PARENTING FREEDOM

Carol | February 3, 2012

Lunch Scholars

Hat Tip:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/this-video-of-teens-failing-miserably-at-a-civics-quiz-is-so-depressing-its-funny/

“Bless me, what do they teach them at these schools?”
C.S.Lewis

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Carol | January 23, 2012

A quarter of children aged 10 to 12 can’t do basic addition and one in five don’t know the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090618/A-quarter-children-aged-10-12-t-basic-addition-don-t-know-difference–re.html#ixzz1kLMKvuU4

“Half of children aged between 10 and 12 do not know what a noun is or cannot identify an adverb – while almost a third, 31 per cent, cannot use apostrophes correctly.”

“More than one in five – 22 per cent – could not use the correct version of ‘they’re’, ‘there’ and ‘their’ in a sentence and more than four in 10 couldn’t spell the word ‘secretaries’ correctly…”

“… More than a quarter of children being unable to add two small sums of money without using a calculator as they can’t do division and basic algebra.”

“Twenty-seven per cent of children surveyed could not add £2.36 and £1.49 to get £3.85. In addition, more than a third, 36 per cent, could not divide 415 by five and a quarter did not know the answer to seven multiplied by six..”

“The survey of 1,000 children aged between 10 and 12 found that one in four did not know their times tables, a quarter could not use decimal points and two in five could not spell simple plurals.”

The results are scandalous, but what I found most ridiculous about the article was that they talked in depth about the parents’ responsibility, when in fact, the parents are generously paying teachers to do this job for them. The children are in the care of teachers for many hours of many days of many months of many years. If the teachers can’t teach the children multiplication, then what good are they? Ahhhhhh…. babysitting.

I better check to see if my ten-year-old can spell ‘secretaries’. LOL Then again, maybe I should just test some teachers!

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Carol | January 17, 2012

FUNNY video! “Please take me with you!!”

Been homeschooling since 1997 – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! FREEDOM!!

Messy Mondays: Seven Lies about Homeschoolers

Category: Homeschooling Controversy, Public School | 1 Comment »
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Carol | December 31, 2011

All-girl classes at university ‘lead to better grades’ with some saying they are more comfortable without boys in the classroom
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078976/Girls-significantly-better-classroom-single-sex-schools.html#ixzz1i8e1N2Yb

I would say this is the case in school as well. Around here, they even have boys and girls taught sex education in the same room.

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Carol | December 18, 2011

Twelve Days of Homeschool

And an oldie, but a goodie:
The Twelve Days of a Large Family Christmas

Hat Tip: http://mommylife.net/

Category: Family Planning, Homeschooling Controversy, Music, Parenting Pregnancy, Public School | No Comments »
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Carol | December 8, 2011

Nova Scotia high school bans dances
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/06/08/nova-scotia-high-school-bans-dances

“A high school in Sydney, N.S., has cancelled all school dances indefinitely after drunk and violent students got out of control.”

“Sydney Academy is just the latest in a long list of Nova Scotia high schools to impose dance bans because of risks posed by rowdy teens…”

“‘It really was scary,’ he said.”

“A significant number of kids showed up either drunk or on drugs, he said, and fights broke out everywhere. One kid punched another in the face and broke his nose ‘for no apparent reason…’”

“If we didn’t have cruisers there, that could have been very ugly.”

“Some 25 to 30 of the 600 students at the dance were suspended and some even went home in the backs of police cars. Deveaux believes there were plenty more students under the influence who didn’t get busted.“

“He said there were four police officers, six security guards and 15 to 20 chaperones at the dance ‘and it still wasn’t enough.’”

“The crux of the problem, he believes, is twofold: Parents and society at large have become far too tolerant of underage drinking, and students don’t suffer any serious consequences for their actions…”

Drinking, fighting prompt school dance ban
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/06/07/ns-sydney-dance-drinking.html

No charges laid?

Letting kids get away with illegal activity is not doing them any favors.

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Carol | December 6, 2011

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/when-an-adult-took-standardized-tests-forced-on-kids/2011/12/05/gIQApTDuUO_blog.html

“‘The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a “D”, and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.’”

“He continued, ‘It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate’.”

“‘I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities…’”

“‘…A test that can determine a student’s future life chances should surely relate in some practical way to the requirements of life. I can’t see how that could possibly be true of the test I took…’”

“Here’s the clincher in what he wrote:”

“‘If I’d been required to take those two tests when I was a 10th grader, my life would almost certainly have been very different. I’d have been told I wasn’t ‘college material,’ would probably have believed it, and looked for work appropriate for the level of ability that the test said I had.’”

“‘It makes no sense to me that a test with the potential for shaping a student’s entire future has so little apparent relevance to adult, real-world functioning. Who decided the kind of questions and their level of difficulty? Using what criteria? To whom did they have to defend their decisions? As subject-matter specialists, how qualified were they to make general judgments about the needs of this state’s children in a future they can’t possibly predict? Who set the pass-fail “cut score”? How?’”

“I can’t escape the conclusion that decisions about the [state test] in particular and standardized tests in general are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable.”

“There you have it. A concise summary of what’s wrong with present corporately driven education change: Decisions are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable.”

“Those decisions are shaped not by knowledge or understanding of educating, but by ideology, politics, hubris, greed, ignorance, the conventional wisdom, and various combinations thereof. And then they’re sold to the public by the rich and powerful.”

“All that without so much as a pilot program to see if their simplistic, worn-out ideas work, and without a single procedure in place that imposes on them what they demand of teachers: accountability.”

Category: Homeschooling Academics, Public School | No Comments »
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Carol | December 6, 2011

Teen Sex May Affect Brain Development, Study Suggests
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/12/02/teen-sex-may-affect-brain-development-study-suggests/

“Specifically, the animals that mated earlier in life had higher levels of depressive behaviors, changes to the brain and smaller reproductive tissues compared to those that had intercourse later or not at all.”

“Having a sexual experience during this time point, early in life, is not without consequence…”

Category: Family Planning, Public School, Sex Education | No Comments »
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Carol | December 5, 2011

I think two of the biggest shames of schooling-outside-the-home are the separation of siblings and the extreme reduction of playtime.

Category: Homeschooling Activities, Public School, Status Updates | No Comments »
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Carol | November 26, 2011

Don’t confuse me

http://www.canadianvalues.ca/SCC/index.html

Category: Christianity, Public School, Sex Education | No Comments »
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Carol | November 25, 2011

Muse – Uprising (HQ)

Uprising ~ Muse

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
The transmissions will resume
They’ll try to push drugs
Keep us all dumbed down and hope that
We will never see the truth around
(So come on!)

Another promise, another scene, another
A package not to keep us trapped in greed
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds

And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(So come on!)

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution take its toll if you could
Flick a switch and open your third eye, you’d see that
We should never be afraid to die
(So come on!)

Rise up and take the power back, it’s time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Hey .. hey … hey .. hey!
Hey .. hey … hey .. hey!

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Hey .. hey … hey .. hey!
Hey .. hey … hey .. hey!

Category: Media Bias Exposed, Media Glenn Beck, Music, Politics, Public School | No Comments »
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Carol | November 8, 2011

Ron Paul: Elizabeth Warren is ‘a Socialist,‘ Public Schooling is ’a Socialist Idea’
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ron-paul-elizabeth-warren-is-a-socialist-public-schooling-is-a-socialist-idea/

“When asked about Warren’s comments on public education and whether public schooling is socialism, Rep. Paul said ‘In a way. When the state runs things, that is you know, a socialist idea, that it should be collective. I preach homeschooling and private schooling and competition in school.’”

Category: Homeschooling Controversy, Politics Ron Paul, Public School | No Comments »
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Carol | October 5, 2011

Disabled Pickering boy took his own life after he was mugged and bullied
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1059479–disabled-pickering-boy-took-his-own-life-after-he-was-mugged-and-bullied

Son pulled from school after bullies confront father
http://atlantic.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111003/bullying_high_school_111003/20111003/

Homeschool, move away, do whatever you have to do…

Category: Parenting General, Public School | No Comments »
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Carol | September 24, 2011

The TV was accidentally on the Weather Channel, and I heard a reporter ask a boy (about ten or so), “How do you feel about being back at school?” and he replied, “Not very good.”

Category: Public School, Status Updates | No Comments »
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Carol | September 23, 2011

It crossed my mind this morning that the children could all be away at school and only C1 would be home all day – with no buddies. I mentioned the scenario to L7, and he did a seven-year-old roll on the floor and was not impressed with the thought. Something so strange and shocking to us is the norm to most other families. If you think about it honestly, which is really more NORMAL?! It has been hard enough on the kids to have the oldest brother go to university, but this sibling separation was supposed to start at age five? I think NOT.

Category: Homeschooling Controversy, Parenting Attachment, Public School, Status Updates | 4 Comments »
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