Home School is Cool

This fall Christopher returned to public school.  I will be the first to tell you that I think that the faculty, staff and administrators we are dealing with are phenomenal.  They really are!  I am grateful for thier genuine care and concern and their talents and professionalism.  Even the bus driver is Heaven-sent! 

All that said, I will always be a fan of home schooling.  I know that it isn’t for everyone but in Christopher’s situation it was a God-send.

Recently we had a retired educator in our home.  They made no bones about how delighted they were to hear that Christopher is back in public school.  OK.  I’m delighted, too.  It was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.  What bothered me is that they went on to say that they had some home schooled students in their (high school level) classes and that those “home schooled students were socially retarded.”  They further mused, “They didn’t know how to not be the center of attention.” 

There were a couple of things that bugged me about these statements.  Beyond the use of the R-word, there is the fact that when push-comes-to-shove, the best most educators can do to discredit home schooling is to harp on home schooled kids’ social skills. 

It is a proven fact that home schooled kids do much, much better on average academically than their public school peers. [1] [2] 

Socially, home schooled kids are DIFFERENT, often BETTER and certainly not “retarded".  Home schooled kids may have no idea how to raise their hand to talk, or “line up with a buddy”.  They may not understand the ins and out of demerits, attendance policies and dress codes.  I would venture, however, that most home schooled kids are well-behaved, polite and articulate.  They are used to interacting with adults (ironically, they grow up to BE adults, interacting with other ADULTS!).  As for “being the center of attention”… that seems somewhat subjective.  I can see how it could be annoying for a teacher in a classroom with 25 students.  I’ll give them that, although I haven’t seen that among the home educated children that I know.

In my mind, it all comes down to one thing:  Does the education prepare the kids to go out into the world and be responsible, contributing members of society?  This should be the goal of public, private and home educators.  In my estimation, most home school parents do a fabulous job of meeting that goal.

Thankfully, the educators we are dealing with now are aware of the value of Christopher’s home schooling.  They know that we’re on the same team!

If you’re a public or private educator: Thank you for your service and dedication.  If you’re a home school parent: Rock on! 

Technorati Tags: home schooling,teaching,education

Giving

It feels wonderful to give!  I don’t have too much to give (materially) anymore but when I do get the chance it feels great!  Do you give? 

Most of you know that I’m a pretty outspoken conservative.  I think the government has WAY over-reached it’s purpose and that our country is suffering badly as a result.  I join many of my friends in ranting at the “government is the answer” mentality.  Tax-and-spend isn’t fixing anything and it is creating an entire class of people who are dependent on the government when they ought not to be.  That said, there are people who cannot self-sustain for reasons such as disability.  We need to help those who cannot help themselves and teach those who CAN to do so!

Now, before you go labeling me as a hate-mongerer or racist, let me explain.  I’ve heard the saying “If I give my money to you, it’s charity.  If you take my money and give it to someone else, that’s robbery.”  I agree with that statement.  BUT, part of the reason that the government has injected itself in every arena of life is that people have neglected their charitable obligations.  That’s right.  I said OBLIGATIONS.  In the Old Testament, God commanded a tithe.  Hindu Sikhs widely practice the tradition of giving ten percent.  Muslims are obligated to give Zakat, to help care for other Muslims in need.  The New Testament encourages cheerful giving, caring for others and charity.  In short, most of us are told to give!  Even in ancient Greece, the concept of “pay-it-forward” was used to encourage giving (it obviously wasn’t called that but the principle is there).  Benjamin Franklin referred to the principle in a letter to Benjamin Webb in 1784.  He wrote:

I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you [...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.

It’s not enough to rant about your taxes being too high.  There are people out there who legitimately need help.  SOMEONE has to help them.  Won’t you be the one? 

Technorati Tags: Tea Party,conservative,taxes,charity,tithes

The poorest among us are rich compared to most of the world.  Find a worthy cause or neighbor in need and GIVE.  It feels GOOD!  If we do our part, we can put the Welfare State out of a job!  Let’s try!

ALS Medical Alert Statement

Stolen from another ALS Blogger

Perhaps we need some medical alert bracelets for people with ALS. We could call them I-Have-All-My-Marbles tags.

"I have ALS. You probably don't remember what this means because you were taught it is 'rare' so you didn't pay all that much attention in school. Guess what. It's not so rare. I have it. I have ALL of my marbles. Every last marble. It's simply a little difficult to understand my speech, so please read my lips and listen closely when I speak. Remember, I have all my marbles. My neck is extremely weak. If you move me, please remember that my head full of marbles needs some support because my neck cannot hold it up. I am perfectly capable of making all of my own medical decisions even though my speech reminds you of someone who is sloppy drunk. I have all my marbles. Please talk directly to me. My caregiver will assist with 'translating' my speech for you, but please speak to me. My ears are good. I have all my marbles. I probably have more marbles than many people in this room."

Humorous, yes. Serious, yes. Help raise awareness of ALS. Tell your friends that we have all our marbles (or all that we started the ALS journey with, at least!!)~!

Birthdays are things that most people take for granted. I just had one and it was a wonderful day and I didn't take it for granted!

I try to live with a sense of gratitude and I've tried to teach it to my kids. I think I've succeeded with Christopher. Today, Vicki got him one season of "Emergency" DVD's. He must have thanked her 15 times. Of course, he did expect her to say "you're welcome" each time (she did).

Vicki and I went to Olive Garden to celebrate my birthday. Amy and Christopher came and picked us up and the first thing Christopher said was "I missed you" and then "I love you all." Those are beautiful words, regardless, but again, I don't take them for granted. So many parents of kids with autism never hear "I love you" from the mouths of their kids. Each time I hear it, it's a gift!

Thanks for being my son, Christopher. You ROCK. BTW, his Presidents poster now has a picture of "President Christopher Burrows" on it after B.O. In the picture, Christopher is wearing those "Groucho Marxx" glasses... hysterical. He cracks me up!

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A Red-Letter Day

It has been a wonderful day!  All three of my kids are here and we’re celebrating Phillip’s birthday this evening.  He’ll be 23 on June 16th, but he’ll be in Michigan with is dad then, so we’re doing his birthday dinner (his favorite: chicken, potatoes and “greeny beenies”) early (Amy has this one perfected!).  He has a “Handy Manny” cake and sparkling grape juice, to toast the event. 

We ALL went to church this morning together (So, Christopher didn’t make it through the sermon.  So what?) and then we went to IHOP for lunch.  That was a milestone… we went to a sit-down restaurant (including waiting 20 minutes for a table…who knew there were big sports tourneys in town this weekend?) and NO ONE HAD A MELTDOWN!  This is a FIRST.  Something most families would take for granted…going out to eat with all their kids…was a momentous occasion for us!  I am so happy!