British School Board Announces Death of Western Civ

Are they daft?

Well, I suppose this should not be a surprise to the truly educated minds of the world. Sir Winston Churchill has been officially axed from the required lessons list. Who else was taken off the list? Hitler, Gandhi, Stalin and Martin Luther King, not to mention the War of the Roses, Elizabeth I and Henry VIII. Oh, sure, they will still be teaching World Wars I and II, etc. but without its heroes and villains named? Can you say "watered-down by the P.C. crowd??"

Instead they will be taught about “relevant” issues such as global warming and drug dangers. Churchill’s grandson, Tory MP Nicholas Soames, is said to have called the move “total madness.”
At least the schools secretary Alan Balls is angered enough to give this a deeper look. He is now squared against all curriculum advisers.

Ministers said the shake-up will free up a quarter of the school day so teachers can focus more on individual pupil needs.

Regarding languages, they decided that their schools will be able to stop teaching French, German and Spanish and offer other languages (in place of the common foreign languages...and in Jr. High??? Charlotte Mason would roll over in her grave, if she could), including Urdu, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority boss Ken Boston said the changes would equip young people “with the skills for life and work in the 21st century”.

Well that's just great. (tongue firmly planted in cheek)

Alright homeschool/private school families and teachers--Let's educate and empower our children with a real, no-bones-about-it lifelong education in Western Civ. and Biblical Worldview courses, to be able to preserve some truth to teach future generations.

Read more here.

We're finished!

Summer school is over!! It was a good thing, but at times VERY stressful. The worst was the end of week two/beginning of week three. I'm thankful for the Lord's provision, and in knowing that with His help, I CAN do it well.

I am also grateful to have a summer break, now.

The Hubster, aka Dread Pirate Sparsebeard, has gone on a trip across the country to be a judge in a solar car "race." He is really looking forward to the adventure. This is the trip our oldest son has always gone on and helped with as a photographer or videographer intern.

So, rest I shall, and catch up on movies, as well.

Yes, I do plan to get a lot of decluttering done in the next two weeks.

Ta Ta!

Javamom

How to change a tire

Now that our second teen in line has joined her big brother by earning her driver's license, Dread Pirate Sparsebeard decided that part of her training would be to walk her through changing a "flat" tire. She did great, but at this point, became frustrated with trying to get the tire back on. She turned around to try for a better angle for hoisting said tire back onto the axle! She came out of the whole adventure completely unscathed.

uPdaTiOn!

The week flew by while teaching summer school Spanish. I have eleven students, and it's going pretty well, actually. I've had to call two parents already, but all responded well. I've relaxed into the early morning schedule of getting up just before six and leaving for the school by 6:35 with hubby. Most of the students are early, but class technically begins at 8:15 and ends at 12:30. I have some stay later if they are finishing up a test or incomplete homework.

Hubby is recuperating very well, ten days past knee surgery. Still hobbling somewhat, but physical therapy is helping him to become more flexible with less pain once again.

We sent our 16 yo daughter off to California (by plane) tonight for five days with a good friend. They are staying with her brother and his wife and kids.

14 yo son leaves for Senior High camp in Colorado on Sunday. Wish I was going! I will miss not taking a trip this summer. Then again, maybe we will drive over to see family in New Mexico...

I have a lot of paperwork to grade still...4 more sets of student homework (17 pages each?) and 11 tests (ten pages, mostly short, quick exercises). It will take me probably six hours to accomplish all that. I'm going to split it up over the weekend and chip away at it. When the kids ask "Why is there so much homework?" I smile and say, "Because you are covering a schoolyear's worth of Spanish I material in five weeks!"


I truly am enjoying it...why?? I really like Spanish and teaching it helps it stay fresh in my mind and strengthens my skills. It's so easy to get rusty -- more quickly than people realize.

I met a neat lady from Cuba today (been a citizen here for decades, now) that was visiting the school with a retiring teacher. I asked her about Fidel Castro making an appearance in public this week finally...and what may happen when he dies. That was an interesting conversation!! Can't wait to talk to her about immigration issues!

On the practical side of things: I've gotten to bed early so I can still get enough sleep. I am so thankful for this summer teaching opportunity. I never thought I would teach in a classroom setting, but it turns out that I really like it!

Riding to work and working in a classroom next to Sparsebeard has been pretty cool, too!

'Night, friends

Javamom

End of Day One - Summer School

The eastern sky at sunset: a process...


photo two - eastern sky at sunset, about fifteen minutes later in the process.


We witnessed the most beautiful sunrise early this morning that I've seen in a very long time.
Wait...it's the only sunrise I've seen since....March (Huge Grin). I should have taken photos. REALLY. Since I don't have photos of the incredibly pink and orange light-up-the-whole-northeasterly sky-sunrise, I will include tonight's incredible sky after a small shower came through at dinner time...though it really does not compare with today's sunrise.


Hubby is recovering pretty well from last Wednesday's knee surgery. Being up and walking more in the last 24 hours in prep for Summer school and our first day was a good test for the repairs in his right knee.


We were up at the school for four or five hours yesterday to get hubster's vocab program updated and for me to make all the copies I need for Spanish one for one week. The day went well, and we seem to have some decent students who are at least a little willing to try. Most of them seem very easy to motivate....SO far :-).

I have to cover two parts of each chapter each day so that we can cover 11 or 12 chapters in five weeks. I'm making the kids responsible for much of their own work, but we are also doing all the language lab work together in class. Throwing in some games here and there should help fill out our time with productive learning, instead of just busy work.

We had a nice family dinner and a lot of laughs, now I'm going to glance at the possible activities for tomorrow then go to bed early (9 ish).

Night, all! Thanks for asking about the Dread Pirate Sparsebeard! His humor in intact, even as we take the elevator together to get to our classrooms upstairs!

Señora Javamom