12.29.06

“THAT” magazine

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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