College?

Over the years many people have asked why I didn't attend college. To put it simply I didn't believe I belonged there. I probably would have done well academically but socially I didn't think it was a good idea. Also, I planned to get married and stay home to raise my children. What was college going to teach me that I couldn't teach myself?

The other day I recieved my homeschool newspaper "The Link" in the mail. I came across this interesting article by John Taylor Gatto " The Richest Man in the World Has Some Advice for Us about College . . . (P.S. He didn’t take it himself). Here is an excerpt from the article:

On February 28 of this year, Bill Gates of Microsoft, told a gathering of the 50 American state governors that the United States has reached a competitive crisis which we were losing. This could best be combated by making college prep the sole function of secondary schooling, college prep for everyone, and college, too. Those who couldn’t afford it should be subsidized by the states. In Erving Goffman’s chilling locution, college was to become a “Total Institution,” controlling all work in the economy.
If Gates’ proposal was such a great idea, then how was it that Gates, like Faulkner, dropped out of college his freshman year? And why didn’t he ever go back? And how was it that from among millions of college-trained techies, Gates decided to hook up with another dropout, Paul Allen, to found Microsoft? That could have been a million-to-one coincidence, of course, except for the fact that Steve Jobs, the brains behind Apple, dropped out of Reed College after one semester. And never went back to college, not for a single day! Was it only an accident that Jobs chose to partner with another dropout, Steve Wozniak, in the founding of Apple?Michael Dell of Dell Computer didn’t bother with college either. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, said he didn’t have the time to waste on college. Is the penny beginning to drop? These multi-billionaires, who’ve changed the face of the global society in technology, were all dropouts. What do you make of that?

If you think this is an interesting article so far then read the full article at: http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/v8i3_gatto_college.html

I am stunned by the amount of people I know that went through college, obtained degrees and then had to work as waiters to pay the bills. People now believe that without college you will go nowhere. I believe with college you have a long expensive road ahead. People are putting off life while they are young to run up huge education loans and then spend the rest of their lives hoping the college education they receive will allow them pay off those huge loans.

Life is short and I prefer to live and learn through life rather than sitting in a desk in a room waiting for someone to tell me what I need to know.

Mardi Gras

We had quite an adventure Mardi Gras day. We left home headed for Iota but had to stop and detour a few times. Our first adventure was when I noticed a car in the ditch around a curve in St. Landry. Vins turned around and sure enough some guy had straightened out the curve. He was fine but the front of the car was pretty banged up. Vins called the sheriff department and after some neighbors came over to see the situation we headed down the road. Vins said the guy smelled like alcohol so that's probably the reason he didn't notice the road curved.
When we got to Eunice we took Hwy. 90 so we could pick T. Lee Horne, III, http://www.governor.ws, up at the La Pay E Bas Campground. About a mile down the road we realize we are traveling behind the Eunice Mardi Gras'. They were stopping and it looked like it was going to be a long slow drive. Vins waved down some people on the side of the road and they gave us directions to back roads to get us around the traffic. This is when we realized a map would have been a handy item to bring along. We turned around and headed the other way using their directions. We missed the turn by Pentecostal Church (never saw one) but somehow managed to find our way there.
After picking up Lee and his campaign supplies we made our way to Iota where Lee was planning to do some campaigning. We parked at my brothers and grabbed lunch then Lee got to work shaking hands and meeting people. Tanek and Kaia weren't having much fun so we drove over to Evangeline to see my parents. After a short visit we went back to Iota to get the men.
We brought Lee back to his campground and Vins talked to the owner about putting their campground in the TGI Camping book. Tanek and Kaia played in the dirt and rocks while we waited for Vins to finish. We left the campground at 3:30 and finally started our trek to Lake Charles.
We stopped in Iowa at Faustos for supper. It was interesting to see the devastation the hurricane had caused to the areas along I-10. When we got to Lake Charles we decided to pass by the L'Auberge Casino to see how it looked. I must say it was a grand sight. Much fancier (on the outside at least) than many of the other casinos in Louisiana. After that we figured it was about time to find our spot along the parade route.
We waited about an hour. During that time we witnessed two guys almost come to blows across the street from us. We also watched some pretty strange people walk down the street. Finally after much whining from the kids the parade finally started. They loved it, jumping up and down waving their hands and screaming for throws. When it was all over we left the parade with a backpack filled to overflowing and beads around our necks.
Great fun. We could have done without the two hour drive home. Maybe next year we will stay in town overnight.
Hey, A.W. we missed you at Mardi Gras this year!

Lake Champlain Monster

I found this story on Yahoo News about a monster in Lake Champlain, New York. Very interesting. Two fisherman caught a small portion of some type of serpent underwater. You can read the story at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1648547
Is it Champ the Lake Champlain monster or not?
The world may never know.

Homeschool and Socialization

Homeschool and socialization is a subject that always comes up when you meet a non-homeschooler. Being a homeschool mom it's an issue that you must think about and define.
Well I've thought about it a lot. We are not hermits. My husband and I are very active politically and with the Cub Scouts. Tanek takes karate and is in Cub Scouts. He will probably be on a little league team this summer and take swimming lessons. Kaia is in the Girl Scouts and takes part in a lot of the Cub Scout activities.
Some might say but those are organized groups and the kids don't have much "play-time" together. Well, that is also the case in a regular school. Those children are seated in desk most of the day so they also don't have much "play time". Plus my children are learning to socialize with children of varied ages and that really isn't the case in most elementary schools.
We are part of a homeschool group that meets once a week. Some of our meetings are two hours of our children just playing and interacting. Our children also have friends that come over to play and they go over to their friends houses.
My husband and I both attended public schools and our ability to deal with social situations is very different. My husband is an extrovert. He can talk to anyone like they are his best friend. I, on the other hand, am an introvert. If you put me in a room full of people I don't know I sort of panic. Did public school make us that way? I'm not really sure. I think Vinson just has a knack for dealing with people. Public school probably didn't help my situation too much. Being an introvert is like having a kick me sign on your back. Some people take that as a sign of weakness. Not a good thing when they are looking for someone to pick on.
So, are my children socialized? I think so. Tanek will walk up to a group of kids he's never met at the playground and just start taking part in whatever game they are playing. I guess he's like his father. Kaia needs more time to get to know people and feel her way around a situation, like her mom. I think that's alright and as long as she can find her comfort level without others making a big deal about it she will probably step out of that shell a little more.
So how do I define my children's socialization? Not a problem, they are normal kids having fun and enjoying life while meeting people from all different walks of life. They seem to be doing a pretty good job of it to.

Valentines

We had a great Valentines yesterday. Nothing fancy just fun. I woke up to roses and a beautiful card. I spent the morning trying to get everyone and everything ready to be at the homeschool group Valentines party.

There were games with valentines themes for the kids to play. Vins even got into the games. I think he kept the adults laughing with his antics. The kids all traded cards and candy. We had pizza, chips and dip, and cupcakes to snack on. I think the kids will remember this Valentines Day for awhile.

When we got home we all traded gifts then went to the video store to rent some movies. Like I said nothing fancy but very enjoyable. Sometimes the simple things in life are what matter most.

Day by Day

Yesterday we spent all day at the LP Central Committee meeting. By all day I mean that we left the house at 9:30 am and arrived home last night at 7pm. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my day but we had lots to discuss and as usual some of the guys like to talk and talk and talk. Thank goodness my mother-in-law was watching the kids for us.

Kaia has been suffering with a nasty cold the past few days and it doesn't seem to be getting any better so I guess tomorrow we will be off to the doctor. She seems to be infecting Vins and Tanek with it but so far I'm staying out of harms way. I had to make a phone call this morning to ask a friend if she would handle Tuesdays homeschool group meeting since Kaia probably won't be well by then. I don't want to get everyone elses kids sick.

Last Wednesday we decided to put in the jacuzzi tub we got a long time ago. As usual what was supposed to be an easy job is still an on going horror story. Guess there really wasn't any surprise there. Nothing is ever as easy as it appears. Luckily we have more than one bathroom because now that one has a non-working sink and a semi-working tub.

I figure in a few days someone is going to drop by for a surprise visit while my house and family are in total chaos.