The past is not relevant, or so the school says

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Here’s a scary story I just read on a discussion forum:

This past weekend we went to visit the Betsy-Tacy historical sites. During our visit another mother mentioned their public school system had “purged” the libraries of books which were not published within the past 10 years. When parents questioned the decision, the school administrators stated “Out of date books aka the classics are not relevant to our society/world. Therefore the students will not be exposed to them during classroom time or have them assigned reading.” The mother went on to say her 10 yo daughter was assigned to do a book report/presentation for her language arts class. The daughter chose Maude Hart Lovelace’s book, “Betsy-Tacy.” The 10 yo was reprimanded by the teacher for choosing an “out of date book” and received a low grade because she had not chosen “current literature” for her report/presentation. Sad.

It’s rather bizarre to me. And kinda sick and self-centered. Imagine only reading literature written in your short lifetime. Nothing outside your time period on this planet is of value. Does this school not teach history? Maybe they don’t. History isn’t relevant, is it? This school not only will not allow “old” books during class time or assigned reading, but they have purged the library of them so that a child isn’t even able to see one and check it out and read in his free time. Bordering on censorship, don’t you think? Talk about banned books!

Posted in Teaching | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Pardon me, I believe I was in your way again

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Today I read this words of Charlotte Mason from the Introduction to Vol. 6:

A child requires knowledge as much as he requires food.

He is furnished with the desire for Knowledge, i.e., Curiosity; with the power to apprehend Knowledge, that is, attention; with powers of mind to deal with Knowledge without aid from without––such as imagination, reflection, judgment; with innate interest in all Knowledge that he needs as a human being; with power to retain and communicate such Knowledge; and to assimilate all that is necessary to him.

He requires that in most cases Knowledge be communicated to him in literary form; and reproduces such Knowledge touched by his own personality; thus his reproduction becomes original.

The natural provision for the appropriation and assimilation of Knowledge is adequate and no stimulus is required; but some moral control is necessary to secure the act of attention; a child receives this in the certainty that he will be required to recount what he has read. Children have a right to the best we possess; therefore their lesson books should be, as far as possible, our best books.

They weary of talk, and questions bore them, so that they should be allowed to use their books for themselves; they will ask for such help as they wish for.

As I look back at our just completed school year and I read these words of Miss Mason, I realize that once again I have inserted myself far too much in the process. What is scary about this for me is that I am not allowing James to fully engage with the stories and thus make them his own and learn and retain what *he* needs to learn and retain. I also fear that I have robbed him of a lot of joy that could come from the wonderfully rich stories that we read this year.

These things I must remember —-

  • James has the power of mind to deal with the Knowledge without aid from without
  • He will reproduce the Knowledge touched by *his own* personality;
  • No stimulus is required
  • He will ask for such help as he wishes for

If there are any of my readers that have any advice to offer (besides putting duct tape on my big mouth), please feel free to comment.

Posted in Home School, Teaching | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Connecting with “weeds”

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Kay Pelham

I wanted to be a part of the Nature Connections May edition, so I dug up these videos James made when we were doing a study of dandelions earlier in the month. He was to make pictures at different times of the day and in different weather (sunny, cloudy) and see the change in these very pretty “weeds.” He decided to do some moving (and noisy)  pictures also.  We did not get to the drawing part before we left on our road trip for the rest of the month. The drawing pads and pencils are with us. I guess we’d better get on it. Here are the videos and please forgive the wind. It was a very blustery day.

Posted in Home School, Nature | 2 Comments

Vacation

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Kay Pelham

We have finished our school year and have been away from home. Just wanted anyone who pops in here to know I haven’t given up the ship. I’m thinking of a wrap-up post of our school year. And I’ve still been reading and thinking and pondering and such, so I do have things to say. It’s just not always easy for me to give the time to put it all in words.

We’ll also be busy at the pool. Yesterday James had his first day in the pool for 2011 and he got back in the “swim of things” very quickly. He and Dad are enjoying their games. Yesterday at the pool, before Jack arrived, I overheard James tell another kid, “My dad taught me to not be afraid. My dad taught me to swim.” I love hearing that. I love the “My dad taught me…” part. I am so grateful that James has a dad that he trusts and loves; a dad that hasn’t farmed out responsibilities for his son; a dad that teaches him to “not be afraid.”

This photo is from their pool fun last summer

Posted in Character, Parenting | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What do we keep on fighting for?

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Kay Pelham

James and I listened to the music of Frederic Chopin this term. We also spent these 12 weeks reading Opal Wheeler’s Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland. Through this book and reading a few other articles, we learned that Chopin loved his homeland dearly and his compositions were very influenced by his concern over its continual oppression by outside forces.

We have a very dear friend who is researching her Polish ancestry. We spent time with her recently and she shared the pictures and paperwork she has collected at this point. In her collection is a letter from a great-uncle in Poland written to his brother (our friend’s grandfather) in America. The letter (she has both the original in Polish and a translation in English) speaks mostly of war and not just war in which Poland is involved, but wars between other countries. I remember that he mentioned China and Japan. In about 4 pages of writing to his brother across the ocean, all this man talks about is oppression and war in the world. How sad that this (I’m assuming) impoverished man has nothing else to talk about. He doesn’t talk about his crops or his hobbies or how the kid’s are doing in school, but about the world at war.

I think about these poor people just trying to survive and care for their own families. All the while you have these people “above” them plotting wars and fighting over lands. And then the poor people have to go fight the wars for the greedy land grabbers. Do the greedy land grabbers have a clue how unfair it is to make these poor people fight and die for them? And will this ever end?

Posted in Character, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nonsensical worship and devotion

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Now it happened, after that Amaziah had come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them. Therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?” ~ 2 Chronicles 25

One has to wonder why folks would choose to set up a god to worship that didn’t even serve to save the people already worshiping and living under it.  It’s really bizarre to think that I am now bowing down to something that I just defeated. What makes this being worthy of my worship? What is the attraction?

This got me thinking about human nature and unreasonable devotion to certain systems of government and systems of education (and other ways of life) that have not “saved” their people and yet some insist that we also follow them. What is the attraction?

Posted in Bible, Character | Comments Off on Nonsensical worship and devotion

Celebrating Eight Wonderful Years

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Kay Pelham
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

The company he keeps

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Kay Pelham

Copying this from the comments in the previous post. Just an example of the sweet surprises I get from time to time.

Last night we went to see the “African Cats” movie. It followed a year in the life of a pride of lions and a mother cheetah and her cubs. Cheetahs are independent loner animals. After we watched the mother cheetah raise her cubs to young adults, the narrator said that now that the training was done, they would all go their separate ways. James leans over to me and says, “When my training is done, I don’t want to lose my mother. You know why? Because you’re good company.”

I feel like I mess up often with James with my impatience and insecurities and the distractions of life, but then he says things like this and I know we’re doing the right thing and we’re going to be all right.

Posted in Nature, Parenting | Tagged | 1 Comment

He rises up to call me blessed?

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Kay Pelham

James and I are reading John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress over a period of two years as suggested by the lovely advisers at Ambleside Online. In our reading this week, Christian (the pilgrim who is progressing) has met another progressing pilgrim named Faithful. Faithful tells him about his encounter with someone named Adam the First, who dwells in the town of Deceit. This guy Adam has three daughters: The Lust of the Flesh, The Lust of the Eyes, and The Pride of Life, and offers Faithful a chance to marry all of them. I explained to James that the names of these 3 daughters come from a passage in 1 John and we talked about examples of each.

James then says, “I don’t think you’re like that daughter Lust of the Eyes at all.”

How encouraged I felt. My son sees me as pure and not tempted by worldly things.

And then he went on, “You know how there’s those Pro-Active commercials? You’re not like those women. You don’t care about that stuff on your face. You don’t care what you look like.”

My, my, my, how one can go from feeling honored in one moment to humbled in the next.

Her children rise up and call her blessed. ~ Proverbs 31:28

Posted in Bible, On the Lighter Side | Tagged , | 3 Comments

30 Random Facts about me

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Kay Pelham

I got tagged in a note on Facebook and decided to play along. I thought I’d go ahead and share this here because…why not?

1. I have been a piano teacher in 7 states

2. I played piano at a pizza place in Abilene, TX.

3. I was married the first time at age 40.

4. My dad was 44 when I was born and I was 44 when our daughter was born.

5. I have played piano or sang on stage at Nashville’s Ryman and Grand Ole Opry House and NYC’s Madison Square Garden

6. My mother is a seamstress and quilter. I am not. My oldest sister is a sketcher and painter. I am not. My older sister is a story writer and teller. I am not. I would like to do what the mother and oldest do. I will leave the writing and telling to the older.

7. I sold headphones to Larry Bryggman (John Dixon of ATWT).

8. I have visited all the US states, but 11. If I don’t make it to Hawaii in my lifetime, I’ll be okay.

9. As a child, instead of counting sheep, I would run through the names of the US presidents in order.

10. I never Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment