How to save $123 per text book!

Home university students have a great advantage when purchasing their text books. They don't need to be using the same book as their classmate and can usually learn the content with a previous edition just as well as with the latest edition.

As soon as a new edition of a book becomes available, the price of the previous edition drops significantly. For example, The Principles of Statics by Hibbler is a great book for engineering students to learn from. The 11th edition is now $139 as a new book from the publisher (prenticehall.com). Amazon.com sells this new book from $97.92 to $165.47. The same book can be obtained from Amazon used for $80 to $149.45.

However, to save additional money, it is helpful to know that the same statics knowledge can be learned from many or any of the previous editions of this same book. The 10th edition is available used on Amazon for $16 to $94.08 used and new from $23.50 to $130.64.

For this particular book the savings would be: $139 - $16 = $123.

Other less popular statics books would also serve the educational purpose at an even lower cost. Engineering faculty who taught statics may even be willing to give away older editions that were given to them as review copies, which cannot not be legally sold.

If I were a new home university engineering student, I'd buy the $16 ( plus $3.49 shipping) used copy via Amazon for the convenience, use it thoroughly, and keep it in my permanent family library.

If you like to shop, simply type "textbooks cheap" into a Google search and you will find many more used textbook options. About.com also has a helpful article to inform your used text book shopping at: http://distancelearn.about.com/od/managingyourwork/a/cheaptextbook.htm

To make textbook selection and purchase the most convenient, efficient for the lowest cost, the Concourse is developing scope and sequences with Amazon.com hyperlinks to the exact textbooks recommended, which provides both new and used book buying options. To see the engineering example visit: http://biblicalconcourse.com/bookstore/engineering.php

Naaman story

I wrote this short story several months ago; based on the Biblical account of the healing of Naaman. I'd appreciate feedback!

The house of Naaman had been in uproar all that hot day. Now, in the cooler evening, a slave girl stood behind her mistress' chair and combed her long hair.
Earlier, the wife of Naaman had wept, but now she sat dry-eyed, staring ahead with the tear-tracks still on her face. Today, while first dealing with the reality of her husband's leprosy, she had had no one attend her but this Israelite slave girl, who had become a favorite during her two years of captivity. The thin dark girl combed gently without speaking.
They said the king was beside himself. The commander of all his armies would soon be unfit to lead; and it was said Naaman had the blessing of the Hebrew God, for through him came the greatest victories Syria had known. Already the city's eminent physicians had been summoned, and one by one dismissed in disgust. Naaman, one of the most powerful men in Syria and the king's trusted general, was destined for a life of disease and loneliness.
The young slave girl had been shocked, along with the other servants, when the news reached them. Naaman was often gone from home, but none could call him cruel, and there were far worse fates than to be a slave in his household. She wondered with the others about the future. She also pondered other things.
Though, as a terrified captive, the girl had first hated her new owners, two years had softened her resentment to resignation, and finally to affection. She had always been a resiliently happy girl. After the fright of her first month of captivity, the girl could always find something to sing about; and her gentle joy endeared her to Naaman's wife, who appointed her a personal handmaiden. It was this bond, as close as could ever come between a maid and mistress, and concern for her intense grief that made the girl speak out.

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Traditional Values v. Modern Humanism

A founder of Gun Owners of America (GOA), Senator Richardson wrote a book titled, Confrontational Politics. The following review by Ron Lisy (Lakewood, OH) captures Richardson's point that more conservatives and Christians need to be confrontational in order to be effective against humanists.

"Former Senator H. L. Richardson discusses his theories that the major conflict in modern politics and public policy is based on a fundamental battle between traditional values and contemporary humanist dogma. Richardson writes that the tendency of one who is rooted in the traditional views of courtesy, civility and directness is to be reluctant to challenge a political adversary in a confrontational manner. This allows them to be turned around into a defensive position during an exchange with a humanist, who has no such reluctance. He states that the old Marxist postulate of "the ends justify the means" fit firmly into the philosophy of most humanists. He states that the traditional American avoids and repels from conflict, while a humanist is drawn to it as a necessary means for change and enacting their agenda. This difference puts traditionalists at a competitive disadvantage. Richardson continues that he believes conservatives must accept the premises of confrontational politics to successfully battle the political left and abandon the desire for compromise, as compromise is simply moving the world to the left in smaller increments."

Speaking of reading and politics, Morton C. Blackwell http://www.leadershipinstitute.org has some good encouragement!

"Some people bluntly say they don't read. Others offer an excuse: They would read if only they had the time. I will also be blunt: People who don't read cheat themselves. By not reading, they limit what they can achieve, make mistakes they could avoid, and miss opportunities that could improve their lives. Finally, as the gaps in their knowledge become apparent, they must reconcile themselves to not being taken seriously.

Before going any further, I must make clear that I do not urge you to spend the rest of your days nestled in a cozy spot at the local library. Far from it. Actively involved in politics since the early 1960's at the local, state and national levels, I understand the importance of action. Nothing moves unless it is pushed. Political activists elect candidates, pass or repeal laws and determine public policy. But while boundless energy and enthusiasm are essential in activists, something else is necessary. To be successful leaders, activists must also be well-informed."

What is Disabling about the Professions?

"Why do we put so many resources into medicine, education and law with so little apparent benefit? Why do we hold the professions in awe and allow them to set up what are in effect monopolies? This fascinating and controversial collection of essays challenges the power and the mystique of the modern professions. "

Illich stated that, "The disabling of the citizens through professional dominance is completed through the power of illusion. Religion finally becomes displaced, not by the state or the waning of the faith, but by professional establishments and client confidence. The professionals appropriate the special knowledge to define the public issues in terms of problems. The acceptance of this claim legitimatize the docile recognition of imputed lacks on the part of the layman: his world turns into an echo-chamber of needs."

Dr. Bartlett's Comments: This is an excellent book because it reveals the reasons why the pursuit of the modern college degree, pointed toward a modern job or career, displaces Christianity through subtle philosophical manipulation. In essence, the professionalization of law, medicine, engineering, education and the trades has made them alot like the politically correct public schools. This disabling issue with the professions also explains why reforming a profession from within its establishment is highly unlikely. I pray that many home school families will read this book and begin reforming their profession of interest, to bring glory to God and genuinely serve mankind in simplicity godly sincerity!

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Home College Textbook Selection & Justification

In order to select a textbook for a given home university curriculum, wouldn't it be helpful to know what is available and what other people have found helpful for a given topic. I have found FacultyCenter.net to be helpful on occasion. Once logged in, an exhaustive list of subjects appears which links to respective lists of textbooks which are rated by their adoption by colleges across the world. The most popular have a five star rating, which gives some indication of the book's user friendliness. The book page provides a list of colleges who have used the book, the book summary, table of contents, link to its publisher and more.

For parents and students assembling their own curriculum, this site is a handy tool toward both selecting useful books and demonstrating to others that the books and the content learned from them is at the highest academic level.

Many publishers have online tools for their books which are also valuable and in some cases may be considered a substitute for purchasing an expensive textbook. Here are some of those links:

Addison Wesley Longman (AWL)
Allyn & Bacon - Companion Web sites
McGraw-Hill Higher Education - Web Site Gallery
Houghton Mifflin - Teacher Education Station
Thomson Learning - Professor and Faculty Member tools

Understanding Suicide: Testing and Training to Recognize Philosophical Despair

During the recent ND House Education Committee hearing on Senate Concurrent Resolution 4032 (March 14th, 2007),1 I was struck by the importance of understanding suicide from a philosophical perspective in order to prevent suicide, and so I provided testimony to that end. Since ideas, like actions, have consequences, I began to wonder what philosophical ideas might lead to suicide. More...

Who Controls the Will of Man?

Once again, I feel like the last one in the world to notice how an important debate has shaped the world in which we live. Could understanding this theological and philosophical hairsplitting really have any significance to my life as a farmer and business man? Could this knowledge go as far as to explain how our nation and state arrived at its present moral decay? During my lifetime, I was taught one side of the issue and the idea of questioning the assumptions and implications never even crossed my mind.

The theological debate that I am referring to is about the freeness of man's will. If a person understands the Scriptures to teach that man has a free will, then God is consequentially viewed as responding to man's will. Conversely, if a person views the Scriptures as teaching that God motivates man, then man is consequentially viewed as responding to God’s will. Full article ...