Move Forward

Homeschooling in Iowa comes under much scrutiny. I'm sure you can relate to questions like, "Do you actually socialize?" and "Is this legal?" You and I have been there. We've been pushed into the stereotype that dictates homeschoolers as quiet, meek, long-skirt and pant wearing unsocialized geeks. I wear long skirts. I've been classified a geek. But no one would call me unsocialized. I set out to break that pattern. I worked on political campaigns, attended TeenPact, did some part-time work at a Bible Camp, and interned at a floral shop. I started writing a book, and started a Bible Study. I detasseled for two years. And I was still homeschooled. I also graduated a year early. And can still out-spell some people. I can also claim sibling-ship to seven beautiful boys and girls. I've attended the homebirths of three of them as well. I took over the household while my youngest brother was in the hospital after birth complications, and started making all the supper meals about two years ago. And I was homeschooled. Most folks hear this and are silenced in their claims of unsocialization. And if they aren't, I'm more than willing to keep discussing different topics until they are convinced! Homeschoolers are brilliant. So let's let that fact be known!

Many parents have taught special-needs children, and triumphed over a society that told them to institutionalize these "incapable" humans. Many parents have had their children die, had spouses pass away or leave them, and yet they triumphed. How? By the grace of God, and support from others.

I had the chance to talk to a homeschool critic, and he asked, "Why would homeschooling be better than public schooling?" I asked him back, "Who do you think should know your child better? The state, or you, the parent?" I continued after receiving the reply that the parent should know better. "Well, then, would you rather your children learn your values, or the state's?" This gentleman vocalized that he would rather have his children agree with his perspective, and that much of our government's thinking was unfit for broadcasting. I simply told him that that was why my parents had homeschooled. They wanted me to be well-grounded in my faith and my convictions before the world could have me. Many people have never heard of such a thing or have never considered taking action on their preferences. If asked, many would acknowledge that homeschooling is better than public schooling. Interesting, is it not? And yet we are criticized, mostly from minds of ignorance.

It is my personal belief that to win over your "enemy", you must first persuade them. That is where passive aggression must come in, alongside the meek and quiet spirit you wish your children to learn. If you wish to feel inspired, know that Charles Dickens, Blaise Pascal, Agatha Christie, Douglas MacArthur, and Amadeus Mozart were all homeschooled at one point or another. (Home School Legal Defense Association.) We have a great opportunity to stand up for our beliefs, and our freedoms!

So make your case. Be informed about homeschooling choices. Have your list of references, and be willing to talk to your legislator. I believe that we are backed by God, and that this is a spiritual battle to fight. Lord willing, homeschooling will be strengthened and thrive!

"...It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."-- Samuel Adams

The Invention of the Clock

Upon calling into a recent conference, it was noticed that most callers arrived precisely on time thanks to their computers being synchronized with an atomic clock (picture). This technology enabled the efficient accomplishment of the meeting, but who invented the clock in the first place and could there by other effects of such precision in society?



From Technopoly, "Who would have imagined, for example, whose interests and what world-view would be ultimately advanced by the invention of the mechanical clock? The clock had its origins in the Benedictine monasteries of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The impetus behind the invention was to provide a more or less precise regularity to the routines of the monasteries, which required, among other things, seven periods of devotion during the course of the day. The bells of the monastery were to be rung to signal the canonical hours; the mechanical clock was the technology that could provide precision to these rituals of devotion. And indeed it did. But what the monks did not foresee was that the clock is a means not merely of keeping track of the hours but also of synchronizing and controlling the actions of men. And thus, by the middle of the fourteenth century, the clock had moved outside the walls of the monastery, and brought a new and precise regularity to the life of the workman and the merchant. "The mechanical clock," as Lewis Mumford wrote, "made possible the idea of regular production, regular working hours and a standardized product." In short, without the clock, capitalism would have been quite impossible. The paradox, the surprise, and the wonder are that the clock was invented by men who wished to devote themselves more rigorously to God; it ended as the technology of greatest use to men who wished to devote themselves to the accumulation of money. In the eternal struggle between God and Mammon, the clock quite unpredictably favored the latter."

Postive and Negative Impacts of Technology

It appears to be the time to initiate a blog for the Biblical Concourse since every day there are thoughts and developments which would benefit those pursuing their college studies in the home school mode or developing their own home university.

For example, I have been reading Neil Postman's Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (Knopf, 1992) and thinking how appropriate this book would be for every college student to read. It reinforces the fact that technology is not neutral but always has both a positive and negative impact on people.

Neutrality implies that the knowledge and structure of a subject is not influenced by religious belief, or that it should not be. Another way to state neutrality is to say that the subject would be the same whether God existed or not. The claim that a subject would be the same with or without the existence of God is an antichristian statement, because the Scriptures declare that God created and holds all things, which includes mathematics, together. …God, who created all things by Jesus Christ Ephesians 3:9 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Colossians 1:17

Here is a glimpse of what Mr. Postman writes regarding medical technology:

"Consider the case of cesarean sections. Close to one out of every four Americans is now born by C-section. Through modern technology, American doctors can deliver babies who would have died otherwise. As Dr. Laurence Horowitz notes in Taking Charge of Your Medical Fate, " ....the proper goal of C-sections is to improve the chances of babies at risk, and that goal has been achieved." But C-sections are a surgical procedure, and when they are done routinely as an elective option, there is considerable and unnecessary danger: the chances of a woman's dying during a C-section delivery are two to four times greater than during a normal vaginal delivery. In other words, C-sections can and do save the lives of babies at risk, but when they are done for other reasons - for example, for the convenience of the doctor or mother - they pose an unnecessary threat to health, and even life.

There are thousands, perhaps millions of example of how technologies have had both positive and negative impacts on society. Seems like the Christian could benefit from noticing that technology is not neutral and therefore looking to avoid the negative impacts.