Theories of Everything

New Scientist has a great articles on the various physics theories that are trying to be the "theories of everything". These are the theories that they think might make the world;). New Scientist looks at the top 7 in clear terms. Ever wanted to know about String theory after watching Big Bang? Go read and let me know what you think! I think I might read it with my older 2 kids so none of the rest of you are off the hook;).

Let's Protest the Protesters!

Yes, I know that the California education budget keeps getting cut. Do I think it is great? No, not really. I do think it should lead to a restructuring of the whole system but that is another post;). But the Teachers' Unions are mad. They are organizing protests for this Thursday in Fresno and in Porterville.

“We’re trying to get all the associations and all the schools to stand up for education and let the Governor know that taking money away from education is not the right thing to do,” Porterville Educators Association President Stan Ennis said.

Well, I want to communicate somethings to the Unions. If we simply let go teachers who couldn't actually teach the kids instead of fighting costly battles to get them out we might make up some of the budget loss. That could save about a half a million dollars and that is for each bad teacher they have tried to get out. And that is just the cost for the ones that school districts have tried to get rid of. Many districts have found that the unions make it so costly and expensive, that it is cheaper to just hold on to the bad teachers. Some are left in the class room and some are relegated to other positions with in the districts.

So maybe we should go protest the unions as being the biggest problem in our educational budget fiasco. We know where they will be on Thursday!

(I know lots of good teachers, I am talking about the unions so don't yell at me about good teachers.)

Why School Choice?

Cause Government Monopolies are bad!

I think this really hits the nail on the head! BTW, is it just me or does our presenter seem really young;)? Maybe I am just getting really old!

(HT: Hot Air)

A Declaration

NerdDad found this. I don't think he has heard the original song it is a take off of (which I like) so I will have to show him that video;). I have never heard of these people before but I already love them! I think this will be a great way to get the kiddo's memorizing the Declaration!!!

Easy to Understand Economic Theory

Going to public school we were told that Keynes was what the economy was not only a simple theory. Much less a theory that had been disproven years ago. I love the fact that my kids will be taught many economic theories. Obviously I agree with Hayek. This is a great breakdown of the 2 theories!

Carnival of Homeschooling: Welcome to the NerdFamily House!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the NerdFamily House! We are having our first rain of the season out here so I hope you didn't get to wet. Come on in, let me take your jackets and bags. Make yourself at home!

Before we get into anything just a quick a reminder for all those in California. It is once again time for affidavits!! If you file a PSA you only have until October 15th to get over and fill that out online!!

You can grab a cup of coffee or a soda and go join in on the education conversations around the kitchen table. Beverly at Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com) is talking about Why we love the Charlotte Mason Method. Successful Homeschooling talks about The Hidden Joy of Rote Memorization that is found in classical homeschooling. Special Needs Homeschooling talks about Sexual Education for the Mentally Disabled. They look at both how to educate and how to protect the mentally disabled in the arena of sex. Bur Bur & Friends:Community Park has Resources for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Minds in Bloom offers questions that parents can ask children to encourage them to think creatively and critically about their work in 8 Questions to Ask Children about their Art Work. The Curriculum Choice looks at Latin for Children vs Latina Christina.

There are some great people over by the piano talking music education. Diamonds in the Rough shares with us a source for Free Sheet Music. Texas Homeschooler asks us about thePurpose for Music.

At the white board there is a little math talk going on. The Homeschooling Physicist has given us Math Interlude: Homeschool Math by Rotating Wheat Thins Boxes. You gotta check it out!Lesson Pathways Blog talks to us about Using On-Line Math Resources.

Over at the writing desk we have some interesting lessons. SmallWorld gives us a creative writing lesson with SmallWorld's WordSmithery Week 7: Writing About the Weather. Then Across the Page gives us Curriculum spotlight: Writing with Ease. Under the Golden Apple Tree offers Spelling Helps for the Spelling Challenged Student.

The kids can go over to the kitchen island where the kids can go their hands dirty for education! Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers goes through step-by-step: Making a Paper Mache Map. The Informed Parent has some great ideas for Costumes for all the upcoming festivities. Quiverfull Family is sharing their Creative Cooking that got them their Jello cell. It is an awfully cool idea!

Check out over by the bookshelves. The Mommy Earth has a book review: The Walrus Warning and the Smithsonian Oceanic Collection. Over at NerdFamily Things I have a litst of books that seemed to help Reading and Learning While Little.

Over on the couches we are having some interesting conversations on the politic of schooling and other profundities. Barbara Frank Online has One Dirty Little Secret about College, I am sure there are more but this one really causes you to think. Home Education Today asks us, "Is my child missing out on the high school experience?" The Thinking Mother tell us about how She Worked Outside the Home for 1 Week and what spoke to her about it. Corn and Oil gives us “Taking Away the Youth”- Perspective of an Illini Graduate Student (homeschooler). It is a poignant piece that talks about the political pushing towards more institutional school time. They wonder what we're doing to our children and how this will affect homeschoolers. Save Money Homeschooling wants to know if (Is) the Recession Increasing Or Decreasing the Number of Homeschoolers? No Fighting No Biting wants to know is More School Better? Mommy's Life reminds us that You CAN Teach Your Kids! She shares her response to 3 common things that are said to her about homeschooling.

Make sure you stop by the tv for a little entertainment. It is hooked up to the laptop (yes, this is the NerdFamily House) for a little entertainment. Why Homeschool asks, "Are you a homeschooler or homeschooled?" It is a hilarious video that Janine found. You have to see it! Speaking of entertainment, Notes From a Homeschooling Mom shares with us a Homeschool must see: Little House on the Prarie, the Musical. Unfortunately it isn't coming to California but I would love to see it!

Looking out the back window and out into the world are some great field trip posts. Percival Blakeney Academy talks about Rice Harvesting they got to go participate in. Practical Homeschooling gives us 40 Free Field Trip Ideas.

Just for fun....Chocolate Kids claims Healthy Chocolate Turns My Son Into 10 Year Old Maths Genius!

I love having you all over and look forward to doing it again. Make sure you get all your coats and bags and try to stay dry out there!

So this was fun, right?!?! So show your love by tweet, digging, blogging and anything else you can do to promote out carnival! Go check out all the awesome articles and comment so the authors know that they are valued! Make sure that you send in your articles for next week's carnival at BlogCarnival. Next week it will be held at No Fighting No Biting.

Charter Schooling: A Better Homeschool?

Since it is summer, everyone starts thinking about what kind of schooling they want to do. This is the time to decide between public, private and homeschooling. Well, I have recently been asked what I think about charter schooling as a form of/alternative to homeschooling.

First, lets talk a little about what a charter school is. A charter school simply refers to the funding and oversite issues that apply to theses special public schools. Some are traditional schools and some are offsite schools. Not all charter schools are offsite schools. What I mean by offsite schools is that kids don't attend every day (some once a week, some once a month, etc) but they still have a teacher. Sometimes they will still have sports and clubs. Sometimes not. They have homework assigned and every so often check in to make sure it is getting done, to get tested and (I assume) help if they need it.

So the pluses are that you don't have to keep all the records and all the books are free. Some off extracuricular activities that don't cost anything. You have a trained teacher to assist you as you go. Typically you can move along at your own pace be that faster or slower. You can minimize anything in the curriculum that you don't agree with. If you are homeschooling for social reasons it pulls your children out of the typical school society and you can protect them a little more.

The cons (and this is the side I sit on) start with the fact this isn't homeschooling but public schooling at home. You answer to the public schools, as you should because they are paying for it. While you can minimize certain subjects/issues that you don't agree with, you can't just choose to not teach them at all. Now some allow you a little latitude in what you teach but not complete control. So you also have to fit within the traditional education theory and are not going to be allowed to do a classical education, unschooling or even eclectic. Your kids will still need to take the standardized testing that the public schools have. Personally, I find the tests a gigantic waste of time and effort so I don't want to have to do that. You do have a teacher that you answer to. And you have attendance rules of how many days and how many hours you kid has to do school.

I think it really boils down to the fact that it is public school and that comes with strings. The leash may be looser but it is still there. It is a good option for someone who has no qualms with the public school other than social and religious issues. I think there are better options but that is my humble opinion;).

Why Schools Cost So Much

I get asked if homeschooling can be as effective as public schools because we don't have the financial resources. I have asked them what they are getting for the money? Sure there is lab equipment and some art supplies but does that add up to thousands of dollars a year for each kid? Well, San Diego has paid 56 "educators" over the last 6 years to not work. They have put them on administrative leave for periods ranging days to years. This is how the San Diego schools deal with educators they don't want having contact with the students instead of ... I don't know, firing them. Maybe this is why we are having state and federal money issues. I understand that this isn't all the money in the system but hey it is a big chunk of change. I wonder if Fresno area schools do that too? Read the article, it was really interesting.

(HT: Why Homeschool)

Real Life

One of the arguements that I hear often is that homeschooling doesn't prepare your kids for "real life" because they are isolated. I always disagree. I think that being around real people, volunteering and apprenticing lead to a good picture of real life. We now have proof that the education system doesn't care about real life.

There is a person who has been given advanced medical training in the military. But now that she wants her degree, the school won't recognize the training or the experience. So maybe it is the ivory tower that shields your kids from "real life"?

So Who Do the Unions Work For?

We know that the teacher's unions don't work for the parents. We also know they don't work for the students. That is perfectly illustrated by the teacher who got her job back after getting her class to vote a boy out who has Asperger's.

But now it appears that they don't work for the teachers either. The teacher's union in Detroit is trying to get 70 teacher's fired because they didn't pay their dues. I just it just confirms what some of us already knew. The teachers unions are entities that only work to dupport the union itself. It is evidenced by their politics and now this.

See I Teach My Kids History!

Thomas Edison-the first extreme athlete!!!

It's All About the Info

Awesome isn't it? CraftyHedgeHog over at Etsy made this (sold out right now) and they also have a fetal pig. It gives me a great idea. As a homeschooler I am always looking for new ways of learning. Who says you have to actually dissect an animal? I know of many moms who don't want to do it for a variety of reasons but worry. This is a rite of passage. Can you have a good grasp on biology without doing a dissection? Well, I don't know. Couldn't you do an awesome 3-D model like this? Since it is all about learning the information, you imagination would be the limit.

I really think this translates to all areas of learning. There is no end all thing you have to do. It's all about the info!

Supreme Education

Since the President is appointing a Supreme Court Justice it is a great time to find out information on previous justices. In that vein I recommend going over to The Stimulist and read about 5 of the most surprising appointments. I don't agree with the degree of surprise on some of them but it is a great read! I personally don't think that Black and his KKK membership really was all that shocking in relation to FDR's appointment of him.

Musings at the Gym

So I was walking on the treadmill and they have different tvs going. A news story came on about the economy really hurting people who have kids who are in private schools. Apparently many people are taking out 2nd mortgages in order keep their kids (elementary aged kids were the ones shown here) in private school. You have to be kidding?!?!?

Tell me why homeschooling isn't a better option than this? Is it really better to have to have both parents out of the home working (possibly 2 jobs)? Wouldn't your kids be better served to have a parent around every once in a while? I have known a few families where mom has worked just for the private school tuition and that was before the economy issues. They are sure that this is the better education and experience for their kids. This is the thing that angers me about anti-homeschooling parents. It is the mentality that the personal financial sacrifice is the nobler one. I wonder if it is that they don't actually value the personal position of parent. The impact you have on your child's life simply by being present. And that doesn't even account for the clear academic benifits to having the small group learning environment (which has been proven repeatedly) and the over all desirability of homeschoolers to colleges.

Ugh! This is what happens when I go to the gym at 6am;).

Technology, Education and Life

All I could think as I watched this video is about if our educational system is prepared to equip our kids for the next new things. The current public school system seems to be built upon a system that wasn't working before so why would it work better in the future? The current system teaches kids (by design) how to be great followers and workers, not entrepreneurs and inventors. Learning how to learn, logic and a love for knowledge is what kids need to be taught today to be competitive tomorrow. Are we teaching them that? I hope that I am.

Continuing Ed Anyone?

Apparently there are some free online courses in nanotech. Who says I need to put my kids in school to have them taught by some of the best and the brightest? With today's internet there are more and more free courses being made available. So I can teach my kids all I know and then go to those bigger and brighter to teach them more. Stanford and MIT also have all kinds of courses for free. That more is more than they can get in any public school! Heck, when I can find the time I want to take the many courses offered. Maybe even a paid college degree will soon be outdated? What do you all think?

Where have the good educational shows gone?

NerdDad and I are a little frustrated that there aren't any good educational shows that are aimed at the NerdBug (2nd grade). They are all kindergarten or earlier. Where have 321 Contact, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and the Electric Company gone? Or one of our favorites SquareOne TV?

Homeschool Myth: Manipulatives

An argument I have heard against homeschooling is lack of materials/manipulatives. I was told that it would cost an arm and a leg to get all the hands on teaching tools I would need to teach preschool and the first few years of elementary school and that is why they needed to go to a school enviroment. I say, "Bologna!". Yes, you might need a few things but many of the big things will be just cheap things you have around the house. For counters you can use beans or M&M's(great reward system too;). For those nifty little fraction models...An apple or orange and a knife. You can even get a kid safe knife (or a pumpkin knife) and have the kiddo cut it themselves. Be creative and cheap!

Now there will be times when, depending on the kid, you might need a real mainpulative. Take for example those lovely unit blocks in my picture. All kids may not need those but the NerdBug's math progress came to a screeching halt when we got to borrowing and carrying so we went and got a little help. Something you need to keep in mind is the local teacher store isn't your only option, and sometime that is a costly option. I went into our local teacher store (GW Supply) and found some unit blocks but not all that I wanted. They had the tens and the ones but not the hundreds and they were about $9 a bag. So I went on line and found these interlocking ones at a fraction of the price and they lock together (the ones at GW didn't). All I did was go to the website on the bag. After shipping and handling I still paid less (less than $18 for all 3 sets plus a couple of clearance items;). So remember to look around. The Internet is your oyster!

One last thing, if you are going to invest in something try to make it do double duty. It can teach basic addition and subtraction, carrying, borrowing and fractions.

This is the first manipulative I needed to buy so that myth is officially debunked!

Adam Smith on Public School

On a recent family trip to the library (what else do you expect from a group called the NerdFamily? ;) NerdDad found a great book. It is P. J. O'Rourke's On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World). Now we here in the Nerd Family are huge P.J. O'Rourke fans, and we can speak of his greatness further in the future, so NerdDad checked it out and found that Adam Smith had his opinions on school and how it should work.

This piece got NerdDad's attention and then he had to share with me;):

Adam Smith was only a tepid fan of public education. As he went on to explain in book 5 of Wealth, he thought that some government subsidy of education was needed so that "even the common labourer may afford it." Teachers, however, should be "partly, but not wholly paid" by the state. "In modern times the diligence of public teachers is more or less corrupted by the circumstances, which render them more or less independent of their success and reputation," wrote Smith, making his modern times sound like ours. And Smith believed that certain very prestigious institutions of higher learning were teaching "a mere useless and pedantic heap of sophistry and nonsense." Was UC Berkeley even around back then?

O'Rourke then goes on to further expand on Smith's views. About how there was value in an ability and not just being a highly (or overpaid) specialist. This is all tied into how our economy works and what should be valued.

To me this further proves that merit of the public school educational experience isn't the education because the public education system can be skewed by itself, its beliefs and its own social agenda. The public education system is not at all driven by what would be considered useful knowledge or what is good and productive. Just as God created man in His image, the public education system is trying to create a society of its own ideals and creation rather than concentrating on the knowledge it is getting paid to pass on.

Kids and Their Questions

Scienceray has a great post called 8 Questions About the Human Body That Kids Always Ask. I totally think it is worth the read. It reminds me of many of the questions I had as a kid!