Classical Katharine
-
Posts
311 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Classical Katharine
-
-
As I understand it, "taste" relates to the aesthetic qualities of the work itself. "Judgmentalism" would apply to judgments about personal culpability on the part of the artist, or the people who enjoyed or promoted the work.
Or are you referring to the question of aesthetic judgment itself? I.e., whether taste is objective (the classical approach), or completely subjective, or something in between?
On aesthetic judgment itself, I suppose I fall into the "in between" or "objective, but there's more that's in good taste than some may think" camp. But maybe the latter just counts as "in between."
On judgmentalism itself, my preliminary thoughts are: that ideally I think we'd help children recognize excellence (which means we also need to be able to tell when something is not as good)--that kind of judging we need, or else we'll never be able to evaluate our own efforts!. Yet we don't want to promote the tendency to condemn other people who enjoy a type of art that just doesn't happen to accord with our own taste.
-
1
-
-
I posted a set of questions at the General board since some of them apply across age ranges.
Please head over and share your wisdom! Thanks!
-
Wondering if anyone has thoughts on how to teach art history to this age range.
Questions swirling around my mind include:
--What to say about God and art beyond the basic "God created beauty and we do/should also, since we are made in his image and should imitate him"?
--What to say about how there are different kinds of beauty and not everyone will gravitate towards them all? E.g. primitivism: some people get and love the colors and bold lines, others just find it crude and undeveloped. Some people find Van Gogh ugly or disturbing, others exhilarating.
--What other valid purposes of art are there besides beauty? I think telling a story is one of them, and the story may not always be pretty. But what is the line between sobering/instructive and pointlessly offensive?
--What to say about abstraction? What makes an abstract work well done or not?
--What is a good order for teaching art history? Is chronological the only or the best?
--How to develop taste without developing judgmentalism?
--Curriculum recommendations? With and without built-in art instruction?
Thanks for any thoughts!
-
Mountain Rose organic herbs carries arrowroot in bulk . . . but I don't think they have tapioca starch.
-
Here's a thread from earlier this year on Spanish resources:
http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/544022-spanish-resource-list-please-add/
Have fun!
-
A friend has one and the water was amazing. We have bought one, but it hasn't come yet. Based on sheer taste, it was pretty clear a lot of bad stuff was not in that water, but I know taste isn't the only thing.
-
Today is the day he receives his gift, a soccer jersey from an English team my husband follows. The other ideas that came in after I made my decision are much appreciated. I think woodburning could be about the right dexterity level, and there are other good ideas as well. Thanks again to everyone! This need will arise again, and I will go back to this thread!
-
1
-
-
Cat, thank you for the kind words. They are a wonderful family and it's a privilege to try to help them.
Milovany, that further information is very helpful. I wouldn't have thought of Wifi and your point about what amenities are needed for shorter stays is excellent.
Everyone else, I've learned something from each post, and I know my friend will, too. Thank you all for taking the time to think and post.
I knew the Hive would help!
ETA: this doesn't mean "we've heard enough now"! More ideas welcome!
-
And to everyone so far, thank you so much for the thoughts and ideas! Yes, peace and quiet and no drama are high on the list of desirables . . .
-
1
-
-
Milovany, if you are still with the thread, just a quick question about air-b-n-b. The apartment is 750 sq. feet, 1 bedroom, large LR that could be partitioned for a second BR. The kitchen is small and basic, and there is no W/D or D/W.
They are planning to put in a W/D and D/W at minimum, because earlier, without these, they had some trouble with the renters who were willing to do without these--some difficult situations arose.
Would a quirky-but-functional, not-too-fancy kitchen be perfectly fine for air b-n-b? They are considering what the optimal level of upgrade is for the detached apartment, given uncertainty about how long they will be in the house.
-
I'd like to ask the Hive for ideas on behalf of a friend in an unusual situation. How to make best use of their unusual house, given that her husband is ill and now is not a good time to sell and move? And given that the house is so unusual that it isn't easy to sell?
Their house is huge. She is a nurse and ran a business of elder-care in the downstairs for a time, which brought in income. They have a detached apartment on the grounds as well, and have rented it in the past.
The downstairs of the house is itself a five-bedroom living space with a kitchen.
Currently she plans to return to nursing, and they desire to bring in income from the apartment and the downstairs of the house. (She does not want to return to running a business downstairs herself.)
At present the downstairs is leased out and the renters plan to start an elder-care business themselves. However, for various reasons this may fall through.
She is considering what else can be done with the downstairs space to help pay the mortgage on the house so they can stay put during a difficult time in their family.
They are less than half an hour from a couple of colleges, so she has thought about renting out individual rooms to students. Has anyone done this? Any tips or pointers? For instance, in their state, marijuana has been legalized, but they wouldn't want it smoked in their house. Is this a stipulation they can make?
Also, they have children and want to feel comfortable with people who are sharing their home. What legal issues do they need to be aware of if they have concerns about a potential renter and would prefer not to rent to that person? Would the rules or issues be the same for the detached apartment as for the downstairs of their home?
What other businesses might make sense in the downstairs space?
And, what is the most efficient way for her to find out all the legal aspects--from zoning to business permitting? Is there any central way she can figure out what all the possibilities are, or does she have to explore the rules business by business? I'm not even sure I am putting that correctly, but she is in a very difficult life situation, wants to follow the laws, and any way to streamline the research would be a huge help to her.
They live in the state of Washington.
Thanks, Hive, for any thoughts . . . they will be greatly appreciated.
-
P.S. I think it also makes a difference whether the book in question is about the very area the person later epically failed in, vs. about some other topic. It makes a palatability difference, at least. So if someone turns out to be a closet adulterer, I'm going to be way less interested in reading his book about marriage, than his book about accounting. Even then, if it really was a good book on marriage, even though I myself may not want to read it, I'm not going to say no one should. It could be read as a massive warning: here are these great truths, and behold, you can know them and not live up to them; let me be warned . . .
That said an excellent tape series on marriage by a man who later betrayed his wife is not one I've ever returned to; I have better sources. The later history leaves me thinking that I might find something fishy in the series after all on second listening, or just find the whole exercise so grievous, that why would I want to do it?
-
1
-
-
This is a tough question!
Betrayal is always a horrible feeling. But as to whether we have to pitch all the books by someone who has betrayed us, I think that's not always the only thing we can do.
I wonder if it might be helpful to break it down into two parts. One is what any prospective buyer has the liberty to do or not do. The other, related but not at all the same, is what does someone in SWB's shoes have the liberty to do or not do in making recommendations. (A long-ago series on Christian liberty by a wise pastor is in the back of my mind here.)
The prospective buyer of what I'll call a book from a "problem source" has, it seems to me, the liberty to use it or not to use it, but only following the "meat sacrificed to idols" principle from Corinthians. If the book, just taking the words on the page, is a useful item, it's like meat. Edible, able to nourish. But, like the meat in question, a book from a "problem source" is part of an overall project whose aims we can't endorse, and maybe an overall project we must in fact refrain from furthering.
Paul didn't tell Christians they couldn't eat the meat at all. It's just meat. The project of idolatry that the meat was used to further did not change the meat into non-meat. You can buy it afterwards at the meat market and get protein from it. Maybe it's even a good value. So if you can with a good conscience, and you yourself are not honoring the idol by doing so--not committing the same sins, or condoning them--you are free to partake. You're also free to refrain just because you feel revolted, even if it wouldn't lead you into sin. (If it would lead you into the idolatry, you are not free to eat the meat.)
BUT, if you know your brother will be ensnared by your example (if you eat) into lowering his own guard against idolatry, you should not eat the meat, for his sake. Paul mentions "if he sees you eating in a temple," so the more public, the more responsibility.
(It does not say if someone will find out you eat it and judge you for it as carnal, but not be tempted, that you shouldn't eat. Only if your brother might be ensnared to the idolatry, must you refrain. It's the nature of Christian liberty that the one who can't partake will tend to think that the one who can, is sinning. We don't have to avoid being judged; we do have to avoid setting an ensnaring example.)
It seems to me that someone in Susan's position faces the issues raised by the last two paragraphs. If she "can eat" a certain book, taking the book in isolation, even if she "can't eat" other books from the same publisher or author, she has liberty to "eat" as an individual. Read it, use it. But should she "eat" such books in front of others? And would including them in WTM be doing so, or would it just be letting others know "here's some meat sacrificed to idols. It's meat. Eat if you wish and can, don't if you can't"?
I would think at the very least that it would be necessary, in order to honor the principles of the meat-offered-to-idols passage, to have a warning in the book that everything in the book is "meat" in itself, but not every author is a good egg, and not every other book by same is a good book. A big, hard-to-miss warning.
Whether this is enough, I don't know, since we all know (well, ask an author :-) that not everyone reads all the introductory materials to a book. So, you know someone will open WTM in the middle and just start reading the lists.
Yet, warnings on every page could be off-putting . . . and the task of having to asterisk some but not other books on a list sounds burdensome in many ways.
As for whether we as individual buyers have an obligation to boycott a "problem source" book b/c we don't want to add to the author's prestige, credibility, etc., I think that's a matter of liberty as well. The author may have an innocent, dependent spouse or children who will also suffer if everyone stops buying every single book he wrote. Do we have an obligation to starve them too? I don't think so, myself. However, again, if it turns your stomach to buy a certain book, from a problem source, I sympathize, I might feel the same way about the same book, and we don't have to buy it.
If Susan wants to take such books out, though, is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. She isn't obligated to promote them, at least, certainly not if she can find a replacement to recommend.
I think the idea is fulfill the stewardship of being a major voice people turn to for sources, yet not ensnare anyone. Oh, and looking out for your own reputation is not wrong, either!
I don't pretend to have the answer, only a few cliffs one doesn't want to fall off of!
ETA: Here are passage references: 1 Cor. 8, I Cor. 10, and Prov. 22:1 . . .
-
5
-
-
Possibly someone at Stack Overflow (.com) could answer your question. It's an experts forum for computer programmers. Maybe someone could point you in the right direction. The same organization has exchanges for other disciplines. There is probably one for medicine as well.
This is a long-shot answer, but since you didn't get any replies . . .
HTH.
-
I also wondered if there might be any possibility of having your debt payments rescheduled so that they take up less of your monthly budget, but you are still paying it off? Often creditors are willing to do this. After all you are seeking to do the right thing and they would rather get something than have a customer declare bankruptcy, so they are often more favorable to this idea than you might expect.
-
Hi again Pink,
Jean and Sahama and Colleen and others have shared such wonderful and helpful things that I almost don't want to add anything, and think there's almost nothing to add, but I did remember a day or two ago that I meant to tell you about Judy Rogers.
http://judyrogers.com/catalog.php?category=CDs
She writes songs for children that teach lots of Scripture and are fun and singable--good for lifting the spirits and teaching at the same time. Maybe they would be a blessing to you all. "Go to the Ant" is about the book of Proverbs and is very practical.
If you can't afford the CD yet, this site has the words and if you are musical, you can make up your own family tunes:
http://judylyrics.klsoaps.com/WCISG.html
Edited to add: if you go to the page for each CD, you can hear the tunes, for example: http://judyrogers.com/catalog.php?item=3&catid=CDs&ret=judyrogers.com%2Fcatalog.php%3Fpage%3D1%26category%3DCDs
I also would like to second that you are fighting a noble fight against discouragement and from the brief glimpse you shared of trauma when you were young, it sure is possible that you were not encouraged in your home growing up. Some of your feelings of not measuring up might come from those years, but God sees and loves you as you should have been seen and loved then. Your determination that the craziness is going to stop in this generation is of God, it's pleasing to God, and it's an amazing example to the rest of us.
Thank you for sharing and for starting this thread.
-
4
-
-
My Family and Other Animals. Batty English family on Corfu.
-
1
-
-
P.S. Speaking of cooking with real, dried beans in bulk, there are cheap crafts such as pictures made with Elmer's and different sizes and shapes of beans, that the kids could participate in. Someone did this with me when I was a child. Or with a bag of buttons from the thrift store. Along the way you can be counting, sorting by color, etc . . . maybe ask here about "cheap crafts to do with children" or online . . .
-
4
-
-
Trying to really listen to what some of the roadblocks are for you, it sounds as if the difference another twenty dollars a week would make in your life would be large. That would be money for museum admission or parking or bus for a sanity-saving outing. You have a computer, so I wonder if you could research earning money taking surveys? Some of it is scam, but I know I came across a legitimate site at one point. I did a quick check for that site just now and didn't find it, but it's out there.
With a small trickle of extra income you would also have the power to budget for strategic treats for the home, such as a wonderful, mood-setting, calming CD like "Forest Piano," which is nature sounds and piano mixed really, really well--something everyone could listen to about a thousand times, maybe during a daily rest time. Music has a great power over mood.
I'm wondering also if the physical health of the children might be a factor. No one's going to make a suggestion like "oh buy all organic" but budget-friendly things you could consider would include eliminating soda, if that's something the children drink--the sugar, colorings, and other artificial ingredients can be huge factors in hyperactivity. Also, getting some protein into everyone several times a day so that everyone's not hypoglycemic. It can be eggs, it can be peanut butter if no one is allergic, it can be complementary starches like rice and beans that you can buy in bulk and cook yourself, but if--IF--the children are eating sweet cereal and nothing else for breakfast, they are going to be in a bad mood. I'm not saying yours are--only that IF they are, this is an area where you might see a big change in their basic mood from some changes. The web is something you have access too--maybe barking up this tree: cheapest ways to eat nutritionally--might give you some new ideas. Bulk and DIY will be your friends.
I know the apartment is depressing but is there one thing you can change to brighten one corner? I remember a friend who lived in a not-great rental when her husband was a student took one little corner radiator covered in peeling paint (depressing), got the paint off and painted the radiator. Looking at that one, transformed corner gave her hope to go on. (Only read online about lead in old paint first, so your kids don't get lead in their systems, which wouldn't be good for them.)
The web is full of brilliant ideas for making a wall look nice, too, with very little money. People have ideas I'd never have thought of. Even if you just have construction paper and markers or string in the house, there are beautiful silhouettes you could make and hang, and using color and line, and grouping multiples with a theme, have a nice wall for almost nothing. Pinterest . . .
Even cleaning with something cheap and natural that smells good can lift your spirits--like vinegar with an herb soaked in it--fake fragrances are triggers for some people and homemade cleaners are usually cheaper. Again the web . . .
Taking just one idea at a time and seeing some benefit from it could help you feel less "stuck." It IS hard and yes, not all of us have been exactly where you are. I've been in some very bleak situations, but different from yours. But if you can feel that there is something you can do in even one area, and then reap benefit from that, then you can build on that and maybe feel even more hope.
Wishing you peace and a boost . . .
-
5
-
-
These are some great ideas! Thank you to each one of you! We are looking into several of them. My husband follows an English soccer (well, "football") team and we could do a shirt from them. There are some pretty sharp shirts. I also looked up the EEA in their area and will be pursuing that as well, plus saving some of the other ideas for future use. Thank you so much!
-
Hive, any gift ideas for a young man, mid-teens, likes to do things with his hands but doesn't have ultra-fine fine motor control, likes airplanes, likes being outside/nature, plays soccer, not a huge reader, likes video games but I don't need to encourage that aspect?
Thanks!
-
Possibly tryptophan and maybe GABA--see The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution by Trudy Scott (the book is about more issues than anxiety, and more solutions than food).
Or oral, bioidentical progesterone from a functional medicine doctor/compounding pharmacy.
An acupuncturist will say that the exact time of the insomnia yields clues to the body system causing the problem . . .
-
1
-
-
I wonder also whether some older friends might be a huge help, not even necessarily homeschooling families. It sounds as if some of the challenges that are weighing on you are common to family life, not necessarily just homeschool family life. Are there relationships you could cultivate where you might get some thoughts on just the family-life-in-a-small-place side of things? This might help you not to be too hard on yourself with neatness expectations, for example, or on the other hand, might help you see areas of home life that would benefit from shoring up.
Some principles are universal across religion or not-religion, such as, children have a mind of their own; but when love and rules go together, they know the rules are part of the love; rules are best kept few and powerful, such as, we will be kind, we will be respectful, we will be truthful--that way everyone can remember them, and they apply to all the bad stuff, without the need for a ton of details, and leaving Mom and Dad the flexibility to apply them wisely; and there need to be age-appropriate, fair consequences for not doing what Mom or Dad said to do, handed out consistently but kindly. Along with encouragement and praise!
Some IRL input might be so helpful as you seek to provide what you desire to provide. And your children are blessed that you do want to provide for them in the best possible way.
-
1
-
-
Whatever your politics, reading about Dr. Carson's upbringing might be inspiring to you. Yes, his mother sent them to public school, but the neighborhood was dangerous, and she was single, with a third-grade education. She couldn't read the book reports that she made her children do. He became a brain surgeon and is running for president. You write well enough to come here and describe your situation. Yes, you can do this!
Even if you are in the part of town where other homeschoolers aren't, could you find other homeschoolers in a neighboring community? Having some local support could be very helpful and encouraging.
Also, even beyond the specific academic subjects you teach, the habits you are teaching are priceless and can be taught without money. That we face our circumstances with determination. That we give thanks for what we have and make the best of it. That we seek to identify our strengths and build on them, and seek to identify our areas of lack and supplement them with advice and help. That we have a plan and we pursue it. That we break down big jobs into smaller ones, realistically but perseveringly. That we do our work "sweetly, neatly and completely"--that doesn't cost money! Love and respect in the home. Etc. These are huge gifts to pass on and the foundation of all effective schooling in any setting!
-
10
-
Art History, Christian connections, elementary age, questions!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I do think some of these questions will most likely come up more naturally when children are older. But I'm asking on behalf of a friend who will be working with youngers, and I thought I'd cast the net wide.
On what is art, I think it's at least (but not only) this much: the deliberate, skillful use of color, line, composition and texture in a visual work that attracts or gives rest to the eye and is worth looking at.
Or that instructs--I'm thinking that good cartooning is also artistic, but it teaches more than it decorates. And it's not the only teaching kind of art.