for a reason. Take 10 minutes and get a powerful update/briefing/education on the current financial crisis.
– Rob
Announcing the 2009 Schaeffer Study Center tour
“Christian History in the British Isles”
Tour led by Rob & Cyndy Shearer, directors of the Schaeffer Study Center in Mt. Juliet, TN.
When: February 27 – March 10, 2009
Where: Salisbury, Bath, Oxford, Stratford, Lake District, Edinburgh, York, Cambridge, London
Who: Homeschooled high school students and their parents and adult friends
How Much: $4,200 (includes airfare, hotels, meals, lodging, transportation, & admissions)
| Stonehenge We start our history tour of England at the beginning – with the ancient celts |
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| Salisbury: Cathedral & Magna Carta Close by Stonehenge is this magnificent church which houses one of the four original texts of the Magna Carta |
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| Bath: Roman Baths & Bath Abbey We’ll attend church in Bath and then tour the Roman baths and Bath Abbey with the rest of the afternoon free for sightseeing on your own |
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| Oxford A walking tour of the colleges, including Magdalen, where C.S. Lewis taught |
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| Coventry The old and the new cathedral, side by side |
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| Stratford We’ll visit Shakespeare’s birthplace & the Shakespeare center as well as attend a performance in the evening by the Royal Shakespeare Company |
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| Lake District We spend two nights here which will allow for a day of walking for those interested |
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| Stirling Seat of two kings and site of an important victory by the Scots under William Wallace |
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| Edinburgh Capital of Scotland, home of the Covenanters We will visit the High Kirk of St. Giles where John Knox preached |
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| Hadrian’s Wall The boundary of the Roman Empire |
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| Jarrow We will visit Bede’s world & St. Paul’s monastery where the farm and monastery |
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| Durham One of the most innovative cathedrals of the middle ages, with the first stone roof in Europe |
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| York Parts of the York Minster date to the early 7th century and include examples of stained glass from the early middle ages |
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| Cambridge Sunday Services in Cambridge! We’ll visit our friends at the Christian Heritage Center and the Round Church |
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| London Two days to explore. We’ll do Westminster Abbey and the Globe together, then leave you time to pick the sites you want to explore. |
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This tour has been planned for the past two years for high school students and families who are part of the Schaeffer Study Center in Mt. Juliet. But we are happy to invite homeschooled high school students, their parents, and friends of homeschoolers to join us on this adventure. Please contact us as early as possible, as we can take a maximum of 36 (students and adults).
Previous Schaeffer Study Center trips have been to Italy, Germany, and Washington DC.
The trip will originate from Nashville, TN on Friday, February 27, 2009 and return to Nashville on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. We’ve picked these dates because they correspond to the spring break for many homeschool tutorial programs.
When we last made a trip to Europe, the total cost was $3,550. Since then prices have gone up and the dollar has gone down. And we’re facing a $450/person fuel surcharge. But we’ve worked very hard with a wonderful agency in England which specializes in Christian and Educational travel – Casterbridge Church Tours. We’ve been able to secure a total, inclusive price of $4,200 for this trip.
The price includes airfare, hotels, two meals/day, transportation, and all admissions at all the sites we will visit as a group. Your only additional costs will be for lunch & snacks and any additional sightseeing or shopping that you wish to do.
If you’d like to join us, please send us your $500 deposit as soon as you can. A second payment of $1,700 will be due on November 27th, and a final payment of $2,000 on December 31st.
For more information, contact:
Rob Shearer, Director (rob@schaefferstudycenter.org)
Schaeffer Study Center
c/o Abundant Life Church
1000 Woodridge Pl
Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
Cancellations & Refunds: We strongly recommend that you add an additional $99 to your deposit in order to purchase the AIG Trip & Health insurance. If you should have to cancel your place on the trip for any unforeseen reason, the AIG policy will refund 100% of any money you have paid. If you do not purchase the AIG insurance, then the cancellation fee is equal to the deposit paid. From 11/227 to 12/14, $1,400 of the $2,200 paid is refundable upon cancellation; from 12/14 to 2/12/09 $1,000 of the $4,200 is refundable. No refunds are available for cancellations after 2/12/09.
Note to Jesse Jackson, Jr: Attempting to re-write history does not help your cause
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Chicago) posted an essay on the Huffington Post today entitled, Abolish the Electoral College.
I don’t normally read the Huffington Post, so a hat-tip to Kleinheider of the Nashville Post for highlighting it.
Rep. Jackson’s argument is that the Electoral College is inherently racist, the product of “the slave-owners who dominated the politics of our new nation at its beginning.”
He goes on to cite the notorious three-fifths compromise, whereby slaves were counted as 3/5 of a person for the purposes of Congressional representation and the Electoral College.
There’s just one problem with this recitation of historical facts – Rep. Jackson is completely wrong.
Here is but one howler from Rep. Jackson’s essay:
“the Founding Fathers were suspicious of a mass popular vote that included everyone, and a significant number of the “states rights” Southerners worried about the more populous Northern states outvoting them and restricting or eliminating slavery.”
This is exactly backwards. It was the Northern states who were worried about being outvoted. The Connecticut plan proposed that each state have equal representation in the Congress (as had been the practice in the Continental Congress). It was the southern states, in particular Virginia who objected and wanted representation in the Congress to be proportional to the population. Delaware, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Connecticut were the state’s insisting on “states’ rights.”
The text of the Constitution itself apportioned the representatives in the first Congress as follows:
NH- 3
MA- 8
RI – 1
CT – 5
NY – 6
NJ – 4
PA – 8
DE – 1
MD – 6
VA – 10
NC – 5
SC – 5
GA – 3
Thus, there were 65 representatives in the first Congress. States south of the Mason Dixon line had 30 of those 65. The swing states of PA and NJ had 12. The New England states had the remaining 23.
The Southern states had nothing to fear from representation based on population. It was what they wanted.
Jackson’s other canard is that “the slave-owners insisted on another compromise, a particularly ugly one. Despite not being allowed to vote, slaves were to be counted as 3/5 of a person.”
Also wrong. As a few seconds of elementary logic and reflection should suffice to demonstrate. Women and children were not allowed to vote either, but they were counted in all states for the purposes of apportioning representatives. They didn’t have to be specifically included, the concept was simply total population. It was the NORTHERN states, not the Southern ones who insisted on singling out the category they called “free persons” and a second group called simply, “all other persons.” It was the NORTHERN states who insisted that three fifths of the number of “all other persons” be counted. The Southern states would have preferred that the total population of the states be counted. It would have given them a larger share of the representatives in Congress. And the Northern states did not intend the compromise as a statement of the inferiority of the slaves. They were simply trying to reduce the number of representatives granted to the Southern states in the new Congress.
Neither the US Constitution nor the Electoral College give support to the institution of slavery. At worst they recognize it as an existing evil that should over time be abolished. The Constitution itself explicitly gave congress the authority to abolish the importation of slaves twenty years after ratification, which congress in due course did in 1808. The Southern states were not the only ones in which slavery was legal. Prior to 1776, slavery was an established institution in all thirteen colonies. New York did not abolish slavery until 1799, New Jersey not until 1804.
Make no mistake, slavery in the United States was a great evil. Would that it had been abolished more quickly and with less bloodshed! Thanks be to God that it was abolished.
But it had nothing to do with the Electoral College.
– Rob Shearer
Director, Schaeffer Study Center (and tutor in History)
What Dad can Do / What Dad Should Do
99% of all homeschools are conducted by mom. This isn’t necessarily all bad, but it’s not good either. In today’s hectic world, to make the commitment to being a one-income family is to shoulder a not inconsiderable burden. When Mom commits to staying at home and raising the children and Dad commits to being the sole bread-winner it may seem as though the roles of each are pretty clearly defined. But there are things that Dad can Do (even if he’s off at work every day) and there are things that dad Should do.
First, to paraphrase James Dobson, the most important thing Dad can do for the kids is to love their Mom. And I mean “love” in the New Testament Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 13 sense. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” The secret to a successful marriage is the same as the secret to the Christian life – easy to say and a life-long struggle of the will to do. To live the Christian life, or make your marriage happy, you must do one thing: “Deny yourself.” If you are constantly on the lookout for what’s “fair,” and what your “rights” are, I can guarantee you will never be happy. Deny yourself, and you will find peace, contentment, and happiness. Denying yourself can be done (must be done) in small, seemingly insignificant ways. Taking out the trash. Keeping the cars working. Washing dishes. Reading out loud to children.
The most practical way to continue to love your wife, gentleman, is to continue to “date” her even after you are married. Do you remember how you looked forward to a date with your sweetheart? Do you recall how you planned an evening out together? Keep doing that. It doesn’t have to involve large sums of money. We’ve sometimes had barely enough to pay for two $1 hamburgers and spend some time (browsing only) at the local bookstore. But the time spent together on a date is invaluable. It is a very tangible way of saying, “I love you,” “I care about you,” “I value you,” “I want to spend time with you,” “I enjoy talking with you.”
A cautionary note on this topic: Dobson has also made the profound observation that the kids will treat mom the way they see dad treat mom. Especially for sons, this becomes critical. If Dad treats Mom with respect, his sons will most likely follow his example. If they don’t, he needs to correct them firmly and quickly. It is most effective if you can ask the question, “Do you ever see me treating your mother disrespectfully?” Dad’s backup of Mom’s authority and respect for her personally is critical if your homeschool is to function without constant battles.
Second, listen to your wife. Men, I’m convinced, are wired in “fix-it” mode. We listen intently only until we believe we’ve learned enough to be able to “fix” the problem. Women are different from men (shocking, I know!). They often just want to “talk through” a problem and aren’t necessarily looking for a solution or fix. They gain insight by talking about a problem. It helps them to understand it, evaluate it, put it in proportion. Women also gain strength by knowing that someone else knows about the problem and is sympathetic. So men – we need to learn to listen. Quick to listen, slow to speak.
Third, take the lead in Bible, prayer, and family devotions. Your wife is quite likely spending time reading the Bible with your children and praying with them. Her time is important, but it cannot substitute for your time. Dad needs to be the spiritual leader in the household. When you have a meal together, in addition to saying a blessing before the meal, Dad should take advantage of the gathered audience and conclude the meal by reading something from the Bible. When the children are young, this may only be a verse or two. As they get older, it might be a chapter. Keep it to a chapter or less. And when you’re done, ask them about what you’ve just read. Ask simple observation questions first. Make sure they know who the passage was about, what happened, when it happened, and where it happened. When they can listen well enough to correctly answer questions about details, then you can, on occasion, ask questions about the meanings and application of the passage.
Fourth: Especially as the children get older, take a subject and teach the children yourself. If you know a foreign language, you can teach for an hour before you leave for work in the morning, or for an hour after you get home. If you have expertise in a particular subject, help your wife out by teaching that one subject. It is amazing how much insight you will gain into your children’s nature by teaching them. You’ll find that you understand them (and your wife) much better. You’ll find that you can compare notes and exchange tips with your wife that will make both of you better teachers (and it will deepen your relationship as well). Take your kids with you to work or on trips every chance you get. Blink twice and they’ll be grown up and gone. Lost opportunities are lost.
Fifth: Hire servants. Seriously. Historically very few households with children were managed entirely by mothers/wives entirely by themselves. Almost always they had the help of a servant – or two. If you and your wife were both working full-time, chances are, you would share the household chores (indoors and outdoors). Surprise! If your wife is homeschooling your children, she IS working full-time. Split the household chores (indoors and outdoors). And if you can afford to, by all means, hire a servant. We’re irrationally fearful of seeming to “put on airs” if we hire someone to help with laundry, cooking, or cleaning. The truth is, there are lots of people – especially young singles – who would count it a blessing (in two ways) to have the opportunity to work, even one day a week, in a Christian household. You would bless them financially, and you would bless them with the opportunity to see a functioning household with children and parents and a husband and a wife who love each other and who seek to serve Christ together.
Lastly: Take inventory together. An annual spiritual and educational inventory is of great benefit to both of you – and will benefit the children immensely (if indirectly) as well. Sometime over the summer, set aside some time to talk with your wife about her homeschooling plans. Ask her to show you the books and explain to you what her plans for each of the children are. As you talk about the children’s coursework, you should also talk about their spiritual development as well. One of the greatest joys of homeschooling is the opportunity that parents have to be their child’s peer group, and to lead them to Christ. Again, time spent with your wife talking about these things will be richly rewarding.
And finally, for those of you with small children (age 8 & under), remember the saying, “the days are long, but the years are short.” We have graduated five from high school and had our third wedding this summer. It really WAS only yesterday that I held them in my arms and watched them learn to walk. When I come to the end of my days, I do not expect to gather much comfort from my bank balance. But I am already richly blessed in the friendships with my grown-up children and the delight of seeing how they are raising my grandchildren.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
New Poll shows McCain up by 20
And leading Obama in all 50 states (or is that 57?).
OK, admittedly it’s laughably unscientific.
And yet… It’s at least worth pausing a moment to contemplate.
557,000+ people have registered a vote over the past 5 days. And 60% of them have voted for John McCain.
I still think Obama wins DC and MA.
– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)
When Washington Crossed the Delaware
Lynne Cheney is a very gifted writer. She is, of course, the “2nd Lady” (wife of Vice-President Dick Cheney). But she is also a distinguished scholar with impressive credentials, including a Ph.D. in British Literature. She served as the Chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993 and is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Over the past six years she has published a series of very good children’s books on topics in American history.
I think the two best are Washington (published in 2004), and We the People, which just came out this month.
When Washington Crossed the Delaware is subtitled “A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots.” With a clear, direct narrative, Ms. Cheney sets the scene of the beleaguered American army which had been driven from New York and forced to retreat through New Jersey into Pennsylvania. She talks about how desperately the Americans needed a victory – in order to give everyone some hope that they could eventually defeat the British. She mentions Tom Paine, who marched with the American army as they retreated through New Jersey and includes the famous line he composed on the march, “These are the times that try men’s souls. . .”
The paintings that accompany Ms. Cheney’s text are wonderful. The illustrator was able to visit the site of the crossing, consult with local historians and witness a winter re-enactment of the crossing. The attention to detail shows. You can feel the cold. Your eye is involuntarily drawn to the figure of Washington, warming himself by a fire on the New Jersey shore of the river.
After the army is assembled, you can see Washington’s impatience and determination as they set out towards the Hessians soldiers who have occupied Trenton. He had hoped to attack before sunup, but now would be attacking shortly after dawn. The narrative mentions that both 19-year-old Captain Alexander Hamilton, and 18-year-old Lieutenant James Monroe took part in the crossing and the attack on Trenton. Monroe was badly wounded leading a charge against the Hessians, when they managed to get two of their cannon into operation. Hamilton went on to be a signer of the US Constitution and served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington. Monroe would be elected our fifth President in 1808.
Following the surrender of the Hessians at Trenton, Washington continued his offensive by launching an attack on the British regulars a few miles northeast of Trenton at Princeton. In that battle, Washington personally rallied his troops and led them to within thirty yards of the British lines. It is miraculous that he survived the volleys of musket fire, but when the British line broke, he joined in the pursuit.
The twin victories at Trenton and Princeton lifted the spirits of the Continental Army and patriots throughout the colonies. For the first time, the American army had defeated British regulars (and German mercenaries) on the field of battle. There would be many more battles and several years of trials, but the character and commitment of General Washington were brilliantly displayed.
Perhaps the best part of this book is that although it is pitched towards elementary students, the story will appeal just as much to older students. First graders will be captivated by the full-page color illustrations and enjoy having the text read to them. Third/Fourth graders will probably be able to read it for themselves. Each two-page spread includes a quotation from an eyewitness/participant in the battle.
When Washington Crossed the Delaware
is a hardback, 40 pages, and is available for $16.95, directly from Greenleaf Press.
– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press
PS: You have to love the picture of Lynn Cheney with a group of students on the back cover!
PPS: I’ll have a complete review of We the People in another newsletter.
The Media Pundits will explain it all to us
It’s grimly amusing sometimes to watch people who do not know much about religious faith in general, and about Christianity in particular, instructing their intellectual inferiors in the meaning of terms like “fundamentalist” and “conservative” and “liberal”. It’s as if a bright Labrador Retriever were to deliver opinions on the Doorknob Principle, or the Origin of Food.
– Anthony Esolen, in the Mere Comments section of Touchstone Magazine
Reading Made Easy
Greenleaf Press is very pleased to announce that we are now the publishers of Valerie Bendt’s award-winning Reading Made Easy.
Valerie and her husband Bruce have six children, and more than twenty years homeschooling experience.
Reading Made Easy is a complete, phonics-based guide that is both easy-to-use, and effective. The focus is not just on the mechanics of reading (although those are competently and efficiently covered), but on kindling a love for reading.
“Reading Made Easy combines the best of sound phonics mechanics with a contagious love of reading. I only wish this valuable tool had been available when I began homeschooling. Affordable, scripted, east-to-use and effective; what more could anyone want? Reading Made Easy is a wonderful tool for anyone who wants to impart to children not only the information of ‘how’ we read but also the inspiration of ‘why’ we read.”
– Jane Claire Lambert, author of Five in a Row
- Phonics based
- 108 easy lessons
- 3 lessons per week
- Less than 30 minutes per day
- Fully scripted
- Christian content
- Original stories and poems
- Introduction to capitalization and punctuation
- Hands-on activites
- Writing and drawing activities
One of Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum!
Now available from Greenleaf Press, the new publisher (ISBN=1-882514-70-X). Paperback, 512 pages, $49.95.
– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press
Books on my bedside table (and in my book bag)
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The Drillmaster of Valley Forge:
I’m about halfway through. VERY good stuff. |
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By Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway
If you read We Were Soldiers Once, And Young, then this is a must read. Follow-up to the account of one of the bloodiest battles of the Viet Nam war – 1st Cav almost over-run and wiped out by N. Vietnamese regulars. Marred by Gen. Moore’s attack in the final chapter on President Bush, but still a great read. |
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The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871
It’s amazing how little we know about what happened in Europe in the 1800s. Completing my own education. |
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We the People By Lynne Cheney
Just came in today. Looks very good. I’ll be reviewing it for Greenleaf later. |
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Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out Created by 108 Renowned Authors and Illustrators
Also came in today. Also looks very good |
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The Lodger Shakespeare: By Charles Nicholl
Fascinating – if you’re interested in Shakespeare. If you’re not, this will seem much ado about very little |
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Mysteries of the Middle Ages: By Thomas Cahill
A great disappointment – How the Irish Saved Civilization is brilliant. This seems contrived and self-indulgent. |
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The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher: A Novel By Rob Stennett
Brilliant. Outrageously funny. Provocative. What if a realtor joined a church in order to market himself to Christians – knowing that he, himself, is NOT a Christian – and wound up planting his own mega-church? |
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By Simon Winchester
The OED story is fascinating, in and of itself. Mix in a mysterious retired American military officer who has contributed 1,000’s of quotations and you have a most intriguing story. |
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Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945 By Max Hastings
We know the story of D-Day, so we think we know the story of how Germany was defeated. The year-long battle was harrowing, terrifying, and apocalyptic in the East. Frightening stories from soldiers & civilians describing what happened at ground level. Well-written |
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By Peter Lance
The title explains it all. Truly frightening and maddening story about how security in the US was compromised. Shows something of the caliber and planning of Al Qaeda. Well-documented and researched. |
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Islam At The Gates: By Diane Moczar
This has happened before. |
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Economics in One Lesson: By Henry Hazlitt
Consider the consequences of policy for everyone – and long-term as well short-term. With numerous examples of what goes wrong when you don’t! |
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Homeschool: An American History By Milton Gaither
From colonial to modern times, with an emphasis on the modern movement – by a Professor of Education who is NOT a homeschooler, but not wholly unsympathetic to the movement. Pretty fair treatment of both secular and religious groups. |
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Why We’re Not Emergent: By Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck
Cause the Emergent guys are squishy on the Bible, the creeds, and anything that might put them in that embarrassing “Christian” box. |
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I Was Vermeer: By Frank Wynne
Turns out he fooled lots of museums and collectors. And they don’t want to know or find out that their prize possession is a forgery. Scary. |
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By Daniel Walker Howe
Serious history. VERY well-written, thorough and comprehensive. If you want to understand the transition from the founders to the Civil War era, there is no better book. |
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Climate Change By John Woodward
Opposition research. |
And that’s what I did on my summer vacation
– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)
Publisher, Greenleaf Press
Director, Schaeffer Study Center
Sarah Palin biography jumps up to a higher level
I just received an email from the largest wholesale supplier of books to bookstores across America:
“Ingram Publisher Services stock of Epicenter Press’s biography Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down (Hardcover EAN: 9780979047084—status OP and Trade Paper EAN: 9780980082562—status OSI) has been depleted and all backorders for these titles will be CANCELLED.
Epicenter has signed an agreement with Tyndale House to reprint the title under the new EAN 9781414330501. The Tyndale version of the title will be available through Ingram’s wholesale companies, Ingram Book, Ingram International, Spring Arbor, and Ingram Library Services, so please place your order for the new EAN today.”
The initial stocking order for Ingram is reported to be over 20,000 copies.
Since Ingram’s largest warehouse is about 20 minutes down the road from Greenleaf Press, we’ll be able to get copies as quickly as anyone. If you’d like to order one, you can buy it direct from Greenleaf by clicking here. We ship by a variety of methods, from USPS Media Mail, to UPS Ground and UPS overnight.
Because of our central location, UPS ground delivery (while not guaranteed) is only 2 days for over half of the US states, as you can see from this map:
So, don’t pay for UPS 2-day or 3-day select if you are in the yellow or light brown areas. If you request shipping by UPS Ground, you’ll receive your books just 2 days after we ship it.
– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press
PS: Sarah is the #1 “Red State” book being tracked by Amazon. Below is a fascinating map comparing the sale of “red” vs. “blue” books by state across the US:
