How to Destroy the Mole of Crime

"The times has come to open other depths, the depths of horror. 
"There is beneath society, we must insist upon it, and until the day when ignorance shall be no more, there will be, the great cavern of evil.
"This cave is beneath all, and is the enemy of all. It is hate universal.  It does not undermine, in its hideous crawl, merely the social order of the time; it undermines philosophy, it undermines science, it undermines law, it undermines human thought, it undermines civilization, it undermines revolution, it undermines progress.  It goes by the naked names of theft, prostitution, murder, and assassination.  It is darkness, and it desires chaos.  It is vaulted in the with ignorance.  Destroy the cave Ignorance, and you destroy the mole of Crime."

Victor Hugo
Les Miserables 1862
Abridged Edition from Border Classics
page 289

September's Title Swap

THRIVE Cook Book
The Price We Paid by Andrew D. Olsen
A Special Kind of Hero by Chris Burke
What Happened to Justice?  by Richard Mayberry
The Other Eminent Men of Wilford Woodruff by Vickie Jo Anderson
RighStart Math Games Kit
Spell to Write and Reach Core Kit
For the Love of Learning - Amy Edwards sdliberalarsacademy@gmail.com

July's Title Swap

Little Britches (series) by Ralph Moody
Original Intent by David Barton
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Maybury
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Then Kingdom Come Prodigal Journey by Linda Paulson Adams
A Patriot's Handbook (Cd's) by Caroline Kennedy
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

When Is It Time To Fight?

For book group this month, we read and discussed Patrick Henry's famous, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech.  One member of our group asked, when is it time to fight?  I believe that we do everyday with the choices we make - big or small. 

For me, I am fighting for my children's right to fail in their education.  I know this sounds a little off, (OK it sounds a lot off) but with the "No Child Left Behind" legislation, we no longer have the freedom to fail when we choose to place our children into the public arena.  This is a major reason why we have chosen to home school.  Thank goodness we live in a state where home educating your children is still very simple.  I want to have the freedom to let my kids progress at a speed that is comfortable for them, not at the speed that the national average determines. 

I am fighting for my family.  To me, this is a strong marriage between a man and wife.  Everyday, my husband and I make the choices that enable us to live on only his income, so that I might be able to stay home with my children.  This means canning, gardening, and budgeting.  This also means honoring each other and raising our children unto the Lord.

There are so many choices we each make everyday that reflect our fundamental values.  Do you accept free lunches at a park regularly?  If so, is it because your children would not eat without the food?  Is it because it is a social event, and all your friends are there with you?  Or is it just an easy lunch, for you in your busy life?  Whatever the reason for eating this "free lunch," consider this:  Is it really free?  What message are you teaching your children?  Are you help or hurting the debt crisis in our nation by accepting this service that you might not actually need?  Please don't get me wrong.  I know that there are some children who would not eat without this generous program.  But I believe that many children who are enjoying these lunches, would not starve if the program stopped.

Please consider the implications of each choice we make, big or small.  It is time to fight.  Stand up for strong families.  We need them to keep what freedoms we still have.

Realizing Our Personal Legends

"The boy didn't know what a person's "Personal Legend" was. 

"It's what you have always wanted to accomplish.  Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.

"At that point in their lives, everything is clear and every thing is possible.  They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives.  But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend."

pg 21 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This book reminded of my favorite quote from by Marianne Williamson entitled, Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

June's Title Swap

Spell, Write, Read http://www.bhibooks.net/swr.html
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Overton Window by Glen Beck
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

Dynamic Discussion Questions

As book group members, we are going to start writing questions as we read.  The Socratic method of asking thought provoking questions helps us to dig deeper and find more meaning in our studying.  Please create a list of questions that you are willing to ask our group at our meetings.  The following is a list of ideas to help us with this process:

1.  Knowledge - What is going on?
2.  Understanding - Why did this happen?
3.  Principles - look at outcomes.  What behaviors lead to the consequences?
4.  Application - How did the characters live or break these principles?
5.  Interdisciplinary - Compare two characters from different sources?  example: compare Mr. Bennett (from Pride and Prejudice) with Mr. Stratton (from Laddie).

Keep in mind that the main purpose of continuing our education is to seek out WISDOM and VIRTUE through reading the classics.

The Moral Fiber of Huck Finn

"All right, then I'll go to hell" -- and tore it up.

"It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said.  And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming.  I shoved the whole thing out of my head, and said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn't.  And for a starter I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would do that, too; because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog."

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By Mark Twain.
pg. 206 (Bantam Books)

May's Title Swap

Stop Stealing Dreams - Seth Godin
The Holy Temple - Boyd K. Packer
A Patriot's Handbook CD set - Caroline Kennedy
Teach Your Own - John Holt
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
http://leadershipeducationacademy.com/

April's Title Swap

Bringing Up Bebe' - Pamela Druckerman
50 Veteran Homeschoolers Share ..."Things We Wish We'd Known."  - Diana Waring
Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands - Dr. Laura
Proper Card and Feeding of Marriage - Dr. Laura
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter Sweet - Jamie Ford
Dancing Under the Red Star - Margaret Werner