Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Utah Vacation 1999
1. Monticello Temple 2. Trash Bin
3. Monticello Temple 4. Monticello Temple
Tracy's Comments:
You're probably wondering why we took a picture of a trash bin. My brother-in-law, Sam Tangreen, manufactures them and this is an example of his work found at Hole In The Rock south of Moab. He makes them from the ground up and the design is his own.
The Monticello Temple is the first small temples we've seen. We stopped to talk with the groundskeeper there and he gave us some good information. He said the the temple has one endowment room and that already they're finding that it's too small. It's a very pretty temple though.
Barry's Comments:
I was really looking forward to seeing this temple. It is the smallest in use, I believe and it is quite a bit different in size with the others that I've seen. I think it may be the size of the Kirtland Temple or maybe a bit smaller. That and it is in a small town. I mean small. I thing Monticello has a couple of thousand people. I think the temple was placed there to balance the population centers of Moab, blanding and Cortez, CO. Since roads are scarce in that section of the world, it was probably the best choice. As Tracy mentioned, it turned out to be smaller than the needs. The church still has a problem with the "if you build it, they will come" foresight that is needed. Smaller temples built since have had two endowment rooms and a few more frequent services. Still, it is a beautiful building and is well maintained like other properties that the church holds. After all, this was built with money that people gave to the Lord and is treated as such.
Trip to the West in 1999.
Pre-Adoption Pics
Due to popular demand, here are the picks that we had of the kids before we actually picked them up.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
More Homeschooling info
There is a reference to someone my wife knows and that is why we posted this. And like others in the post, there are people who homeschool for other than religious reasons.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/lifestyles/1227519,3_5_EL19_HOMESCHOOL_S1.article
No place like home school
Parents feel right at home teaching their children themselves
After looking for educational resources for her son, James, Cindy Adamski of Bartlett decided to work for an online business that is gaining attention in the field of home schooling.
Adamski is one of three home-schooling moms employed by Des Plaines-based Home School Inc., which launched its Web site three years ago and has grown to serve more than 48,000 registered users.
» Click to enlarge image James Adamski, 10, a home-schooled fifth-grader, practices his guitar in the living room of his parents' home in Bartlett. James' mother, Cindy, works part-time for Home School Inc., a business for home schooling families.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)
» Click to enlarge image James Adamski grimaces as he tries to open a jar of sand as he and his parents, Cindy and Victor, work on creating a small desert environment as part of his home schooling studies.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)
"It's part of the philosophy of my husband, Victor, and I to find the best products out there. So one night (in the spring of 2007) I was looking for a better way to be organized with a home-school planner. I came across one on the Home School Inc. Web site and couldn't find a price, so I called the 800 number," said Adamski.
Adamski's call was returned by Virginia Vagt of Wheaton who told her the planner was indeed available and the fledgling company was looking for home-schooling parents to work as customer service reps. Now Adamski works about 20 hours a week for the company.
"I handle phone calls and e-mails and go into the office two times a week. Essentially, I talk parents through their concerns and questions. I'm there, in part, to encourage them. I've been there and done that, and they can do it, too," said Adamski.
Home School Inc. provides materials and resources for parents who have decided to teach their own children.
The company was founded by Thomas Morrow of Arlington Heights who worked the southeast Asian market for Motorola and ran a company that provided technical support for small businesses before launching Home School Inc. on Oct. 17, 2005.
Morrow's inspiration for the Web business is personal.
"I have two close friends who pulled their children out of schools. One had a daughter who was being bullied and the other a son with Autism Spectrum Disorder who now is in college in Texas. He wants to be a math teacher," said Morrow.
Morrow said home schooling already is a $5 billion market and "a highly evolved industry with more than 500 publishers involved."
With so much online information on the topic, the Web site's initial goal was to provide a filter, eliminating less useful information, he said.
Morrow said the home-school market mostly includes white families and the "solidly middle class" with families averaging 2.5 children. One-third of his registrants come from outside the United States. His biggest market is Texas, and outside the U.S. it is Australia. While home schooling is more prevalent among families living in ex-urban and rural settings and is about 80 percent whites, Morrow said it is becoming stronger among the urban and nonwhites.
"The fastest growing segment of the market is people who are home schooling for nonreligious reasons. My business is about 40 percent Protestant and 60 percent people who home school for other reasons, which is the flip of the typical market," Morrow said.
For many, home schooling is done for a combination of reasons.
African American parents Farrah and Patrick Stephen of South Elgin have four young children and a fifth on the way. Farrah Stephen said the couple have a "desire to spend time with our children, to be the main people to develop them to the adults they will become."
While religion played a role in that decision, the Stephens also were concerned about the rebelliousness and the materialistic trends they have noticed in society.
The Stephens use the material reviews available through Home School Inc. They met the Adamskis through Home School University, a co-op that uses Community Fellowship Church in West Chicago for its sessions. It serves about 100 families with teachers or other experts hired to teach classes from preschool through high school, said Cindy Adamski.
"It's a melding of private and home school," said Adamski.
Morrow feels that home school and institution hybrids will be the wave of the future.
"I like to say that parents are becoming the general contractors for their children's educations. Ultimately, this will be cheaper, more effective and more satisfying," said Morrow.
Home-schoolers point to success stories like the Bramsen family of St. Charles. Eldest son Philip has earned two degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, son Peter has two degrees from the University of Illinois and daughter Sarah is a graduate of the University of Chicago.
"We believe we could offer more academically, make it more challenging and teach it in a more classical way," said Annette Bramsen, whose friend, Virginia Vagt, helped develop programming for Home School Inc.
The Bramsens made sure their children's home-school experience was balanced with activities outside the home. They competed on a math team, took courses at local colleges and did volunteer work.
"Our goal was to raise independent, responsible adults," said Bramsen.
That's the same for the Adamskis.
"We are trying to raise a well-rounded child, to raise a leader, not a follower," said Victor Adamski.
"James is involved in a lot of extras. He takes guitar and piano lessons and has been involved in Christian Youth Theater in Elgin," said Cindy Adamski.
"I like the flexibility of stuff, that I can get up anytime and do my work. One time, I was up at 3:30 a.m. and done by 9 a.m.," said James Adamski, 10.
The Adamskis noted that sacrifices have to be made to home school their only child, but they appreciate the rewards that come with the effort.
Bramsen agrees.
"I really felt like -- and some might find this odd -- but it was fun. We enjoyed learning together," Bramsen said. "We had a very rich family life, with a lot of freedom to spend our time. You have to be willing to learn yourself the things you don't know yet.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Leatherheads
| Rating: | ★ |
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Comedy |
Photos of Bennet
5 Pounds 8.2oz. 18.5 inches.
Come back for more photos as I get them off our cameras.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Homeschooling around here
September 26, 2008
HAMPSHIRE -- When Mark and Sandy Weber's daughter Lizzie Gow began struggling in seventh grade, they made the decision to pull her out of school and try a different path to her education.
Though bright, Lizzie had been falling behind in reading comprehension. Her mother saw it as a red flag and decided to take matters into her own hands.
Mary Cano lectures a school lesson and then answers questions from her daughters, (from left) Virginia, 13, Elisabeth, 10 and Sarah, 12 about the lecture during a homeschool session on Tuesday at their home in Hampshire.
(Gus Stuertze/For The Courier News)
(Gus Stuertze/For The Courier News)
Four of Mike and Michelle Hahn's six children are of school age. Peter, 11, plays Little League baseball and his older sister, Christina, acts in the Christian Youth Theatre and takes Irish Dance lessons at the Mayer School of Dance in Elgin. During the day, they study math, science and history and practice Catholic apologetics. They give oral reports on the lives of saints and take field trips to places of interest with their parents and other school-age children.
Despite being in a village with access to two public grade schools, a middle school, a private school, a charter school and a brand new high school, an alternative option is becoming an increasingly popular choice among some area residents: home schooling.
Utilizing an accredited curriculum, the Webers, Hahns and others have found a pace that works for their families, one in which they can practice their Christian faith in their every day lives and give their children the education they believe they need to tackle life's challenges.
"It is the best decision I have ever made," Sandy Weber said. "I love the fact that it's a very Catholic curriculum. We say the Rosary, go to Mass, that one-on-one time. We have a lot of laughs and a lot of fun."
Weber also home-schooled her son, Alex, during his senior year of high school; one of her daughters, Emily, from the time she was a junior; and her youngest son, Max, who has special needs.
Weber has utilized many different resources to enrich the curriculum for her children, including signing Lizzie up for some classes at Hampshire High School.
"As a taxpayer, I have the right to utilize the school. But as a home-school family, we have the ability to pick and choose," Weber said.
Keeping in the family
Not all of the home-school families opt for support from the local school district, however.
Dave and Debbie Hougland of Hampshire have eight children from age 3 to 18. Debbie said she and her husband made the decision to home school their kids from the time the oldest was 3 years old.
"My key, number one, is to discipline my children in the way of the Lord," she said. "It's not just quality time (kids need), it's quantity. If you train your children in character, education comes along."
Hougland said she emphasizes reading classic works, writing, memorization and poetry as a basis for her children's education. She said she has not felt the need to sign the children up for a lot of outside programs for socialization because, with eight children in the home, they are learning to relate to different age groups every day.
Hougland said her oldest daughter graduated from her high school program at age 16. Now 18, she is beginning her senior year of college and will earn her bachelor's degree in political science from Thomas Edison University in the next six months.
Of teaching her large family at home, Hougland said, "It takes a lot of commitment. It really is supernatural, the Lord really has to help you," she said.
Another home-school parent, Mary Cano, says it takes most people a while to wrap their minds around the idea that home schooling is a good thing for families.
"It just seemed so weird at first," she said. "But after meeting a family of 10 kids who were being home-schooled, I thought what a beautiful, powerful witness."
I always get kind of hinky about articles like these. Seems that religion is the over-riding factor. I understand, but it isn't why we homeschool, and I can't contemplate teaching apologetics to a child. That seems to be a little bit too strong in the religion field. While I am really big in apologetics, I can't understand teaching it as part of the curriculum.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bennet
Bennet was born at a weight of 5lb, 8.2oz. 18.5in.
Mother went through some very bad times but is getting better.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The latest Groesser news
Well, I'm overcoming, hopefully, my bout with pneumonia. Tracy has something we think is a little lesser but....it is still a pain.
Tracy is going to be induced on the 22nd. Oh joy. After almost 20 years of marriage, it looks like we are going to have our first home-grown child. Let's just say that we are both very nervous about this.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Who'd a thought? Trains use train tracks!
This is about the most ridiculous problem this community has ever generated. Trains use the tracks. It is a federal issue. The traffic will roughly double. Big deal. Those tracks have been there for at least 60 years. Get over it. You live next to train tracks. You knew that before you moved here. Bunch of whiners.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1149698,3_1_EL07_A3RAILROAD_S1.article
What's at stake with CN's EJ&E purchase plan?
September 7, 2008Recommend
By DAN CAMPANA Staff Writer
Next stop: Aurora.
The series of Surface Transportation Board meetings on Canadian National Railway's proposed merger with the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway continues Tuesday night at West Aurora High School. If attendance at similar gatherings in other communities, including Barrington and Bartlett, is any indicator, the place will be packed.
Here's what you need to know whether you plan to attend, have already commented to the STB or are just plain unsure about what this could mean to the area:
What's going on? Last year, CN and EJ&E -- through its parent company, U.S. Steel -- announced an agreement for CN to buy nearly 200 miles of track from northwest Indiana to Chicago's northern suburbs. Those tracks create a semi-circle outside Chicago that give CN an opportunity to move its trains more quickly through the suburbs. Doing so means more frequent and longer trains through area rail crossings.
How does this affect me? If you live near EJ&E tracks, the sale could impact your property values, according to the STB study. If your commute includes traveling over the tracks, you could be late for dinner because of an increase in the number of trains at those crossings. The study also includes a variety of scenarios that could mean different things to different folks. Check it out yourself at www.stbfinancedocket35087.com/html/deis-report.html
What does CN say? The company says it is working with communities to minimize impacts on towns along the EJ&E tracks, has pledged to spend $50 million toward mitigation efforts, and touts a general perspective of greater safety and less congestion across the board because fewer trains will cut through Chicago and its nearest suburbs. At the same time, CN is demanding the STB rule on the competitive aspects by Dec. 31 -- the deadline for a CN-U.S. Steel agreement -- or face possible litigation.
Who's opposing this? The strongest voice has been The Regional Answer to Canadian National, or TRAC, a coalition of suburban leaders who suggest CN's plan is shortsighted and too costly. U.S. Reps. Bill Foster and Judy Biggert, as well as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, have also panned the proposal.
So who's supporting CN? Recently, a new group -- Solution to Area Rail Traffic -- formed, combining officials from suburbs that appear to benefit from CN moving trains to a western line. U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski is backing the organization, saying some 60 communities will see fewer trains if the plan is approved. Lipinski, a member of the U.S. House board that oversees the STB, says his district and the region will benefit.
How can my opinions be known? By Sept. 30, you can get your comments on the record in one of the following ways:
In writing: Comment forms will be provided at the public meetings and will be accepted on site or by mail. Additionally, comment forms or written letters can be sent to: Phillis Johnson-Ball, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20423, Ref: STB Finance Docket No. 35087.
Recorded comments: Court reporters will be available at the public meetings for those who attend. Comments also may be recorded at any time during the comment period on the project hot line, (800) 347-0689.
Electronically: Comments may be filed electronically on the board's Web site, www.stb.dot.gov, by clicking on the e-filing link. Refer STB Finance Docket No. 35087.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
We made the front page!
Water park emerging in College Green
ELGIN -- An unexpected sound could be heard when little 7-year-old Hayden Groesser jumped from a jungle gym onto the ground of the newly renovated College Green Park on the city's west side Friday -- splash.
That's because most of the playground area, which includes swings, a seesaw and two large slides, were surrounded by large puddles of water that were created as a result of Monday's heavy rainfall.
Areas not submerged were still difficult to negotiate, as the half-dozen children who came by the park in the early afternoon soon discovered, as feet quickly sank in seemingly dry patches.
Hayden's mother, Tracy Groesser, said she was impressed with the renovations performed on the park, but was a little disappointed her three children will have to wait a little longer to take full advantage of all its new features.
"I saw the playground equipment on the city's Web site so I wanted to come over and let the kids play," she said. "I'm a little disappointed by all the water, that it didn't drain, because the kids are really excited."
The park's site was moved closer to the street along College Green Drive. The old park is currently fenced-in until grass has completed grown over the space to allow for informal green space, according to Reopelle.
A grand opening celebration for the park was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today, but has since been postponed, according to City Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle.
Reopelle said the problem stemmed from a lack of a drainage system that would allow water to dissipate quicker.
As he explained, the soil below the old park site allowed for water to soak through at a faster rate, so a drainage system never needed to be installed.
"So typically we think that the soils are similar," Reopelle said. "And that the water would percolate through so when this one was designed no drainage was put in it."
Reopelle added the company contracted to renovate the park -- Bolingbrook-based The Kenneth Company -- was notified of the situation, and is expected to come back to install a drainage system. He could not estimate at this point as to when a makeup date for the grand opening would be determined.
College Green Park is one of eight park sites that underwent improvements this year.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1099298,3_1_EL09_A1PARK_S1.article
I uploaded mht files to the post. They can be read by internet explorer. You may need to save the files and then rename them to .mht. For some reason the files aren't opened correctly nor saved correctly. Once they are renamed, they work fine. I think that there may be mapping application issues with some browsers.
Attachment: 1099336,EL09_A1PARK_P1.mht
Attachment: 1099338,EL09_A1PARK_P2.mht
Attachment: Water park emerging in College Green The Courier News News.mht
Attachment: 1099338,EL09_A1PARK_P2.mht
Attachment: Water park emerging in College Green The Courier News News.mht
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Surprised?
From http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1087838,EL02_WARRANT_WEB_080208.article
August 2, 2008
The Associated Press
CARPENTERSVILLE -- A Kane County judge has issued an arrest warrant for a Carpentersville woman accused of reckless homicide in a December 2006 Metra train-crossing crash that killed two of her sisters and her nephew.
Officials say 26-year-old Epifania Alvarez-Navarette failed to show up for a pretrial conference in Kane County Judge Timothy Sheldon's courtroom. Bond is set at $20,000. Alvarez-Navarette has pleaded not guilty. She faces three counts of reckless homicide in the Elgin crash.
Authorities say she drove around train barricades and warning bells into the path of the commuter train. The woman's attorney, Maria Najera, says attempts to reach her client were unsuccessful.
I guess that is to be expected from a judge sympathetic to illegal immigrants. For pete's sake, a $20,000 bond (actual cost $2000) for breaking a law (many) and killing half your family. The comments on the article are quite informative.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Surgery
I had a bit of elective surgery yesterday. Found out that I weigh too much and that I hadn't had any real previous surgery. Even this was something that could have been taken care of in an office but the doctor was afraid that I'd collapse in his office. So off to the hospital I went.
Didn't have much of a problem in pre-op, other than it was the first time I remember having an IV. I also was deeply curious about the career of anesthesiologist (sp?). When I was wheeled off to the OR they put the drugs into the IV. The OR was cold (why?) and they strapped my arms down and that was the last I remember. In post-op, the nurse spoke my name and I started comming out of it. I was laughing. I mean, I realized how "out" I was. I said, or at least attempted to say, "I realize you deal with this every day but Wow." I then took undue interest in the blood pressure cuff and raising and lowering my heart rate.
All in all, it was an okay experience. Not one I particularly want to repeat, but it was different.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Our family has become addicted to this cartoon. Last Friday, the last episode was aired. It was a pretty good show. However, in the last hour there was a lot of fighting, which was kind of the point of the series. Anyway, there was a point where the bad-girl and the good-girl began fighting. My 5 year-old daughter then mumbled "Chick Fight!". After my wife stopped laughing, she looked disapproving at me and asked where she got that comment. I honestly don't know, but it was funny.
At the last scene of the movie, the assorted teens paired off, as there was that whole question throughout the series. The Avatar and the good-girl, Katara, needed to establish themselves. My wife then says "Come on, Katara. Do it." Then as they kissed my wife exclaims "What are they 12?!" I looked at her and said..."What do you want? That's exactly what you want. What did you just say a minute ago." I guess the parent in her took over.
Still, it was a great series. Kind of goofy at times, but good. Plus the voice of the Avatar was Pablo from Backyardigans. I got a kick out of that.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Temple in Gilbert
This from MormonTimes.com. It is mentioned because we used to live in Gilbert. Not sure why they are building it so close to the Mesa temple.
http://mormontimes.com/WC_headquarters.php?id=981
Church announces plans for two new temples in Arizona
LDS Church News
Published: Friday, Apr. 25, 2008
Plans to build two new temples in Arizona, one in the Gila Valley and the other in Gilbert, were announced by President Thomas S. Monson. This will bring the total number of temples to 134 already in operation or in the planning and construction phases.
"It is my personal priority to make sure members of the Church have access to the blessings of the temple," said President Monson. "It is here where members learn of their divine origin and destiny; where they are strengthened spiritually as individuals and as families. Temples are sanctuaries from the storms of life."
There are currently two temples in Arizona: one in Mesa and another in Snowflake. The temples in the Gila Valley and Gilbert will bring the total number to four.
The two new temples are the first to be announced by President Monson since he became president of the Church on Feb. 3.
The history of the Church in Arizona dates back to the earliest days of the western migration of the Church. The Mormon Battalion marched through the area now known as Arizona in 1846 on its way to California.
Various efforts to colonize the area followed with the first large-scale effort coming in March of 1873. By Jan. 27, 1878, the Little Colorado Stake, the first stake in Arizona, was created.
Eventually, more than 30 colonies were started, with others in northern Mexico. These hardy pioneers overcame severe hardships in the early years, including drought, crop failures, difficulties with neighbors and floods.
Over the years, members gained prominence and were involved in the progress of the state. They earned a good reputation for their industry and integrity.
On Oct. 23, 1927, the first Arizona temple was dedicated in Mesa. Prior to that time, members traveled to the St. George Temple in Utah. So many bridal parties traversed the trail during the early years that the wagon road to St. George became known as the Honeymoon Trail.
President Spencer W. Kimball, 12th president of the Church who served from 1973-1985, was reared in the Gila Valley community of Thatcher.
Today, membership continues to flourish with approximately 370,000 members divided among 84 stakes and four missions.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Work
This is after you enter my department which is just a small section of the entire building. My aisle is the second on the left. It was "hot dog day" so the fixins are on the table.
For those that would be interested, here is where I work.
Friday, March 7, 2008
The end of homeschooling in California?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNJDVF0F1.DTL&type=printable
A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution.
The homeschooling movement never saw the case coming.
"At first, there was a sense of, 'No way,' " said homeschool parent Loren Mavromati, a resident of Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) who is active with a homeschool association. "Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation."
The ruling arose from a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long of Lynwood, who have been homeschooling their eight children. Mary Long is their teacher, but holds no teaching credential.
The parents said they also enrolled their children in Sunland Christian School, a private religious academy in Sylmar (Los Angeles County), which considers the Long children part of its independent study program and visits the home about four times a year.
The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home.
Some homeschoolers are affiliated with private or charter schools, like the Longs, but others fly under the radar completely. Many homeschooling families avoid truancy laws by registering with the state as a private school and then enroll only their own children.
Yet the appeals court said state law has been clear since at least 1953, when another appellate court rejected a challenge by homeschooling parents to California's compulsory education statutes. Those statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child's grade level.
"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. "Parents have a legal duty to see to their children's schooling under the provisions of these laws."
Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.
"A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare," the judge wrote, quoting from a 1961 case on a similar issue.
Union pleased with ruling
The ruling was applauded by a director for the state's largest teachers union.
"We're happy," said Lloyd Porter, who is on the California Teachers Association board of directors. "We always think students should be taught by credentialed teachers, no matter what the setting."
A spokesman for the state Department of Education said the agency is reviewing the decision to determine its impact on current policies and procedures. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell issued a statement saying he supports "parental choice when it comes to homeschooling."
Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which agreed earlier this week to represent Sunland Christian School and legally advise the Long family on a likely appeal to the state Supreme Court, said the appellate court ruling has set a precedent that can now be used to go after homeschoolers. "With this case law, anyone in California who is homeschooling without a teaching credential is subject to prosecution for truancy violation, which could require community service, heavy fines and possibly removal of their children under allegations of educational neglect," Dacus said.
Parents say they choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons, from religious beliefs to disillusionment with the local public schools.
Homeschooling parent Debbie Schwarzer of Los Altos said she's ready for a fight.
Schwarzer runs Oak Hill Academy out of her Santa Clara County home. It is a state-registered private school with two students, she said, noting they are her own children, ages 10 and 12. She does not have a teaching credential, but she does have a law degree.
"I'm kind of hoping some truancy officer shows up on my doorstep," she said. "I'm ready. I have damn good arguments."
She opted to teach her children at home to better meet their needs.
The ruling, Schwarzer said, "stinks."
Began as child welfare case
The Long family legal battle didn't start out as a test case on the validity of homeschooling. It was a child welfare case.
A juvenile court judge looking into one child's complaint of mistreatment by Philip Long found that the children were being poorly educated but refused to order two of the children, ages 7 and 9, to be enrolled in a full-time school. He said parents in California have a right to educate their children at home.
The appeals court told the juvenile court judge to require the parents to comply with the law by enrolling their children in a school, but excluded the Sunland Christian School from enrolling the children because that institution "was willing to participate in the deprivation of the children's right to a legal education."
The decision could also affect other kinds of homeschooled children, including those enrolled in independent study or distance learning through public charter schools - a setup similar to the one the Longs have, Dacus said.
Charter school advocates disagreed, saying Thursday that charter schools are public and are required to employ only credentialed teachers to supervise students - whether in class or through independent study.
Ruling will apply statewide
Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said the ruling would effectively ban homeschooling in the state.
"California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own children at home," he said in a statement.
But Leslie Heimov, executive director of the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles, which represented the Longs' two children in the case, said the ruling did not change the law.
"They just affirmed that the current California law, which has been unchanged since the last time it was ruled on in the 1950s, is that children have to be educated in a public school, an accredited private school, or with an accredited tutor," she said. "If they want to send them to a private Christian school, they can, but they have to actually go to the school and be taught by teachers."
Heimov said her organization's chief concern was not the quality of the children's education, but their "being in a place daily where they would be observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety."
Online resources
The ruling: To view the ruling by the Second District Court of Appeal, go to links.sfgate.com/ZCQR.
E-mail the writers at begelko@sfchronicle.com and jtucker@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNJDVF0F1.DTL
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Materialist society is damaging to children.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080226103117.duhctnsx&show_article=1
Children feel under pressure to own the latest designer clothes and computer games and most adults believe the "commercialisation of childhood" is damaging young people's well-being, a poll said Tuesday.
A survey by GfK NOP for the Children's Society showed that out of the 1,225 adults questioned, 89 percent felt that children are more materialistic now than in previous generations.
Evidence submitted to the inquiry from children themselves suggests that they do feel under pressure to keep up with the latest trends, the society added.
The poll is part of a larger inquiry into childhood and includes evidence by professionals and members of the public on issues such as lifestyle, learning, friends and family.
Professor of child psychology Philip Graham -- who is leading the inquirys lifestyle theme -- believes that commercial pressures may have "worrying psychological effects" on children.
"One factor that may be leading to rising mental health problems is the increasing degree to which children and young people are preoccupied with possessions; the latest in fashionable clothes and electronic equipment.
"Evidence both from the United States and from the UK suggests that those most influenced by commercial pressures also show higher rates of mental health problems," he said.
Commenting on the results of the poll, chief executive of the Childrens Society Bob Reitemeier said: "As adults we have to take responsibility for the current level of marketing to children. To accuse children of being materialistic in such a culture is a cop out.
"Unless we question our own behaviour as a society we risk creating a generation who are left unfulfilled through chasing unattainable lifestyles."
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and patron of the inquiry, added: "Children should be encouraged to value themselves for who they are as people rather than what they own.
"The selling of lifestyles to children creates a culture of material competitiveness and promotes acquisitive individualism at the expense of the principles of community and cooperation."
Other results in the poll showed that just over 60 percent wants the government to ban junk food adverts and nearly 7 in ten agreed that violent video games make children more aggressive.
The final report and recommendations of the Good Childhood Inquiry will be published in early 2009.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Three Little Pigs
My daughter tells the classic story of The Three Little Pigs.
Attachment: Three Little Pigs.wav
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Hayden gets his dream present
He has wanted a Nerf LongShot for so long...and now he has it. Pets, beware!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Homeschooling to blame for insanity?
This is from WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120042158992891777.html
Scapegoating Home-Schoolers
By JAMES TARANTO
January 15, 2008
Four girls in the District of Columbia were allegedly murdered last year, and a New York Times1 news story suggests the root cause is . . . home schooling? Here's how the report begins:
Ten states and the District of Columbia, where Banita M. Jacks was charged on Thursday with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her four daughters, have no regulations regarding home schooling, not even the requirement that families notify the authorities that they are educating their children at home.
The lack of supervision of the home-schooling process, some experts say, may have made it easier last year for Ms. Jacks to withdraw her children from school and the prying eyes of teachers, social workers and other professionals who otherwise might have detected signs of abuse and neglect of the girls.
Instead, the children, ages 5 to 17, slipped through the cracks in multiple systems, including social services, education and law enforcement. Their decomposed bodies were discovered earlier this week by United States marshals serving eviction papers on the troubled family.
The absence of any home-schooling regulations in Washington is largely the result of advocacy and litigation by the Home School Legal Defense Association.
The report goes on to concede that "for sure, the fact that Ms. Jacks's children last attended school in March in no way accounts for their deaths." The home-schooling link looks even more tenuous when you look at the Washington Post2 account of the case. On Sunday, the Post reports, Mayor Adrian Fenty fired six child-welfare workers, saying they "just didn't do their job." It turns out that the girls' absence from school was noted at the time:
The girls were killed sometime in late spring or summer, authorities believe. But they were alive when a school social worker, with growing alarm, tried to get child welfare workers to look in on the family. . . .
"From what I could see, the home did not appear clean," the social worker, Kathy Lopes, said in a call to police April 30. "The children did not appear clean, and it seems that the mother is suffering from some mental illness and she is holding all of the children in the home hostage."
Lopes first visited the Jacks home April 27, after Brittany Jacks, 16, missed 33 days of school and no one answered a phone at the house.
"The parent was home. She wouldn't open the door, but we saw young children inside the house," Lopes said to a hotline worker at the city's Child and Family Services Agency. "Her oldest daughter, who is our student, was at home. She wouldn't let us see her."
The operator took the information and reminded Lopes, who was clearly distraught that she could not talk to Brittany, that Jacks did not have to let her inside the home. . . .
Although a social worker made at least two visits to Jacks's home, in the 4200 block of Sixth Street SE, no one answered the door to the rowhouse either time. Less than three weeks later, Child and Family Services staff members closed the case after receiving an unconfirmed report that the family had moved to Maryland.
The Post also has a timeline3 of Jacks's contacts with various city agencies--five of them in all. It does appear as if Lopes, the school social worker, was the only bureaucrat who took any real interest in the girls' well-being. But this was true even under the district's laissez-faire regime for home schooling, and it's hard to see how the sort of regulations the Times reporter implicitly advocates would have helped.
For the sake of argument, though, let's assume that stricter home-schooling regulations would have some beneficial impact in terms of protecting children from abuse. This would come at the cost of burdening thousands of legitimate home-schooling families, the overwhelming majority of which are not abusive, by intruding into their very homes.
Whether this trade-off would be worth it is a legitimate topic for debate. But it's worth noting that the Times usually has little patience for those who value safety over privacy, as, for example, in the case of wiretapping terrorists. Are home schoolers more of a menace than al Qaeda?
What I fail to see is how homeschooling, or government oversight is to blame. The government knew that the kids were gone, but they couldn’t get into the home because…it is none of their business. The social workers could have received or petitioned for a court order but they didn’t. I don’t like to hear about child abuse either, but homeschooling isn’t to blame.
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