in the way of processed sugar or anything. What can I do, behaviorally, to help him out? Thanks for any suggestions!

Yeesh, There's a man who doesn't have even the very basics in understanding statistics. Er, rather, he's playing on people not understanding statistics. Daaang.

eta: I found the section on "Dubai Pride" quite interesting. Most of my students are Saudi, and I've learned quite a bit about homosexuality in K.S.A. and this piece echoed it pretty well.

OOoohh, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Yikes. That's very creepy. I always thought it did seem like Las Vegas gone on steroids.

An American friend of mine has lived there for 5 years teaching English. She likes it; says it's quite metropolitan and has tons of people from all over the world living there. I'd love to visit, but it seems a little urban for me to live in long-term.

To say that public school teachers can't teach that cheating is wrong, or lying, or hitting is wrong because belief gods is not taught is complete nonsense. Humanists/secularists would be all for teaching basic principles of humanity and compassion. It's completely bizarre to say that teachers can't teach morals. They can; they just can't teach certain acts because gods say so. They can't encourage the stoning of rebellious children for example. This is something gods encourage, not something humanism encourages. Humanism is based mostly on a shared compassion. We may disagree on some of the particulars, but . . . there's quite a bit of room to share. I think we were understanding the OPs statement from two different angles. I definitely prefer a secular moral code and I think it's best that children be taught basic common kindness and compassion as the baseline to morality. If religious parents wish to teach moral codes that say things such as slavery, rape, murder, etc. are bad--except when their gods say so (such as the OP has now said--at least in regards to killing), then I think those are ideas that should remain in homes and religious institutions, and that the general population should be spared. Again, "God/gods" does not equal moral. And that's what the OP was insinuating by saying that teachers couldn't teach morality because a god (presumably hers) was not taught in school.

Exactly. This is something I could never justify when I was a believer. I tried for a long time. "Some things are always wrong (genocide). Except when they're not (genocide commanded by my deity for important reasons)." In some ways I think I'm a more moral person as an atheist than I was as a believer. I no longer need to justify evils I see because my deity says they're good. I read the first page of the page that was linked. I find it frustrating. There's one section that is basically couching the question as, (paraphrase) "Yes, genocide is bad, but everyone is going to die anyway. And plus, what about deaths by malnourishment, and disease, and neglect? Genocide is just a drop in the bucket compared with these, and all death is brought about by our sinfulness anyway. What's it matter if God command some people to kill others or just lets them die in other horrible ways." I'm not quite sure what sort of weird rationale that's supposed to be, but . . .sheesh. It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to get close enough for someone to insert their faith and complete the circuit.

I don't know that it's all that unusual. Religious people may often view other religions to be superstitious/irrational/ or demonic (When I was an Evangelical, living both in the US and abroad, this was certainly the way we were taught to believe.) It's not at all unreasonable for a non-religious person to view all religious beliefs that way (minus the demonic). I take your point, however. Strike "God doesn't like that" and insert "We should love other people because God loves us." I don't think that's particularly wonderful either. I think encouraging compassion and empathy for its own sake and for the sake of our fellow human beings is vastly more important that "I show you compassion because of my deity," for whatever reason.

Here's a question for you, then. In Saudi Arabia women who are believed to be "impure" can be put to death--and some are. They are executed for not being virgins before marriage. This, they believe, is what their deity commands. Do you think this is wrong? Is executing women for pre-marital sex right or wrong?

Same here. Impossible to answer this given the restrictions. With regard to the OPs original comment, I for one, am glad that "God is effectively omitted from curriculum at ps." There are too many differing opinions on what God and various gods want. I would find some God-/god-centered teachings very disturbing and irrational. (God doesn't want us to drink hot beverages. No, God doesn't care. To much more dangerous topics.) I find that people who don't believe in gods can be just as moral or more moral than religious people. I'd very much like to see morality based on non-religious principles for that reason. People can be moral, humane and kind without god, just as people can be complete psychopaths with God, and based on the teachings OF a God/god. Much better to teach how to be good/kind/moral and not tie it in with irrationality and superstition. Tell a child, "Be kind to Jose. When you take his thing that hurts him. Do you see how that hurts?" teach compassion. It's better than teaching, "God doesn't like that."

Uh, really?! I find this completely bizarre. But it comes from believing that there is no good without gods (a God). I can't think of a single non-religious person I know who would say such a thing. This is either an intentional straw-man, or you don't really understand the opposition point-of-view on this argument.

Yes. Probably.

Hmmm. When I use rennet powder it comes out thicker than when I use yogurt to culture. I love the texture, too. You might try that.

I am so excited to try this! I have quite long, very curly hair, and my daughter does too. I don't brush, and I only pick in the shower with conditioner, to get out the snarls. . . but I have a feeling that's not good for the hair. Also, I only wash it twice a week because . . . it just dries out. I never do much with it, or it completely goes finger-in-the-light-socket on me. I think this may be great! Funny, I asked another long haired, very curly woman the other day what she did with her hair, and she told me about this book. Must be something in the air! Thanks for all the good reading on this!

Adding to funny church/alcohol shocks. Where I grew up, Church of Christ meant Campbellites--alcohol was a HUGE no- no. Jesus drank grape juice, yanno. :) So, imagine when I moved and was invited to a Chocolate Night at a Church of Christ. I about dropped dead when I saw women walking around sampling wine. It was a wine tasting, chocolate party with massages! I told them I had never seen such a Church of Christ. And they told me they had never heard of Campbellites. Too Funny :)

My father is a beer drunk. He probably gets tipsy/drunk on beer several times a week, and did so all of my years growing up. It was horrible, and traumatic. I can't stand alcohol, typically, but don't really have much of a problem with others drinking in moderation. I don't know how much of my dislike for alcohol is psychosomatic, or just. . .I don't like its taste. My husband has one beer or a glass of wine once a week or two with dinner. Maybe some of you remember my post a couple of months ago about finding something I could enjoy, tippling-wise. I wound up at the alcohol part of our local grocery store, planning on getting some fruit liqueur, but when I told the man there my challenge, he suggested this already mixed Kahlua White Russian stuff. It's pretty good. I've it three times since that last thread (however long ago that was), I liked it well the first night, less the second time, even less the third time. I think I'm going to add some Hershey's syrup the next time I try it. :) After this stuff is gone (it may take me another 5 months), I'll go back to the thread and see what else. Someone said hazelnut liqueur, which sounds AMAZING! We went through about a year when my daughter (9) would get very mad and tearful about her dad having a beer with dinner because she told him it was a drug and he shouldn't do drugs. It was strange, and we spent a lot of time talking, and still do from time to time, sometimes when her Daddy has a beer or wine. Anyway, that's it here.

There's no question. Yes, white people get lots more attention and "care" if you want to put it that way, in the media. There are numbers of studies.