I just spent over 4 hours (on my time, incidentally) proving the system did NOT "lose data" and that two staff members probably just forgot to update federal licensing data on the week before Christmas, creating a big liability for the org, and then decided to blame a glitch. To the extent that I can, anyhow. Try proving that something DIDN'T happen. All I can do is produce audit trails, system logs, database logs, and demonstrate that it's REALLY REALLY REALLY unlikely.

The wookiee, incidentally, was a multidisciplinary, mixed media project spanning many different types of art and craftsmanship as well as scratch engineering/design, fabrication, problem solving on various fronts, and tons of creativity, and she learned from every aspect of it. So.. snark aside and all, it was a pretty valid long term educational project that she was totally into and now wants help building a costume of her own incorporating multiple elements that will require sewing, electronics, rigid prop fabrication, and etc. Almost as complex as Chewbacca but kid sized and with far less labor (latch hooking takes forever.)

Not to mention, she's in a family of 4+ year degree holders, valedictorians, IQs (for what they're worth) in the range of 125-160, SAT/ACT and state test results in the top 1st percentile... and she's getting direct 1:1 attention in her instruction. But my work stress (to which I engineered a novel solution unique to our organization that both my boss and VP are totally on board with) is gonna ruin it all. :-( Then again I am a high school drop out.

Pffffffft. Oh dear let's not get into what's disconcerting because if you want to get personal it won't be nice.

He was a Liberal before it was cool and disinterested in organized religion when being so was almost dangerous in this country. Cool dude and a brilliant satirist.

I think it's inconsistent to be rigorous about academic and educational theory but then get a bit wobbly when your pet issues are being discussed, especially when you're the one on the soapbox. I did not read it from cover to cover, but I did read some early chapters on theory that seemed fairly sound (I didn't agree with all of it, but it seemed earnest and honest)... and then I saw the "Fallacies" bit in the TOC and that put my hackles up because it was just pontificating and not well supported. So, I think if it was couched in something like "look, as the author, I'm human, and here are my personal feelings and perhaps, biases" but it's not framed like that at all. It's framed as if the public school system is "afraid" to address religious topics and it kind of just comes off as self-aggrandizement. So yeah, up a few posts I was definitely more flip than necessary. I should have been specific in my criticism. So I'm sorry for that. But a polite, Donna Reed culture of never challenging anybody's biases is not healthy for education in general and on a forum that ostensibly exists for that purpose it's distressing.

Politely dancing around an issue affecting children's education isn't manners it's cowardly.

I may not have couched my opinion in lots of lacey language, but I don't think I was rude. I was truthful. You are being snarky. I have said that I'd like to be more formal than we're being but have also said I don't feel any sense of emergency. It's been about 14 weeks. I don't think she's going to become a delinquent over not having a written curriculum in that time. You instructed me in how to behave and I've since heard the opposite from others, so, while I'm not picking any sides what I'm saying is that I think PMing people "rules" of your own has more to do with being a busy body than being kind. I'll admit that I could have been more polite about the book, but if you're going to set yourself up to instruct people in the advancement of academics, I think you'd better be rigorous (and prepared for criticism when you're not.) To be fair I wasn't very specific but I also wasn't looking to start a huge fight over individual quotes from the text. I think anybody thinking that public education somehow excises the fact that historical politicians and leaders were men and women of faith... is maybe looking for a fight to pick. My curriculum in public school as a child certainly addressed the fact that this or that figure held these or those beliefs. The "Fallacies" chapter to me seemed like an attempt to pick a fight where there isn't one and it felt disingenuous to me.

I'm here for the homeschooling Slache. The site happens to be paid for with the proceeds from a book I found inconsistent with many questionable passages. Sorry that you're offended. I think she's being taught just fine, Slache. I haven't had a formal program going on because for a couple months we had some serious medical drama and other issues going on, then the holidays. Pardon me, but you're being snarky because I criticized something that you're taking personally. I won't hold it against you, but I won't lose sleep over it either. The very first thing you did when I got to this forum was private message me so that you could instruct me in how to act properly and what I was allowed and not allowed to criticize here. Sorry to say, I think maybe you ought to spend less time being a busy body. And JoJosMom, if you agree that we should confine our honesty to boundary lines which encircle the host of this site, well, I think that's kind of anti-intellectual, don't you? Tsuga - I focused in on one or two chapters specifically that I found... pretty weird. Much of the rest of the book that talks about educational strategies seemed fine to me, but then there were pages and pages of, frankly, agenda-laden stuff that seemed pretty lacking and sort of out of place.

Around two months. That's not to say we've done nothing in that time, but nothing with a plan or any real organization. I've got materials here and some in the mail and she's been reading me her books (with some assistance) and writing letters to Santa and various Disney characters. And we've been using the Cuisenaire rods to figure out anything math related that she comes across/asks about.

Bananas. If I can stomach it I'll make a laundry list later. There's no conspiracy to program children against religion in public schools, I'll just start there. Anyhow, working on phonemes with the littlest today. First time we've really gotten down to brass tacks since we pulled her because.. life keeps happening. I'm now officially (well, quasi-officially) telecommuting 3 days a week, with flexible hours, and so instruction can begin in earnest. We're just gonna start with reading, math, and self-directed study as she finds interests for now.

Well, I finally got around to reading bits of WTM at the library. Sorry ITT, I love ya all, but that book is full of circular logic and abuse of logical fallacies (while it accuses others of same, which is ironic.) It's a bit of a cluster. Love the board, love the folks, the book is nutso bananas.

Neko neko?

Good morning, I guess. YAWWWWWN

I made an 8 foot tall wookiee...

I've never heard of any such thing.

Speaking just for me: praise always felt hollow and insincere to me as a child and still does often today, but I think it's because I only ever got the sort of almost obligatory encouragement that you get from teachers and such. I never got any praise at home pretty much ever. My dad never had anything to say to me except for how I'd screwed up. I think there's different paths to this particular disposition. :P

:hurray:

Now that the holidays and all of my latch hooking are done for a bit, time to do this homeschool thing.... :-/

Good morning ITT. Here's Chewie moving. :D

Or just do what I do and give your dog filet mignon from the table, because my Berner gets a bite of my steak once a week and usually a quarter square of American cheese on some other day of the week, too. Oh and she LOVES whipped cream!!

Can't tell if you think the Rebel Legion is like the Buck Rogers Fan Club or something. Hehe. It's actually a massive costuming organization officially recognized by LucasFilm and now Disney as the preferred hobbyist costuming organization of Star Wars, which sounds silly but actually means that Rebel Legion people have been used in Disney official parades for basically ever, have been in the Rose parade, at the Super Bowl, etc. Rebel Legion members visit children's hospitals, charity drives, and all sorts of cool stuff. The membership charter is serious business regarding conduct and the costume standards are very rigorous. Right now my Chewie isn't even officially approved as a Rebel Legion wookiee because he has some issues to fix, like the shape of his legs and his big heavy mullet... :)

People do that as Disney princesses and stuff, but it is technically illegal and Disney has even sued or sent scary letters to people in the past. I just prefer to do it for free for community type things anyway, plus it's against the Rebel Legion charter to hire out your costume. In my opinion, it's strictly for fun and charity. But thanks for the compliment. :)

You sure seem to meet a lot of jerks, Slache. :(

Another day, another library Star Wars party. No idea what's going on with the shape of Chewie's legs, but my modified stilts were WAY easier to walk in than before because the bottoms are rounded now instead of flat. Woo! Sadly, his legs look like hairy vases. Gotta fix. It was a good time but I had no idea that the library was in such an urban area. We were a little afraid our car would be towed from the alley we had to park in even though it's where the librarian said to park (it was covered in Tow warnings and not owned by the library). Also our small town library was just.. nicer. The big library folks were appreciative but there was also this air of "You should be honored to be in our amazing library, on a volunteer basis, at our request which was turned down by every other Star Wars person in the state..." So.. weird. Also their PR person (apparently this is a full time position there) asked my wife to step back out of the frame so that she could get a shot of my daughter with BB-8 on her face. Then, after my wife stepped back, said "No, further..." ...