I am not a car person but I think I am in love. This is the perfect combination of nerdy science and a cool car. It is called Tesla after the scientist. It is 100% electric but can go 0 to 60 in 4 seconds. It can go 200-250 miles on a single charge that takes 3.5 hours (at home) and there is talk of a travel charge option. With it costing 80-100 grand, I won’t be getting one soon but it is cool. I have never had a dream car but I might put this one on the list.
(HT: Instapundit)
I remember I conversation I had with a cousin a few years ago. A girl in her parents church had got pregnant and there was a lot of whispering going on. It frustrated both myself and theis cousin. Sure, she made a mistake and got pregnant but she did the right thing and didn’t get an abortion. She could have gone off in private and sinned but instead stood up like a woman and handled the consequences. We talked about how all these “pro-lifers” (like us) may not believe in abortion but are quick to punish girls who don’t. Well, putting around today I found out about 2 cases that were dealing with this.
The first case is dealing with 2 girls who were denied membership to the National Honor Society (by the school chapter) because they were teen moms. The scariest thing is I am coming down on the same side of the ACLU. These girls have outstanding records and isn’t that what the group is about? We are not talking about an abstinence award but an academic award. We need to take away not only the public motivation for abortion but the penalty if you choose to not have an abortion. This is blatant discrimination because it has nothing to do with NHS. The second case is a unmarried teacher who became pregnant and was fired by the Catholic School that employed her. They say that she violated the teachings of the faith that she agreed to up hold. Even if she hadn’t gotten pregnant it wouldn’t mean that she wasn’t having sex. I understand that all options in these circumstances aren’t good. But when dealing with the consequences of sin it will always be bad. Wouldn’t a statement of “this isn’t what I should have done but I kept the baby” be a good statement? I love this quote from the Feminists for Life:
Foster asked, “How would the employer feel if they later learned that their actions contributed to pressuring Ms. McCusker into having an abortion?” According to Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s research arm, a lack of practical resources and emotional support are the primary overarching reasons that drive women to abortion. “Would they have fired her if they learned she miscarried under the stress, or if she had never become pregnant but her sexual activity was revealed? What if it was an unmarried man who fathered a child or a married father who had an affair that resulted in pregnancy? It is hard to imagine a situation where a man would have been treated the same for equivalent behavior,” Foster added.
We need to show respect for women who made a mistake but didn’t cover it up with another.
Related Tags: pro-life, legal, christianity, abortion, religion
So a “Baptist” college in Kentucky is cutting denominational ties because the state convention asked that they hire 1 professor who teaches a literal interpretation of the Bible or what the denomination believes. You know facts like Adam and Eve being the first people. Now of course I am a bit of a fundamentalist but that isn’t the issue. If you don’t believe in what the denomination says don’t associate. Now I never went to a school that claimed to be Christian, and that didn’t bother me, but I didn’t look to them to help form my religious beliefs.
I get some flack for believing in denominations because some people use them to divide. A denomination believes in a certain set of views and facts. Now if you aren’t in my denomination it doesn’t mean that you are bad or don’t share my faith in Christ but it does say you might look at things differently. That is good but when you make a denominational claim I believe that there is a responsibility for the denomination to watch and an institution (or church) to teach a certain way. I walked into my church knowing where they were coming from so when they taught me something new or convicted me on something I was doing (gasp) I could submit to that (God given) teaching authority. To many times I have seen people who write off the pastor or other teachers in a church because “they don’t see things the way I do”. Then people never grow or open their minds to changing a current (and perhaps wrong) view. Now I am not saying to walk blindly, that is not Biblical, but church is more than a social club but a learning enviroment.
Looking at the Kentucky Baptist Convention, in this case, and other groups. Why fight so hard to keep groups that don’t agree with you? Why hide the basic tenets of you beliefs? I find it all rather confusing.
(HT: RedBlueChristian)
Before I begin, this is a whine and an update. I know God knows what He is doing, I just wish He let me in on it. I will officially say that life is getting a little hard;).
So in case my life wasn’t crazy enough with a week of spotting and then losing the baby. It got harder. Last Saturday the NerdBug woke up a sore throat. NerdDad looked and saw white spots so we figured that he probably had strep. Well, Sunday he was fine but I wasn’t . I got diagnosed with strep the beginning of last week. It is the body aches, knives in the throat horrible kind. So Thursday night NerdPie started complaining about her throat. So we planned on taking then all to the pediatrician. I decided to meet NerdDad and the kids after I picked up in for the printer (I had a $38 giftcard that expired on Friday). So I ran over to Riverpark and had enough time to go into Berean and got a blended mocha. I was walking to the car and trip and fell. I would love to say there was a huge hole but there wasn’t. It was a piece of concrete that was about 1 inch in diameter and 2 inches long. So as I am face down on the pavement and nice young man came running to help me up. One ankle hurt and the other knee. So I got in the car to go to the pediatricians office to find all 3 kids have strep. Then I went to urgent care and was there about 3 hours. I am in a brace for 2 weeks.
So on top of all that, I was supposed to see my father for the first time since I was 2 and I had to cancel. We are trying to get our house in order to sell it and I am a hobbily horse;). Ok, pity party over but no one give me a hard time about showing up places and getting things done;). Oh, please pray for my family, we need it.
Here it is! Delayed but intact!
As I approached this carnival I realize that I am formed by my traditional education;). So I have decided to structure this according to classical school organization.
First up is the three R’s; reading, writing and arithmetic. Beverly Hernandez at About Homeschool has a guest article on the The Joys of Not Doing Spelling. TexasEd says just because you teach something doesn’t mean that kids are going to learn it in Multiplication Tables. Laurie Bluedorn presents More on Delayed Formal Math posted at Trivium Pursuit. Trinity Prep has an interesting article on reading philosphy books with, Philosophically Speaking…. Dewey’s Treehouse has a great article on Sir Walter Scott with Scott? Who reads Scott?
Then we are off to the creative arts and outings. My Domestic Church takes advantage of some of the wonderful free programs the library offers during the summer with The library and homeschoolers. Last week it was a free puppet show by a genuine puppet master presenting, “Rumplestiltskin!” Sprittibee share a story about a resurrected homeschool project that will leave you laughing with Finally Finished the Llamas (sortof)!!! Creative Homeschooling has a great project with Make a Family Cartoon Clock. Turn an ordinary clock into a family heirloom with this fun activity. All you need is a cheap clock, children’s books, some photos and a bit of creativity… Voila, you’ve got a clock that will be treasured for years to come! Fieldlearning has social studies, homeschooling style, when their family gets together with an old friend visiting from China and has several lessons in Chinese culture in Old Friends Make The Best Friends.
We now take a look at testing and evaluation, both of the students and the system. Why Homeschool responds to some negative comments left for them in Rants, Raves and Comments – part 1. Spunky offers a bit of encouragement for those anxious moments when you wonder if your children are really learning anything with Are They Learning Yet? Principled Discovery takes a look at the roots of the standardized testing which has taken such a hold on our society with The Darwinian Roots of Standardized Testing. Dad’s Corner asks Where Did We Get Grades? He never really considered where we got the idea of grades until a few years ago. Then he discovered it was based on two faulty theories: evolution and embryonic recaptiulation. He’s not all that thrilled. Sometimes, after evaluation, we find we have been doing the right thing all along. That was the case for Real Learning in Special Blessings, Special Needs. An older child is diagnosed with specific learning disabilities for the first time and we learn that home education has been right for him all along. What good is all this evaluation without graduation? Kim at Mother-Lode rejoins us after an extended season of busy-ness to reflect on how Creating Homeschool Traditions refeshes the soul and bonds the community. Read her description of a homeschool graduation here.
We can’t forget teacher development and resource management. The Imperfect Homeschooler asks if we have ever heard of a Homeschool Resource Center? It’s a library full of homeschool books and curriculum you check out with your library card. It’s a great way to “Try before you buy” in a A Homeschool Mom’s Paradise. The Thinking Mother shares a story of overspending on homeschooling supplies that happened before her older son started Kindergarten in 2002 and tells of some lessons that she learned from that experience in Flashback July 2002: Homeschool Supply Over-Spending Spree and What I’ve Learned from That Experience. Stepping Heavenward takes a look at Classical Christian Homeschooling: Preparing for Your First Day of K4 . Over at My God Given Mission field is a great article on notebooking, Wonderful world of notebooking!, with some great resources and ideas. Preschoolers and Peace has a great article, and great idea, with Planning Weekend. In closing, Sweetness and Light has a great post looking at The Quiet in Your Day.
That draws our carnival to a close. Please enjoy and if you have never contributed, please go and consider it. Next week the carnival will be over at The Lilting House. Please come again!
I’ve got the submissions, but I’m running a fever and am going to bed. I should have the Carnival up in the morning.
I read X-Men comics for a lot of years, but I would have never guessed that this was Wolverine’s secret past. (Although his Canadian roots may have been a hint.)
YouTube – X-Men-3:The Last Standing Ovation Trailer
I am hosting this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling and I am calling for entries. You can go to BlogCarnival and use their easy form to submit an article. This can be about any aspect of homeschooling life, curriculum, news, etc. I would love to see new contributors and help this carnival to grow! You have until 6pm (pacific time) on Monday. Come join us!
Ok this is going to sound silly but since when has that stopped me;). I got the mail today and I got a new catalog, Masseys. Now, I get all kinds of junk catalog and I usually just toss them immediately. But this was shoes and I thought I would take a look. So there were nice shoes in wide sizes!! I got very excited and then I looked at the price. I think the cheapest shoe was $50. What a let down. (I admit, I am cheap)
