Well, I opened my big mouth and got into another debate with homeschool freaks. (Not to be offensive… but these people are so sold out to homeschooling that they can’t even be reasoned with!)

Here is what was said to me.



Drew, if you have personally had negative experiences with families who homeschool, may I suggest you do some research beyond your own experience to see what a family who does this well would look like! I also take offense at these statements:



QUOTE FROM ME

I guess I am just frustrated that Satan is winning the hearts and minds of many parents I know who have turned to homeschooling. (Please don’t see that as inclusive to you, I don’t know you.) He has convinced some parents that things won’t change and they only ever get worse. He’s convinced some parents that their children are somehow more valuable than children from non-believing families. He’s convinced some Christians that “being seperate from the world” is pleasing to God. He’s convinced them that they can’t make a difference and that the no of a school board is no to the gospel.

What in the world does all of that mean? I must tell you that Satan has not won our hearts and minds and that we are not convinced that things will never get better (we just can’t justify using our children to fix this). We most certainly DO NOT consider our children more valuable than those of non-believing families [many homeschoolers do so for purely educational reasons…many homeschoolers are not Christians!] We are actively engaged in our world…just not in public school right now. We know we can make a difference and we are making a difference.

My response:

My statement is what it is, I am not going to back-peddle. I’ve done research and I’ve even seen a few decent examples of homeschooling. You say I should research outside my point of view, you should do the same.

If you were to look at the big picture instead of the small picture you could see that you could make a difference. It’s not about your children, it’s about taking you, a trained professional willing to invest time and money into education and a believer, out of the system.I don’t hide my view, I believe it is wrong for anyone untrained to do secondary homeschool education. (6-12 grades) [I also don’t oppose primary homeschool educating even though I chose to not do it, I can respect it as an OK choice]

I feel that parents have a responsibility to know the long-term effects of removing themselves from the public schools. To give up the war [public schools] for the battle [some individual chidlren] is, I think, giving the victory to Satan. That’s my point of view. It’s really not short-sided. I’ve lived in 4 states now and seen it at each place. It is the same all over. You have people who think homeschooling is great and you have people that think it is bad. I know it is a huge industry that makes millions and it has it’s converts who are sold out to it. I’ve read some curriculum and I’ve met plenty of students, my opinion is that it is not as well-rounded of an education compared to the total package of public school.

QUOTE FROM HER

I am also not anti-public school and every year we re-evaluate this choice. I also am not willing to sacrifice my kids to an incredibly flawed system. The majority of the teenagers (smart teenagers) in my youth group cannot read aloud without stumbling. They cannot do simple math (accurately adding money up after collecting it for a youth event for example). That is not acceptable!

I don’t think this is representative of the system in general. Likewise, I’ve had homeschoolers in my groups that were 2-3 years behind because their “well-meaning” parents were bad teachers.Look, I am not trying to hijack this thread. It’s about resources. My opinion to the original post was the best resource they could get was to put their children in the public school.

QUOTE FROM HER

I also take offense at these statements:



If you are offended by others perspectives, I am sorry. You do not hold the keys to these grey area choices any more than I do. Perhaps this is why you have chosen to homeschool? I believe a diversity of opinions is a strength and not a weakness. I welcome your thoughts and reactions. But can I ask that if you chose to continue that you please start another thread?

You can read the thread at Homeliskooling thread at YS forums If this is anything like last time, I am certain to get nailed by some guy like Scott from last time.



To all visitors made at me for speaking out against the cult of homelischooling… WELCOME! Please leave your comments below. Just remember that we still live in the U.S. Members of Landover Baptist Church please leave your comments in the original hillbilly.

As usual, everyone ate too much. As usual we all got on each others nerves. As usual I left with a headache.

I don’t know what the solution is, but there are too many people at the in-laws house to pull this off any more. For some reason it’s our kids who always get pushed around and rough housed and not Gwen and Eric’s. I’m just a little sick of that and if I were to vote right now I would say that I have plans for next Thanksgiving to just stay home with our family.

This is a great excuse for Kristen and I to re-open our dreams of home ownership. I doubt that we will be able to buy anything in the next year… But it would be incredible. It is a missing ingredient for our family.

To the delight of Megan and the dismay of her parents. It started snowing today. I guess this means that golf is officially over until springtime.

I spent some time today making sure the car has it’s scraper and the ice melt is ready to come out of the basement. The pumpkins will soon be replaced by a snow shovel and salt bucket on our front porch.

Ghetto neighbors update: I haven’t called the cops in more than 2 weeks! Also, they decided to make our house look like a Christmas tree lot by hanging colored lights. Then they asked us if they minded… As if we could say “no” at that point. All the lights were already up.

I’m going to do my best to fake the Christmas spirit this year. I’m relishing in the new Krank movie that is coming out. I read the book last year and it’s very funny. I can’t wait.

On Monday I had the idea that I would be busier than I actually am. I am actually enjoying a couple fo half days as well as a total day off today and Friday. The paper I have for grad school will wait. (Still waiting to here back from Dave Rahn on what he wants anyway. This is one of the things I dislike about doing distance education. I wish we all saw each other more often.

Sitting around the house and reconnecting with the kids has been incredible!

I didn’t get a chance to talk tonight and I really wanted to. It was very humbling to have people publicly say that they are thankful for my ministry. It only confirms in our heart how much we are grateful for being here in Romeo.

I am thankful for a lot of things today. But I want to highlight just one.

I am thankful for the ministry of Dan and Barb Evans and the two sending churches that sent them to me. It was 12 years ago this week that me and my mom endured the low point of our lives. We were brand new to Hanau, Germany in November 1992. Our household goods were still in transit from the states. We were sleeping on weird beds and I was living in a new and strange room in a new and strange country.

I’ll never forget the cold that seeped into my bedroom. It was a cold dampness that chilled you in a way I was unfamiliar with. My radiator barely worked and I barely slept at all. This took my loneliness to a new level and I was often near tears during my first days at a new school. On Thanksgiving Day we were restless and homesick. So we spent the day in the car driving the 2 hours to Strasbourg, France. It was a nice adventure for us when we were feeling so far from home. It was an excellent distraction. The plan was to go early, shop and explore the square area during the morning, have nice dinner in the afternoon and head back home by early evening.

The morning was filled with exploring the shops and strolling the cobblestone streets. I remember thinking that everything looked the same. I learned that everything looked the same since most of the city had been bombed to dust during World War II. Little else remained in the city except the cathedral. We went there that day. I was amazed by it’s soaring ceiling and stained glass windows. I was amazed by it’s vast emptiness. There were only a few chairs in the front of the sanctuary and a couple other instruments. Besides this, the church was dead. Near the front, on one of the pillars, there was a large inscriptions. I only noticed it because it was in English. It was a dedication to the soldiers who helped liberate the city from the Nazi’s and gave praises to them for their duty.

As the afternoon wore on we made our way to a part of the town where we had hoped to find a nice place to eat. To our dismay and embarrassment, everything was closed. We didn’t fully understand the culture of eating in France, but the restaurants there were closed between lunch and dinner. We were starving and our American brains were begging for some poultry and carbs. We were all bummed as we regrouped. We all decided that we were too hungry to wait for the eateries to re-open in a few hours and we needed to get back home. So we decided we would make the best of it and eat our first Thanksgiving dinner away from home at the local McDonald’s. It was the worst big Mac of my life and it was the embodiment of how I felt… I was in the pit of hell.

This is the beginning point of what led to me giving my life to the Lord. Before Christmas I started attending the youth groups headed up by Dan and Barb. I am thankful today that when I was in the pit, I was lonely, I was homesick, I was looking for something to fill the hurt in my life that they were there for me. They didn’t have to be there. They were they by choice and by design. I owe them a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid.

For this, I am thankful today.

This story caught my attention since it’s pretty clear that rather is miffed that Kerry lost the election. I know I’m not that old, but this year’s political coverage on election night was ridiculous. Couple that, where he refused to call states for Bush even when Bush was up by more than 10% of the vote with 75-80% of the votes counted, with his attack minded false reporting of Bush’s Texas National guard service and I’m pretty certain you have a “resignation” instead of a retirement. Wink wink.

Besides all of that. I think the Home Shopping Network was getting higher ratings in that time slop than he was.

I met with the deacons tonight. Everything looks like an official “go” for the trip. It’s not that I expected to get anything other than a yes, but it is still nice to have that validation from church leadership.

There are still 2 small issues that have to be 100% ironed out in the next 24-48 hours.

1. Male/Female leadership: There is some upstreaming to be done since I will be traveling with a female adult team member. To me, it’s not an issue. The the female leader involved it’s not an issue. To the deacons it’s not an issue. But we want to be super careful to make sure that no ones integrity is compromised for the sake of this trip.
2. Tax issues. There is an overall preference to keep all funds collected for the trip in a single account. This leaves some ambiguity to how we keep track of who has raised what. In a perfect world, this wouldn’t matter but there is still the possibility that someone won’t carry their weight and we’d have to make a decision if they can still proceed.

All in all, I remain extraordinary excited about this trip. It has been invigorating to announce this trip to others and see their excitement. A deacon summed it up best when he said, “this is a long time coming, I wish we had starting doing this a long time ago.” Amen and amen.

It’s been a while since I’ve gone through my week on a Monday, but since I am up a few ours earlier than normal I’ll go ahead and do it.

Monday: This whole week I am planning on working half days. This is simply make-up time of trying to spend more time with the family. There is almost nothing going on at work. I’d like to send out a letter to parents notifying them about the upcoming missions informational meetings. But other than this, I have little else that I can do since it’s an off-week for Light Force. I will be following up with my classmates to see what I am supposed to be writing this research paper on. I know we all talked about it on the last day of class… But I don’t think I had a firm answer of what I was going to write on.

My Monday will be highlighted by a meeting with the deacons at 7. I’m seeking final approval on the Northern Ireland trip.

Tuesday: Just wrapping things up for the long, long weekend. Hopefully I’ll have my research project nailed down. I am a little concerned about sources since we don’t have a great research library here. There is a praise service at the church. I’m planning on attending. Last year was really pleasant and simple. I hope Bob doesn’t say much but just let’s people talk. He and I disagree on this idea that pulpit preaching is some kind of “God ordained learning style.” I’m not sure where he is getting that from but don’t want to prove him wrong. All senior pastors think of themselves as overly self-important. I think that the basis of individuals growing [how you change a church] is based on one-on-one relationships/discipleship. Up front teaching is a very ineffective method. Needed? Sure, but not the end all. I just have issues with looking at Jesus’ example as well as the Acts passages and seeing that most of the “work” had little to do with sermons and a lot to do with personal evangelism and discipleship.

Wednesday: Hopefully have something to turn into the prof. If it’s late I don’t see that as a huge deal. I might get a chance to work on it over the long, long weekend.

Thursday: We are going down to Kristen’s parents for Turkey day.

Friday: Avoid spending lots of money! We will likely do some Christmas shopping, but not too much.

Saturday: No plans. Rest.

Sunday: Regular church stuff. I’m actually looking forward to Sunday school since I really enjoy the current series on the Lord’s prayer.

If I have lacked communication this weekend it is only because I have spent the entire weekend trying to get connected! It took 3 trips t o Best Buy and about 10 calls to Comcast, but we are finally up and running.

I am still not 100% satisfied because I have rigged the cable modem to work through a slower USB connection… But it will get us going. I think I have to install a new NIC to get the super-duper speeds going. It’s a whole new internet for us!

Just two weeks ago we went to the WOL Superbowl at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Last night, that place won the honor as the scariest place in sports.

During gabage time Ben Wallace and Ron Artest exchanged fouls. It was an act of frustration for the Piston since his team had gotten man handled all night long. So when he fired back at Artest’s foul the fans got excited. While the refs were working it all out, Artest laid across the scorers table in what can only be described as a childish act.

Laying there with his arms folded, a nice cold beverage landed on his chest. Perhaps the fan though Mr. Artest could use the drink? Or perhaps the fan threw the drink out of disgust for the lack of professionalism being displayed. Mr. Artest then got up and skipped past security to have a little talk with the fan who gave him the drink. I thought they were going to hug. Then suddenly, a Philidelphia Eagles fan jumped out from nowhere and grabbed the Artest from behind. And then a Montreal Candiens fan got in the face of baby faced Jermaine O’Neal and O’Neal must have seen a fly on his face… because he hit it.

I’m sure it was all just a misunderstanding. After the love fest/scuffle Mr. Artest mistakenly thought he was actng in a bar room scene of an old western… because he stage punched a fat man who was asking where the consession stand was.

In all seriousness, what happened at the Palace was disgusting. I hope that the NBA gets rid of these thugs, including the assistant coach who is seen punching a fan. What the fans did was wrong, but what the players did was foolish. They should be treated like criminals. These men are all entertainers and not fighters. It’s nothing a few days at the Oakland Conty jail won’t cure.

This always happens on “free beer night.” Good thing it wasn’t Ben Wallace bobble head night!