A new report from the Cato Institute shows that public school systems are deliberately fudging the numbers on the cost of public education. Typical school system tactics are to exclude healthcare or retirement costs of public school employees, or the capital costs of building school buildings or debt service payments on school bonds.

Watch this video. It will make your blood boil.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzvKyfV3JtE

The District of Columbia spends $28,000 per pupil, per year. That’s MORE than all but the most expensive DC private schools. This ought to be a major scandal.

You can read the full report, titled They Spend What? The Full Cost of Public School at the Cato Institute website.

At the current under-reported rate of $7,620 for the state of Tennessee, Mrs. RedHatRob and I have saved our local school system $1,005,840 by educating our 11 children at home. At that’s without charging them for Kindergarten, which would have been another $83,820.

Children are precious blessings from God. To beat them until their will breaks is a monstrous offense against God. I understand that for some children, a swat on the backside might be an appropriate punishment from time to time. Perhaps several swats.

In my judgment it is a mistake to ever use anything other than an open hand on the backside. And it is a mistake to ever initiate an open-ended, physical punishment with the idea that you will not stop until the child submits or repents. A spanking is a specific, limited punishment. 3, or 5, or perhaps 10 swats for something really serious. And then it is over. Regardless of the child’s reaction. Children will react in unique and different ways. At least one of our children would burst into tears at a frown or a sharp rebuke. At least one of them once responded to a spanking with a defiant, “that didn’t hurt!” Youthful bravado. I suspect the spanking had exactly its intended purpose, regardless of their comment.

But to hold a child down for an hour? And beat the child with a flexible plastic pipe? Because she mispronounced a word? Monstrous.

The parents must answer for what they have done. And those who taught them that this was an acceptable manner of discipline must answer for what they have taught.

I will not condemn those who never spank. I have known parents who were quite successful without ever using a spanking. I also will not condemn those who, on infrequent occasions, administer a swat to the behind with a hand. I know many warm, loving, compassionate parents who believe that at times, it is necessary. And they have lovely, loving, affectionate children.

But I do call on those who use physical punishment as their first, or most frequent discipline tool to stop. And I condemn any parent who would use a plastic pipe to beat a child. Ever. I condemn anyone who would instruct others to do so.

Read Ephesians. Read it again. Husbands and fathers – focus on what Paul calls husbands and fathers to do. Love your wives. Love your children. Deny yourselves and lay down your life for your wife. Be patient and kind. Do not exasperate your children.

Every child is a precious gift from God and dear to His heart. Even when they stomp their feet and disobey – it is a misguided sense of pride to think that this in any way impugns our position, dignity, or competence as parents.

Focus on love – not on creating an image of obedience and perfection.

Put away wrath. Put away the idol of perfection. Put away the damn plastic pipe!

Please, as a father and a teacher – as an encourager of fathers, I appeal to you. Make your spankings rare and short. And your beatings never.

Other bloggers have written posts on this tragedy which are worth reading:

Virginia Knowles, Katie Kind, and Timberdoodle are good places to start.

There is a remarkably even-handed article in Salon by Lynn Harris, which was published today. It literally drove me to my knees in anguish. A word of caution! The comments are almost uniformly hostile to Christianity in general and spanking in particular. This would NOT be the place or the time to defend corporal punishment. Read the comments if you dare, but set aside your anger. The death of Lydia is a tragedy, for the loss of her precious life. It is also a scandal to the whole body of Christ. We must acknowledge this.

A thoughtful critique from Tulipgirl, written in 2006 but still quite relevant, and with links to useful resources. Her reaction to the latest tragedy is here.

Update: SpunkyHomeSchool blog (Karen Braun) has a thoughtful post up that is also worth reading.

Our history study packages are typically designed for use in one semester, so now’s the time to order for the new year. Break out of the textbook box. Give your children real stories about real people. Reclaim history for them and for yourself.
Greenleaf Press 2010 Retail Catalog

A public-school system, if it means the providing of free education for those who desire it, is a noteworthy and beneficent achievement of modern times; but when once it becomes monopolistic it is the most perfect instrument of tyranny which has yet been devised. Freedom of thought in the middle ges was combated by the Inquisition, but the modern method is far more effective. Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them then to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist. Such a tyranny, supported as it is by a perverse technique used as the instrument in destroying human souls, is certainly far more dangerous than the crude tyrannies of the past, which despite their weapons of fire and sword permitted thought at least to be free.

- J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 1923, page 12

In the state of Oregon, on Election Day, 1922, a law was passed by referendum vote in accordance with which all children in the state are required to attend the public schools. Christian schools and private schools, at least in the all-important lower grades, are thus wiped out of existence. Such laws, which if the present temper of the people prevails will probably soon be extended far beyond the bounds of one state, mean of course the ultimate destruction of all real education. When one considers what the public schools of America in many places already are – in their materialism, their discouragement of any sustained intellectual effort, their encouragement of the dangerous pseudo-scientific fads of experimental psychology – one can only be appalled by the thought of a commonwealth in which there is no escape from such a soul-killing system.

- J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 1923, pages 10-11

Part One is the history of colonial and 19th century education – which was largely conducted at home by parents. But there were no ideological overtones to these activities. It was the norm. The innovation in American education came with the public school movement which gathered steam after the civil war and succeeded in replacing at-home education with compulsory attendance at government schools by 1920.

Part Two is a tour-de-force summary of the cultural changes in America from 1920 to 1970 with a focus on their impact on the family (or was it the changes in the family which caused the cultural changes?). Gaither has a clear thesis and an excellent grasp of both the intellectual trends and cultural indicators of 20th century popular, suburban culture. His chapter is modestly titled “Why Homeschooling Happened, 1945-1990″ but he is cataloging cultural trends with implications and effects far beyond homeschooling. As one who grew up in those turbulent years, I must say that his analysis rings true.

Part Three is a retelling of the modern homeschooling movement. He begins with John Holt, Raymond Moore, and Rousas Rushdooney and describes their ideas and the impact that they had. In the following chapters he picks up the threads of a second generation of leaders including Paul Lindstrom (Christian Liberty Academy), Gregg Harris, and Bill Gothard. He talks about the origins of the textbooks published by ACE, Bob Jones, and A Beka. He describes the influential roles played by Mary Pride and Cathy Duffy as curriculum reviewers in the 1980s. He catalogs the explosion of magazines and newsletters. And he tells the story of the founding and explosive growth of HSLDA. Gaither is not writing to simply praise all of the people and organizations who played a part in the modern homeschooling movement. He discusses the controversies and the charges leveled by critics as well. I’ll admit, some parts of the narrative made me squirm – but on the whole, I’d have to pronounce his treatment as the closest to a fair, balanced, objective account as I’ve read.

As a historian, the most interesting part of the book for me was Gaither’s analysis of why homeschooling happened. This is a level of analysis that takes a step back from describing what happened and his ideas are provocative. I concur in part and dissent in part. Here’s what he says:

First – the counter-cultural sensibility became the American sensibility. By 1970 both the left and the right had become profoundly disenchanted with government institutions. Their reasons were different, but their distrust was shared.

Second – suburbanization. Suburbanization de-populated the central cities and tended to sort the population by race, income level, age, and cultural style. The suburbs then supported, reinforced, and bred a sense of privacy, autonomy, and libertarianism. [I would argue that this is a bit of post hoc, propter hoc. I suspect that the American psyche was already dominated by ideas of privacy, autonomy and libertarianism and this fed suburbanization, not the other way around!]

Third – the American cult of the child. We love our children. ’nuff said.

Fourth – alienation of familes from the large, impersonal, unaccountable government monopoly schools. I might have pumped that phrasing up just a bit, but I think this is essentially what he is saying. cf. Gatto to get overwhelming confirmation of this!

For those who are interested in how we got here, set in the broader context of a history of education in America, this is a book I highly recommend. Available on Amazon by clicking here: Homeschool: An American History

- Rob Shearer

PS: Prof Gaither has a blog titled Homeschooling Research Notes which is updated several times each month. If you’re interested in homeschooling, it’s worth subscribing to and reading.

I’ve just finished reading this most remarkable book: The Beautiful Tree – A personal journey into how the world’s poorest people are educating themselves. Fresh out of college in 1983, James Tooley went to Zimbabwe to teach school. Now, 26 years later, with an astonishing breadth of experience teaching and researching education in Africa, India, and China he presents startling data on successful educational innovation occurring in the poorest communities in India, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and China – private schools created by the poor and serving poor students.

Prof. Tooley chronicles the abysmal failures of government education (40% teacher absenteeism, corruption, overcrowding, prejudice against the poor among other appalling indicators) and what the poorest communities are doing to secure an education for their children. It turns out that even in the poorest communities, parents value education and are willing to pay for it. Remarkably enough, they prefer to make arrangements where they can hold schools and teachers accountable. They have no way to do this politically with government schools, so they are turning to private schools. They are started many times by parents themselves or by a homegrown teacher in the community who is asked by the parents to teach their children. These schools are often unlicensed, un-recognized, and unaccredited, but nonetheless are doing a better job at educating the children of the poor than the government schools.

Tooley argues that this is NOT a bad thing – instead it should be nurtured, supported, and encouraged. He’s put his money where his mouth is and now heads a corporation which is seeking to invest in and develop a sort of franchise, recognized brand in affordable, community-focused private schools which serve the poor.

The most powerful part of his analysis is the clear and convincing data which he uses to show the large numbers of poor students already enrolled in private schools and documents their achievement. He catalogs the typical objections raised to private schooling and rebuts each of them convincingly. Rather than spending more and more foreign aid on government schools, he suggests that far better results would be achieved re-directing that aid to assist private schools that actually serve the poor – in the form of loans, direct grants for capital improvements, and targeted tuition support for the poorest of the poor.

Everyone involved in the public policy debates about education should read this book.

- Rob Shearer

Greenleaf Press is very pleased to announce that all four volumes in this series are now in print and available!

When George Washington was sixteen years old, he began copying 110 maxims for polite behavior into his schoolbooks. These rules describe the behavior of a gentleman, and many claim that they greatly influenced Washington’s attitudes and standards for his own behavior.

One day, when we were all tired of the standard handwriting practice book copy material, we began using Washington’s Rules as copy work. While many of them have obvious application to the eighteenth century, they also have a lot to say to modern gentlemen and ladies.

We hadn’t expected to enjoy these sayings as much as we did. They rarely stayed merely copywork exercise but became the basis of other discussions. “Show nothing to your friend that might affright him,” had immediate application. Other rules addressed putting others first and self last – and other ways to show respect to those around us.

Something special happens when children write these rules out for themselves.

Each volume contains 27 or 28 rules, with space to copy and illustrate each one. Practice for children learning to write, and spark discussion about “civil and decent behavior.”

Each is a paperback, 64 pages and intended for use in grades 1-3

Volume 1 contains such intriguing rules as:
Rule 4: “In the presence of others sing not to yourself with a humming noise nor drum with your fingers or feet.”

Volume 2 contains such intriguing rules as:
Rule 40: “Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your argument to others with modesty.”

Volume 3 contains such intriguing rules as:
Rule 70: “Reprehend not the imperfections of others for that belongs to Parents, Masters, and Superiors.”

Volume 4 contains such intriguing rules as:
Rule 89: “Speak not Evil of the absent for it is unjust.”

You can order all four volumes for a discount package price of $32.95 (a 10% discount – $36.95 if purchased separately). Or, if you already have volume one and now want to get the other three, you can get a discount price of $26.50 for volumes 2, 3, & 4 (a 10% discount – $29.85 if purchased separately).

Two birds with one stone – handwriting practice and character building!

- Rob Shearer
Publisher, Greenleaf Press

Salary you would have received if you had continued teaching high school instead of homeschooling: $40k/year

Text message from your daughter during her first week in college: “I got extra credit cause I was the only one who recognized a line from 1984” : PRICELESS!

The sequel to Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation.

Rather than reprinting Famous Men of Modern Times (which is a bit uneven in both tone and selection), we have made the decision to complete the Famous Men biography series with four new books:

• Famous Men of the 16^th & 17^th Century (Queen Elizabeth to Louis XIV) – available now
• Famous Men of the 18^th Century (Isaac Newton to Robespierre) – 2010
• Famous Men of the 19^th Century (Napoleon Bonaparte to Mark Twain) – 2011
• Famous men of the 20^th Century (Teddy Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan) – 2012

The 17th century was an age of religious wars and revolutions. The French had seven civil wars of religion from 1570-1590. The German Empire had a religious civil war from 1618-1648. The English had a civil war from 1642-1649. It was also the century in which the English and French settlements were founding colonies in North America at Jamestown, Plymouth, Boston, & Quebec. But learning the wars will not convey to students what the times were like. Biographies will. Twenty-eight key individuals are profiled in chronological order:

Birth Crowned Death

I am particularly pleased with how the chapters on the colonial founders turned out. John Smith (Jamestown), Samuel de Champlain (Quebec), William Bradford (Plymouth), and John Winthrop (Boston) all have incredible and fascinating stories. A simple comparison of their backgrounds and their reasons for leaving England and France will give students far more understanding about the founding of the colonies than any textbook can.

I also enjoyed greatly retelling the events of the English Civil War, the Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These events (with a number of larger-than-life characters) were critical in shaping the political ideas of America’s Founding Fathers – whose stories I am looking forward to telling in Famous Men of the 18^th Century.

I’ve also included accounts of the lives of artists (Rembrandt, Vermeer), a musician (Johan Pachelbel), and writers (Shakespeare & Milton) so that students will become acquainted with more than just the political history of the times.

The reading level is targeted on upper elementary/jr. high, but even older students and adults will find much here that gets left out of the textbook accounts.

Famous Men of the 16^th & 17^th Century is 28 chapters, 228 pages and retails for $17.95, directly from Greenleaf Press.

Get ‘em while they’re hot off the press!

- Rob Shearer, (author and) Publisher