Encouragement for Aspies

Today I'm going to change gears a bit to share a blog that is sure to bless you.  Caleb joined our homeschool co-op the same year our family did and he and my son, Ryan, have been friends since 8th grade.  They both just completed their freshman year of college.  


Caleb has Asperger's syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder) and shares some of his struggles and triumphs in his blog. In his most recent entry, he shares how difficult it was -agonizing at times -  for him to complete assignments throughout middle school and high school and how, by God's grace and with the help of his family and teachers, he graduated from high school and completed his freshman year at Kent State University with a shiny 3.89 GPA! 


[Caleb, if you're reading this, I don't remember you ever missing assignments in my history class!]


If you have a child or family member with Asperger's or know someone who is affected by it, you will find encouragement in Caleb's blog. He writes:

"Throughout most of my academic career, I almost always found myself relying on the grace of luckily-placed people, and the incredible patience of my teachers and parents. It is by nothing less than God’s grace that I even managed to graduate high school. This is a humbling memory for me, and makes me realize that I really am powerless without God’s intervention.

"A year later, I have finished my first year at Kent with a 3.89 GPA, and have earned respect from a lot of my classmPe claim came from my own hard work and effort, I owe to my creator. Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Caleb has a wonderful family, and his struggles were shared by all of them. I imagine if they had been able to read this blog post by 20-year-old Caleb when he was 10-years-old and things didn't look so rosy, it would have brought incredible encouragement to their hearts!


If you have a child with a disability or one who is a little different than what the world considers "normal," take heart! God knows and loves your child even more than you do.  Your first priority is to teach your children what Caleb's parents did: trust in the Lord.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Just for fun...

My friend Glenna sent me this video about "homeschooled" vs. "homeschooler."  There is a difference!  Ryan and I spent the next hour watching YouTube videos on the OpheliaBH Channel.  Bethanie has a great mix of satire, sarcasm and silliness.  And, some of this hits a little too close to home:

Ever wonder why homeschoolers win all those spelling bees and manage to get into top colleges with perfect SAT scores?  It starts here:

Her insight into the political views of aliens is right on target. "If you claim not to have [a political view] I say to you, 'Lazy is a political view.'" 

Sooo.....which political figure best represents each of these aliens?:

• The Mean Alien - humans do not deserve to live and the planet should be destroyed for no good reason.

• The Happy Blue Co-existing Alien - Humans and aliens can co-exist. He believes humans are taking very good care of the planet so he wants to live here too. 

• The Environmentalist Alien - Believes humans are taking horrible care of their planet and he must warn us that our planet is going to be destroyed. They are the worry warts - the Al Gore-ish types in the alien world. 

• The Mean Green Alien - Earthlings are taking great care of the planet but he doesn't want humans to live there.  Believes humans should be killed so he can use our nice green grass and trees. 

We've already got Al Gore as the Environmental Alien.  Voting is now open for the other three. Post your nominees in the comment section below. 

Judge in Quebec orders HS children to public school - International Law to blame?

Judge in Quebec orders homeschooled children to public school and State daycare:


A Judge in Quebec, Canada has ordered a Catholic family to send their children to public school, citing lack of "socialization" as the main reason.  This includes forced,  state-funded daycare for the two youngest children, ages three and five, who are not yet of compulsory attendance age. Lifesite News reports:

"[Paul] Faris [of the Canadian Homeschool Legal Defense Association] said the court refused to hear the parents’ expert witness and dismissed the testimony of the family doctor, who has been fully supportive of their medical decisions. In her ruling, Judge Bernier claimed the family doctor’s testimony lacked objectivity and was “full of bias” owing to his relationship with the parents. Faris said the judge gave “excess weight” to the government’s experts, who he says “found that one child’s hearing impairment ‘indicated’ that the parents could not be trusted and therefore all the children should be enrolled in public school programs.” Judge Bernier determined that the security and development of the children was compromised by parental negligence.

In her ruling, Judge Bernier called the mother’s teaching approach “outdated,” saying it emphasized repetition exercises and acquisition of knowledge rather than the Ministry’s preferred approach of teaching learning skills.  She also criticizes the elder children’s social development, noting that they had difficulty at first with the other children when they entered the classroom. “The parents, though aware … of the need to stimulate each child by interactions with peers of the same age, outside of the family, either at school, kindergarten, or day care or occasional education trips, maintain their interest in the teaching model of the home school,” she wrote, going on to lament that they are “refusing to integrate the youngest in kindergarten or day care, and opposing educational outings for the children.”

The father calls it a witch hunt:

“The government is willing to go to whatever means to force their ways on my family,” he said. “This is like a witch hunt.”

The family's attorney, Jean Yves Cote, also noted that the judge found the mother's use of phonics to teach reading was "outdated."


It appears that Canada (at least Quebec) is on its way to joining Germany and Sweden on the list of countries most hostile to homeschooling and, as a result, the rights of parents to direct the education of their children.  The BBC reports:

"In our increasingly multicultural society school is the place for a peaceful dialogue between different opinions, values, religions and ideologies," said Berlin's education minister, Juergen Zoellner.

"It is a training ground for social tolerance. Therefore home-schooling is not an option for Germany."

And in Sweden:

Bertil Östberg, State Secretary for Education, told the BBC's Europe Today programme, that "children have the right to be taught by professional teachers, and the teaching should be objective and based on science".

Echoing German concerns Mr Östberg added that "schools should be a meeting place where tolerance and social values are communicated".

Here's what someone posted on a message board in Canada:

"Kudos to Judge Bernier of Quebec for ordering home schooling parents to send their children to state run day care because they need socialization.

As a society, how else can we instill progressive values into the next generation if we don't have the opportunity to be a part of their education?

Childrend [sic] need to be socialized, and they need to be introduced to the ideals and values of society. This is how a harmonious society is created. Without state involvement we end up wiht a fractured society of religious fanatics spreading ignorance.

I applaud this move."

 When I first read this, I thought it was a snarky homeschooler being sarcastic, as they (we!) are wont to do.  Unfortunately this is the opinion of an actual, real person (a product of state run daycare, no doubt) expressing his/her opinions on a Progressive website (Rabble.ca "built on the efforts of progressive journalists, writers, artists and activists across the country").


If you're observant (or if you were homeschooled) you noticed the pattern above.  Berlin's Education Minister, Sweden's State Secretary for Education, and the Progressive message-poster all  insist that schools are necessary to force children into being tolerant, compliant citizens of the State. Note the irony for "force" and "tolerant" in the same sentence. 


I think it is no coincidence that all three countries have signed on to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).  Currently, the United States and Somalia are the only countries that have not jumped on this bandwagon,  a decision that President Obama calls "embarrassing," and promises to review.  Here's how Sweden is interpreting this document and translating it into policy:

"The child perspective involves focusing on the child and making careful analyses of what consequences a decision can have for an individual child or teenager or for children and young people as a group. Another dimension of the child perspective is the intrinsic value of childhood. Children are not accessories to their parents or passive recipients of parental influence. They are individuals in their own right with their own needs and rights. This means that childhood is not seen solely as preparation for adult life but is seen as a part of life with a value of its own."

Here is Quebec's interpretation of the UNCRC:

"The Youth Protection Act amended in  2006, includes specific provisions to guarantee respect for the principle of the paramount consideration of the best interests of the child, such as the child’s and parents’ active participation in decision-making and in choosing the measures that affect them."

While this all sounds nice and reasonable, it's completely at odds with the laws of the United States, which give parents right to make decision regarding their children.  Shifting the rights to the children is a radical change from American tradition and jurisprudence.  Here's what we, as Americans, embrace:

"[t]he child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations."(Pierce v. Society of Sisters 268 U.S. 510 (1925). 

"The history and culture of Western civilization reflect a strong tradition of parental concern for the nurture and upbringing of their children. This primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition"  (Wisconsin v. Yoder 406 U.S. 205 (1972).

Shifting the rights from the parents to the child ultimately transfers the power to the State. The State becomes the arbiter of what is in the best interest of the child and decides when the child is old enough to decide for himself. This is why a Canadian judge felt she could overrule the parents and decide what she thinks is in the best interest of the children in this homeschooling family.  International law compelled her to do so.

And really,  no wonder that judge is so concerned about one little Catholic family that is going off the reservation.   I mean, those Catholics don't believe in birth control, right? And those homeschoolers tend to breed like rabbits (1/3 have 4 or more children for crying out loud!) Someone has to do something about these home indoctrination camps before this thing gets out of control! (see, there I go getting all snarky like the Progressives...I warned you I am wont to do that).


This is one more reason we absolutely must have a majority in the Senate next term and....for the rest of time.  The UNCRC has already been signed by the U.S. (by Madeline Albright during the Clinton years), but still needs to be ratified by the 2/3 of the Senate.  That must not happen.


This is also why I'm getting closer to supporting the Parental Rights Amendment.  But that's a discussion for another day. 

March 29, 2011

Judge Orders More Spending on New Jersey’s Education-Industrial Complex: 

"New Jersey spends more money on education than almost any state, resulting in the nation’s highest property taxes (and arguably the highest taxes overall). But to some New Jersey judges, the skyrocketing spending is never enough.

A New Jersey trial judge Tuesday declared unconstitutional the state’s recent attempts to scale back rapidly-rising education spending, “effectively tying Republican Governor Chris Christie’s hands on budget and education reform. Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne ruled that Christie’s budget cuts to school aid left public schools unable to provide a ‘thorough and efficient’ education to New Jersey children.”

In his ruling, “Doyne even wrote that despite the ‘significant increase in spending levels from 2000 to 2008,’ some New Jersey districts are moving even further from adequate proficiency. His solution?” Force the state government to give them even “more money.”

 For the last 30 years, the New Jersey courts have been using the New Jersey State Constitution’s goal of a “thorough and efficient” educational system to force the state to increase education spending in ways that are anything but efficient. They have ordered that school systems in underperforming urban areas (often run by corrupt Democratic political machines) be given extra money — which has led to huge amounts of waste without increasing student achievement."

For the record, Ohio's Constitution says that taxes are to be collected to "secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state."  Could this decision give rise to similar lawsuits in Ohio? 

 China’s CO2 Emissions Confirm Kyoto Critics’ Fears - Greensburg, KS - Kiowa County Signal: 

"Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, which is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, actually declined by 6 percent in 2009, and are now 8 percent below 2000 levels, according to the EPA.

Global emissions, however, have risen more than 25 percent since 2000, and developing nations accounted for virtually all of the increase. China alone accounted for about half.

“A closer look at global emissions trends show how futile it would be for the U.S to impose economically punitive self-restrictions on carbon dioxide,” James M. Taylor, senior fellow for environmental policy at The Heartland Institute, writes in Forbes magazine.

By 2009, China was the largest emitter, accounting for 24 percent of global emissions, while the United States was responsible for 17 percent. China will likely account for 26 percent when 2010 figures are released, with the U.S. contributing about 15 percent, according to Taylor.

China’s emissions have been increasing by nearly 10 percent a year, and in 2010 probably surpassed the emissions of the entire Western Hemisphere."

And still, there are those who think the best way to save the planet is to punish the United States by shaming us into these punitive protocols and accords. 

New York's Bronx Zoo closes reptile house after cobra disappears | News.com.au: 

"A poisonous cobra has vanished from an enclosure outside public view at the Bronx Zoo, and its Reptile House remained closed today as a precaution while zoo workers searched for the missing reptile.

While the roughly 50cm-long Egyptian cobra - a highly venomous species of snake - has been unaccounted for since Friday afternoon, zoo officials say they're confident it hasn't gone far and isn't in a public area. Its enclosure was in an isolation area not open to visitors."

Bronx Zoo Cobra Still on the Loose, Now Tweeting -- Daily Intel:

 "As zoo officials continue to look for the Egyptian cobra that somehow escaped on Sunday, the reptile has decided to taunt his would-be captors via Twitter. For example, 'Holding very still in the snake exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. This is gonna be hilarious!' one tweet reads. Oh, the fun we have on Twitter. [Bronx Zoo's Cobra/Twitter]"

For those who might be wondering how one goes about finding a snake that has "gone missing," you can read expert herper Melissa Kaplan's tips here. 

Having been through this with an AWOL egg-eating snake (which we later found after we moved the stove - apparently she was curled up near the warm pilot light), it's nice to keep these tips handy.  Clearly the Bronx Zoo has been through the searching phase and they've come up empty. I am rather surprised that they are so confident this snake is still confined to the reptile house.  While animal escapes at zoos are extremely rare, they do happen occasionally, almost always when a staff member disregards the strict protocols the zoo has in place. 


AZA accredited zoos, like the Bronx Zoo,  have strict regulations for handling dangerous animals, including venomous snakes.  Ongoing training is required and the zoo is required to hold regular animal escape drills.  These drills include not only securing the animals, but also moving zoo guests to designated safe areas. 


Snakes are tricky because they don't have to eat every day - or even every week.  A snake's metabolism slows down if  it's temp drops (which would happen when the snake left its enclosure and the hot room), so trying to lure this snake out with food will probably not be successful until it's nearly starving, which could take weeks.  


One of the tried and true methods for recovering a lost snake is lining the walls of the suspected hide-out area with plastic grocery bags (snakes will usually travel along the walls and baseboards), then waiting for nightfall.  If and when the snake comes out to show-boat to the other reptiles behind glass in the herp house, the keeper, lying in wait in the dark, can nab the escapee.  A (slower) variation of this is to line the walls with flour or cornstarch.  The creative cobra will leave a trail in the white powder and can then be tracked to his hideout. 


So now you know.




Is Microsoft promoting homeschooling?  Sure seems like it.  Though it's probably unintentional, we'll take it!  Ah, I miss the days when the couch was our classroom!

Mirror of Justice: Here we go! The Court grants cert. in the ministerial-exception case:

"Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear (what I think is) the most important religious-freedom case in 20 years.  The Supreme Court this morning granted cert in Hosanna Tabor Church v. EEOC...

...The question in the case is whether antidiscrimination laws – like, for example, the Americans with Disabilities Act – allow courts to review hiring-and-firing decisions involving “ministerial employees.”  In this particular case, a lower federal court had ruled that parochial-school teachers who teach primarily secular subjects are not “ministerial employees”, and therefore are covered by the Act.

...The Supreme Court should reverse this decision.  Although there are many difficult questions to be asked, and many fine lines to be drawn, when it comes to interpreting and applying the First Amendment’s religious-freedom guarantees, it cannot be the role of secular government to second-guess the decisions of religious communities and institutions about who should be their ministers, leaders, and teachers, any more than they should review their decisions about the content of religious doctrines."

Ayn Rand's classic apologetic on capitalism and laissez-faire government, Atlas Shrugged, has now been turned into a movie of the same name.  It will make its debut in a limited number of theaters on April 15th (tax day!).  Seems like showing it in union battleground states like Ohio and Wisconsin would have been a good marketing strategy, but they're not on the list.  We may have to wait for the DVD.  


Morton Blackwell from the Leadership Institute describes Atlas Shrugged this way:

 "It is one of the most devastating critiques ever written of big government and the liberal media.  Rand's moral indignation is contagious; after reading her, most readers are forever immune to the enticements of socialism.

It must also be said, however, that the militantly atheistic Rand had an unrealistic view of human nature and little appreciation for cultural values.  Most people, however mesmerized by her they may be in their youth, outgrow Rand's philosophy, which Burke might have described as a theoretical construct rather than an application of the accumulated wisdom of mankind.

After reading Atlas Shrugged, read also The Fatal Conceit, by F.A. Hayek.  Hayek once told me, 'I am not religious, but I have a great respect for religion.'  Hayek, along with Burke, who was a Christian, possessed an understanding of human nature much deeper and more realistic than Ayn Rand's."

Watch the trailer:

The antidote, of course, to Rand's hopeless atheism, is the gospel.  This animation of the story of the Prodigal Son (from Luke 15) is a beautiful expression of God's love and forgiveness (HT: Sola Sisters).

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