Saturday, July 26, 2008

How big is big?

"Total fertility rate" (TFR) is the expected number of children born per woman in her child-bearing years. At the ripe old age of 29, I am currently somewhere between Djibouti and Guatemala. Hopefully, in just a few months I will move up several ranks to the levels of Eritrea. Niger tops the list with a TFR of 7.19, which does not seem that far off for me. I love to be #1 and have every intention of making it there!

The U.S. Census Bureau's latest figures, for 2002, reveal that 0.3 percent of women ages 15 to 44 have given birth to seven or more children. Moreover, the number of U.S. women birthing seven or more children has declined steadily since the government began tracking the demographic in 1976. I read an interesting statistic today that families who pick Biblical names for their children have more children than families who pick non-Bible names.

It is interesting to note that in the UN figures below, the TFR for the world in general is only 2.55. Not that I believe the "the world is overpopulated" talk in the first place, but even just to maintain the current level we would need a worldwide replacement fertility rate of 2.33 children per woman (the replacement fertility rate is
roughly 2.1 births per woman for most industrialized countries but ranges from 2.5 to 3.3 in developing countries because of higher mortality rates). At this rate, global population growth would trend towards zero. So all these doom and gloom predictions on how we will soon be standing shoulder to shoulder don't add up even with the UN figures, which if anything would be skewed in favor of their agenda (reduction of population).

I understand that, unfortunately, there are many women who wish they could have children, or who wish they could have more. It is not my intention to make them feel bad or inferior. Being infertile is a physical disability and I feel bad for anyone affected. But I cannot for the life of me understand why a perfectly healthy, married woman would act as if adding another child would just be such a burden. I have yet to hear a reason not to have kids that is not motivated by selfish reasons. Is having a baby really that much worse than getting to spend more money at the mall, more time playing and vacationing, more hours in front of the TV, and less time working and cleaning?

Table 2
UN Ranking
Country Fertility rate
(2000-2005)
(births/woman)
Fertility rate
(2005-2010)
(births/woman)
1 Niger 7.45 7.19
2 Guinea-Bissau 7.10 7.07
3 Afghanistan 7.48 7.07
4 Burundi 6.80 6.80
5 Liberia 6.80 6.77
6 Democratic Republic of the Congo 6.70 6.70
7 East Timor 6.96 6.53
8 Mali 6.70 6.52
9 Sierra Leone 6.50 6.47
10 Uganda 6.75 6.46
11 Angola 6.75 6.43
12 Chad 6.54 6.20
13 Somalia 6.43 6.04
14 Burkina Faso 6.36 6.00
15 Rwanda 6.01 5.92
16 Malawi 6.03 5.59
17 Yemen 6.02 5.50
18 Guinea 5.84 5.44
19 Benin 5.87 5.42
20 Equatorial Guinea 5.64 5.36
21 Nigeria 5.85 5.32
22 Ethiopia 5.78 5.29
23 Zambia 5.65 5.18
24 Tanzania 5.66 5.16
25 Mozambique 5.52 5.11
26 Palestinian territories 5.63 5.09
27 Eritrea 5.53 5.05
28 Kenya 5.00 4.96
29 Togo 5.37 4.80
30 Madagascar 5.28 4.78
31 Gambia 5.16 4.70
32 Senegal 5.22 4.69
33 Central African Republic 4.96 4.58
34 Republic of the Congo 4.78 4.49
35 Côte d'Ivoire 5.06 4.46
36 Mauritania 4.83 4.37
37 Cameroon 4.92 4.31
38 Comoros 4.89 4.30
39 Iraq 4.86 4.26
40 Sudan 4.82 4.23
41 Guatemala 4.60 4.15
42 Djibouti 4.52 3.95
43 Samoa 4.42 3.93
44 Solomon Islands 4.36 3.87
45 Sao Tome and Principe 4.34 3.85
46 Ghana 4.39 3.84
47 Tonga 3.73 3.83
48 Papua New Guinea 4.32 3.78
49 Vanuatu 4.15 3.74
50 Federated States of Micronesia 4.23 3.71
51 Haiti 4.00 3.54
52 Pakistan 3.99 3.52
53 Bolivia 3.96 3.50
54 Swaziland 3.91 3.45
55 Lesotho 3.79 3.37
56 Cape Verde 3.77 3.37
57 Saudi Arabia 3.81 3.35
58 Tajikistan 3.81 3.35
59 Honduras 3.72 3.31
60 Nepal 3.68 3.28
61 French Guiana (France) 3.67 3.27
62 Philippines 3.54 3.23
63 Laos 3.59 3.21
64 Namibia 3.58 3.19
65 Zimbabwe 3.56 3.19
66 Cambodia 3.64 3.18
67 Jordan 3.53 3.13
68 Paraguay 3.48 3.08
69 Syria 3.48 3.08
70 Gabon 3.39 3.06
71 Oman 3.70 3.00
72 Belize 3.35 2.93
73 Botswana 3.18 2.90
74 Egypt 3.17 2.89
75 Bangladesh 3.22 2.83
76 Dominican Republic 2.95 2.81
77 India 3.11 2.81
78 Nicaragua 3.00 2.76
79 Fiji 2.98 2.75
80 Israel 2.91 2.75
81 Libya 3.03 2.72
82 Western Sahara 3.01 2.70
83 El Salvador 2.88 2.68
84 Qatar 2.93 2.66
85 South Africa 2.80 2.64
86 Maldives 2.81 2.63
87 Malaysia 2.87 2.60
88 Ecuador 2.82 2.58
89 Panama 2.70 2.56

World 2.65 2.55
90 Venezuela 2.72 2.55
91 Guam (US) 2.74 2.54
92 Peru 2.70 2.51
93 Turkmenistan 2.76 2.50
94 Uzbekistan 2.74 2.49
95 Kyrgyzstan 2.50 2.48
96 Jamaica 2.63 2.43
97 Suriname 2.60 2.42
98 Algeria 2.53 2.38
99 Morocco 2.52 2.38
100 Réunion (France) 2.46 2.36
101 Guyana 2.43 2.33
102 Kazakhstan 2.01 2.31
103 United Arab Emirates 2.52 2.31
104 Grenada 2.43 2.30
105 Brunei 2.50 2.29
106 Bahrain 2.51 2.29
107 French Polynesia (France) 2.39 2.26
108 Argentina 2.35 2.25
109 Brazil 2.35 2.25
110 Colombia 2.47 2.22
111 Mexico 2.40 2.21
112 Lebanon 2.32 2.21
113 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2.30 2.19
114 Bhutan 2.91 2.19
115 Kuwait 2.30 2.18
116 Saint Lucia 2.24 2.18
117 Indonesia 2.38 2.18
118 United States Virgin Islands (US) 2.23 2.15
119 Turkey 2.23 2.14
120 Vietnam 2.32 2.14
121 Uruguay 2.20 2.12
122 Guadeloupe (France) 2.06 2.11
123 Costa Rica 2.28 2.10
124 New Caledonia (France) 2.23 2.08
125 Myanmar 2.25 2.07
126 Albania 2.25 2.06
127 United States 2.04 2.05
128 Iceland 1.99 2.05
129 Aruba (Netherlands) 2.12 2.04
130 Iran 2.12 2.04
131 Bahamas 2.11 2.02
132 New Zealand 1.96 1.99
133 Ireland 1.97 1.96
134 Chile 2.00 1.94
135 Tunisia 2.04 1.93
136 Martinique (France) 1.98 1.91
137 France 1.88 1.89
138 Sri Lanka 2.02 1.88
139 Mongolia 2.07 1.87
140 Mauritius 1.91 1.86
141 Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands) 2.06 1.85
142 North Korea 1.92 1.85
143 Thailand 1.83 1.85
144 Norway 1.80 1.85
145 Montenegro 1.83 1.83
146 Puerto Rico (US) 1.84 1.83
147 Finland 1.75 1.83
148 United Kingdom 1.70 1.82
149 Azerbaijan 1.67 1.82
150 Denmark 1.76 1.80
151 Sweden 1.67 1.80
152 Serbia 1.75 1.79
153 Australia 1.76 1.79
154 People's Republic of China (mainland only) 1.70 1.73
155 Netherlands 1.73 1.72
156 Luxembourg 1.67 1.66
157 Belgium 1.64 1.65
158 Trinidad and Tobago 1.61 1.64
159 Cyprus 1.63 1.61
160 Canada 1.52 1.53
161 Barbados 1.50 1.50
162 Cuba 1.63 1.49
163 Estonia 1.39 1.49
164 Portugal 1.45 1.46
165 Macedonia 1.56 1.43
166 Switzerland 1.42 1.42
167 Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) (UK) 1.41 1.42
168 Austria 1.38 1.42
169 Spain 1.29 1.41
170 Georgia 1.48 1.41
171 Moldova 1.50 1.40
172 Armenia 1.35 1.39
173 Italy 1.29 1.38
174 Malta 1.46 1.37
175 Germany 1.35 1.36
176 Croatia 1.35 1.35
177 Russia 1.30 1.34
178 Greece 1.38 1.33
179 Bulgaria 1.26 1.31
180 Romania 1.29 1.30
181 Latvia 1.25 1.29
182 Hungary 1.30 1.28
183 Slovenia 1.23 1.28
184 Japan 1.29 1.27
185 Lithuania 1.28 1.26
186 Singapore 1.35 1.26
187 Slovakia 1.22 1.25
188 Czech Republic 1.18 1.24
189 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.28 1.23
190 Poland 1.25 1.23
191 Ukraine 1.15 1.22
192 South Korea 1.24 1.21
193 Belarus 1.24 1.20
194 Hong Kong (PRC) 0.94 0.97
195 Macau (PRC) 0.84 0.91

Friday, July 18, 2008

The truth about homeschooling

This is going to be a lengthy post, one I have written over many days. I expose the common misconceptions about homeschooling using a letter from a pastor who thinks that it is a wrong choice. I then explain why the reasons given are invalid, misinformed, and sometimes just plain ridiculous.

No doubt, certain people will be offended by what I have to say. If you think you are one of them, please stop reading right now. If you do read on, don't bother to comment and tell me about all the things you didn't like.

The original letter will be in italics and red font, while my comments will be in italics and black font. All bold statements had the emphasis in the original and were not added by me, except when noted otherwise. All spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammatical errors were in the original - and yes, there are very, very many.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Parents and Students,

We believe that it is the God given commission of the Church, "the pillar and ground of the truth'' to teach our children that they be not tossed to and fr0 by every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men(like evolution, New Age and Satanic "Mother Earth", and "Mother Nature" teaching, etc.) but rather grow up into Him in all things. [Eph.4:14,15] We believe that it is the Church's God-given task to teach and train believers to grow up in the Lord in "All Things". We believe that the Church in the New Testament epistle's is a Local Church, a group of called out, born again believers, joined together for the cause of spreading the Gospel in their immediate communities as well as around the world through world-wide Missions. The word "church" comes from the Greek word "ecclesia" which means a called out assembly. At present, all believers are not a called out assembly. Someday at the Rapture we will all be called out and then will be together, the CHURCH the Bride of Christ. Right now the Church, is the Local, Independent, Self Governing, Baptist Church.

While education in academic subjects is certainly not the first or main goal of teaching our children, it is nonetheless an important goal, one that takes second place to teaching a love for God and the things of God. Shouldn't a preacher's command of the English language be excellent? Shouldn't he at least know the basics of grammar, such as when to use 's (to show possession) vs. -s (to show plural)? What about habitually using commas wrongly, and capitalizing nouns that ought to be lower case? The list goes on and on - I counted a total of 15 errors in this first paragraph alone. The only other explanation for such poor English would be to say that this letter was written in a hurry, but that brings us to the question why a subject such as this would be addressed in such a hurried and careless manner. As you read on, please know that I have only corrected a few of the worst mistakes in the text below - if the error was grievous and made it hard to understand the true meaning of the particular sentence.

We believe that God in His ultimate wisdom provided the setting of the Local Church as a functioning body to provide an educational as well as social environment to provide the child with a well-rounded education in truth. God knew that all the members of the body, were different people with various personalities, talents, levels of knowledge and abilities, as well as levels of spiritual depth.. Though he knew this, He considered it a good thing for all these different types of people to function together as a body. Each one has a use and an area of effectiveness. As each "joint" of the body supplies the blessing and ability that God provided it to do, the rest of the body is benefited. Many today think that all these different people and different levels of spiritual growth are dangerous and should be avoided, and thus, they "PROTECT" their children from all this perceived "DANGER" and keep their children home in a "home school", AWAY from the Local Church, the Body of Christ as much as possible, stopping in to visit on Sunday and Wednesday.

I really would have loved to see a single verse to prove the beliefs put forth in this paragraph. There is a reference made to the passage about the body of Christ, but according to the Bible that equals the local, independent church, not a school. "Church" is a general assembly of ALL members of a local church, not just the teachers and students. So if he wants to use the body of Christ allegory, we have to conclude that all week long in the "church school" the body of Christ is severely handicapped because it is missing many vital parts, joints, and organs - men and women who are at work or at home instead of at school. Calling their school a "church school" has more to do with the fact that they are meeting on the church property, are run by members of the church, and subject to rules put out by the church. Defining the building itself as church (as opposed to the people) is wrong and reminds me of Catholicism. In the last sentence, this pastor equals his school with the "Local Church, the Body of Christ" which is just plain wrong. I feel bad for all those people who are too old to go to school and thus are deprived of this "church experience" that they can only get during the services on Sunday and Wednesday.

Also, if the Christian school is equated with the church, why does it cost money to attend? After all, the services on Sundays and Wednesdays are free, as they ought to be. Why aren't the school expenses covered by the tithes and offerings? Maybe God DIDN'T design for church schools to exist. After all, if that WERE God's perfect plan, then wouldn't He have made sure to mention how to fund such an endeavor if tithes and offerings alone are insufficient? God only commands us to tithe. Yet parents are supposedly obligated to send their children to this place of education and pay for it in order to be in obedience to the Bible? The truth is that a school is a business, not a general assembly of the local believers.

But what about these verses that I found in the Bible:

Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Deuteronomy 11:19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Don't these verses sound like the children are with their parent(s) from the time they get up until the time they go to sleep, being taught in the house and when out and about?

Here is another verse I found:

Deuteronomy 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

Again, the command is only to educate our own children and grandchildren. "Thou" is a singular word, talking to just one person in particular as opposed to "you" which is addressing any number of people at the same time. This is very well illustrated in Deuteronomy 11:19 above, where the entire nation of Israel as a group ("ye") is commanded to teach their children individually ("thou").

At [name of church], we do not believe that it is God's perfect will for families to keep their children away from the Local Church School. I have written an entire book on this subject and so I will not write it here. Suffice it to say, we at [name of church] believe that to take your children away from the body of Christ school that God has given, is short-sighted, un-wise and unnecessary. Such a decision takes your children away from the influences and blessings that each joint of the body supply's [should say: supplies] in God's incredible design, and basically tells the Lord that you have a better design than he does for the children He BORROWED to you!! I am reminded of the servant who went and buried his talent in the sand, instead of investing it as did the others. Anyone can provide the "facts" of education, like 1 + 1 = 2. Albert Einstein was very smart in many facets of "education", however he died and went to Hell. A Home School can teach the facts, the 1 + 1= 2 part of education, but think of all that is missed by keeping a child penned up within the four walls of a home, and not putting him within the living functioning Body of Christ, school, down at the Church House.

Several points on this:

(1) I have yet to find where the Bible says that children are on loan from God (the author of the letter erroneously used "borrowed" instead of "loaned"). Based on Psalm 127 I thought they were our heritage. I thought they were a reward. Even logically, this point doesn't make sense. Yes, we are commanded to teach our children about the right ways of the Lord. But what if people decide NOT to raise their children for the glory of God? Will he send the "heavenly CPS", take the children back, and give them to another family?!?

(2) I didn't know that Albert Einstein was raised by God-fearing parents but still grew up to be an atheist all because he was home schooled. In fact, I don't even know whether or not he was home schooled - maybe he was because he flunked out of the public school for being such a poor student. Rather, I think his parents were unbelievers, and if he did go to school it would not have been a local, independent, fundamental Baptist church where he could have gotten saved. Seems like the parents were the deciding factor, not whether or where he went to school. Besides, Einstein was one of the last great scientists who again and again said that all science points to the fact that there IS a God. I am not saying he was saved, but no modern scientist would even dare say that any more.

(3) Again, no verse proving this supposed design of God for children's education.

(4) Sticking your child in a school all day to be taught and cared for by others while mom goes off to work IS hiding your talent.

As children come to the Academy, in the setting of the local church, there are a multitude of blessings that come their way. First of all, they are provided an opportunity to establish a close lifelong relationship with their Pastor and the Pastor's wife. This will be a major strength to them as life moves along and they make decisions of who to marry, job decisions, and in times of trials and tragedies. Home School children seldom have strong and close relationships with their Pastor.

So are people who do not go to school not "provided an opportunity to establish a close lifelong relationship with their Pastor and the Pastor's wife"? Again, I feel bad for the average adult church member. If homeschooled children lack this relationship I venture to guess it is because of being ostracized due to the fact that they are home schooled.

They will also benefit from each member of the body of Christ who volunteers his or her time in the process of education. Children will learn from people who have not just perhaps gone to school themselves but more importantly, have real life experience in the subjects they are teaching. This is extremely effective and influencial in their lives and greatly increases and edifies the Local Church, the body of Christ.

They also benefit from the Godly influence of their regular daily teachers. These are people from the local church, whose lives and examples help them perhaps go on to serve Christ themselves. Because they are set in an environment with others besides their "'mommy and daddy", they gain ability to deal with one another's differences and learn to work with others. They learn to in honor prefer one another. They learn to not live for self and become loners, but rather to daily be interested in the needs of others. They learn to listen and obey authority in addition to and other than their mother and father. They learn to have to obey and suffer the consequences if they do not. They learn that other authority will probably not baby them as most mothers often fall into the trap of doing. They learn to have to toughen up, sharpen up and obey right away and soon realize that a little pouting will not change their punishment, but rather a change of behavior will keep it from coming their way in the future.

Homeschooled children are exposed to many people besides their "mommy and daddy". They are called siblings. They are called adults that they meet when they come along on errands throughout the day. They are called repairmen who come to the house. They are called coworkers and bosses when Dad takes them to work. There are many benefits to not being cooped up in a school room all day waiting for the slow kids to finish their assignments. The only distraction in that case is to play with other kids (since the teachers are busy). The Bible says that "foolishness is bound in the heart of a child", so wouldn't it be better for children to interact with mainly adults and not only other children (i.e. fools)? It is an old argument and one that has been disproved many times that homeschooled kids have the social competences of wood lice. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

Maybe this man is speaking from personal experience when he writes that mothers tend to go soft in punishing wrongdoing, but I think it is just rhetoric. There is NO SCHOOL in the world that would dare discipline a child the way a loving parent would, because they are not the loving parent. Love is the prerequisite to correct discipline, as outlined in Proverbs 3:12, Proverbs 13:24 and Hebrews 12:6. I love my children more than a "hireling" teacher. The hireling would be afraid to administer correct discipline because God never designed them to, and the law wouldn't allow them to.

They learn to participate and have team spirit and to not quit when it is something they don't particularly enjoy doing. They learn to choose proper friends and are in an environment whereby they can fall spiritually and yet not fall apart. Proverbs 24:16 states, "'For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again..." Under the daily refining of the Word of God, they learn to come to the Lord for strength to rise up and go on for Jesus. As young impressionable children and teens, they learn the team concepts in sports, and gain strength from teammates and coaches who are fellow church members rather than from teammates who are lost and curse and educate them in the ways of the world as they compete together. They see the other team as someone they can be an example to and witness to after the game, rather than participate with teammates who are lost and whose minds are filled with the stench of this world. They learn to get up in the morning and get to school as an appointment, similar to how it will be someday when they have a job, rather than rolling out of bed and gradually getting to things when it is convenient.

So being "in an environment whereby they can fall spiritually and yet not fall apart" is an advantage? Whatever happened to "make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof"? Just because the Bible states the fact that a just man will fall and rise up again, does that mean God wants him to fall in the first place? Is someone not a just man if they don't fall seven times? Are children grown men, physically or spiritually? Doesn't the Bible call new believers "newborn babes"? And yes, children even just because of their age are new believers.

To say that the children there are "Under the daily refining of the Word of God" is only true if that's what you call a short devotional in the morning. In our family, we read the Bible out loud for about 30 minutes per day, and then I work on Bible memory with each child individually at a rate where even my preschooler far exceeds what is expected of the students in this particular school.

Frankly, I don't know who the "teammates who are lost and curse and educate them in the ways of the world as they compete together" are. My guess is that the author of the letter is alluding to homeschool groups offering an athletics program. For one, I am against any homeschool group that is not organized and headed by a local church, and only has their members participating. Secondly, I doubt that the overly protective homeschool parents that we were told about a few paragraphs earlier would then join a homeschool group of potty-mouthed unbelievers for their kids to play with.

Most homeschool families, especially those with many children, have rather rigid daily schedules, and getting up early to get work done is pretty universal. It is a Biblical concept to rise early and work hard, and you don't have to go to school to learn to do so. This point was especially humorous to me because this particular pastor is ALWAYS late for EVERY appointment, and his wife dropped the kids off late for school more than any other mom, while the homeschooling ex-principal and his wife were the most reliable, organized, and punctual people you'd ever meet.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, they learn that they are a part of the Body of Christ, and must do their part, and fulfill their God given task as a "'joint" within the Body. They learn that God gave them their local church for them to fully participate in as an important part of the body. As a child 6 days a week(5 in school, plus Sunday), their life will be totally involved in the church and in the things of the Lord. This will give them more often than not, a strong love and attachment to it, and to the "work of the ministry", that will last a life-time. If you realize that your children are not really yours, but are simply borrowed to you for you to make sure that they are trained up in the way of the Lord, then you must see that God's most important institution for the preaching and teaching of the truth, is the Local Church. Having your children in a Local, Independent, Fundamental Baptist Church school is a wonderful decision to make as a parent.

Another very funny point: When children go the church school every day it "will give them more often than not, a strong love and attachment to it, and to the "work of the ministry", that will last a life-time." Anyone who knows what church and school I am talking about will find this as ridiculous as me. The majority of kids coming out of this school is either not in church any more, living in fornication, pregnant out of wedlock, drinking, living a horrible life-style, or (this is most of them) all of the above. Which is little surprising when you consider that one principal after another left the church because either their kids or they themselves were involved in heinous, disgusting sins. The one good principal they had homeschooled his own kids, and was eventually pushed out because of that.

This phenomenon is not unique to this school, but rather is pretty universal. Remember Dr. Bob Gray for Florida, who was arrested for molesting girls in his church school? What about Pastor Domelle from California who not only abused his own adopted daughter for years but also other disabled girls in the school? What about the son of Dr. Jeff Owens, who worked as a janitor at a public school, where he raped a girl? He had been charged in a similar case before but there was not enough evidence to convict him in that case. The list goes on and on.

With this in mind, [name of church] established [name of school] to train boys and girls in the things of the Lord, and to see them become Men and Women who serve God with their whole hearts. [Name of school] is not a separate entity, but rather is an extension of the ministry of the [name of church] of [city, state]. Just as we have a Sunday School to teach and train our children, so also do we provide a Monday through Friday School. [Name of school] is committed to a balanced education, meeting the needs of the total person spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. Like the Founding Fathers of this nation, we at [name of school] wish to be known for our love of God and country. It is our intention to uphold the Word of God in its proper place of supremacy, the position of the Local, Independent, Fundamental, Baptist Church as the "Pillar and Ground of the Truth", Christian Homes, Biblical Education and the virtues of America and the Republican form of government.

We believe America in its founding to be a Republic, not a Democracy. A republic is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is a government of representatives whereby men are elected by the people to go in good faith and honest character and make decisions regarding the laws of the land and the defense of the people. It is a form of government that allows the people if they do not agree with those who have been elected, to remove them from office by in fair elections, voting in someone else to take their place. A Democracy is a government that rules by majority. This is simply a guide to dictatorships. Rule by majority always eventually results in someone taking ultimate power. Leaders in a democracy, instead of voting by moral conscience and by the laws of the Bible, stick their finger in the air and vote according to the way whoever is making the most noise would have them to vote. These leaders are not leaders, but rather mindless robots desirous of simply retaining their positions of power. Eventually, because someone will always be the leader, a leader will step forward from the majority and because the majority hates the minority, this leader will move quickly to squash and eliminate the minority and anyone who might threaten his power. Thus he is the established dictator and a dictatorship is in place and rules the nation. See "Hitler" for further details!!

Our founding fathers did not want this to happen to America and they put in place guidelines to insure [should say: ensure] that America stayed a republic. However, this form of government is only possible to a people who are followers of the Bible and the God of the Bible, as the supreme authority. President John Adams our second President stated clearly, "Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Benjamin Franklin stated at the Continental Convention, "l have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God governs in the affairs of men... We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that "except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it." "I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become reproach."

At [name of school] we share these foundational beliefs of our founding fathers and it is our goal to raise men and women who when called into positions of leadership will be true leaders, and available to serve in our republic. We love America and are actively training tomorrow's leaders. When God needed a man to step forward and put the Word of God back in its proper place in Israel, Ezra stepped forward, and the Bible says, he was a "ready scribe". This is our goal to prepare young men and women to be '''ready'' to serve the Republic of America. If God calls them to be a Pastor or Evangelist or Missionary, we want them to be ready. If God has a lesser calling for them, such as the President or the United States, we want them to be "ready".

Yes, that's what we need - another Hillary Clinton. Another Nancy Pelosi. We need more female preachers, judges, police officers, and military personnel. After all, if it is the goal of this Christian school to "raise men and women" to be true leaders, to "prepare young men and women" to be a pastor, evangelist, missionary, or president. If you do not believe me, notice the pronoun "them" in the second to last sentence. It goes back to its antecedent in the previous sentence, which is "young men and women". Whatever happened to "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house" (I Timothy 5:14)? While that passage is talking about widows, I think it is safe to assume that if God is emphasizing that even widows need to marry again and raise a family, so does any other young woman. How about Isaiah 3:12: "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them."

The "problem" is that if women were to obey the verse in I Timothy and stay home, have babies, and raise their own children instead of pursuing a career, who would be available to teach in the Christian school? Most church schools are staffed almost completely by women, women who do not have a baby or young child as commanded in the verse (if they do, it is raised by daycare and not the mother). Women who usually are practicing birth control in order to limit the size of their family to a few children. Women who are not keeping their own vineyard (Song of Solomon 1:6). Women who don't even like their own kids enough to want to spend the day with them, but who are put in charge of watching and educating dozens of other children.

We believe that this is best accomplished by teaching young people to first of all be true followers of the Lord Jesus and His precious Word. To accomplish this we have several goals that must be understood as our priorities. If you as a parent or guardian do not understand these foundational guiding principles, which are the core of our goals, you will find it difficult to understanding [should say: understand] why we do what we do.

As you read on please understand that we wish it to be known that our vision and our venture, our motive and our message is all to THE GLORY OF GOD. It is for Him and with eternity's values in view that we are doing what we are doing.

Since this is the end of the letter, I am still scratching my head about the "as you read on" part. Read on about what? The greeting at the end?!? This again just shows how little careful consideration went into writing this letter.

Your Friend and Preacher

[name of pastor]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sad to say, the man who wrote this pastors a local, independent, fundamental, KJV-only Baptist Church. Sadder yet, it is probably one of the best ones in his area, which is pretty bleak because the church has now abandoned soul-winning and instead believes in repentance from sins - a lazy excuse for why almost nobody ever gets saved or baptized any more.

Now that we have left fairytale land, let's look at the REAL reasons why churches like to operate a school:

- Money: That's right, these schools want more money coming it. While not all schools make a profit, they are staying busy and trading dollars.

- Control: Control over church members by way of school rules and dress codes. Control over the students' minds through mass education. Control over disgruntled members who don't want to leave the church in the middle of the school year.

I rest my case.

Where to find vaccine info

Several people have asked recently what my opinions on vaccines were. While I would like to write about it at length, I have not yet had the time to do so. In short, we stopped vaccinating our kids after our oldest son turned 1 and I had done extensive research on the subject. The other three have never been vaccinated, or injected with any other substance that they tell you is necessary to newborns and babies (e.g. vitamin K). I have too little faith in the medical profession (the government's prostitute) to let them put anything into any of my children.

Much information is available online and at the library. There is a link in the column to the right that takes you to a website with lots of information. Prison Planet has a whole section of their website dedicated to this subject. Check it out!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Half-empty or half-full

This has been a busy week. My husband was gone 5 1/2 days last week, and then Monday and Tuesday this week. So even though he was home all yesterday I spent the day running errands that I don't like to bring the kids on because the heat outside is just so bad.

First, I got the oil changed in his car, then I took it to the car wash and also vacuumed the inside. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but given the fact that he "lives" in his car on his many long trips around AZ and CA, it was in pretty bad condition. That all took me about 2 hours, after which I went to clean the inside - wiping down every surface, washing the floor mats, scrubbing the upholstery, cleaning the windows etc. That took another 3 hours (yes, it was THAT bad) but in the end his car looked brand new. Which it should considering it is only 6 months old.

Then I went shopping at a couple of different stores, and had to go back home to put all the stuff away. Food cannot be left in the car for more than just the drive home because it will go bad immediately in the heat. I then got the oil changed in my van, took it through the car wash, and vacuumed the inside. The vacuuming itself takes about an hour each time just because the van is so big and there are so many places to vacuum. I had just done this about 6 weeks ago, and I also have a policy of "water only" in the car for the kids, but of course I found a petrified cheese stick, a rotten banana peel, a Sam's Club size box of goldfish spilled everywhere, and several cups with rotten milk (mental note: don't let the kids bring their cups home from the restaurant). By the time I got back home I was sick of cleaning cars, and it was time for church, so I didn't get to clean the inside of my van. Today I got about half of the interior cleaned but the heat finally made me quit (it was over 110 again). Maybe I can finish it tonight after the kids are in bed.

Also this week I got a lot of various sewing projects done, but have many more to finish. I am also working on a couple of other crafts here and there during nap time.

There is an online 4-hour traffic school course I have to complete this week for a ticket I got a month ago. Don't even get me started on that... of course, it was NOT my fault! :) I am sticking to my theory that I only got pulled over because the cop saw me leaving a donut shop with a big box just a couple of minutes earlier.

The list goes on and on. It's discouraging to think how much more work there is left to do during the last 2 1/2 weeks of our summer break. Some days I feel like I work and work and work only to go to bed thinking about all the things that didn't get done yet. My mental "to-do list" never gets shorter. But then I remind myself to think about all the things I did get done, and that all the kids were well fed, had clean clothes, and that the house is usually tidy and clean considering there are four little savages living there. Adding another newborn seems daunting at times, but I could instead look at it as if I am adding a 7-year old (the age Solomon will be by the time the baby is born). I always have a baby, a toddler, a preschooler, etc. but as time goes on I have more and older helpers to share the workload. Solomon and Isaac both are great helpers, and I would have so much more work without them.

In any case, we all deserve a break and are going swimming in the pool for the rest of the evening!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Bible reading/listening plans

There are lots of benefits to following a Bible reading plan, mainly that they will help keep you on track and remind you to read your Bible even on days when you are insanely busy, tired, or simply don't feel like reading.

For reading to the children every day, I really like the One Year Bible. I have been amazed again and again how the passage from the Old Testament will talk about the same subject as the New Testament, and even correlate with the Psalm and Proverb for the day. Following this schedule, you will have read through the Bible in one year, and will have read Psalms and Proverbs twice. It is never too early to start. Even a newborn will enjoy listening to your voice reading while you sit down with them in your arms. It takes us a good 30 minutes every day to read this, accounting for the usual disruptions that can be expected from little kids who need to be reminded to sit still and listen. I really could not imagine reading out loud to them for any longer than this because it is so much more strenuous than reading silently by myself.

Personally, I think it is important to read the Bible more than just once per year (although that would be a great start for someone who has never read the entire Bible). I find using reading schedules very helpful. I also really like listening to the Bible on my portable MP3 player while folding laundry, cleaning, or working on a craft. If you are an attentive listener, I think that listening to a reading of the Bible can be just as beneficial as reading from the actual book. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3) I have a set of three MP3 CDs that I keep in my van's CD changer at all times (the other 3 slots have sermon MP3 CDs in them), which allows us to listen to the Bible while running errands or on long drives.

Below is a plan that will get you through the Old Testament in 4 months, meaning you could read it three times in a year. When you break it down into weeks, the portions do not seem overwhelming at all - you just need to be consistent.

WEEK 1 Genesis
WEEK 2 Exodus — Leviticus 15
WEEK 3 Leviticus 16 — Numbers
WEEK 4 Deuteronomy — Joshua
WEEK 5 Judges — 1 Samuel 17
WEEK 6 1 Samuel 18 — 1 Kings 6
WEEK 7 1 Kings 7 — 2 Kings
WEEK 8 1 Chronicles — 2 Chronicles 25
WEEK 9 2 Chronicles 26 — Job 25
WEEK 10 Job 26 — Psalm 68
WEEK 11 Psalm 69 — Psalm 119
WEEK 12 Psalm 120 — Ecclesiastes 4
WEEK 13 Ecclesiastes 5 — Isaiah 34
WEEK 14 Isaiah 35 — Jeremiah 12
WEEK 15 Jeremiah 13 — 2 Lamentations 2
WEEK 16 Lamentations 3 — 2 Ezekiel 47
WEEK 17 Ezekiel 48 — Micah
WEEK 18 Nahum — Malachi

For the New Testament, here is a plan that will get you through in 40 days. If you were to follow the above plan first, then follow this New Testament plan, you would have read through the entire Bible in less than 6 months. If you do this addition to reading to your children, you will have read the Bible 3 times in one year, spending about 1 hour per day on it. Compared to how much time is often spent watching TV, surfing the net, or talking on the phone every day, this is comparatively short.

DAY 1 Matthew 1-7
DAY 2 Matthew 8-12
DAY 3 Matthew 13-18
DAY 4 Matthew 19-24
DAY 5 Matthew 25-28
DAY 6 Mark 1-6
DAY 7 Mark 7-11
DAY 8 Mark 12-16
DAY 9 Luke 1-4
DAY 10 Luke 5-9
DAY 11 Luke 10-13
DAY 12 Luke 14-19
DAY 13 Luke 20-24
DAY 14 John 1-5
DAY 15 John 6-9
DAY 16 John 10-14
DAY 17 John 15-19
DAY 18 John 20-Acts 4
DAY 19 Acts 5-9
DAY 20 Acts 10-15
DAY 21 Acts 16-20
DAY 22 Acts 21-26
DAY 23 Acts 27- Romans 4
DAY 24 Romans 5-10
DAY 25 Romans 11-1 Cor. 1
DAY 26 1 Cor. 2-9
DAY 27 1 Cor. 10-15
DAY 28 1 Cor. 16-2 Cor. 9
DAY 29 2 Cor. 10-Gal. 4
DAY 30 Gal. 5-Php. 1
DAY 31 Php. 2-1 Th. 2
DAY 32 1 Th. 3-1 Tim. 5
DAY 33 1 Tim. 6-Heb. 1
DAY 34 Heb. 2-10
DAY 35 Heb. 11-James
DAY 36 1 Pet. 1-1 Jn. 1
DAY 37 1 Jn. 2-Jude
DAY 38 Rev. 1-7
DAY 39 Rev. 8-15
DAY 40 Rev. 16-22

You could get additional support by finding a friend who will commit to following the same schedule to keep both of you on track.

Friday, July 11, 2008

What is selective reduction?

I copied the following article from here. My comments are added in brackets in red italics.
What is Selective Reduction?
by Pattie Hughes

Selective reduction is a procedure used to reduce the number of embryos in a multifetal pregnancy. This procedure is sometimes used when too many embryos implant in a pregnancy that is achieved with assisted reproductive technology. When too many embryos implant successfully the chance of carrying the pregnancy to term drops significantly. [I agree. Which is why I am against assisted reproductive technology in the first place. It creates pregnancies with an unnaturally high number of babies, which leads to a number of related problems both physical and ethical. However, if someone still goes ahead and goes through with the procedure, I am certainly in favor of keeping all babies. The same technology that got "parents" in this predicament in the first place has become very sophisticated at ensuring relatively safe outcomes even for those pregnancies. There were two sets of sextuplets born at a hospital in our city in the last year. The babies in both cases were well and healthy. I think parents who chose S/R are not so much concerned about the wellbeing of the children as simply not being willing to take home 3, 4, or more babies at the same time. Also, having a baby that needs to be cared for in the NICU is not the glamorous picture of a bouncing pink baby that selfish IVF parents were hoping to show around.]
Selective reduction is generally used for pregnancies with more than two fetuses. [I hope that doesn't mean some people actually choose to kill one of two twins. But nothing surprises me any more.] Preventing medical problems in the pregnancy or the loss of all the fetuses is the reason for the procedure. In some cases, fetuses that are considered to be at greater risk for defects are selected for reduction. [Yeah, because who would willingly pick a lesser, i.e. potentially disabled child? Why take the "greater risk for defects" when you can get a perfect specimen? Are these parents being judgmental of their offspring???]
The procedure is done during the first trimester, prior to the twelfth week of pregnancy. If no abnormalities are present in any of the fetuses, the ones that are easiest to reach are selected for reduction. [Does reading this make you sick?] A chemical, usually potassium chloride, is injected into the selected fetuses.
Following the procedure, the fetuses are usually absorbed by the mother's body. [How can you go to sleep knowing that your body is absorbing the children you killed?] The procedure is not without risk. In some cases, one or all of the remaining fetuses will die as well. This happens in about five percent of cases. Preterm labor is another possible side effect of this procedure. [Wow, that kind of sounds exactly like what happened to Tortua. What a shock! So we aren't allowed to feel bad that she killed 2 babies, but we do have to pity her for the other 2 dying as well or we will be called heartless, cruel, and judgemental. I feel bad for mothers who legitimately lose a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm labor, or other complications, but not for women whose babies died as a result of their siblings being poisoned in utero.]
Some patients have issues with this procedure, usually for ethical or religious reasons. [That's me!] Selective reduction is a form of abortion. Pro life patients may object to this procedure for this reason. Even pro choice patients may have problems with selective reduction. A couple who has gone down the long, painful road of infertility may not be able to bear the thought of aborting some of their babies. [Well, apparently, some can.]
There are some things you can do to avoid the need for selective reduction. [It's called being normal and doing what married people do.] You can find a pro life infertility specialist. These doctors don't use selective reduction and avoid implanting more embryos than could be carried to term. Discuss this possibility with your doctor if you are a pro life infertility patient. The best way to avoid the need for this procedure is to avoid becoming pregnant with too many babies in the first place. [Translation: You would have to start thinking about someone besides yourself.]

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Meal planning

There are many benefits to planning your meals ahead of time. You don't have to come up with what to fix for dinner at the last minute when everyone is hungry and you are tired. You will be reminded to pull the meat for the next day's meal out of the freezer the night before because you already know what you will be cooking. There is less of a temptation to just go out to eat, which is less healthy, more expensive, and doesn't really save any time. You may reduce your prep time by working on the meal here and there throughout the day when you have a few spare minutes (i.e. grate cheese, chop vegetables, bake some bread on the side, etc.). You will be going to the grocery store with a shopping list, which makes the trip faster and reduces impulse buying of items that will then rot in the back of the fridge because you have too much food, or because you are lacking ingredients to complete a meal.

The downside is the planning it takes. As busy Moms, we tend to have "tired brains" and having to plan yet another aspect of our lives can seem overwhelming.

There are many resources available online and in books that offer ready menus, complete with shopping lists and all. Some are free, while others are not. Although these help reduce the planning required on your part, it is inevitable that your family will not like all the meals on these ready menus. Some are not healthy enough and use too many ready products, while other are so healthy that they serve salad for a full meal one night a week and a meat-free dish another night (my husband would not put up with either). Also, you don't want to stop cooking your family's favorite dishes completely.

After having tried many different of these ready plans, I have to say my favorite is a book called "Going bananas at mealtime". I found my copy at the thrift store but just found out that the publisher of this book is a Mormon company. It really has no bearing on the recipes, other than maybe proving that it is suitable for busy moms of many kids (Mormons don't believe in birth control). There certainly is no religious reference whatsoever in the book.

I like this book because it offers ready menu plans for breakfast and dinner for all 12 months of the year. I find that the recipes strike just the right balance between being healthy and tasteful, and almost all of them are enjoyed by us all. On the occasional nights that a meal we don't like is suggested, I can fall back one of of my own staple recipes. There are also ideas every week for snacks/desserts and special meals corresponding to the holidays that month. The ingredients for these items are not included in the shopping list, but can be added easily if you want to cook any of these suggested items. The back of the book also has a blank monthly menu form and a master shopping list that can be copied if you want to make your own menus. The breakfast suggestions are all easy and fast so you don't have to serve cold cereal every morning and can offer some variety instead.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Water birth

I reserved the birth tub for the next baby's birth today. This was kind of late, but thankfully they still had a tub available for me. It will be delivered and set up on Oct. 4 (my due date is Oct. 15 or Oct. 17, depending how it's calculated). All our babies were born within a few days of their due date, so I feel good about that delivery time.

There are many benefits of laboring in water, most notably the pain relief it offers. It also helps speed delivery because the buoyancy of the water helps the baby and mom move freely and with ease. I had a birth tub at our last three births, and the last two times I actually also gave birth in the water. There is no danger of the baby drowning, since he/she does not breathe at that point and is also being supplied with oxygen via the umbilical cord. Besides, the baby pretty much shoots to the top of the water surface immediately. The transition for "water babies" is so gentle that they often do not cry at all, but rather just look around and start breathing calmly. It can be frightening if you are expecting the baby to cry (as I did the first time).

You do not have to have a home birth to have a water birth, as more and more hospitals will allow you to set one up in the delivery room if you make prior arrangements with them. Different hospitals have different policies, so you could pick a hospital based on whether they will allow you to bring a pool or not. A few hospitals even offer birthing suites with birth pools, but this is still rare. I am not talking about a bathtub with jacuzzi jets but an actual BIG pool. Although the bathtub is better than nothing, it is usually not deep enough to cover your belly and not wide enough to let you move and turn freely.

This is a great alternative to using heavy pain medications and epidurals, all of which increase your chances of having a C-section and can also increase the likelihood of the baby suffering immediate negative consequences such as poor breathing and fetal distress, and long-term illnesses like allergies and asthma later in life.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Buying used curriculum

I purchased about 90% of next year's curriculum used, which saved me at least 60% off the list price. I thought I would share some tips about how and where to successfully find used text books.

- Oftentimes, older editions are fully compatible with newer editions. This is especially true for A Beka, who changes their book covers every couple of years without changing the content at all. If you do the research in advance, you can save money by buying older editions or combining older and newer books.

- As a rule of thumb, the most I would ever consider paying for used curriculum is half of the original list price (including shipping, since I get free shipping on my new purchases).

- In order to keep track of my purchases, I start by making a list of all the books I will need for the next school year for each child. I then check what books I already have on my shelf, and mark those off. Then I mark books I buy used off as I go, to avoid buying something twice or forgetting to buy a book. This year, it took me about one month (late May and June) to get everything on my list.

- I find that the best time to get good deals is in late May and early June, when much more books become available as moms get done with the school year, but buyers are still slow because they don't want to start thinking about the next year yet. July and August offer the greatest selection, but as demand increases the prices go up. During the school year the selection tends to be much smaller as moms are too busy home schooling to find the time to sell old curriculum.

- My favorite source for buying used curriculum is eBay. If you start early and are patient, you can get some great deals. Just don't get into the heat of bidding and pay more than you were willing to pay in the beginning. That same item might be available in a couple of days for a fraction of that same cost. I have been appalled by people getting so "worked up" at the end of an auction that they paid more for a used item than it would have cost new.

- HSLDA offers used curriculum on their website, and it is similar to eBay in that it is auction-style, with an option for immediate purchase at higher price. The selection is large, and the prices are lower than with eBay. The downside is that you have to be an HSLDA member to buy (but not to sell).

- You may get lucky and find something good on your local craigslist, but I have not had that experience. Seems to me that people are always asking way too much for text books on there. Just because something is "nearly new" doesn't mean I am willing to pay almost full price for it.

- A new website I just found but not yet used myself is Homeschoolclassifieds. They seem to have a large selection, and overhead is low because it's kind of like craigslist - the seller lists their own item, and you contact the seller directly via e-mail (rather than paying for all the bells and whistles that eBay offers).

- If you are looking for books from a major publisher such as BJU Press, you may find good deals in the used book section on Amazon. I bought all the kids' math books (from Harcourt Math, a secular publisher) at incredibly low prices there. Amazon is also a good source for buying educational books that are not part of your actual curriculum, such as for example a book of fun science experiments or a book on a particular subject your student is studying.

- If you live in a big city, you may have a store in town that sells used home school books. There is one here in Phoenix, and their used prices are pretty high - but they have 50% off days once every month. On these days, they also offer discounts of 10-15% off new curriculum orders.

- One way NOT to save money is by copying text book pages and having your student write on those copies rather than the actual worksheet. For one, these items are copyrighted and you are being dishonest. For another, you are probably not even really saving money because of the copying costs. If you would like to cut the cost of consumable textbooks, you could have your student write the answers in separate notebooks for each subject instead of writing into the workbooks directly. This usually works very well with older students.

For additional information, check out this helpful article I found online.

In the end, I think it would be possible to teach children almost entirely for free if you have a good education yourself and know how to use the internet and libraries. This is certainly the most time-consuming of all options, but your children's education will be just as good if you put the necessary effort into it. I am not talking about "unschooling" here, which I find is a terrible option and leads to kids who lack both a solid education as well as any good work habits and character traits such as perseverance, timeliness, etc.

Buying curriculum used is no doubt much more time-consuming and troublesome that buying new from the publisher. But I think it is so much more fun to get a great deal on something. As a stay-at-home Mom I also think it is my duty to use the extra time that I have by not having to work an outside job on finding ways to save money. A penny saved is worth a lot more than a penny earned because I don't have to give Uncle Sam half of it. So if you have been making excuses for wasting money on new books, or (worse yet) if you have been slagging on your kids' education and hiding behind the excuse that you can't afford the books you need, try one of the sources above for finding used books.