3628 American deaths in Iraq. Each soldier and marine had a mother. Many were husbands and fathers. Many more were young men who will never have the opportunity to be husbands or fathers. Never to return home again. To what end?
3489 American deaths in Iraq since Bush declare "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003. You can see the list here of the men who have died - their names, ages, hometowns. You will not see the dreams that have been snuffed out, or the loved ones left behind. How many more must die before this senseless war comes to an end.
The Bush administration and it's AM radio mouthpieces say that we are fighting the terrorists in Iraq so that we don't have to fight them here at home. When our enemies spout such lies we call it what it is, propaganda.
Our gutless Congress needs to listen to the American people and stand up to Bush, cut off the funding for his war, and support our troops by bringing them home alive.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Why I Won't...
Why I won't vote for Rudy McRomney, in a nutshell.
Because the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Because the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Friday, July 13, 2007
For the Children's Sake
My first instinct is to throw in the trash any book titled "For the Children's Sake". It reminds me of the drivel spouted by politicians trying to foist their leftist social experiments on us. However, the book was included with the kindergarten curriculum that we purchased for our son so my wife and I both agreed to read it.
Written over twenty years ago by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and subtitled "Foundations of Education for Home and School", the book describes how to harness a child's innate desire for knowing and experiencing to provide a solid education based on the Christian meaning of life. Macaulay builds on the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason, an 19th century English educator.
As a reader and lover of books of all sorts I like Macaulay's practice of replacing "twaddle" with a steady diet of "living books". Mason defined twaddle as "mentally inferior and useless stuff produced or written for children by adults" that bores kids and dulls their natural desire to learn. Macaulay believes that reading good books aloud to a child and then providing interesting books for the child to read themselves once they are able is the foundation on which the child's later education is built.
An exercise that I found interesting and will try with my own kids is what she calls narration. After reading to a child, ask them to describe in their own words what they have heard. Once they are old enough to read, kids can write their narration. Narration seems to be a thought provoking and creative process. Macaulay, like Mason, believes that children should be treated like thinking persons. This is done by not talking down to children, respecting their ability to think, and letting them come to conclusions themselves.
Macaulay describes education as the knowledge of God, of man, and of the universe. The knowledge of God is most important and should be the parents primary concern. Knowledge of man includes history, literature, morals and citizenship, composition, languages, music and art. Knowledge of the universe is science, math, geography and physical development. The book briefly discusses principles of learning in each subject that will lead to a solid education.
The book was food for thought for me and will be used as a guide by our family as we begin homeschooling our kids. Parents with kids in public/private schools would also benefit greatly from this book since all education begins at home and parents are responsible for their kids education whether they are schooled in or out of the home.
Written over twenty years ago by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and subtitled "Foundations of Education for Home and School", the book describes how to harness a child's innate desire for knowing and experiencing to provide a solid education based on the Christian meaning of life. Macaulay builds on the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason, an 19th century English educator.
As a reader and lover of books of all sorts I like Macaulay's practice of replacing "twaddle" with a steady diet of "living books". Mason defined twaddle as "mentally inferior and useless stuff produced or written for children by adults" that bores kids and dulls their natural desire to learn. Macaulay believes that reading good books aloud to a child and then providing interesting books for the child to read themselves once they are able is the foundation on which the child's later education is built.
An exercise that I found interesting and will try with my own kids is what she calls narration. After reading to a child, ask them to describe in their own words what they have heard. Once they are old enough to read, kids can write their narration. Narration seems to be a thought provoking and creative process. Macaulay, like Mason, believes that children should be treated like thinking persons. This is done by not talking down to children, respecting their ability to think, and letting them come to conclusions themselves.
Macaulay describes education as the knowledge of God, of man, and of the universe. The knowledge of God is most important and should be the parents primary concern. Knowledge of man includes history, literature, morals and citizenship, composition, languages, music and art. Knowledge of the universe is science, math, geography and physical development. The book briefly discusses principles of learning in each subject that will lead to a solid education.
The book was food for thought for me and will be used as a guide by our family as we begin homeschooling our kids. Parents with kids in public/private schools would also benefit greatly from this book since all education begins at home and parents are responsible for their kids education whether they are schooled in or out of the home.
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