postaday2011 – Page 32

Believe it or not!, Home School, Pre-schoolers, Who's the mom here?

6-Year-Old Hauled to Psych Ward Despite Parent’s Wishes

Posted on February 23, 2011February 22, 2011 by Katharine

Last week, a school in Los Angeles sent a little boy to a psychiatric ward without his mother’s leave. Why? Worrying about the fact that his dad had been deployed to Iraq, the boy had drawn a violent picture and had written that he wanted to die, which caused the school to manifest this knee-jerk reaction.

The mother told school staff she would take her son to a therapist, but she was told it was (conveniently!) too late – the ambulance had already been sent.

This six-year-old child spent two solid days in a place foreign to him before anyone would let his mother have him back. Of course, this only further traumatized the poor child, as if the trauma of seeing his daddy leave for overseas combat were not enough.

ParentalRights.org president Michael Farris states, “Clearly, giving school and other government officials complete control in these kinds of situations goes too far.”

The proposed Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would affirm that “[t]he liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right,” and would help defuse such situations as above.

Please pass this post to others you know who might find such atrocity terrifying, and urge them to visit parentalrights.org/petition

Good ol' days, Homemaking, Inspiring

Thanks to Your Grandfather

Posted on February 22, 2011October 29, 2015 by Katharine

When I was only 8, my family took me to visit a park I remember fondly. It had fountains and rock formations that still exist today. Recently we returned to it and although improvements have appeared, much of it remains unchanged.

One beautiful part of this park is the thousands of rocks placed in formation to create retaining walls. These walls hold back soil and erosion, yes, but long ago, they held back something else, too: starvation. You see, all this rock work was done by the Works Projects Administration (WPA). For all its criticism, it performed two amazing feats: It provided sustenance for 3,000,000 families during the Great Depression, and it beat today’s common welfare to pieces. In fact, reducing common welfare—the dole—was one of the goals.

So during our excursions in this park, I marveled at the beautifully-laid rock work. The terraces and roadways were perfectly preserved from 80 years ago. The fountains and pools in the gardens, although coated with moss, obviously were the result of much pains taking. The warm, inviting craftsman style was perfectly suitable to a U.S. park.

I contemplated the beauty and imagined the men who worked on it. As they labored with this rock, did they cut their hands? Were they engineers, that they could so beautifully work out the physics for these structures? Did they know what a lovely thing they were making? Could they look at it and realize they were vastly improving our nation? Could they see the vision for the finished project?

Did they live in camps and mail the money, or could they go home every night? And if they went home, did their pride rise as they walked through the front door with their paychecks in hand? Did they bask in their role as the family hero? Did their wives shed tiny tears of joy at the realization there would be food in the pantry again?

Did they ever guess someone like me would come along 80 years later and exclaim at the loveliness of the park? I touched the rocks with something like awe, knowing that once, long ago, someone else full of worry for the future, had handled each rock, knowing this was the only way his children could eat.

And did they dream my son would propose to his sweetheart while she sat on a bench they’d made?

My grandparents were farmers and preachers, so they always had enough.

But somewhere out there is a reader whose grandfather I wish I could thank.

Inspiring, Sayings

Weekly Photo Challenge: Refuge

Posted on February 21, 2011August 11, 2015 by Katharine

These are my woods.

In spring, these woods beckon to me. I leave housekeeping, planting, and writing, and walk alone through my woods. I can feel the presence of those who have gone before. I think ancient people walked my woods. They were welcome.

In these woods is a small, natural chapel. Pines bent by ice storms form arches over a deep bed of straw. A trickling spring interrupts the palpable hush. Surely the wild things growing here have waited, their beauty unnoticed for ages.

Paths through these woods lead to a gravel road, which leads to town. No one coming from town would be able to find the outlet, the access to the paths; a charming privacy. There are no sounds except the ones God created; a calming quiet.

I go to these woods when they call to me, when housekeeping, planting and writing weary me.

Then I come back. I have promises to keep, and miles to go . . .

Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

Sunday Scripture – REFUGE

Posted on February 20, 2011February 19, 2011 by Katharine

I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.
Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

–Psalm 142

Good ol' days, Inspiring, Sayings, Wisdom

Saturday Sayings – 7

Posted on February 19, 2011August 14, 2011 by Katharine

1. Curiosity, people say,
      Killed the kitty cat, one fine day.
      Well, this may be true, but hear me:
      This is what to do for curiosity–

See the Encylopedia, E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A!
Encylopedia, E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A!

Just look inside this book and you will see
Everything from A clear down to Z!

Encyclopedia, E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A!

—Jiminy Cricket, c. 1958

2. The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity. –Edmund Burke (1729-1797) The Sublime and Beautiful

3. Shun the inquisitive person, for he is also a talker. –Horace (65-8 B.C.) Epistles

4. Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect. –Samuel Johnson (1709-1787) The Rambler

5. He that pryeth into every cloud may be struck by a thunderbolt. –John Ray (1627?-1705) English Proverbs

Cracker Jacks © first contained a prize on this date in 1912. 🙂

Believe it or not!, Good ol' days, Home School, Inspiring, Who's the mom here?, Wisdom

The Last of the Unsupported Homeschoolers

Posted on February 18, 2011April 21, 2015 by Katharine

We were homeschoolers when homeschool wasn’t cool.

We had no support because there was no such thing as a homeschool support group.

We started about the same time as Home School Legal Defense Association started, but they and we did not know about each other, so we also had no legal support.

Internet was only a child, then, and had not maximized its potential to help homeschoolers. Computers had no practical applications in home schools.

All, all the curriculum available to us was published for collective schools and some publishers refused to sell to home educators.

Back in these very good, old days, only the driven, committed, principled, loyal, persevering, stubborn, maverick, determined, motivated, obsessed, dedicated, devoted, steadfast, unswerving, faithful, home educating parents survived. We had somewhat of a reputation for being a pain, especially among status-quo legislators.

Many of us could relate to the Washington/Jefferson/Adams triumvirate, always questioned by those around us and always questioning ourselves, testing ourselves, proving ourselves.

Always hunted and attacked by the government that claimed to protect us.

Always in semi-hiding.

Always ready with an escape plan.

Always losing money on this project.

Always making do with do-by-self.

We faced obstacles, penalties, hindrances, impediments, barriers, hurdles, deterrents, limitations, and interference.

We were hated.

We were arrested.

I guess it’s the American way.

Now that home educating is the bright star that it has become, and we have retired after a quarter century of it, people want our opinions.

What curriculum do I think is best? Pick one you like and get busy.
What is my child’s learning style? Lazy and stubborn. What about yours?
Do I homeschool during summer? All parents homeschool at all times.
Do I think you’re harming your child? Probably, but better you, than someone who doesn’t care.
What do I do about socialization? I talk to my child; I teach my child; I read to my child.
What about computers? Teach your children to read, spell, write legibly, and type, and to love English, first, in that order. No computers allowed until high school and no Internet until the last half of the senior year.

Does all that sound harsh to you?

Does it sound grumpy?

You will not get a marshmallow answer from a homeschool-callused person.

We did not plant our homeschool garden with a tractor, but with a shovel and a hoe.

We did not have curriculum choice unless we wrote the curriculum, so we did.

I beg you, for your own and your children’s sakes, pick one you like and get busy.

Womanhood

In the Maelstrom

Posted on February 17, 2011February 16, 2011 by Katharine

Time for a totally honest blog.

I just finished reading a lengthy public apology written by a sweet, unassuming lady who has been attacked with nasty politics on the blogosphere. Her reply to the meanness around her was well-thought-out and gently, but firmly, put.

I wish I could have her popularity on the Internet, but not enough to attack her.

I wish I could have her calmness under fire.

She looks, in her lovely Madonna photo, to be many years my younger. She is incredibly beautiful, like Mona Lisa. Her baby could have been painted by Raphael. Everything about her blog is all sweetness and light, happiness and help. To me.

To others it has seemed to be some sort of Internet poison, or something. The vitriol aimed back at her was dammed up by the asininity of failed Internet connections. Once the log jam broke up, I’m sure it nearly swept her away. Now, no matter what she does, it seems no one is satisfied.

My heart is broken for her.

And I am afraid.

That is why I thrust out boldly to make this assertion: No matter what, when good people try to do good, there will be others who love—yes, LOVE—to do evil in return. It has always been that way and always will. They will grumble and rumble and lash out with lightning bolts. They will feel threatened and judged. And they won’t know why, although they will think they do.

Only recently I attempted to reach out to someone who had posted a very sad and touching poem on a blog. All I said, since I was, after all, a stranger, was, “Someone cares.”

The poison I received in return, and that was published for all to see, right below my name on that site, was breathtaking. How anyone could contain that much pain is beyond me, but now I think it is a common occurrence. I am sure I got only the tip of the iceberg because that’s all anyone ever gets. At first I was numb, then saddened to think probably this person is beyond help. Very saddened. When I apologized and stated that I had not meant to offend, but only to comment on a poem that perhaps I had misunderstood, I received no reply.

Of course.

As, probably, will this sweet young mom.

But she has supporters. She has a wonderful family situation. Her fans absolutely love her. She will survive. But her totally wise decision, to withdraw from the melee, is a loss to the whole world.

I never was going to blog about blog. It reminds me of meditating on toenails. But this is really about something else, isn’t it?

And I wonder if the holders of the reins, up there, have any idea.

And if they’re too busy to care.

And if I’ll be next.

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