Tales of Learning

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to the Musician about her high school classes, and she mentioned that she was only one of two people in her physics class who knew what the definition of "work" was. I thought about it for a few seconds, then gave the definition. Then I laughed, and said the only way I knew the definition was because I remembered it from teaching the Musician science back when I was homeschooling. The Musician said that's how she knew it too, because she remembered our talking about it. A lot of homeschoolers dislike the style of teaching that I was using at the time, which was the usual public schooling method; I was using books that covered a lot of science topics (physics, biology, earth science) that became more complex in presentation each new school year. But obviously, some of it stuck with both her and me!

On the other hand, I tried Exploring Creation with Botany with the Dancer when she was in third grade or so. She didn't strictly remember a lot of what I read to her, but when she studied plant development in the fifth grade in public school, some of what we had talked about came back to her, and helped her digest what she was learning in fifth grade, better.

I used to read the education blog, D-Ed Reckoning, when it was still active, and many of my experiences as a mom of two students taught in various ways over the years reflect what he says in his last post. The kids who are easy to educate will learn. Find what works for you and go with it. In my case, my daughters have learned from a more traditional homeschooling style, from a more Charlotte Mason style, and from the regular public school approach. In fact, although my eldest daughter fought against the "school-at-home" method I tentatively started with as a new homeschooling mom, she told me only last week that she prefers the more rigid style of public school now.

Some of what I taught them didn't "take." They don't remember much from our course on Ancient Egypt besides learning to write their own names in hieroglyphics. I doubt they remember anything from our study of Ancient Israel besides making a model of an ancient Israeli house. Are you sensing a theme here? They also will never forget the carnation and food coloring experiment, and feel sorry for kids who never did that in school. On the other hand, I doubt they remember much of anything from the museums in Chicago to which I, as a dutiful mom, took them when Mr. BTEG was living there as a consultant. But they did learn things, and I think both of them are poised to do whatever they want with their futures.

Update and Good News

Went to the doctor this morning, and my bone fracture is healing. The doctor seemed kind of surprised at this(!); maybe it's just his years of experience talking there. I'm going back in three weeks, and may get the okay to ditch this stupid boot that I have to wear at that time. In the meantime, I get to do exercises to strengthen the muscles. I will be very thankful if surgery is not in my future.

Beat the Drum, and Hold the Phone

Let me take a short break from the doom and gloom of the world to proclaim one of the sweetest phrases in the universe: "Pitchers and catchers report."

Consequences

If you give the government almost unlimited control because you agree with them, you may find out that they are using that control to do things in private that you may not agree with. Like give birth control pills, IUDs, NuvaRings and the Plan B pill to minors without parental consent. I was able to find one doctor after a quick search who disagrees with the plan to distribute birth control to students without parental consent, even though it is the Evil Fox News. The doctor has a point, however. Birth control can have serious side effects, which necessitate a thorough medical evaluation, and simple birth control does not prevent STDs. How is it right to give a minor medication, without any medical supervision, which could possibly cause blood clots, high cholesterol or high blood pressure? The NuvaRing has indeed caused blood clots which might potentially be fatal. Actually, I take this news pretty personally, because over seven years ago, my husband and I lost a friend due to a blood clot that entered his lungs. We didn't know at the time that I wrote that post what had killed him; we discovered at the funeral that time spent in bed with kidney issues caused a blood clot to move. So yes, blood clots can be fatal. No matter how hard we try, intercourse is not consequence free, no matter how much people wish it was, and risking lives to try to sweep the consequences under the rug is criminal. Risking minors' lives without the consent of their parents is even worse.

Oh, and a great couple of lines from the original article. Referring to Mona Davids, parent of the NYC Parents Union: "Davids, who is black, noted that most school-based health centers are in poor neighborhoods. 'This was population control on blacks and Latinos without our knowledge,' she said." Somewhere, Margaret Sanger is saying, "Duh."

Times Are Changing

Now that the Dancer is studying Spanish in school, she and the Musician are sharing their experiences, especially since their first year teacher is the same. The Dancer's class is learning how to express clock time in Spanish, and the Dancer informed us that the teacher had to give them times to translate presented only in digital time, as apparently many of the kids did not know how to read an analog clock. The Musician concurred that things were the same when she was in Spanish I. At the risk of once again sounding like an old curmudgeon, why is what was once a basic, very basic, skill being ignored? I don't see much value in learning Power Point but not being able to tell time using a clock face with numbers and hands. I also wonder what else is being taught, that kids don't have time to study the analog clock. I won't even bother asking where parents are in all of this.

Related, having electrical power is not something we can always take for granted, and I'm not simply talking about short term power outages due to weather or accidents. Our current president *wants* to make "electricity rates skyrocket." Electricity-generating coal plants are being shut down all over the country, including right here in my local area. Rolling black outs and power outages may become the norm in all of our futures. It was ironic to many that the Super Bowl lost power for half an hour last night after planners bragged about how "green" it would be. Germans turned to stealing wood this winter to keep their homes warm because power costs are so high. Germany, a first-world country often associated with technology innovation and precision! Yet its citizens are become reduced to relying on wood fires, and not by choice. Don't say it couldn't happen here.

Light in the Darkness

I promised that I would update once I got my light box, to let you know how it is working. Obviously, I can't peg my emotions to my environment exactly, but I can say that I am starting February in a much better place than I have for several years. I had a pretty good January as well, taking into account how much I am held back by this giant boot I have to drag around, and by not being able to drive. I am eager for new knitting projects, took tentative steps towards having my own website(s), and while I only did research on some of the other things I want to pursue, I still have the interest to follow up. I realize some of this might sound rather vague, but I don't want to reveal too much about my goals in case I don't accomplish too much. But mentally, I am doing very well.

I Wonder If

a society that on the one hand treats babies like props and spends hundreds of dollars to purchase a realistic baby doll with all of the cuteness and none of the work, is actually compatible with a culture that on the other hand aborts them and throws them away. In either case, infants are not seen as individual, human souls, but as an abstract. What do you think?

Little Things Make Me Happy

Like perusing old photos for historical fashion research and figuring out the exact year of an old picture with my own analysis. Yay me!

One Person's Kitsch

is another person's treasure, apparently. Have the people who design headbands like this one for babies ever even been to a baptism? Here's a hint: the water is poured on the head. I think boa feathers and birdcage veiling are too much for a baby anyway, but how does an over-the-top concoction on a baby's head say "baptism"? Or is the real purpose of a baptism the opportunity to dress the baby up in fancy attire and take pictures?

Health Issues

Remember when I told you that I hurt my foot? The pain was not bad, but had never completely gone away, so I mentioned it at a check-up at the doctor's last week. After some x-rays were taken, they found a fractured bone in the foot. Oops. So now I'm wearing a boot and I'm going to be getting some sort of electromagnetic treatment to try to encourage the fracture to heal. There will be a re-check in a month.

In this case it was a good thing that the initial doctor that I saw was at the Cleveland Clinic's big health building. I was able to head right downstairs and get x-rays without an extra trip.

On the bad side, we only have a car with a manual transmission, so I can't drive for a month even though the injury is to my left foot. At least the Musician has her learner's permit.

I also need to get a crown on the tooth that broke. I feel like I am falling apart.

New Retro?

Even though the Dancer is thirteen, going on fourteen, I'm glad she still likes the clothes they sell at Justice, and can still wear the upper sizes. Have you looked in the juniors section of many department stores? That stuff is made for eighteen or nineteen year olds, or even the perpetual youths in their twenties. Hundred dollar jeans that make you look hookerlicious? Where would my daughter wear this? And even the stuff that is not inappropriate is much more suited towards much older teens and young adults.

So, I'm looking through the latest Justice catalog with the Dancer, and lo and behold, it seems as though some of the fashions are moving someplace besides the 80s/90s! With metal tables and chairs, mini jukeboxes on the tables, and the back of a vintage turquoise "car" used as props, it seems like there is some inspiration from the 50s. This dress seems like a definite nod to the 50s to me:

Yes, there's also some the A-line dress look of the 60s going on, but the fuller skirt and the enthusiasm of the models definitely says 50s more to me. It's nice to see something different!

Why I Will Never Be a Druggie

I cracked part of a tooth off yesterday. Yikes! Then followed a search for a dentist who even has office hours on Friday, then the blessing of a last minute cancellation to get me in. The actual work went fine, but today I think I am suffering from the pain medication I got yesterday.

I already know that I am violently allergic to codeine. Why the nurses never figured out that my vomiting and nausea after my deliveries might possibly be related to the pain medication I received is totally beyond me, but I finally figured out that my body doesn't like it. Then I was prescribed oxycodone after a tonsillectomy and work on my soft palate and a deviated septum. It made me loopy. I knew I was loopy, but I couldn't get my mind under control to stop being loopy. I hated it. Yesterday, I got vicodine. Today, I've felt tired and nauseous, and my brain isn't functioning properly. It's a mess. I pray I am never in a situation where I am in serious pain on a long-term basis.

Why Mr. BTEG Is Good for Me

Because I can have conservations with him that help me feel better when I read people's opinions about America heading towards a Civil War. Like this one. I absolutely see this historian's points, and I don't think I disagree with his overall view of where our country is heading, which unfortunately is downward. I too see government as the problem, and I'm not even sure that the "47 percent" will listen to anything other than when the next check is due to arrive, while the author holds out hope that reason might win.

In a world of dire predictions, what Mr. BTEG does for me is be his usually optimistic self. Not that he thinks our country is in a good place; he actually thinks our country has been headed in the wrong direction for decades. What he does is provide his own analysis, which while not full of sunshine and rainbows, is also not apocalyptic and full of zombies and wastelands either. That while the future is not bright, and our children will face economic problems that we parents didn't, we may not end up behind the barricades either. I'm still trying to make sure our family is prepared for whatever comes, but Mr. BTEG helps me to worry less in the now.

Back to the Future

In lieu of something more serious, which I'm still mulling over in my mind, I present another one of my Christmas gifts -- an old-school headset for your cell phone. I absolutely love it, although I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet. I imagine it will be very useful if I am forced to spend a lot of time on hold with some stupid company. Much easier to hold under your head and use both hands for something else than a cell phone. Heck, I ought to just have one of my daughters call me just so I can try it out.

The box proclaimed it to be both retro and trendy. I mean, I guess retro is currently trendy, but then the "style" has been to recycle stuff from both the seventies and the eighties for quite a while now, years actually. Behold this preppy folder from 2006, with adorable little whales all over it. Currently, day-glo is back in style. When will they start recycling stuff that has been recycled from the seventies and eighties, tweaking it just the slightest bit again?

Blessed 2013

This year will see the Musician start her senior year of high school, and the Dancer start as a high school freshman. I pray that Mr. BTEG will continue to prosper at his current job; it is the best one he has had in many years. I hope that I can make some of my plans and dreams come true. I hope that all of my friends and blog readers have a blessed 2013.

Blessings

Before I get into any other kinds of posts, I feel it's important to put up one of thankfulness for the wonderful Christmas that the BTEG family had. There were wonderful gifts, good food, and enjoying being with family. Now we are enjoying being home together, including Mr. BTEG because of the inclement weather. I pray that there have been no great losses due to the blizzard.

Here's a picture of one of the nice gifts that I received, a new bicycle, in pretty blues and pinks. Come spring, I can be walking or bicycling!

Knock knock. Who's there? Doctor.

This house has the freakin' Tardis! On the freakin' front porch! I want one.

Something Different

One of the things I am finding I like about Mr. BTEG's current job, is that people are relatively social outside of work. Tuesday night a group of Mr. BTEG's co-workers and their wives got together at a bar called Happy Dog, in Cleveland. I hadn't been in that area of Cleveland before that I can remember, and there was a very interesting atmosphere, urban, but not scary urban as certain areas of Cleveland can be.

Anyway, a very interesting night. There was classical music, and a trio singing Christmas carols (the bass was sick), all from the Cleveland Institute of Music. I think I'd like to try it when a different music genre was there. I guess I'm totally uncool, but most of the modern classical stuff didn't really cut it for me. Especially one piece where either the piano was wildly out of tune, or there were notes that deliberately sounded grating to the ear. Physically painful, even.

We had a chance to see hipsters in their natural habitat. Lots of them. I took anthropological notes. :D

For some reason, I really found it funny that atop the upright piano, was a bust lamp of Elvis. A very large bust of Elvis. In blues. The lampshade shook when the modern classical musicians were pounding on the piano keys, but Elvis stayed solid.

This bar serves hot dogs, tater tots and french fries, and beer. However, you can get about thirty different toppings for your hot dogs and tater tots. Including mole, the Mexican chocolatey stuff. Which, no.

I found it interesting that the cellist, who looked very Korean, was named Carlos.

A Nice Round Number

I have reached my thousandth blog post! In all the years since 2005(!), I've met a lot of great people, written some things I'm really proud of, discovered a lot of things about other people, life and myself, and generally had fun. A blog is actually wonderful for someone like me, a stay-at-home mom in a world where it's harder to meet and make friends with other moms, especially if you are an introvert. But I mainly enjoy just getting my point of view out, whether it's about being a mom, a wife, a conservative, a Lutheran, bipolar or anything else. At least some of the next one thousand posts are sure to be on watching my daughters reach maturity, as well as making changes in my own life as my mommy duties decrease. Can't wait to see where it's going!

Random Bits

Mom: "Whichever girl's turn it is to scoop the litter box, needs to do it."

Dancer: "I can't remember whose turn it is. It's hard to keep track."

Mom: "That's why I put up the chore chart months ago, with all the days and the chores."

Dancer: "But we never use it."

Mom: face-palm

That look a cat gives you when she is rolling around in some sort of almost-catnip-fueled type abandon and sees you watching her. "Oh. Hai. Didn't see you there."

You know your best friend is your best friend when you give each other the same Christmas gift. And when you can't actually wait until Christmas to exchange gifts.

I'm really tired of having to put paragraph breaks in by hand because Blogger doesn't seem to recognize the return key anymore. Especially when I forget and then go to look at my blog post actually on my blog.