Ridiculous Rising Costs of Education

The astronomical cost of college is so out of sight that if my children don't get scholarships, they simply won't go. In my mind, it's much better to just learn a trade and go with it. We shelled out more than $500 bucks just for books for my husband to go back this semester. And don't even get me started on that! I'm sorry. When your school requires you to buy a book just because it has the school name on it, there is something extremely wrong about that!

I was pricing high school curriculum for my son and it's outrageously high. I couldn't believe how much the writers and publishers prize their work! So much so that people who subsist on a fixed income can't homeschool their kids with those "special" curricula. I'm sorry but if they were truly concerned about putting out a curriculum that would help families, they'd put one out there with the information our children need at a price anyone could afford. I mean, let's face it. Not all of us have a good handle on our finances and a good many of us have fallen on hard times with the economy the way it is. I don't want to leave my child in the hands of the state concerning their education. Truly, I live in LA, the state which vies for last place on the education rating scale with MS! Why should my children suffer through a 4th rate education, just because I can't get the well written and in depth curriculum? And I don't mean I want them to offer some cheesy credit plan. I want Christians, or at least those who profess to be Christians, to stand up and practice what they preach. Would it be so awful for them to offer those items in such a way that it covers the cost of producing it and just a small mark up for them to make some profit? Apparently it's just too much to ask. Take Rosetta Stone, for instance. I'd love to learn as many languages as I can. But the asking price of a Rosetta Stone program is over $600 for all five levels. That's ridiculous! If they'd cut that price in half, they'd still be making a really good profit. Usually eBay is the way to go when a product has a high price tag but Rosetta Stone has their product fixed in such a way that it won't work if someone other than the orignal buyer uses it, if I'm not mistaken. (I haven't researched this yet, but I plan to do so and post my findings. Please do not quote me on this!) A Beka is another company that I both love and hate. Their curriculum is fascinating. I love the books because they keep your child interested and the enrichment activities are possible to do with things you usually keep around the house. But the initial cost is so astronomical, the only alternative for me is to purchased used curriculum on eBay! That would be fine, except there are people out there who let their kids write in the workbooks. So those are hard to find in a used condition.

Getting away from specific publishers... In general, and all prices guesstimations, by the time you've purchased a student text for $24, a student workbook for $24 (that you will never use again if the student is allowed to write in it), a test and quiz book for $10, a teachers guide for $50 (because they figure you'll use that more than once), you have spent a grand total of $110 for one subject and that doesn't count shipping, which has gone up several times during the past year. And do they even consider offering free shipping? Heck, no! Sure, I could go to my local school and rent books from them in order to teach my child. But am I really saving money by doing that? And who is getting my money? Is the school system getting my money? And why should they? My child doesn't even attend the public school!

This blog post has been brewing in my mind for some time now. It just strikes me as utterly ridiculous that we pay all these exhorbitant sums to attend college and get a college degree so we can get a job that has absolutely nothing to do with said degree. My sister graduated college back in Dec. of 2007, I think. She's still working at the job she had before she finished school because she couldn't find a job using her degree! And did that degree help her in the job she's in now? Maybe, but not concerning her pay! She spent all kinds of money going to school because we're all taught now that college is the way to go so you can get a good job, get paid more, and have a good life. But then reality hits after college is over. Another relative of ours can't find a job in the computer biz! Can you believe that?? I can't! He's even in an area in which this type of expertise is highly prized. Utterly ridiculous. Honestly, I'd have to say, I'd rather apprentice my child to someone I trust for them to gain on the job training than to send them off to some college where they'll get a "dumbed-down" "education" and end up without a job after all their trouble.

Shiller Math is an awesome product and I wish more companies would take a leaf out of their book. Check them out at www.shillermath.com or call them at 888-556-6284. You can buy 2 sets that will cover your child's math education at least through 6th grade. Grand total cost was about $650 when I purchased mine back in August 2005. And if you are like me, you'll have your kids writing their work in notebooks instead of in the books themselves. This way you can use it for more than one child. Another website worth mentioning in a positive light is www.enchantedlearning.com . You can print worksheets for Pre-K all the way to 5th grade. Some of the worksheets are only accessible to members but a membership is only about $25/year. It's well worth that money for me. I haven't been able to renew this year but I'm hoping to do so in the future. You can still print any of the public accessible worksheets but they will have ads on them. You can either cut the ads off or just ignore them, like I do. The two websites I mentioned are only a couple of the good ones. It's unfortunate that you really have to dig to find them but I believe I prefer that to having them charge monthly membership fees or pay for the "privelage" of using their worksheets. Here's a cool website I found through a Yahoo search http://homeschooling.about.com/ and you can also get a few free printable worksheets here. They also offer tips and tricks for homeschooling families. This site is totally free and so are the worksheets.

I guess having said all that, I'm done...for now. Bwah ha ha ha ha!
Until next time, remember to breathe when you are laughing a lot!

What In the World?

Where did my weekend go?? Oh, yeah. Now I remember. I sacrificed my weekend for one of my children. It was worth it. It was worth it. It was worth it. I'll just keep telling myself that. I'm sure I'll believe it enough to go through with it again next year at some point. I'm still wiped out from Friday night! I sure hope tonight is a good sleep night. We have school tomorrow and I need to be awake for that. I've been known to talk in my sleep from time to time but I'm pretty sure teaching in my sleep is a bit far-fetched, even for me.

The sky is a lovely shade of dark grey-blue tonight. I'm wondering if the stars will make an appearance. The cool air of last night was so awesome! It's good to be heading into autumn. I really do think autumn is my favorite time of year. School is getting started again. The holidays are coming around again...well, the fun ones, anyway. I don't know how fun they'll be this year since we don't live in town anymore. We'll just have to see, I suppose. I'll look forward to them until such a time as I don't have to look forward anymore.

My kids played outside for most of the afternoon and, I have to say, the quiet of the house was most enjoyable. I love that quiet part of the day when the kids are still asleep or they are outside. Then I can hear myself think. It's really important for me to hear those random rumbly thoughts that roll around in my head. Some of you know what I mean. Thoughts like "boy, I wish I had some chocolate chip cookies" or "gosh! I think I'll turn the AC back on" or "shucks! I clicked the wrong icon and my player died!" Yeah, those kind of important thoughts.

Well, I better get off of here. I am going to put the wee bairns to bed and then go crash in my own bed.
Laugh a Lot!

Wiped Out!

Good afternoon! I am wishing it was evening because my daughter hosted her first slumber party last night. We were up until after 3 am and even though I'm a night owl, I am getting older. We played 4 rounds of Whoonu (a Cranium game) and then we watched The Fellowship of the Ring (extended version). We almost made it through The Two Towers as well! I'm worn out and I doubt I'll recover any time soon. But it was worth it. My daughter was sick on her actual birthday so the slumber party was a flop at that time. We had to postpone it. I'd promised her she could have a retry during the summer and the summer almost passed us up before we were able to follow through! I don't know that we'll do that often but there's a possibility of a recurrance sometime in the distant future.

We also started school on Monday of this week. So I still have some grading to do. I also need to take a look at the lesson plans for next week and make sure I have everything together. I'm not sure, but I might just find myself waking up at my desk... Well, I better run so I can get that done.

But first, let me draw your attention to the uber cool website for Spelling help. Spelling City. com is awesome for parents or teachers who wish to make spelling fun for their children/students. It seems to be helping my kids. My son made an 80 on his first test. He usually makes anywhere from the lowest D to an F. Now, if we could just bring up those history and science grades...

Laugh a Lot!

First Time For Everything

I always thought I'd never host a slumber party. We since moving home, I've changed my mind. My daughter greatly enjoys the company of other girls. We don't have many girls her age living around us. Since they are homeschooled, the list of candidates for a sleepover is kind of slim. One of the girls she enjoys visiting and playing with was in our area for the summer only. She met one girl at Vacation Bible School and I was so afraid this girl's mom wouldn't let her come because she didn't know my husband and me very well. I'm glad that wasn't the case. And then my best friend has a daughter who will come. I'm hoping it will go well. We're going to have pizza and cheesy pepper bites with cake to follow. And I think we'll watch Lord of the Rings until they all crash. We might watch something different, though. If you are reading this, please pray for me as I welcome the gaggle of gallupping girls into our home. Thanks! Remembering to breathe...

Here We Go

I'm pretty amazed at how things occur and, in my own opinion, how God works. I am most satisfied when I find I can truly be of help to someone. It was nice to be able to offer help to someone this week...and it's only Monday!

So I'm sitting here watching the clouds roll in and rain down and roll out again and again. I am just hoping this posts. My internet has been awfully intermittent b/c of the cloud cover. I took the girls through their first day of school today. My husbands does the math with them. That helps a lot. We had a pretty productive day. When my youngest was finished and my middle child was working on her homework (Yes! You still have to do homework in homeschool.) I was busy putting the yearly special things together. I'm hunting up a few places to visit for field trips and fun projects to do throughout the year. My son starts tomorrow. We worked out a deal which will allow him to work on the farm with my dad on Mondays. Since my dad works nights (through the weekend), this is the only day Noah would be able to help him. He'll do a Tuesday thru Saturday schedule. This will be the first time we've tried it. I hope it works. I know how much he really enjoys working with my dad. Well, I'm hopeful that this year will be a fabulous year. For all those out there who school their children at home, have a great year! For all those who send your children off to school, have a great year! Shuckin's! For EVERYONE, have a great year!
Laugh a Lot!

The Dawn of Me

Well, today is my birthday. It's been interesting so far. Woke up at 6:15 am for nothing, internet was sketchy for no discerable reason, been feeling blah all day. Nothing like a good confrontation to weaken the spirit. I'm so worn out today. But I still have hope that my day will improve. I'm hoping my mom will feel better after her doc appt. I'm hoping my kids will have a fun day. I'm hoping my own spirits will improve. Not sure what to do with myself today. There are many chores I could do, of course. But who wants to do chores on a birthday? I could play Myst III: Exile but I just can't work my way thru the current puzzle!

I made baked apples with my girls today. It was fun. Now we have a nice healthy dessert to eat after lunch.

My youngest daughter has helped me make a decision, I think. She shoved all the paperwork on my desk into one huge pile while she was questing for some small object. I guess I'll be cleaning my desk today. Having made that decision, I'm pretty sure something will come up to thwart me. But I will do my best to finish the job and see what I can accomplish. Well, here goes...

Differences...Just Differences

Hello again! I recently read an article that brought some not so happy memories to mind in the light of day. Yesterday, one of my facebook friends, who was also a favorite teacher when I was in high school, posted an article. This article (you can link here http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2005/11/i-love-lucy-bible-studyentertainment.html ) takes the time to tell the reader how absolutely awful it is to try to reach out to people using this new Bible study. Whether or not I agree with what is contained in this Bible study is a moot point. It doesn't matter to anyone, and shouldn't matter to anyone, whether I agree with it or not. The most my opinion should do is cause someone to check it out for themselves. But this person decides to blatantly tell people that this Bible study is "not a joke---however much [he] wish[es] it is." Right away, this statement puts me on the defensive. I don't think this is a bad thing. His adamant negative language does, in fact, drive me to read more to find out where he's coming from. Maybe, he has a point. But as I read on, I just find more and more opinionted language and not much proof of a reason to discount this Bible study. Since scripture is open to interpretation, it's difficult to use this to prove a point. Does this guy see people, actual people, being led down a path that is detrimental to them? Has this been proven? Where are his statistics?

Another phrase he uses is "dumbed down." This would not be the fault of the author of this Bible study. It would be the fault of those in charge of the education system. We have allowed our children to go to schools and participate in programs that "dumb down" everything. Heaven forbid we actually require a student to study in order to pass his or her classes! And colleges are even worse! The same profs use the same tests and just rearrange the order of the questions. My uncle teaches at a college in Texas and is constantly appalled by the lack of vocabulary and spelling knowlege contained in the minds of his students. Again, this is the fault of the school system. We ALLOW our students to behave this way. We tell them by our actions it's ok not to study. We tell them they'll pass anyway. Why the author of the above article would choose to attack a person who is trying to reach this less educated crowd in a way they would understand boggles the mind.

I mentioned in the first paragraph that I remembered some disturbing things from my past. I grew up as a child who was encouraged to read and encouraged to always do my best in school. I LOVE to read. I love to read FICTION. I admire a healthy imagination that can help take me to a place I've never even seen. I like opera and heavy metal. I like art. I grew up in an area where these are held up as "weird" things. I liked things that were different. And because of this, I was ridiculed, mocked, laughed at...sometimes viciously. I even had a teacher who thought it would be fun to mock my 1st grade attempts at art. Do any you know what that kind of behavior can do a child's self esteem? Well, guess what? It made me stronger. When I was in high school, I wore a perfectly modest outfit (that I was really proud of) to church. I was promptly told not to wear the outfit again because one man complained that it was "too revealing". Again with the "me bashing." Hmmm...a little stronger still? I have a friend who was trying to do his best to lead his family down a good path. Sadly, they no longer feel they have a place to go to in order to worship as they feel led. A person at the church they attended told them they were "going to far" when they shared their happiness in celebrating Passover. WTF? I'm sorry. Jesus celebrated Passover! What in the world were they thinking??? It is the people like the author of the above article that drive the masses away. If we don't speak to the masses in a language they will understand, how will we reach them? If a tv show can help me tell someone about my beliefs and my faith, you can believe I would use it. I'm not eloquent. I'm not an orator. I would use any help I could find to get my point across. I recently heard a sermon with my husband. Perry Noble, who pastors a church in one of the Carolinas (can't remember which), brought out this point. As you can see, I agree with him.

So, here I am with one tattoo and wanting more, enjoying an alcoholic beverage every now and again, enjoying the thought of being able to go sing karaoke again at some point, loving to dance and wearing things that some people might find "inappropriate". These are things that make up ME. These are things I enjoy! Jesus loves me where I am. He loves me just as I am. That will never change. He only wants good things for me. He wants me to have a joyful, abundant life. This is something I know in my heart of hearts. And if I'm wrong, so be it. But if I'm right... Shouldn't we be encouraging people to tell others Jesus loves them, just as they are?