12.29.06
Posted in Life, the Universe and All that Jazz at 2:00 am by Meg
Okay, I’m getting hassled on my state Yahoo group.
Why? because one of the members is the state’s TOS representative (or something like that) and she posted that the Suarezs were going to give a free talk at a local Christian bookstore.
I came back with my typical BOYCOTT flag:
Before you go, be aware that Gena and Paul Suarez are vocal
advocates for the Pearls. While they may have some wonderful advice
for homeschoolers, any money that you put in these people’s hands
will be supporting the Pearls.
There is an international homeschool boycott against The Pearls,
their books, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and Mr and Mrs. Suarez.
I got back three very different responses:
From R:
Please stop bringing up the Pearls everytime someone mentions The
Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Let people do their own research and
figure out what they personally believe. PLEASE!! This is sooooo
From S (the state what-a-ma-call-it):
Hello Meg,
In order to clarify this a bit, I should offer that The Old Schoolhouse
Magazine and the Suarez family will be conducting an encouraging seminar on
homeschooling. This is not a seminar on child training and this seminar is
not related to No Greater Joy of the Pearl family. Also, this seminar is a
free seminar and there is no cost to attend.
Most homeschool families who are familiar with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
recognize that within the 200 plus pages of each issue, a broad range of
diverse homeschooling authors, companies, and homeschooling styles have been
included ranging from traditional texts, unit studies, classical education,
to eclectic methods of homeschooling.
In the past, No Greater Joy has advertised within the magazine. As with all
homeschool companies that appear in the magazine, The Old Schoolhouse does
not endorse all of the specifics of any homeschooling method, company, or
individual. I cannot speak for what the Pearl family presents in their
publications. Our family has homeschooled for 8+ years and we have never
utilized their publications or methods within our own family.
I can speak positively for The Old Schoolhouse magazine because I have
worked with them for a couple of years on various projects. The Suarez’s are
a delightful homeschooling family who enjoy encouraging others. I think this
seminar is going to be a nice event for homeschool families and will also
provide helpful information for families who are considering homeschooling.
And from P:
Sorry R, I can’t help but disagree with you. This is exactly
the type of information I come to this site for. Whether it is the
mental health screening, the HSLDA methodology, or TOS and the
Pearls, all of which have appeared on this site and which I wouldn’t
have been aware of without someone posting. I don’t have time to do
all the research on everything - no one does- and if someone like Meg
can point out an “under the surface” connection, then I can go and
research it specifically, and decide if the connection is merely
incidental or supportive - and vote with my own spending dollars
accordingly. Knowledge is power, so thanks, Meg, for the power boost.
Now, I usually type up my flag and let it go at that. But this just called out for a response.
R, S, and P - My thoughts
R- I understand that you are sick of hearing about this. So am I.
But there are always new homeschoolers and TOS comes up constantly. We are nearing the 1 year anniversary of a young boy’s death which brought this issue to a head and that makes it more important to keep the issue alive.
I hope if you truly have read my posts, you’ll realize that I try very carefully to not make a flat ‘don’t do this’ I am trying hard to bring the issue to light and allow others to make their own judgements. I do usually conclude with an opinion statement - yes - but it is very toned down from what I might be saying.
S - I appreciate your response and I’m sure that this whole thing has made you do some deep thinking. Here’s my opinion.
First, about this talk. If you look over my post, you will see that I very explicitly state that the Suarez family will probably have some very wonderful advice for homeschoolers. But I am willing to make a wager that there will be subscriptions available for sale. Hence the comment about not putting any money into their hands. And if there is any discussion about subscribing to TOS, there will also be mention of their 19 ‘gifts.’ That’s my current problem with the Suarez family.
And that leads to my second point. The Suarez family by the nature of being the publishers of a successful magazine are not like you or I when it comes to their actions. They have taken on the mantle of ‘expert’ (the reason why they can give a talk like this and people will be interested). When you become an expert, what you say and do has ‘value’ and people will follow it often without thinking and doing their own research.
And that brings me to my third point. Last March when the poor little boy died, fingers pointed to the Pearls and their methods. At that time, TOS gave away one of the Pearl’s books as one of those 19 gifts (point 1) and accepted their advertisements in the magazine. That was an endorsement of the Pearls given by a respected expert in the homeschooling field (point 2). I also have it from a friend, that I respect, that Gena made a public statement supporting the Pearls and their methods (point 2 again). I feely admit that I did not see Gena’s statement as an orginal from her, so this not a strong support for my argument.
That was when a boycott of TOS was called.
And that brings me to my fourth point. It’s now 10 months later, whether the Suarezs have been affected by the boycott or did some thinking on their own - I can’t tell you. But I can tell you that they no longer give a copy of the Pearl’s book as one of those 19 gifts…..well, sort of. You see, they now give you some samples of another homeschooling magazine. That magazine will happily send you a copy of the Pearl’s book when you subscribe to them.
Lastly, a boycott can only be fair if there is a point at which it will end. This boycott has that. The homeschoolers that support the boycott would like two things from the Suarezs and their magazine. 1.- A clear statement that they do not support the Pearls and their methods. 2. - A complete disconnect to anything that connects to the Pearls and their books.
P - Thank you. It’s always nice to not feel like a voice in the wilderness, especially so when the message is heard so clearly. Yes, I really just want people to do their own research and draw their own conclusions. The books are available online, please go read them. If you see them as acceptable methods, hey it’s your family. I can not stop you. But if you feel at all questionable about the methods, at least you’ll realize that you aren’t alone.
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12.27.06
Posted in Life, the Universe and All that Jazz at 11:50 am by Meg
If you are at all able to make it to Chicago, I highly recommend that you put this on your calendar and plan on coming. The In-Home Conference is Feb. 23 and 24 and they are about to post the schedule and open up registration (Jan. 5).
Now why is this the conference you shouldn’t miss?
I’m so glad you asked.
First, is that this is a family conference. They actually have more things for kids to do than the parents. Kids under 4 are welcome to join you at the adult sessions and (in the past, so I expect it’ll continue) each room has baskets of books and toys to keep them happy while you listen to the speakers. For older kids, they start with a general playroom for the next age group and then for have actual sessions for the oldest couple of age groups. Older kids are also welcome to join the adult sessions, but mine have always found better things to do. My kids have done drama workshops, creative writing classes, D&D, taken things apart (like computers and toasters and such), and board games to name a few. For older teens there is also a Teen Hangout room. Last year they had a poetry reading and Teen Dance.
Second, they do not (traditionally) have a restricted vender hall. Even if you can’t make/afford the conference, you can still enter the vender hall and do any browsing and shopping that you want. Any time it is open!! (I dislike the local state Christian conference that charges $20 to just go into their vender hall and then only after 2 PM)
Third, they call their conference ‘nonsectarian’ (the ‘n’ in In-home). I call it secular. But they don’t reject anyone’s religion. No, they welcome everyone and in my experience that means that there is everything from very traditional to very laid-back. They just take the religious aspect out of the discussion. It’s very refreshing when you live in a state where the state conference’s keynote address is: “Our Children: A Letter of Christ to the Culture.”
So mark your calendars and plan on coming.
PS: They give $ credit for volunteering, so you can save money by spending part of your weekend helping out.
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12.21.06
Posted in Meme at 11:34 pm by Meg
Kixque got me, so now you have to live with it.
4 Jobs I have Had
- Camp Counselor - summer between high school and college - we had a great time. Maybe too great.
- Structural engineer for a nuclear powerplant - Yep, really. Even went into a working plant a couple of times. My sisters didn’t let me hear the end of it, even dragged me to Silkwood
- Land development designer - subdivisions and strip malls on both coasts - Yeah!
- Facilitater for a Mommy and Me class
4 Movies I would Watch Over and Over
- Star Wars (any of them.. I think)
- Jesus Christ Superstar - okay, I know it’s corny, but I’ve always like this - both on stage and the movie - and I sing the music all the time.
- Sound of Music - Has been my favorite since I learned the music in 4th grade.
- The Grinch who Stole Christmas (the original)
4 TV Shows
Okay, I’m an HBO series girl - Sopranos, Oz, Sex in the City, 6 Feet Under, Carnivale, Rome, and Wired - but none of them are on right now. So, I thought I’d make my list out of things you can see right now.
- Heros - If you haven’t gotten hooked on this show yet, you are missing one of the best new shows.
- Num3ers - We’ve watched this from the beginning. (even got to see previews of it at a conference we went to with Hubby) It’s great. The math is stretched sometimes, but they are doing real stuff.
- Dr. Who - Okay. I was hooked in college when the PBS station would show the Tom Baker episodes. The next doctor lost me and then the show stopped. I’ve now got the kids hooked onto the new show and we love enjoying it.
- Scrubs - Hubby and I watch this every week. It can be very uneven at times, but at least they are trying to do some off the beaten path comedy. And when they hit, they hit.
4 Places I Have Visited
- England - Spring break one year at college when Continental had $300 round trip airfare. Stayed with friends who were doing a year aboard
- Italy - New Year trip with Hubby before we were married. Great trip except that I got sick and we ended up missing Venice.
- Maui - Both our honeymoon and again with the kids a couple of years ago.
- Wisconsin Dells - Our favorite vacation spot currently. Waterparks are so much fun, especially when it’s freezing outside.
4 Favourite Foods
- CHOCOLATE
- cheesecake
- steak
- pumpkin pie
4 Websites I visit daily
- Google home page
- Yahoo Mail
- Homeschool Journal
- Stat counter
4 Bloggers I would Like to Respond if they can…I can never keep track of where I’ve seen this or who has previously stated that they don’t like memes. So, consider yourself tagged - but let me know if you’re doing it.
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Posted in Life, the Universe and All that Jazz at 4:30 pm by Meg
It doesn’t look very big in this picture, does it?
Yesterday was the 10 year aniverisary of Carl Sagan’s death.
Growing up in upstate NY, not far from Cornell, his name was one that I had heard over the years.
But the movie Contact, finally got me to read one of his books. Part of the movie takes place at the Very Large Array.
Last year while we were in New Mexico, the kids and I made trip down to check it out.
The scale was amazing.
To give you a better idea, check out this view.
Notice the truck parked next to the building?
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12.17.06
Posted in Life, the Universe and All that Jazz at 2:44 pm by Meg
Since we are deep into the holiday season, I thought I’d post my annual wishes. I did not write it, but I find it funny.
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all…and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only “America” in the Western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual orientation of the wishee.
This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. “Holiday” is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual or belief (or lack thereof).
Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. This greeting is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for the wishee her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or no-implementation of same. This greeting is void where prohibited by law.
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