Grapes and Running Water

These are some of my recent photos. They've all been digitally enhanced, especially the last two.




For the technically minded, the pictures were taken with a FujiFilm FinePix 2800Z. DOF and some extra contrast/color enhancements were done on the computer.

May the Fourth be with you

I found this picture online, the full version is here. Happy Independence Day!

A modern-language translation of the Declaration of Independence HERE

We are currently listening to:
One Nation Under God, by The Sons of Tennessee

New Template

We've remodeled our blog. See that picture up top? That's our house! Well, it's our house, but it's moved to a more scenic location (one of Tim's photos of the area), thanks to Tim's graphic magic. We live in a rural area, but not quite that rural. It used to be a lot more rural, but suburbia has been creeping up on us, and now it's more like semi-rural.

What Kind of Soul is Tim?

You Are an Old Soul

You are an experienced soul who appreciates tradition. Mellow and wise, you like to be with others but also to be alone. Down to earth, you are sensible and impatient. A creature of habit, it takes you a while to warm up to new people. You hate injustice, and you're very protective of family and friends A bit demanding, you expect proper behavior from others. Extremely independent you don't mind living or being alone. But when you find love, you tend to want marriage right away. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

What Kind of Soul Are You?

I got this from fellow-mom Elizabeth's blog.

You Are a Retrospective Soul

The most misunderstood of all the soul signs. Sometimes you even have difficulty seeing yourself as who you are. You are intense and desire perfection in every facet of your life. You're best described as extremely idealistic, hardworking, and a survivor. Great moments of insight and sensitivity come to you easily. But if you aren't careful, you'll ignore these moments and repeat past mistakes. For you, it is difficult to seperate the past from the present. You will suceed once you overcome the disappoinments in life. Souls you are most compatible with: Traveler Soul and Prophet Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

A Picture of a Room

Tim made this image from a cardboard box and some toys. See how here.

Education vs. Brainwashing

I hear talk about children not turning out the way people wanted, or how the new generation has a different mindset than intended. This sounds as if we had tried to teach the children what they should and shouldn't think--as if all our education was just an attempt to brainwash them. And really, education is a lot like brainwashing, at least on the surface. The difference is that brainwashing teaches what to think, while education teaches how. If all we teach children is what to think, we are simply programming them as we would machines. This de-humanizes them. Teaching children how to think makes them rational creatures, which makes them more human. If we follow Plato's reasoning, the perfect human in the realm of ideas is a rational creature, and therefore the more rational we become the more we become like the 'idea' human.

Which, then, does education do today? Does it teach what or how? I can't speak for all forms of education or curricula, nor do I have an intimate knowledge of public schools in general. I can tell what I do know:

Right now there is a struggle going on over whether or not Evolution should be taught as fact in schools. So far, any attempt to cast even the shadow of a doubt on the theory (note it well!) has been fought and defeated. This isn't about the truth of Evolution as a theory, so I will go no further than to say that its validity is very much in question. But even if it were universally accepted as truth, teaching it as a fact--a fact that not only should not be questioned but cannot be questioned--defeats the purpose of education. It teaches students what to think, not how or why.

I compare this to my homeschooling. Again, I only know the curriculum I have used. But by this curriculum I am learning to think logically and to scrutinize ideas with reason: not to accept them blindly as 'fact'. I am learning, when I come upon a piece of information, to discern whether it is true or not, and what meaning it has, if any, in the broader scope of the world. I am learning, as someone (I forget now who)* said, to greet reason with open arms. And that should be the purpose of education.


* This in itself says something. I've forgotten the fact of the name, but I remember the idea.

Friday's Responses

Our final day of exams.
The map questions are giving the younger two difficulties. I guess we'll have to focus more on that next year. (sigh)

Year 3 Student

What invention do you think most changed the world? What can you tell about how it came about?

The car. And the reaper. There were five reapers invented, but only one really worked. One would actually cut the grain and bind it, but when the men went to put it in the barn, they were getting cut because the little pieces of wire they used to bind them up were getting in the wheat and were cutting the men. But I guess one man succeeded in making a good reaper and I guess nowadays they have tractors instead of reapers. It used to be, all the families were going out and cutting the grain with something that looked like hooks but they had blades and I guess the women as well as the men were binding grain and the children were tying it up and it made a big difference in the world to make a reaper because people didn't have to do that anymore.

Trace Minn's journey on a map.

(Student traced route on a map with his finger, pointing out a few cities along the Mississippi River after going over the book again!)

Year 5 Student

Trace Lewis and Clark's route on a map.

(Student traced his route on a map with his finger after a short review)

From the Complete Book of Marvels - tell about your favorite place he visited.

I like them all, but the Rock of Gibraltar is the one whose name I remember. The Rock of Gibraltar is guarding a bay. The rock is hollow. It belongs to England, but it used to belong to someone else. The French and the English fought over it, but the English won. Ever since then, England's been guarding it. When you visit it, they show you the old guns but they don't show you the new guns. There are passages all the way around and it provides a great view all around of the sea.

Year 9 Student

Trace Richard Halliburton’s travels in Europe.

First he climbed the Matterhorn with almost no previous climbing experience. The guide helped. Then he went to France, visited Paris and the Eiffel Tower, visited a French cathedral and then traveled south to Carcassonne. From there he went south, over the mountains, through Andorra, to Spain. He spent a night on the Rock of Gibraltar and ended up in jail for it. But he got some pictures just the same.

What were some of George Washington’s strengths?

He had very strong emotions, but such complete self-control that he almost never expressed them. He was modest and humble but committed to his duty. He had an unimpeachable character and reputation. He was tall with a dignified bearing and majestic carriage equal to any king. But most of all he was a complete patriot who put his country’s good before his own and cared for its welfare in his generalship, presidency, and beyond.

Thursday's Exam Results

Year 3 Student

What is the Union Jack, and how did it come about?

It was two flags put together and it came about because Scotland and England had two parliaments and they had a union. They were already allies but they tried to be one nation, but they couldn't do that til they only had one parliament. The two flags they combined were St. George's and St. Andrew's. St. George's was a red cross on a white background and the St. Andrew's was a white "x" with a blue background. One general, the general of the army, signed his name as something like "Jack." His two flags were called "the Jacks" and when they were combined they were called "the Union Jack."

Tell about how otters live.

They make their homes in dens and all they really eat is fish. They go fishing like bears, they actually go under water and go fish hunting. When they have their babies, they make a different nest above the surface of the water and the otter cubs don't drown because they can't swim when they're first born. Every now and then the mother otter takes the cubs out so they can learn how to swim. She'll carry them on her back into the water and then she'll slide out from underneath them.

Year 5 Student

Why was the Civil War fought?

The south had slaves and the north didn't think it was right. As new states came in there would be almost fights about whether it would be a slave state or a free state. Eventually the south said that they wanted to create their own country. So they declared themselves free from the union. President Lincoln asked them not to and then declared war.

What attributes made Teddy Roosevelt heroic?

He always made time for his family even when there were a lot of important things to do. He did his best to do everything right; I don't think he ever made the same mistake twice. He thought of the people first. And he stood up for what was right.

Year 9 Student

What was important to the founding fathers in setting up their own government?

It depends a lot on who you asked. Hamilton would have answered differently than Jefferson. But in general:

It was important to them to establish a government that would accurately represent the people’s needs and desires and not ignore them as Britain had done. It was important that the government would preserve the people’s rights and not intrude on their personal business; but at the same time it was important that the government should promote and uphold both the moral and civil law. They wanted a government that would promote peace and security, both in itself and towards other nations.

A government is established to protect the rights and happiness, and therefore the safety, of the people. The difficulty is finding a balance between too much and too little government. Jefferson feared too much: he believed in the good of man and was afraid that a powerful government would encroach on the people’s rights and freedom. John Adams feared too little: he believed in the intrinsic evil of man and therefore felt that a strong government was necessary to preserve the nation’s law and safety. The struggle between those two viewpoints, the struggle to find a balance between too much and too little government, was what brought about our Constitution; and the result is a happy compromise that may well be called “a miracle”.

Briefly trace the events of Ben Franklin’s or Napoleon’s life.

Benjamin Franklin was born the youngest son of a candlemaker. He was apprenticed to his older brother James as a printer’s assistant in Boston, and published several articles under the false name of Mrs. Silence Dogood. He and his brother did not get along well, so he ran away to New York and thence to Philadelphia, where he worked for another printer. He made a business trip to England but found himself stranded there, having to work for several years before he could return. When he returned he was married, and set up his own printer’s shop, which became the most popular in town. He started a library and post office as well as continuing his scientific experiments. He was a member of the legislature for a time and led an expedition against the Indians in the French and Indian War.

He was several times sent to England to represent the American Colonies, and worked hard to make a peace between them, but finally decided it was impossible and was tried (in England) for treason. He was an important, if silent, member of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention.

Wed Answers

Year 3 Student

Tell about a tall tale.

Joe Magarac - He was made out of metal and one time one girl's father had to decide who got her as a wife, and Joe Magarac got her but gave her to who really wanted her and they were married and lived happily. But the steel mill was going to be put out of business because of Joe Magarac, because he was steel. So he melted himself and they made a new steel mill with his metal. So they made one and that was it.

Tell why Timoleon was heroic, OR tell why Othello wasn't.

Othello wasn't heroic because he wasn't a good man. He was being told lies by Iago and killed Desdemona. And Cassio tried to be murdered by Iago and Roderigo, but Roderigo got murdered instead of Cassio, and Iago murdered Emilia his own wife. Othello was a good man, but he shouldn't have believed Iago and shouldn't have killed his wife. A good man wouldn't have stolen Desdemona to be his wife.

Year 5 Student

How did Lobo the wolf die?

They caught and killed his mate and then used her as bait to catch him. He was then killed, maybe strangled.

What led Othello to kill his own wife? OR What made Timoleon a successful leader?

Timoleon - what made him a good general, a good leader, is that he used tactics and not brute force, and that's all there was to it. He was a nice guy, so the troops followed him and obeyed him willingly. He didn't try to become powerful, he tried to bring peace back to the nation and get rid of the tyrants.

Year 9 Student

How did Othello end up killing his wife?

The obvious answer is through the deceptions of his supposed friend, Iago. But really Iago’s lies only exploited faults of Othello’s character that reveal themselves more as the play continues.

Othello was jealous and possessive of his wife, and therefore mistrusted her reasons for marrying him and her fidelity to him. He had very little self-control, so instead of putting away Iago’s lies, he encouraged them, and worked himself into a rage that blinded his reason and (as Desdemona saw) amounted to madness. He had strong emotions and a fiery temper, which when ignited he could not control. Finally, he had a skewed sense of right and wrong, which led him to an attempted assassination of Cassio and the actual murder of his wife--thinking all the while that he was doing right and satisfying justice.

This is an excellent depiction of the nature of evil. The devil tempts us and deceives us, but he is only exploiting faults that are already there. Evil is both an external and internal thing.

What are the four loves?

1. The love of pleasure. Under this love are sloth and idleness as well as the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.
2. The love of money and possessions. Under this is all our love for material things.
3. The love of power. The desire to control others. Pride is a big factor in this.
4. The love of self. All three other loves center around this one and come from it.
(Apparently this is a joke, and I'm told that the real answer is forthcoming!)

The real answer:
1. The first is storge, or affection. Under this usually fall our love for pets and the love between parents and children.
2. The second is philia. This is “brotherhood,” comradeship or friendship.
3. The third is eros, or amorous love: the love between a man and a woman.
4. The fourth is agape, which Lewis calls charity. This is our love for all people—or rather, what should be our love for all people.
All four loves are from God and are good as long as they remain under God’s law. As Lewis put it, “love, when it becomes a god, becomes a demon”—any love, when given free reign to make itself our god, is a bad thing. All four loves are also models or representations of God’s love for us.