Brainwashing

I was sitting by the fire drinking my coffee and listening to Rose read me "The Best Nest" this morning while Sam was making macaroni for breakfast and watching a geometry lesson by Teaching Textbooks.  I think Hope was upstairs working out in the bonus room.  I knew Hope and Sam had already read their devotionals before moving on to anything else....and I savored this moment of having my children around me, all of them engaged in learning and growing.

I mentioned in the last post that another reason I am thankful we decided to home school has to do with "freedom".  I didn't realize this would be such a big deal to us when we started because I didn't know what I didn't know.  Anyone can learn the principles of freedom.  You do not have to be home schooled for that.  However, I do enjoy being able to navigate through the resources and put together a learning experience that benefits the kids and myself.  I am not going to get political here.... I just think we as citizens need to know the basic principles of freedom so we can see through all of the propaganda and learn to think critically about what is going on around us so we can hold our elected officials accountable to what they really should be doing (and NOT doing), regardless of their party affiliation.

The more I thought about the inherent conflict of interest in government run education, the more it made sense to me.  Although the education system is full of well meaning passionate amazing teachers, the fact still remains that they have to navigate within a system that is run by the government.  Why is that a big deal?  Simplified down, the big deal is this:  A citizenry can only remain free by continually checking and questioning its government - the very entity that is choosing the curricula.  Who are the easiest citizens to persuade?  Those who are grown and set in their beliefs or the young who have yet to form their world views?  (Again - Even if someone does not home school, they can be a louder voice in their children's ears than the school books.  But try not to get lost in the party bickering.  Look for the principles underlying everything so no man or woman can ever tell you or your children that they know what's best for you.)

Some very helpful resources on this:

Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille's book, Leadershift

Orrin Woodward's book, And Justice for All

Oliver Demille's book, 1913

Richard Maybury's Uncle Eric book series


Well - That's it for now.
Have a wonderful day!