WHAT in the World Are You DOING?????!!

I have finally come up for air!  We have been traveling again.  Also, my daughter has been in another play and it is unreal how much of my time that takes.  Over sixteen hours in a normal week.  But these last few weeks, it as been more like twenty hours or better.
Now it's OVER!!!!!
The show was super good; I'm just thrilled to be back to "normal" life for now.

The Cardinals are in the World Series and we are, actually, watching TV these days!  lol  The more commercials we see for tv shows, the more convinced we are that our No-TV home is perfectly happy without that nonsense.

Elizabeth is working hard on learning Korean.  She submerges herself in film, music, and online Korean soap operas (YES, I do realize that this is TV...LOL.)  She also works on vocabulary, history, and writing.  Soon, we plan on her working with a Korean tutor.
She is working on evolution in Biology 1, dividing real numbers in Algebra, and the Bill of Rights in Civics.  In English 1 we are working on Expository essays and "To Kill a Mockingbird".

John is working on abbreviations, plural possessive nouns, and punctuation on English, Pre-Algebraic stuff in Math 76, and the human body in General Science.

Not long ago I took Elizabeth and some other homeschool friends out to an awesome event put on by the Kansas City Secular Homeschoolers.  They call it the Unprom.  It is a theme-based, family-oriented dance.  This year the theme was TIME.  Elizabeth went as her favorite time traveler:  Dr. Who!
The Unprom was AMAZING!  And it was wonderful to hang out with such cool and like-minded people!

I LOVE knowing that I am a part of the secular homeschool movement here in Missouri.

Diary of a Wimpy Homeschooler

As a modality for homeschooling, we have been very eclectic for years.  Using materials from far and yon and where ever I could find materials that interested us and promoted further challenge.  Ever since Elizabeth became a "high schooler", I've been so frightened of being inadequate that we have been following a variety of textbooks day after day. 

With both kids, we have been studying textbooks that include the subjects:  Science, Math or Algebra, History, Grammar and Literature and Writing, and Critical Thinking.  With Elizabeth, we have textbooks and other regularly-used materials for Korean, Theater, Civics and Government, and English 1.  We also include art and music.  Same with John.

I'm trying to decide how I feel about this new way of homeschooling.
On one hand, I'm certain we are "covering the bases", on the other hand, I am equally as certain that I am squashing some passion and interest in other things...at least, that is my fear of "schooling at home." 

The kids, however, are DOING THEIR WORK and completing lessons on the day they are assigned.  They are motivated to get their work done and they are self-starting as they get their materials together and start working.  They report and admit that they prefer this type of  structure.  In the past few weeks I have tried backing off on the structure.  Each of the kids, in their own way, has told me that they prefer the structure and and has asked me to keep it up.

I find it interesting that they prefer "school at home" homeschooling.  Earlier in our homeschooling careers this would never have flown and now they request it.  It's possible that I could have been doing this all of these years, to the betterment of the kids..?

It goes against my grain, to be honest.  I prefer the unschooling or eclectic approach to learning.  BUT, as this is THEIR journey, we are schooling at home.  This requires a great deal of preparation from me each evening or several times a week.  But the results have been surprising!  The kids get up, check their lessons for the day, prepare for their day, and get to work.   Who would have ever forseen that?!  lol

Our lives are different with this amount of scholastic time in the house.  I'm not sure how long I can keep up the exercise of operating INSIDE OF THE BOX!  lol...it's just not my speed. 
Let's just think of this as a learning experience...

On Being an Atheist Parent

Do you find it difficult being an atheist parent in a nonsecular world?
You know, I really don't. It just IS. It is what I am.
We don't have a cool acronym like WWJD to use to instill fear and loathing in our kids. We don't have Biblical or other religious literature to teach us how to separate and sheep from the goats. Or the pillars of salt or the threat of hell to frighten our kids into good behavior.
Although, I kind of like WWCSD! 

Intelligence, Kindness, Ethics

In case YOU don't find it easy, I have thought of a few parenting tips for you.

1. Be honest.  Always answer questions with correct answers, without any sort of mythology. I am convinced that parents use the myth stories for two reasons: to give kids HOPE and to make it easier handling the difficult things themselves. Who WANTS to explain the end of life to a child? Who WANTS to explain that Grandpa is gone for good? Well, I do. I want the kids to know that THIS is the life that we have. All good things that want to do, the must do in THIS life. That lesson makes life and time very precious.
2. Create customs and rituals in your family that are for celebrating, mourning, being together. Your celebrations can be all about FAMILY and FUN without any of the downer myth stories. I'm sure you already have family traditions that you can build on!
3. Read many myth stores, including the Christian myths.  These myths are no more believable than any of the other myth stories out there. Explain that these myths were created in order to answer questions that we now understand through a greater understanding of scientific principles. Are we having a drought because someone angered a god? Of course not. The study of weather sciences can explain that. How about where WE come from? Did a god SNAP us into existence? Of course not. Evolution and the Big Bang Theory can explain much of this.  The explanation as to why is there SOMETHING instead of NOTHING...I'm not sure there is a scientific explanation for that one! But that's OK. Sometimes "I don't know" is a totally acceptable answer.
4. Teach your child to think critically and to ask for PROOF of extraordinary claims. Talk with them daily about how certain groups are always trying to "sell us" their point of view. Watch commercials, then go look at the junk that they represent and seek to sell. Explore how the commercial's job was to make that toy look extremely AWESOME, while the reality of it is that toy is junk. It's a tough lesson, but well worth it! Look for empirical evidence, apply logic and reason, and thinking skeptically. These are the three skills a good atheist parent gives to their children.
5. Make sure you do not have hateful, vengeful, or angry outlooks at people and things that don't agree with you.  Creating unkind people doesn't help anything! (Yes, I DID just say be nice!)
6. Allow your children to explore the religions and to learn about the belief systems of each one that interests them, in fact, encourage it! Nothing creates good strong atheists like reading the Bible. Support them in their search. Each of us needs to search and find our own answers. As long as you have given them that critical foundation of being able to think logically, you can sit back and let them go on their own journey. In fact, if you were to discourage this type of exploration, you would be no better than any other authority that seeks to force it's beliefs on others.
7. Sadly, prepare them for people who may say unkind things about atheists. Help them to understand that those people, regardless of how loud or unkind they are, have ALOT to learn about what makes a truly GOOD person. Religious beliefs, in this day and age, are very public. So expect that. Plan for the worst but expect the best.
8. And, finally, stress good ethical behavior at all times...talk about being Good for Goodness's sake! Because that is what makes you feel great inside. As my son told me one day, Being a good person is its own reward.
9. Now, doesn't all of this make sense? You're probably doing all of this already! If so, guess what, you are parenting as an atheist. As a secular humanist.

I'm convinced that giving our children the ability to think critically, the skills for thinking logically and rationally, and a skeptical mind are the best gifts we can give our kids as they go out into the world...to adulthood. Further, I am convinced that there is absolutely no reason to give negative messages to kids about religion; their critical thinking skills will do the job.

Christopher Hitchens

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You might also enjoy:
Christian Mythology for Kids...and Adults
Ghosts and Bedtime
Kathryn Wants to Know: When Family Doesn't Support Secular Parenting

The INSANITY that lives inside of some people's heads...

 

Did anyone hear Fresh Air on NPR today? Terry Gross talked to A Leading Figure In The New Apostolic Reformation, the nuttiest nut I've heard in a loooong time.
Terry Gross was SO respectful it was amazing. She got lots of guff from listeners for being too respectful and not confrontational enough. All I could think was, "How fun it is to shoot fish in a barrel?"

C. Peter Wagner actually believes there are demons in the cities who are responsible for all bad things that happen, LITERAL demons from Satan's army...

He is, particularly, concerned about Japan because, as he says: The emperor of Japan has sex with the sun goddess, a demon, and brings bad things on Japan, like the tsunami and the recent nuclear meltdown.
God COULD have prevented the bad things, Wagner assures us, but he didn't...

Seriously?!
Here's the link:  http://www.npr.org/2011/10/03/140946482/apostolic-leader-weighs-religions-role-in-politics

Don't Kill the Writer

I'm teaching an English 1 course to homeschool kids who are about 12-15 years of age. Each child has a different writing level and a different levels of grammar work. I find myself learning something new each class!

I started out with the first class containing a Powerpoint presentation on basic grammar and sentence structure.

Have you ever looked out into a class full of bored faces? I hesitate to tell you what it is like... I don't want to frighten you! The Powerpoint event was.....terrible! It must be a nightmare to teach unwilling high school aged kids literature. (I sincerely apologize to my literature teacher from my senior year who was trying to get us to read William Faulkner!)

I saw doodling, yawning, eye rolls, gum bubbles, texting...
It was awful!
Immediately I started rethinking my teaching method.

The next class we did more in-class writing and reading.
It was better, but still a grind.

This last class, I think I finally got it.
First we wrote a paragraph while sitting in my living room.

What is the day like? 

Most kids talked about the beautiful sunny weather and the nice temperatures.

Then, I marched them outside, moved around the yard, sat in the warmth of the sun on the soft carpet of my front lawn. Then we rewrote the paragraph. Talking about sensory words. Noticing the variety of birds overhead, the depth of the amazing color of blue in the sky, the thousand colors of green in the grass, the nonstop sound of insects, the smell of the grass, leaves falling from the trees onto our toes, the feel of the breeze that moved the tree leaves...

The paragraphs that came from that exercise were top notch!
And I learned a thing or two too.

Keep it simple. Keep it interesting. And keep it real.

What's it Like Being an Atheist?

It’s a lot like being the only sober person in a car full of drunk people,   

and they refuse to pull over and let you drive.

 full on STEAL from:  http://freethoughtblogs.com/bluecollaratheist/

 The interesting thing is, I seldom go through my day thinking of religion or gods or anything supernatural.  Dream reading, ghosts, tarot cards, talking to the dead, afterlives, prelives, for that matter, runes, angels, daemons, dream interpretation, Phrenology, palmistry, alchemy, Big Foot, Astrology, Crystals, crop circles, UFO abductions, Deja Vu,  faith healing, telekinesis, faith healings, reincarnation, palm reading, vampires, horoscopes, and the like. 

I'll just be moving through the day, rationally.  

Suddenly someone will say something about an angel thing or a prayer thing and I'm immediately like  

*BOOM* 

Oh yeah, people out there actually believe this stuff and it is meaningful for them...

Weird.
 Here is an example:  I was as Walgreens earlier today and saw a DVD meant for TODDLERS explaining the beauty of God's creation...  I literally nearly tripped!

All I could think was:  ACK!!!

Struggling With a Label...

If you read my blog, you know that I have been struggling with a label. Am I Humanist?

I've been reading and watching and thinking and musing and whatnot and, sure, I agree with so much of the tenets of those who call themselves Humanist or Secular Humanist. So what. I realize it's not that big of a deal.

The other day I was listening to a podcast that had a wonderful interview with Neil DeGrasse-Tyson talking about this EXACT THING. Isn't it amazing and serendipitous when you are thinking about a thing and the next thing you know NPR or someone is doing a segment on it. It was weird and great like that.

He was talking about why he does not espouse an 'ism' or an  "ist".  It's the very reason why I am having trouble with labels at all. 
As soon as anyone knows your "label", they can claim to understand where you are coming from. You are immediately pigeon-holed and filtered and fitted with your "beliefs" by the person with whom you are speaking. You are immediately seen as having a set of things for which you stand. What you love. What you hate. What you criticize. What you support.
Besides, most "isms" are shallow and hate-based.

I find myself living in the gray areas of life. In the spaces between things. I can't claim to be either Republican or Democrat. Liberal or Conservative. Friendly but shy. Sensitive or indifferent. Confident but insecure. Enlightened and biased. Dingy or deep.
Maybe I should consider calling myself a Dichotomous Freak of Nature.

My point is, if a person knows me as an atheist, and most people do know me this way, they make assumptions about who I am and what I stand for that may or may not apply to me.

We are all complicated beings. We have our own personal filters.  Our histories that move us in many directions at once. Our cathected ideas and objects. Personal injuries, emotional and otherwise. Those things that fill us with excitement and passion.
We are simply TOO COMPLEX to allow any "ism" to define us.
And I say we embrace that.
Today.
Today we stop using "isms" and "ists".

I have already begun, actually.
I was talking with my sister about this tonight. (Well, sort of about this...) I would say that we all have a degree of being friendly, unfriendly, sensitive, indifferent.
In fact, I believe it is these very dichotomous natures within me that allow me to have compassion and respect for many people with whom I disagree. I can appreciate the even and the odd, the dark and the light, the easy and the difficult, the  self aware and the unenlightened.

And why not?  Viva La' different!

And that statement in other languages too!

The Greeks, way back at Delphi, graffitied on their walls "Know Thyself".

γνῶθι σεαυτόν

All through history philosophers have talked about the wisdom of knowing one's self. Plato made the phrase his own personal catch phrase, for goodness sake! And my favorite philosophical writer from the last two hundred years or so, Ralph Waldo Emerson, frequently wrote about the need to know the self within.

So, I have decided to take Dr. DeGrasse-Tyson's lead and NOT label myself further.
I AM a homeschooling parent and I AM an atheist.

Beyond that, hey, I'm a rolling stone...

Brights Mag

A good friend of mine, Rayven Holmes, has started her own secular parenting magazine called "Bright Parenting Magazine".  Her first edition comes out tomorrow.
The COOL thing, besides me having an article in the issue...AND the fact that this magazine is going to be in existence at all...I was there as Rayven took the pic for the cover art...ON HER PHONE.
Man, the cameras on those little devices are amazing...

Here is a link to the mag's website:  http://brightparentingmagazine.com/

I will follow up with more information as the issue comes out.

Count down:  1 Day until First Issue

Thoughts and Humanism

We're having one of those weeks. FAR too much to do on each day. It's a bit overwhelming just thinking about it...

But, WE CAN DO IT! WE CAN DO IT!  WE CAN DO IT!!!


The kids who are taking my English 1 class are SO inspiring!

I am offering an English 1 class to the kids on our co op (Who have already signed up and started the class) this semester and next. One of the things they are to do is begin a blog to be used only for the class and for publishing their writing for my perusal only. (Well, mine and their parents.)

I am enjoying them immensely! Each child comes across so uniquely in his or her writing. We are planning on reading some of the classic "freshman" reads this year, as well as a few different titles. So far, I'm very excited!

I do hope to see more interested faces next week...LOL.

I have been working on a costume for John for a costume birthday party he is going to this week.

I'm making the costume on the fly and it's looking a bit...weird.
I hope I can get it done and I hope I can get it done in a way that doesn't make him weep.
LOL
Laura or Ashlea, where are you!!!!

Laundry, lessons, cleaning, shopping, working on the bathroom remodel, working on lessons that I am preparing, working on the yard, and so many other forms of working...
Did I mention lessons?

⟴⟴⟴ ⤲ ⬲⬲⬲

As for HUMANISM, I've been listening to some good and not-so-good podcasts. Still enjoying learning more.
At this website, I read this:

What Is Secular Humanism?

Secular Humanism is a term which has come into use in the last thirty years to describe a world view with the following elements and principles:

• A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
• Commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith and mysticism, in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
• A primary concern with fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
• A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
• A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
• A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
• A conviction that with reason, an open marketplace of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children. 

Do I have a conviction that dogmas, ideologies, and traditions must be weighted rather than accepted on faith?  YES.
Am I committed  to the use of critical reason rather than faith or mysticism?    YES
Am I in a constant search for truth?  YES
Do I believe that this life can be made better and more meaningful through connection with others?  YES
Do I believe that ethical principles are judged on their ability to enhance humanity?  YES
Do I believe that these principles can lead to a better world?  YES

Secular Thursday: Good Video

But WHY do people wish to believe?  

WHY does religion thrive?

Why do people continually ignore obvious facts before them in pursuit of a myth?

For one brief, excellent video response to these questions, check out this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakUK3joatQ&feature=player_embedded#!