I'm curious about this as well.

Alternately, she could have a very high sense of self esteem and have a disorder like NPD, BPD or some degree of sociopathy. I don't think there's any reason to pity her. I wouldn't actively hate the woman but she has proven herself to be a predator so give her a wide berth and have the authorities (police, school, lawyers) deal with her.

No. Someone who would spread rumors about an innocent kid is not going to respond to a confrontation in any good way. Talk to the administration, list them know you're speaking to a lawyer and then speak to a lawyer. Immediately.

I read that in grade ten and in a class of about 25 kids I was one of two that LOVED it. I just remember getting swept up in it and yes, I did think poor Heathcliff was very sympathetic. Now I have to go reread it.

Yup. One part of my son's binder is a glossary he builds. I like matey for him but at the beginning of every math session he does a few review questions from everything he struggled with in the past. I read through some Rod and Staff texts which gave me some structure for this as it's the only mastery math program I know of with constant review. Also, pull out the manipulatives and model question after question with them, having him write them out as you go until he's doing it with ease then keep revisiting with a question or two a day. Don't make him do any conceptual leaps, lead him by the noise and let repetition teach him. Lastly, look for different explanatory videos, animations and such online to give him a different way to approach a problem or even just let him hear the explanation in a voice besides yours.

Just think this bears repeating. One thing I learned was to check the blue book value of a car before buying. That's the value insurers look at to replace a car and it's good to try and stay close to that when buying a car.

nm

Got it! And yes, I think I would find that annoying too.

Ha! There's intense pressure with SOME flavours of Christianity but that's not, of course, applicable to all. I think there's some confirmation bias if you think that's the case. The ones for whom it's more pressure may be the ones who speak about that more while those of us who aren't finding it so much work or who have a very different experience are generally talking about homeschooling, chickens and David Tennant. I spend a lot of time thinking about David Tennant myself.

Pfft. If some of my responses are kind and measured it's only because I understand how truly @$$holey I can be and I am forever on guard against that. I don't always succeed though! :D

Possibly. But it could mean it's just not a big deal for must folk. I think you assumed it would be but it hasn't panned out that way. Ether people are fine with not using "he" and "him" or they use "he" and "him" and don't give it too much thought. I would like to see a case for why "he" is particularly classical. To me it's a very Classical thing to give extra thought to the words we use and who we wish to address when writing. And a gender neutral pronoun was good enough for the Greeks, the origin of all this Classicaliness (now there's a good word), why shouldn't it be good enough for us? ETA: I think think you really should examine why you think it's an issue Classical homeschoolers should feel on way or the other on. I suspect it's really a pet peeve for you that you're unnecessarily attaching bigger values to. It may be irritating butthat doesn't mean it's wrong or not Classical.

Another vote for MUS. You know it, your kids like it and it gets down. Let go of the feelings that it's not quite enough. It's a solid program.

Ditto!!!

Better and more thoughtful response then mine. Shucks.

How do you support that view? The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, is God, was there at creation. I'm assuming you would refer to John 14:26 but there's nothing in that that implies the Holy Spirit wasn't also at work before Jesus came on the seen, only that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit. Why would He deny the Hebrews who have a rich tradition of prophets, just the sort who you would expect to be full of the Holy Spirit?

Oh! Feel free to pass along recommendations to me as well. :D

Except that if all sins are equal...When you sin, do you doubt that you're a true Christian? Do you think the Holy Spirit never lived in you? There is always free will. We always have the choice to enter or leave a relationship with God. Always. It may seem bizarre and unthinkab;e to you that some would choose to leave that relationship but I've no doubt it can happen. It's why we're human, why Christ died for our sins, why we need grace. Maybe to doubt that they were ever real Christians is to doubt that gift of free will?

Gracious, that was a very fine post. :)

Aren't we talking about a couple of pronouns and not the entire English language? There's a time and place for hyperbole; I'm not sure that was it. :D

I'm not sure if I agree with her idea of idolatry. Idolatry is worshipping something in the place of God, even wrongly mistaking something for God. What she's describing is is more skin to sin, an action that takes us out of relationship with God. Yes, the people-pleasing may come before our relationship with God but it's not an act of worship. It's the (seemingly ironic) sin of selfishness, putting our own needs (the need to please, to be well thought of) ahead of the true needs of others. It breaks relationship with those around us and therefore God. Idolatry is a specific sin that doesn't so much deal with the relationship with others but with God directly. It can happen with things like the Golden Calf but it can also happen with charismatic leaders (think ATI and Doug Philips), with church ritual, even with the Bible. Even when we adore Jesus to the point that we aren't looking beyond that adoration to the greater message He communicated with his life and death. Once your focus is wholly on some intermediary or icon rather then on being receptive to that relationship with God, then you're into idolatry. None of this is to say that looking to the Bible or Jesus or an icon is wrong, only that looking at those things to the exclusion of also looking beyond them is where you find idolatry. So while the blog post is a good one, I don't think she's talking true idolatry. She's onto something but I think she needs a bit more reading to flesh it out properly.

Thanks for sharing with us. :) ETA: You sound like you're really hungry for good reading and thought on Christianity. Can I recommend a book? It's Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch. It's a beast of a book but it traces the development of Christianity since before there was Christianity. It's not theology so it's not something I'm recommending to win you over to a certain position, but it does have a fantastic overview of Christian beliefs, churches, ideas, etc. and I think you'd really enjoy it if you're as curious as I suspect you are. It would also be a great jumping off point into reading the works of people like Plato, Aristotle, Origen, Augustine, Martin Luther, Calvin, etc. who've shaped Christian thought. I

I probably wouldn't bother mentioning it too much right now. It's a decision for you and your wife to make and you guys should be free to do that without pressure one way or the other. It really shouldn't be about homeschooling vs. Public school. Instead, think about what would work for your family. Once it's reframed that way t you can look at the specific options you're family has. Many public schools are excellent but is your local school excellent? I like Laurel's suggestions regarding that. I'm going to echo everyone else regarding getting out and meeting the local homeschooling community and lurking here to get an idea of what homeschooling might look like for you guys. You could also just try it for a year. I'm assuming you're child is young so there's little risk to homeschooling kindergarten to see if it agrees you guys. It makes it easy to deal with pressure as well, "we're just trying kindergarten at home this year," instead having to go into a big explanation. People tend to be much less judgemental, or at least quieter about their disagreement, when you are already doing something as opposed to considering it and asking their opinion. But be fearless about this.:) You're looking for the best path for your family, not what other people approve of.

Okay, I'm getting my geek on because I find your perspective really interesting. Would you mind sharing your denomination? I'm assuming your Calvinist? How do you or how does your church trace this belief in terms of past Christian writers they'd reference and scripture? I'm not looking to tell you you're wrong, I'm looking for stuff to research to understand the basis of this belief further out of curiosity. Because I'm a geek like that.:D

Further to that, would God less you to do something without reason? Well, barring big exceptions, probably not. Especially with rather human concerns like which church you attend and whether you homeschool, if God is leading, there likely real concrete reasons can shared

If the reason you're leaving a church is some feeling that you're being led by God divorced from any possible motivation, fine. But I think generally it's some reasons external to that and then maybe an additional feeling, if there's a feeling at all. So then you communicate the reasons. I generally attribute (and perhaps wrongly but it is what it is) the, "God is leading me," but to either folks who aren't as self-aware as they should be, folks that are wildly naive about their own motivations and desires or folks who don't want to come clean with their motivations. It's definitely not part of my religious tradition which may be part of why I have a problem with it.