Educator Says Americans Aren't Educated

At something like $600 billion per year, America's public schools have consumed trillions of dollars over the last four decades. And yet one Oklahoma public-school booster admits today that we don't have "a nation of educated, thoughtful ... people."

Palin Sallies Forth, Redefining Feminism

A new organization in Oklahoma, Sally's List, has been formed for the purpose of recruiting and training women for election to the state legislature.

Now here's the darndest thing. I have this friend -- named Sally! -- who is already in the state legislature. What are the chances? Anywho, that's not the kind of woman Sally's List has in mind. No, Sally's List is interested in getting liberal women elected. And hey, that's tough to do in Oklahoma -- especially when you keep snuffing out your future candidates and their voters! Oh well, no one said it would be easy.

Hey, speaking of women candidates, are you aware that Sarah Palin is coming to Oklahoma in a couple of weeks? I'm guessing the Sally's Listers can't be thrilled about that. After all, as Berkeley grad/woman/lawyer Jennifer Rubin remarked today, "Palin clearly has the left in a tizzy. They have finally gotten it: she is redefining feminism."

Oh baby. That can't be good. If Sarah goes and does that, it's really gonna be hard to get liberal women elected in Oklahoma.

Hope, Change

Even the Associated Press has to acknowledge that yesterday's Glenn Beck rally "signals election trouble for Democrats."

Great Moments in Indigence

A humble suggestion for the Tulsa Union school superintendent: When bemoaning the insufficient "commitment to education" from the taxpayers who pay your $207,146 salary, you might not want to call attention to the fact that "the new turf at the stadium is eye-popping."

Let Me Be Clear

'A Relativist, Wrapped in a Muslim, Inside an Agnostic'

No, Mr. Obama isn't a Muslim, George Neumayr observes. He's

a practicing agnostic, with deep roots in and sympathy for Islam, who views his now-professed, politically necessary religion with barely concealed disdain while allowing himself from time to time bursts of syncretistic sophistry and quasi-religious uplift.

My Favorite App

We've only been in (home)school a week now, but I can already see that we're going to have lots of vocabulary memory work to do this year. Mary Margaret will have her Latin and science vocabulary. Lillie will have biology, and is also taking online literature and writing classes where she will have weekly SAT vocabulary quizzes and also have to learn AP literary terms and authors. That's a lot of memory work. We used to use notecards to make our own flashcards until I discovered the Flashcard Touch App.



I love it and it will be a huge help to us this school year. Here's how it works:

You can make flashcards in two ways: either make them directly from your phone/iPod touch, or make them on Quizlet and then download them to your phone.

Here's how to do it from your phone/iPod touch:

From the home screen touch the + sign in the bottom right-hand corner:



This takes you to the screen where you add the name of a new card set:



Type in the name of your card set and touch save:



This takes you to the screen where you can now add cards to your stack. Touch the + sign at the bottom right-hand corner:



Type in the word/term you're going to learn. Now you have two choices. You can either touch definition and type in your own definition or touch online definition:



If you touch definition, you simply type in what you want:



If you touch online definition it will take you to a screen with online definitions (I love this feature!):



Touch the definition you want. This places the definition on your card. Touch save and your card is now finished and added to your stack:



Finish adding the remainder of your words the same way:



To go through your cards just touch a word and the flashcards begin:




There are options for viewing the flashcards and options to check the ones you have already memorized.

You can also make your cards on your computer from Quizlet and then download them onto your phone. First you set up an account with Quizlet, which takes about a minute. From Quizlet you can make your own stack or search other public stacks (this means someone else had made them and are available for public use). I also love this feature. As I was planning Mary Margaret's Latin lessons and thinking about when I could show her how to make her flashcards, I decided to search and see if there were any Latin flashcards already done. I typed "Latin Alive flashards" and found that all of her vocabulary words for the year were in the public stacks and organized by chapter. All I have to do is download them.

Downloading them from Quizlet is easy and takes about four minutes. As a side note, Quizlet is very useful on its own. You can do flashcards on your home computer and there are lots of options for memorizing, testing, and keeping track of what you have memorized.

In short, Flashcard Touch is very easy to use and is well worth the cost of $4.99.

Happy Tears

Last weekend I went to the wedding of one of my very best friends. To see her so happy was one of the highlights of my year. I know better than to say "she deserved it" (because none of us really deserve any of the blessings God gives us), but if anybody deserved this blessing it would be her.

Ginger and I first met years ago through homeschooling circles. Our boys had science classes together and later we would be in the same homeschool group. At that time she was the only person I knew with a son my age who was using The Well-Trained Mind and trying to classically homeschool. So we would compare notes, talk about history books, and discuss what Latin curriculum we liked. Later, when our kids got older, we would tackle Omnibus and progymnasmata, and when our boys surpassed our Latin capabilities we researched together to find a good online Latin class. (Those aren't hard to find anymore, but at the time there weren't many.) Our kids also became close friends and this year our sons are both high-school seniors.

I often tell Ginger that I don't know what I would have done without her these past few years. She's been there for me through dark days and valleys, even before our time with Anne Marie. We have laughed and cried (mostly laughed) over chocolate martinis and artichoke dip. We've spent hours writing curriculum and researching school materials and we've been to more movies than I can count. Her kids spend the night over here, and when they're here they don't seem like "guests" but more like family. We look back on things that we've done together or things we've both been through and laugh at those times and say, "Remember your 41st birthday?" or "Remember that time when ... ?"

Ginger was the first person I told when Anne Marie was diagnosed with CDH, and she reminded me and would continue to remind me of God's providence. When we moved to Dallas and Lincoln had to stay here for his classes, he moved in with Ginger and her kids. Ginger has a daughter Lillie's age and during our time in Dallas, Lillie also stayed with her for several weeks. Ginger did their laundry, cooked their meals, oversaw their school work, and threw Lincoln a surprise party for his 17th birthday. Lincoln was at Ginger's house when Brandon had to call him and tell him about Tyler's death. And several weeks later Brandon would have to make another call telling both Lincoln and Lillie that their baby sister had died. I wanted to be there with them, to hug them and make sure they were okay, but I couldn't. Ginger was there instead, and if you're a mother who's reading this, you know how much that means.

When Anne Marie had her first surgery, Ginger and another one of my closest friends, Carol, drove to Dallas to be with us. I'll never forget the morning when they came up to the hospital. I had walked down to meet them and they were walking across the skybridge from the parking lot. We stood in the middle of that skybridge and hugged. It felt so good to have friends there. We waited together while Anne Marie was in surgery; Ginger and Carol somehow made the day brighter. They would also come back the day Anne Marie came off ECMO -- the day we thought would be her last. Ginger and Carol would be there in that sacred hospital room to witness Anne Marie's baptism. And later that day when God and Anne Marie surprised all of us, I got to see their beaming smiles when I told them "she made it." I won't ever forget those days -- Ginger and Carol being there with me in Dallas.

I know Ginger would do anything for me. And not only me, she would do almost anything for anyone. She is a loyal friend. Her friendship has been a gift to me and I am grateful. Last weekend I was able to see her beaming smile as she followed behind her niece who dropped rose petals and witness as Ginger's father performed her wedding ceremony. I was able to hear her take her vows and hear her father pray for her marriage and her family. It was beautiful and sacred and I cried. I can't remember the last time I cried happy tears. It felt good.

More Crested Butte Pics

Two things I noticed each time we'd walk into town were the bikes and the flowers. People of all ages rode bikes all through town. Some of the bikes were really nice and some were rusty and old. Very few of them were chained up, but rather just parked in bike stands or propped up against stores and houses. Some of them had baskets filled with groceries and sometimes someone would be riding on the front while another person peddled.

There were also pots of bright flowers all along the main street. Each morning when we'd walk in for coffee, a man in a watering cart would be driving around watering all the pots and picking off the dead buds.



The main street in Crested Butte had lots of fun shops and restaurants:


One evening Brandon and I went in to check out the movie theater. It was in a small wooden building and there were only two movies showing. When I walked in I smelled one of my favorite smells, buttered popcorn, and then noticed that if someone wanted to they could order a mixed drink too (notice the liquor at the far end of the concession area):



Here's our morning coffee spot:


There was a bungee trampoline at the base of the mountain:






Here are three of the kids sitting outside at the base area of Mt. Crested Butte:


And here are the kids on Mt. Crested Butte:

A Political Tsunami in Oklahoma? Then What?

[This Marlin Oil advertorial appears in the upcoming issue of The City Sentinel.]

American elections normally move in tides: surges that follow generally predictable trends. The first congressional elections after a new president’s initial election, for instance, are almost always good for the opposition. Hence, the widespread assumption that Republicans will see gains in Congress this fall.

Tides occasionally become outright tsunamis, and that seems possible this year. To give just one example, Charles Cook, a Democrat-leaning writer in Washington known for the fairness of his analyses, recently revised upward his projections for Republican gains in November. He now believes the Grand Old Party will narrowly take control of the U.S. House, and will dramatically close the gap on Democrats in the Senate.

Around America, Republicans are optimistic about races for governor and in legislatures. In Oklahoma, they anticipate modest gains in the Legislature. In statewide elected races, where Democrats won every contest except one in 2006, Republican hopes are brightest.

Republicans nationally, and perhaps in Oklahoma, could “blow it,” but odds are quite good that Republicans will have a good year, regaining some or all of the ground lost to Democrats in 2006 and 2008.

There is even speculation that Republicans will sweep statewide elected offices in Oklahoma. Jari Askins for governor, Kim Holland for insurance commissioner, and Steve Burrage for auditor might be the best chances Democrats have to hold ground. Yet, Mary Fallin leads in the top race. Holland and Burrage will have to fight to keep their jobs.

What will follow a Republican “tsunami” this November? Former Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau, the first Republican and first woman ever elected to her post, always asked this question about elections and legislation: “And then what?”

Here's what: Republicans at the national level will reap the whirlwind if they fail to reverse much of the shocking growth in federal debt – which began in the second Bush era and exploded in Obama’s fiscal adventures. National pundits of all stripes are speaking candidly that Republican success this November could, if conservative governance is not the result, yield permanent damage to the GOP “brand.”

In Oklahoma, GOP prospects for delivering are brighter than they are nationally. But rather than triumphalism, Republicans must use any opportunities voters give to fashion effective policies. If they don’t, they will invite the rise of a libertarian or Tea Party-based alternative that many voters will be prepared to embrace.

Preemptive Theft

A private-sector crook robbed a congressional candidate at gunpoint.

Six-Year-Old Missionaries Needed in Northwest Oklahoma City

R. C. Sproul, Jr., unpersuaded that Christian parents should send their children to public schools to be "salt and light" there, says

I have yet to hear of a parent who is so concerned for the lost that they actually pay to send their children to attend a Muslim school, or a Roman Catholic school. Isn't it at least suspicious that all those who are motivated to send their children out as missionaries send them where it's "free" to attend?

Well, okay, sure, but I'm sure things will be different if enough parents hear about an important new mission field right here at home. The Oklahoman reported yesterday that a Muslim school with nearly 250 students has moved into new digs in northwest Oklahoma City. Monthly tuition is $225, but of course that's a small price to pay.

Coping with Meltdowns

The late theologian R. J. Rushdoony, timid soul, once averred that the concept of kindergarten caught on because of "the desire of women to get rid of their children." He called putting your five-year-old in school "a polite and oblique form of infanticide."

I don't think he'd be surprised by recent reportage in the state's largest newspaper which shows young children "coping" and "melting down" when faced with the prospect of being separated from their mothers.

I Love This

Crested Butte

We've been back from Colorado for a few weeks, but I'm just now sorting through all of our pictures. It was a great trip -- cool weather, hiking, rafting, just being together. We stayed in the town of Crested Butte, which is small enough that we were able to walk almost everywhere. Each morning we would get up early and walk to get coffee. It was cool and crisp outside and we always wore jackets. In the evenings we'd walk to town to get ice cream or just stroll around and go in the shops (here is a live cam). During the days we would ride the lift up and down the mountain, hike, go the the creek, or do some of the activities at the base of the mountain. Here are a few pictures:

This is Mt. Crested Butte:


This is Lincoln at the peak of Mt. Crested Butte (12,162 feet):


Walking to town for morning coffee:


Playing in the creek:


Throwing skippers:


The chipmunks on the mountain were really friendly:


I love this picture. This chipmunk really wanted Jack Henry's cracker:


An afternoon in town:

Not a Parody

From the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana:

School Days

Tomorrow we start school. It will be our 13th year of homeschooling and Lincoln's senior year. Unbelievable. That's really all I can say about that.

When we finish school in May I always spend several days or so cleaning out our school room. I have to force myself to do this because once we're officially done, I'm ready just to close the school room doors and go to the pool. But I know that if I get it all cleaned out and sorted then when school starts in August I'll be glad it's done. So in May I throw out old papers, file away papers that I want to keep, and sort through books and curriculum.  I put the books we've just finished in the top cabinets or in containers and I put our books for the following year away in the shelves. Our state homeschool convention takes place during the first weekend in May so I also organize all our new books that I've bought.  I clean up my school files on the computer and organize the cabinets that have gotten messy over the school year. When this is finished I feel like I can finally start my summer.

Cleaning out the school room:


Ready for school:


Sitting at my desk I get to gaze at Anne Marie and she gazes right back at me:


During summer break I also like to read the literature books we'll be using for the following year and also read through some of our history material.  I've found that if I can get ahead on my reading that my school year goes much smoother. I really enjoy our summer breaks and after a long school year I always look forward to "being lazy" for a while. But I do try and spend time each week in the summer doing a little something for our next school year so when August rolls around I'm not frantically getting ready.

When August does arrive the kids and I get the school folders ready and we go buy a few school supplies that we need. I work on typing out assignment sheets for the first few weeks of school and I type out our weekly schedule with all our activities on it -- ballet, football, work, church, etc. I also look over all the books and make sure I have everything we need. I'm a planner anyway, but after 12 years of homeschooling, I've found that even just a little planning and organizing ahead of time makes the beginning of the school year run smoothly.

So, our school room is ready. The books are laid out and the kid's each have their assignment sheets on their desks. Tonight we did some end of summer sparklers and in the morning we'll have cinnamon rolls and the kids will have treats by their places at the breakfast table. Lincoln might be too old for "first day of school treats" but he'll get them anyway. His last ones.

So here we go. Another year of homeschooling!

Jeb Bush Visits Oklahoma, Touts School Reform

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (pictured here at a press conference in the Governor's Blue Room) was in Oklahoma last week touting school reform. In conjunction with his visit, OCPA teamed up with the Foundation for Educational Choice and the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition to release this study.

The Associated Press report of Gov. Bush's visit is here, and the CapitolBeatOK report is here.

[Cross-posted at Choice Remarks]

HT: Mark Tapscott

What Will They Learn?

A guide to what college rankings don't tell you.

'Mama, I Need You'

'KIDS COPE WITH STARTING NEW YEAR' reads the front-page, above-the-fold headline (in all caps) in the print version of today's Oklahoman.

"Cope" is right:

Four-year-old Jayden Rampulla gave his mom a final squeeze and then headed toward a table to play with some blocks. All was well until he realized his mom was leaving the room.

"Mama, I need you," Jayden wailed, tears rolling down his cheeks as he ran toward his mother.

Teachers gently pried Jayden from his mother and distracted him with the blocks. The tears soon dried, and the first day of school moved forward.

Jayden wasn't the only one crying Thursday as school started at Cleveland Bailey Elementary in the Midwest City-Del City School District. Several parents wiped their eyes as they left their small children behind for the day.

"It will be OK," Principal Linda Laakman comforted one mom.

This scene plays out every year in every school as prekindergarten and kindergarten students and their parents deal with separation anxiety.

Except for the fact that it's not funny, this stuff really belongs in The Onion, this spectacle of bureaucrats who have a vested economic interest in "prying" children from their mothers while trying to salve momma's pricked conscience.

Kiddie Park

Every summer, one place we always go is Kiddie Park in Bartlesville. Like Murphy's, it's a Bartlesville tradition. Brandon and I both went when we were little. When Lincoln was almost two he had his first trip to Kiddie Park, and over the years as we've had more kids we've taken them all to Kiddie Park.

Here are some pictures from this year:

Anne Marie, you would have loved going to Kiddie Park. I would have held on tight to you on the merry-go-round while you went up and down on your horsey. Your dad would have held you on the train ride and we would have all taken turns pushing your stroller. I would have let you have nibbles of cotton candy and your brothers and sisters would have given you tastes of their snow cones. We would have stayed until the park closed, and loaded you in your car seat all sticky and sweaty and happy. We miss you sweet girl, so much.

Democrat Economist: Increase Oklahoma's Per-Pupil Spending by ... Enacting a Voucher System

For two years now I've been writing and speaking about the HOPE initiative (later christened State Question 744), and I've been telling any legislator who will listen that one way to cope with HOPE would be to enact school choice. Simply put: if 744 passes, legislators are going to be faced with enormous budget pressures; one way to ease the strain would be to get as many students as possible off the appropriators' dime and onto the parents' dime. As I observed last summer,

"Whoever digs a pit will fall into it," the proverb says, "and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him." Wouldn't it be ironic if the teacher union's irresponsible ploy forced legislators to save money via school choice?

Comes now Mickey Hepner with a terrific new post on his economics blog, "OKonomics." Dr. Hepner is an economics professor at the University of Central Oklahoma and, significantly, a member of the executive committee of the board of directors for the Oklahoma Academy, a venerable think tank founded in 1967. A self-described "centrist Democrat," Dr. Hepner was (is?) an enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama. In short, he is not a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (at least he's never at the meetings).

The debate over State Question 744 is all about per-pupil funding, Dr. Hepner wrote yesterday, and there's a way "to raise per-pupil funding without impacting other government programs or raising taxes -- by instituting a school voucher program."

In 2008-2009 Oklahoma education funding averaged $8,006 per student. This figure though, is based only on the number of students enrolled in public schools. If Oklahoma was able to shift more students from public to private schools, state funding would be spread out over fewer students, thereby raising the per-pupil average. Of course, the only way to shift large numbers of students from public to private schools is to help pay for private school tuition ... a cost that offsets some of the gains. However, if structured correctly, a voucher system could still generate cost-savings for the state, allowing it to raise per-pupil spending.

In short, "the numbers don't lie: if education proponents really want to increase per-pupil spending, they should embrace a school voucher program."

Yes and amen. My only suggestion would be to phrase it this way: "they should embrace a school voucher or tax credit program." There's nothing wrong with vouchers, of course, but until Oklahoma can solve its Blaine Amendment problem (preferably through repeal), tax credits are going to be a much cleaner way to go. In any case, Dr. Hepner's blog post is excellent and I encourage you to read the whole thing.

[Cross-posted at Choice Remarks]

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Don't Regulate the Internet

Today I joined with more than 150 others from think tanks, advocacy groups, and the media urging the Federal Communications Commission not to regulate the Internet.

Edujobs Folly

Well, Nancy Pelosi has summoned the House back to Washington today to pass the $26 billion edujobs bill. Mike Antonucci illustrates what a bad idea this is:

[Cross-posted at Choice Remarks]

Famous Homeschoolers

Pioneer Woman lists some.

D-Day!

My friend Steve Lessman has teamed up with illustrator Christopher Nick to produce a great new children's book, D-Day: American Character. Watch a brief promotional video here, and by all means order the book from Amazon or contact Steve directly at ssless at sbcglobal dot net.

In Case You Missed It ...

• The indispensable Dr. Coburn blasts State Question 744 and the nation's largest school-employee labor union;
• I make the point (in a comment on BatesLine) that Janet Barresi is more committed to public education than a certain name-calling Democrat; and
• After this display, OU might have to consider revoking Dr. Couric's honorary degree.

Mama Grizzly Coming to Tulsa

Katie Couric -- whom the University of Oklahoma inexplicably gave $115,000 and an honorary doctorate -- is caught on video mocking Sarah Palin. (Hey, no one here but us objective journalists.) If Dr. Couric doesn't like her, she must be doing something right. So by all means buy a table and come see Sarah Palin in Tulsa next month!

Vacation Videos

Tulsa Bishop Offers Ideas for Immigration Reform

"It is the clear teaching of the Catholic Church that sovereign nations have the right to control their borders," Edward J. Slattery writes today. "Illegal immigration is wrong and harms everyone involved in it."

However, writes the bishop of the diocese of Tulsa, "the United States must do what it can to establish an orderly process whereby needed workers can enter the country in a legal, safe, and dignified manner to obtain jobs or to reunite themselves with family members."