Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A Shift to Dumbing Down U.S Education-A Must Read for All Parents!

After this video dropped into my inbox and I had a chance to view it...it really sent me digging to find more information on this subject!

Are You Kidding Me?

If you feel there is nothing wrong with America's education system this may not have much effect on you. I feel like after watching and researching that it in fact affects every family in the U. S that has school aged children.


Charlotte Iserbyt served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, during the first Reagan Administration. At that time, she blew the whistle on a major technology initiative which would control curriculum in America's classrooms.

Here is a piece from the clip below:

"The teachers have had to continue to go through it...training, re-training, sensitivity training, break their values, no right, no wrong, you got to have all religions represented and be tolerant of everything because that's the new world order."

Her book "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America" has been listed as a #1 best seller by Barnes and Noble in their History of Education category.





Professor Benjamin Bloom, who is mentioned in the video is the man behind the idea. I first went to Wiki-pedia and searched"Bloom's Taxonomy"-here is the definition according to Wiki

I am very interested in learning more about this from public school teachers and those that work in the education field. I don't want to misunderstand this and I understand that anyone can make a video and it look one sided.


Is this something that is being taught in the public school education system?

This video from Jay Leno, is a little one-sided I know. I am sure that those with the right answers have been cut out...but it's amazing the things people don't know.




Those with school aged children...does this make you question what your children are being taught?

I myself, am feel really good about our decision to home school;(

Saturday, February 6, 2010

A Home School Mom's Job is Never Done..So What's for Dinner?


I was sitting at my dining room table tonight planning dinner meals for the next few weeks.

I've found early on with home schooling that if I don't prepare for the upcoming week that things like "eating" seem to not be done. Well...I take that back, we do it but it ends up being something not so good for us.

So anyway, I do up my meal list for a week and shop for two weeks worth of groceries at a time. My friend was telling me today that one of her home school mom friends did up a month's worth of dinner meals one time!

WOW! That's a lot of cooking at one time.

I think it's important for our family to eat supper together and I don't like going into the kitchen 30 minutes before supper having a panic attack because I don't know what to fix.

So, I took this idea and compiled some quick dinner meal ideas into one spot. Also, some great tips to make sure you're always prepared for those nights you need quick meals.

Check this out and then feel free to post your favorite dinner meal idea here on my blog and I can re-post it to this Squidoo Lens if you like.

http://www.squidoo.com/fast-dinner-meals

Thursday, February 4, 2010

How Do Boys and Girls Learn Differently?



Why do my little girls prefer to nurture animal, cuddle dolls and play dress-up while my friends boys want to "rough-house" with trucks and cars?

As we grow up, why do girls tend to excel in language and writing while boys perform best in math and science?

I recently did a study on this topic for a Home School Moms Day Out for our local moms group and was stunned at what I found.

Gender differences run much deeper than learned behaviors we adopt by watching our parents. They stem from differences in the way we process information. Scientists have discovered that some of the behaviors that differentiate boys from girls are the result of differences in the way our brains develop and operate.

Hmmm...

BOYS




  • Boys develop language skills later than girls do.

  • Reading & writing may be more difficult for boys in early elementary years than for girls

  • Boys develop spatial memory earlier than girls. In other words, boys can more easily record information about the environment and the position of objects in the environment.

  • Eyes-more directed to direction and motion Hearing-boys don’t hear as well as girls, making it harder to hear softer sounds. Therefore, boys in the back row may not hear a soft-spoken female teacher.

  • Boys develop fine motor skills later than girls do. Even the task of gripping a pencil properly or cutting things out with scissors is more difficult for young boys.

  • Boys' brains go into a rest state many times a day. Boys perform better when taking breaks and moving around.

  • Boys are kinesthetic learners. Boys learn by using gross motor skills, manipulating and moving things to learn.


Girls

  • Girls develop language areas of the brain sooner than boys making reading and writing easier
  • Girls process emotion quicker
  • Girls like "context" to their learning. They like learning through narrative. They want to know "why" you have to do something a certain way...while boys just want to do it.
  • Eyes-Girls eyes are drawn to color and textures
  • Hearing-Girls hear higher frequencies than boys and are more sensitive to sounds. It is easier for them to listen in on softer sounds.
  • Girls focus and take risks in less stressful environments
  • Girls brains are more active than those of boys and are less likely to zone out during the day.

So, I was wondering if after reading this you had any "light bulb" moments while thinking about your kids and how they act, learn etc.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Home School Gym Day


Are your home school children missing recess, gym class and time to interact with others their age?

It's hard for home school families to sometimes find that balance and can be expensive if you get into paid activities like sports programs etc.

Here's something we've done with a group of home school families in our area. We get together once a month for a gym day. If the weather is nice we meet at a local park and in the winter months we reserve a gym space for a few hours.

It's a great time for the kids to socialize with others their age, get exercise and have fun. Plus it's a chance to connect with other moms!