We moved!

Now, when my family and I head down to the beach, we're striding the banks of the Salish Sea.


http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/~stefan/SalishSea.htm

The Entrepreneur Rides Again

Our daughter is still committed to buying herself an airplane ticket. She does want to see some family members, but I think the primary interest at this point is riding the clouds. To that end, she has launched her very first CafePress store.


Before I did one. Whoops.


So please do visit, and if so inclined, help a driven little girl in her own personal fundraiser!

http://www.cafepress.com/grahamartistic

The White House Garden

http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/Inside-the-White-House-The-Garden/

I was such a happy camper when Michelle Obama put this in. As my own garden is coming to an Autumn Pause, I went looking to see how the White House garden was doing. According to Time magazine this month, the WHG has produced 250 pounds of food this summer.

This video jazzes me in so many ways--- the ties to the Victory Gardens I tried to model this year; the ties to Jefferson in Virginia; the obvious reasons we should be gardening and eating with our family.

It's something peaceful and optimistic to consider while everything else political rages on about us.

Sons of Maxwell

I'd never heard of the Canadian duo Sons of Maxwell, but I am betting that you will soon, if you haven't already. While they were touring the United States, United airlines trashed one of their guitars, a 3500.00 Taylor. After trying for a year to get recompense, Dave Caroll gave up and went after United in the public sphere. Within a week of unleashing his youtube video, United agreed to replace his guitar. Funny how that works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Links 2009

Just placeholding. I think this is PERFECT for our family: http://www.commonsensepress.com/GSA-sample_lesson/gs-lesson.htm

They're seen in action here: http://handmadehomeschool.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/tiny-books/

Along with these, which I think are fabulous as well! http://kindovermatter.blogspot.com/2009/03/kind-over-matter-books.html

So love the cooperative housing thang

More on the farm bill

First, to preface this post and to respond to the individual whose comments were so egregious I had to delete them:

Personally, NO, I do not think most of the US food supply is safe. NO, I do not think the government has done a responsible job of managing what involvement it has had with food saftey and regulation. NO, I do not think big agribusiness is absolutely invested in the consumer's well-being. In that, I absolutely agree with the foul-mouthed lout who has bothered to virtually vandalise my blog--we need a big change in the way our food supply is managed, and only the federal government has the resources and the geographical scope to pull it off. It is because I think that way, however, that I want small, local farmers protected. It's why I want my garden protected. What I don't understand is why anyone who shares that perspective is just raring for the government to pass a bill with as many loopholes for abuse as the recent lead-based toy bill. I am not asking them not to pass it. To quote myself, I wrote " As it is written, this bill would be catastrophic to the American people. Provisions must be included to protect the organic farmer and the family gardener." and "Please restrict it to conventional farming, or vote it down." My interest here is not withholding something that could help us all; I have been calling for sustainable agriculture for years, and this could be a giant leap forward in that regard.

If you want to comment here, then by all means comment. I welcome a discussion on this because I am certainly amenable to learning everything I can about this. I will not, however, host cussing, accusations or more death threats. Anyone else who suggests I feed my child peanut butter will likely be getting a real time visit from the PoPo. It's very out in the open on this blog that my child has an anaphylactic food allergy to peanuts. For those of you who need me to write in small words, that means she could die from ingesting peanut of any kind, tainted or otherwise. Living like this for the past seven years, living with constant vigilance about food and where it is sourced, is WHY I am passionate about protecting organics and small farmers. How I get my food, where I get my food is an absolute, literal passion for us.

I want to protect my daughter. I want you to be able to protect your daughter. Unlike the ...person... who posted here today, I am not willing to let Big Brother be the sole director of how that food gets to my plate. That's all. The bill, as written, does more than streamline the governance of food safety. It allows for a single agency to approve what kind of fertilizer, what kind of seed, what kind of record-keeping each farmer uses. At first blush, that sounds fandamntastic-- if you've got a sustainable-minded individual going in. If you have an agency that is sensitive to the cost-load for the organic farmer. I didn't write what I did here in a knee jerk reaction. I have talked to organic farmers here in Washington, and corresponded with CSA farmers from my hometown in South Carolina. The ones I spoke with are very concerned. They have encouraged us to get this into a national discussion, which is what we did. Organic farmers, particularly those who have pursued tilth certification, really shouldn't have anything to worry about, that's true, because their standards typically exceed anything in corporate farming. But the bill doesn't include any such provisos. That's the concern.

Today I received an email forwarded by a local farmers market with a less apprehensive stance towards the law. They're just as much "my team" as the farmers I mention above, and I will post it in its entirety here:

From the Farmers Market Coalition Executive Director (For more information about the Farmers Market Coalition, visit their website: http://www.farmersmarketcoalition.org/ )

Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:20 PM
Subject: H.R. 875, Food Safety, & Farmers Markets: A Letter from FMC

Dear Fellow Farmers Market Advocate,

In the last few days, there has been much discussion and speculation
surrounding H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, which was
proposed by Representative Rosa DeLauro and 39 other co-sponsors and
currently under review by two house committees. The bill¹s intention is to
centralize most of the current food safety responsibilities of FDA and USDA
into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
While the bill does not spell out any specific regulations with respect to
food safety, it establishes a new framework of oversight to prevent the
breakout of food-borne illnesses (like the recent cases involving bagged
spinach, peanuts, tainted meat, imported tomatoes, etc.).

Calls to Congresswoman DeLauro¹s office from me and several colleagues have
been met by assurances that she is an advocate for small family farms, and
that the bill¹s intent is to minimize (or eliminate) the impact on such
entities while addressing the challenges posed by a global food supply by
more closely regulating imported food. Based on what we know at this point,
farmers markets are not considered ³food establishments² under Section 3
(13), and would not be subject to inspection as such.

Food production facilities (including farms), may be subject to additional
recordkeeping via a written food safety plan which follow ³good practice
standards² under Section 206(2). There is no language in the bill that would
implement a national animal ID system, or mandate farm inspection. In fact,
the legislation specifies that technical assistance would be provide to
farmers and food establishments that fit the definition of a small business.

There are also no assurances that, given the current economic climate and
the inherent cost of establishing a new administration, this bill will even
survive in its current form or at all. To what degree there may be any
change to current standards (like GAPs), which are now voluntary for most
growers, would be up to the new agency, which is directed to consult with
USDA and state departments of agriculture before enacting any new farm
production and handling standards. FMC believes that any standards designed
to prevent contamination at the farm and market level, whether voluntary or
mandatory, must take into account the cost, time, and ability to implement.
As many realize, a one-size-fits-all policy would ultimately do a disservice
not only to small, biodiverse farms, but to the consumers who value
affordable access to safe, fresh, nutritious food directly from the farmer.

FMC recognizes the importance of food safety not only from a consumer health
perspective, but also to uphold the integrity of farmers markets and
viability of small farms everywhere. Families and individuals across the
country put their faith in the quality, safety, and freshness of farmers
markets every day, and that investment of faith cannot be taken for
granted. Proactive measures to prevent contamination at the farm and market
level are good business. FMC's web site has links to several resources
developed by various states with regard to food safety at farmers markets,
many of which include good recommendations for food storage, handling, and
sampling.

FMC is working to ensure that strategies to prevent contamination are
science-based, sensitive to scale of production, and friendly to farmers
markets and the farmers they depend on. Recently, the Coalition represented
farmers markets at a national Good Agricultural Practices summit to support
voluntary (rather than mandatory) implementation of the Guide to Minimize
Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, which is
presently undergoing review for updates. We will continue to stay involved
in issues surrounding food safety, and keep you informed of developments
that could impact farmers markets and their producers.

Sincerely,

Stacy Miller
Executive Director
Farmers Market Coalition
--------------------------------------------------


There's too much at stake here for any of us to adopt a blanket thumbs up or thumbs down approach to something this big. Again, I welcome the discussion, should that come to me, but I won't allow anything that calls for harm to me or my family, or insults or degrades me or the other commenters. I am a citizen of this country, and like it or not, this is part of the process. We're fortunate we have a voice, and I for one intend to use mine.

Congress voting on bills to outlaw organic farming

And raw milk, and fresh eggs and heritage seeds and farmers markets and roadside stands.... and oh, yeah, your backyard garden.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message761823/pg1

http://www.treehuggersofamerica.org/Say_Goodbye_To_Farmers.php

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas (look for HR 875)


This isn't a tinfoil hat moment, folks. This is Monsanto again, trying to control you and your food supply. This I implore you : contact your representatives and senators. Tell them to Just Say No to Monsanto and it's attempts to stamp out the competition. It sounds ridiculous, because it is. This is a Big Brother-meets-Borg moment and your very civil liberties are at stake here. When planting a backyard garden can be considered an act of defiance, not of patriotism, then we have a problem.

Even Michelle Obama has begun an organic garden on the South lawn, which I think is a fantastic, encouraging thing for us all. In a time of economic despair and war, we NEED to be doing that, people! Even as she plants her starts, though, just a few miles away, 40 legislative sponsors are attempting to demand she use this kind of seed and that kind of fertilizer.

The intentions of the bill, the at least the people in congress who are trying to draft it, are most certainly honorable. But like the recent ripple effect from the lead-in-children's-products act, because the language is not specific enough, this law could put a lot of good people on the out and outs. In this instance, I am not worried about being an alarmist. I'd rather raise a ruckus now and have the legislators pay attention to what they are doing so they can revise it appropriately than pass this "schill," to use a word a deleted commenter decided to use for my blog post.


DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, READ THIS LEGISLATION FOR YOURSELF.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas (look for HR 875)


Pay special attention to

• Section 3 which is the definitions portion of the bill-read in it's entirety.
• section 103, 206 and 207- read in it's entirety.

Red flags (from Aaron)

• Legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept.
• Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn't actually use the word organic.
• Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it.
• Effects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game.
• Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics which is bizarre considering how long the legislation is.
• Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they are going to side with?
• Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities. The wording is so broad based that a backyard gardener could be fined and more.
• Section 207 requires that the state's agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment.

Things you can do

1. Contact your members at 202-224-3121 and ask them to oppose HR 875 and S 425. While you are at it ask them if they personally have read the legislation and what their position is? If they have not read the legislation ask them to read it and politely let them know that just because other representitives are not reading the legislation and voting on it does not mean they can do the same.
2. Get in touch with local farmers and food producers by attending a local farmers market and asking them how business is.
3. Attend a local WAPF meeting, this is a good start to learning about what is going on in farming and local & state initiatives . The website is Local Chapters
4. Check out the Farmers Legal Defense Fund at Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
5. Find out who sits on your states agriculture and farming committee and contact them with your concerns.
6. Continue to contact your elected officials and let them know your position on legislation and why.
7. Get active at the local and state levels, this is the quickest way to initiate change.

Dear Norm Dicks,
I am writing regarding HR 875.

As it is written, this bill would be catastrophic to the American people. Provisions must be included to protect the organic farmer and the family gardener. We cannot "outlaw" organic farming and the bill does not include adequate protections for those of us who DO protect the people and the environment with whom we coexist.

PLEASE say no to Monsanto and do not legislate away our rights. We have to be able to protect natural, organic gardening and adding on one-size-fits-all regulations will cause widespread harm. Please consider Monsanto's absolute interest in squelching its competition. Please consider the amazing rise of food allergies, chronic illness and autism, much of which can be accredited to frankenfoods.

Many of we the people have been following Obama's suggestion to provide for ourselves and to create local, interconnected networks. This would seriously hamper our efforts, and the future of the open-pollinated (natural, existing outside the tweaking of a laboratory) seed supply. It's dangerous and unconstitutional. Please restrict it to conventional farming, or vote it down.

And Chuck, no thanks on the peanut butter. We're allergic here.

Walkabout

I have been under the weather for a few days, hence the flurry of activity on my blog. My stalwart denial that got me through the first bout of sickness in my household-- which in fact, seems to have kept me from getting it-- failed me for this last bit. At least this one was fairly gentle, except for the coughing-so-no-sleep part.

Yesterday, the sun came out after several snowy days. While it remained cold, we had N-man's last day at theater class to attend and some errands to run, so we just ate lunch and left. G-girl was having a day out at Daddy's office and the boys and I just toodled. We stopped by the Botanical Conservatory in Tacoma, where the boys genuinely enjoyed all the flowers. The one that struck us the most was not in bloom-- a "Giant Bird of Paradise." Wouldn't you be impressed by the head on that? Now the boys are as worked up about gardening this year as G-girl and I are.

We left there and parked down at Freighthouse Square to take the train in to the theater district. Despite the ambient reek (more of the Aroma of Tacoma) from the old, old timber and tar from its original construction, it is a great example of reclaimed spaces and urban hubs. In addition to the funky shops and unusual food court, the Sounder (Puyallup to Seattle) commuter train departs from there, as does the Tacoma Light Rail, a free electric train that seams downtown Tacoma. There is even free parking in the garage for those who take the light rail, but I have yet to find the right entrance for said free parking.

Little Boys. Free Train Ride. You do the math.

While wandering around, we discovered a new festival (yay!) that will be right up our alley. April is already filling up but I hope we have time to attend The Spring Fairy Festival!

Earthbound Farms Free Lettuce Seeds

http://www.ebfarm.com/AboutUs/GrowYourOwnOrganicSalad/

In celebration of Earthbound Farm’s 25th anniversary, we’re giving away free organic heirloom lettuce seeds!

Getting your hands into the soil, whether it’s a sunny garden acre or a few containers on your window sill, can be an enjoyable pastime and great fun to share with kids.

Twenty-five years ago, Earthbound Farm started in a backyard garden in Carmel Valley, California, where our founders, Drew and Myra Goodman — a couple of New York City transplants — wanted to grow their own fresh, healthy food. (Read the whole story.) More than raspberries and baby heirloom lettuces flourished in the warm valley sun; what took root was an unshakeable commitment to organic food and farming.

With these free seeds, we want to share the excitement our founders felt when they planted and nurtured their first crops. Tend your little garden carefully and you’ll harvest your own beautiful, delicious heirloom lettuces, just like our founders did back in the early days.

Kopachuk

I watched the Inauguration with my Grandma

We were on the phone, she in her den, me in mine. I could hear her television from the East Coast, and I counted at least a 4 second delay of the live broadcast here on the West Coast. It was time enough for the producers to add extra graphics, apparently, as they did during Aretha Franklin's song. Grandmomma just saw lots of panning shots of the 4 million people gathered there, while we got to see location shots of Americam countryside interspersed with the teary faces.

I think it's cool we were able to watch it together. There's my big, meaningful post. "I think it's cool." Gah. I am writing like a 4th grader lately.

CBS on homeschooling

I liked these vignettes on homeschooling. It's good to see people who want to stay home with their kids for, you know, academic benefit.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4447945n

A grateful week

"What manner of man will this be, this possible Negro Presidential candidate of 2000? Undoubtedly, he will be well-educated. He will be well-traveled and have a keen grasp of his country's role in the world and its relationships. He will be a dedicated internationalist with working comprehension of the intricacies of foreign aid, technical assistance and reciprocal trade. … Assuredly, though, despite his other characteristics, he will have developed the fortitude to withstand the vicious smear attacks that came his way as he fought to the top in government and politics … those in the vanguard may expect to be the targets for scurrilous attacks, as the hate mongers, in the last ditch efforts, spew their verbal and written poison."

--Jacob K. Javits, "Integration from the Top Down" printed in Esquire magazine in 1958

And from someone as "radical" as Garrison Keillor....

Palin's future, according to Garrison Keillor

GARRISON KEILLOR
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

We are a stalwart and stouthearted people, and never more so than in hard times. People weep in the dark and arise in the morning and go to work. The waves crash on your nest egg and a chunk is swept away and you put your salami sandwich in the brown bag and get on the bus. In Philly, a woman earns $10.30/hour to care for a man brought down by cystic fibrosis. She bathes and dresses him in the morning, brings him meals, puts him to bed at night. It's hard work lifting him and she has suffered a painful hernia that, because she can't afford health insurance, she can't get fixed, but she still goes to work because he'd be helpless without her. There are a lot of people like her. I know because I'm related to some of them.

Low dishonesty and craven cynicism sometimes win the day but not inevitably. The attempt to link Barack Obama to an old radical in his neighborhood has desperation and deceit written all over it. Meanwhile, stunning acts of heroism stand out, such as the fidelity of military lawyers assigned to defend detainees at Guantanamo Bay -- uniformed officers faithful to their lawyerly duty to offer a vigorous defense even though it means exposing the injustice of military justice that is rigged for conviction and the mendacity of a commander in chief who commits war crimes. If your law school is looking for a name for its new library, instead of selling the honor to a fat cat alumnus, you should consider the names of Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, Lt. Col. Mark Bridges, Col. Steven David, Lt. Col. Sharon Shaffer, Lt. Cmdr. Philip Sundel and Maj. Michael Mori.

It was dishonest, cynical men who put forward a clueless young woman for national office, hoping to juice up the ticket, hoping she could skate through two months of chaperoned campaigning, but the truth emerges: The lady is talking freely about matters she has never thought about. The American people have an ear for B.S. They can tell when someone's mouth is moving and the clutch is not engaged. When she said, "One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let's commit ourselves just every day, American people, Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars," people smelled gas.

Some Republicans adore her because they are pranksters at heart and love the consternation of grown-ups. The ne'er-do-well son of the old Republican family as president, the idea that you increase government revenue by cutting taxes, the idea that you cut social services and thereby drive the needy into the middle class, the idea that you overthrow a dictator with a show of force and achieve democracy at no cost to yourself -- one stink bomb after another, and now Governor Palin.

She is a chatty sportscaster who lacks the guile to conceal her vacuity, and she was Mr. McCain's first major decision as nominee. This troubles independent voters, and now she is a major drag on his candidacy. She will get a nice book deal from Regnery and a new career making personal appearances for forty grand a pop, and she'll become a trivia question, "What politician claimed foreign-policy expertise based on being able to see Russia from her house?" And the rest of us will have to pull ourselves out of the swamp of Republican economics.

Your broker kept saying, "Stay with the portfolio, don't jump ship," and you felt a strong urge to dump the stocks and get into the money market where at least you're not going to lose your shirt, but you didn't do it and didn't do it, and now you're holding a big bag of brown bananas. Me, too. But at least I know enough not to believe desperate people who are talking trash. Anybody who got whacked last week and still thinks McCain-Palin is going to lead us out of the swamp and not into a war with Iran is beyond persuasion in the English language. They'll need to lose their homes and be out on the street in a cold hard rain before they connect the dots.

These are dark days, my friends.

Hard to choose a party

and I am not referring to the birthday party we went to last week, or the not-back-to-school picnic we have scheduled for later this week.

I have identified as a Libertarian for years but I think I may be waning in that. I still think an adherence to the basic structure of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would steer us well, but I also believe that the ills of a big government cannot be taken care of equitably without said governmental involvement. We can't just stop programs and social cycles that are in place without expecting huge upheavals.

So it surprises me that I lean toward [shudder] Democrat, and that I simultaneously find myself agreeing with an editor of The National Review. I know I JUST said I didn't want to write about politics here but a friend of mine overseas asked a very specific question and I thought this editorial would serve as a good answer.

From D Magazine,

A Conservative for Obama

My party has slipped its moorings. It’s time for a true pragmatist to lead the country.

Leading Off By Wick Allison, Editor In Chief

THE MORE I LISTEN TO AND READ ABOUT “the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate,” the more I like him. Barack Obama strikes a chord with me like no political figure since Ronald Reagan. To explain why, I need to explain why I am a conservative and what it means to me.



In 1964, at the age of 16, I organized the Dallas County Youth for Goldwater. My senior thesis at the University of Texas was on the conservative intellectual revival in America. Twenty years later, I was invited by William F. Buckley Jr. to join the board of National Review. I later became its publisher.


Conservatism to me is less a political philosophy than a stance, a recognition of the fallibility of man and of man’s institutions. Conservatives respect the past not for its antiquity but because it represents, as G.K. Chesterton said, the democracy of the dead; it gives the benefit of the doubt to customs and laws tried and tested in the crucible of time. Conservatives are skeptical of abstract theories and utopian schemes, doubtful that government is wiser than its citizens, and always ready to test any political program against actual results.


Liberalism always seemed to me to be a system of “oughts.” We ought to do this or that because it’s the right thing to do, regardless of whether it works or not. It is a doctrine based on intentions, not results, on feeling good rather than doing good.


But today it is so-called conservatives who are cemented to political programs when they clearly don’t work. The Bush tax cuts—a solution for which there was no real problem and which he refused to end even when the nation went to war—led to huge deficit spending and a $3 trillion growth in the federal debt. Facing this, John McCain pumps his “conservative” credentials by proposing even bigger tax cuts. Meanwhile, a movement that once fought for limited government has presided over the greatest growth of government in our history. That is not conservatism; it is profligacy using conservatism as a mask.


Today it is conservatives, not liberals, who talk with alarming bellicosity about making the world “safe for democracy.” It is John McCain who says America’s job is to “defeat evil,” a theological expansion of the nation’s mission that would make George Washington cough out his wooden teeth.


This kind of conservatism, which is not conservative at all, has produced financial mismanagement, the waste of human lives, the loss of moral authority, and the wreckage of our economy that McCain now threatens to make worse.
Barack Obama is not my ideal candidate for president. (In fact, I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses.) But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history. I disagree with him on many issues. But those don’t matter as much as what Obama offers, which is a deeply conservative view of the world. Nobody can read Obama’s books (which, it is worth noting, he wrote himself) or listen to him speak without realizing that this is a thoughtful, pragmatic, and prudent man. It gives me comfort just to think that after eight years of George W. Bush we will have a president who has actually read the Federalist Papers.


Most important, Obama will be a realist. I doubt he will taunt Russia, as McCain has, at the very moment when our national interest requires it as an ally. The crucial distinction in my mind is that, unlike John McCain, I am convinced he will not impulsively take us into another war unless American national interests are directly threatened.


“Every great cause,” Eric Hoffer wrote, “begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” As a cause, conservatism may be dead. But as a stance, as a way of making judgments in a complex and difficult world, I believe it is very much alive in the instincts and predispositions of a liberal named Barack Obama.

Interminably boring

I have been following politics.... the economy.... so I have not been really writing here. I don't want to revisit this period when it is over so I will decline to even bother with it. The campaign is nasty, full of lies and posturing. People want Obama to bring his own "bam" in retaliation to the smoke and mirrors emanating from the McCain camp, but I am wanting candidates who can focus on what we (as a country) need. I don't have patience for anything else. Flash and vim, leave it home please. Tell me how you're going to fix it. Fix it.

I have been studying the great depression-- the causes are identical to what is happening now-- but I have been focusing on what they did to survive it, get past it, on individual family bases. I am trying to identify whether my family will just struggle, or will be Hooverville candidates. So yes, I am not writing much about that. While these things occupy my mind, my husband and I are focusing on making the children's world stay the same. The children- who are studying phonics and Egyptians and geography. Who climb rock walls, swim laps and paint pictures of giant farting dinosaurs.

How grateful am I that we practice voluntary simplicity? That we refuse to buy new cars because ours are "old?" It may not be voluntary after a while, and I am grateful we were already looking at sustainability out of principle. In many ways, that makes us prepared ahead of the curve.

We love our kids, just like everyone else. Make it. Make it. That's all it is lately with me. Make it.

Probably the most important post of my year

After much soul-searching, I have decided upon a huge course of action. It's mired in conflict and hope, in energy and forgiveness. It's the most important undertaking I have ever considered.

Just.... this is better explained here:

The Homeschooling Choice

In my blogosphere, one of our homeschooling families is sending their son to school. That's somewhat misleading-- he is a freshman in high school and is choosing a small, private situation, so there's no real "sending" about it. Indeed, the real point of this blog entry is the absence of that sense of having something done to you or chosen for you. There is such a variety of homeschoolers out there, but for those of us who do it specifically to raise emotionally-intact autodidacts and self-sufficient people, the day will come when we have to hand over the tools of path finding to the very ones for whom we are blazing that trail. Chances are good that it comes a bit sooner for some of us just by the nature of children raised in intellectual freedom.

This morning, EHLT was musing that many people were confusing this event as a failure of her homeschoooling program; that perhaps either she was giving up, or the boy was rejecting it. I have become so immured in this worldview that homeschooling is such a natural lifestyle, that I found myself surprised by those assumptions. Further, I discover myself increasingly annoyed with the attitude I encounter that "homeschoolers struggle so much" when they enter a school setting. While I realize that may be true for some-- especially kids who were schooled-at-home in deliberate, exclusionary methods-- kids raised in an open, eclectic fashion tend to feel and be responsible for their own intellectual prowess. They own it. That responsibility is what makes these kids actually really GOOD at "school."

I'd like to share her take on it, written here on The Homeschooling Legacy:

In fact, I see the Boychick's choice as one that fits as well into the trajectory of our homeschooling journey as would homeschooling high school. As we progressed in homeschooling 'middle school,' we also progressed in handing over more and more of the decision making about his education to the Boychick. Over those years, we moved from being "sages on the stage to guides on the side" as our philosophy evolved from school-at-home to a certain kind of unschooling. The Boychick has become used to thinking of himself as the master of his education, as well as the learner. He has learned to take responsibility for his learning methods and goals. He did not decide to go to high school because homeschooling was a failure; rather, he was able to choose because homeschooling was a success.


Unlike most of the students who entered East Mountain High School this morning, the Boychick sees attending school not as something he must do, but as something he has chosen to do. He knows that the responsibility for his successes or failures lies on his shoulders, and that although there are people ready to help him and guide him, in the end, the secret to his education lies within. He has become a self-directed learner.

This has always been the goal for me, as the homeschooling parent. I view preparing them for learning with the same gravity as I view preparing them for leaving my home for the outside world. Homeschooling is not an extension of my parenting, as so many are wont to say. It is an integral part of my parenting. The big joke on me is that this whole gig started when I was trying to prepare my first, wee preschooler for a Montessori school with a waiting list. I bought some supplies, applied the method and discovered a world of joy I'd not anticipated. In some respects, I suppose, I continue preparing my children for their place to open up. The difference is that I can expect it will be my children telling me when it is time for them to matriculate somewhere. I hope I can be as graceful letting go then as EHLT seems to be now.

She goes on to write:

Homeschooling, regardless of the individual's reasons for it, is a political act.

Making a choice against the received wisdom of the dominant culture forever changes how one views that received wisdom, as well as how one views the locus of control over individual decisions. In so doing, a person steps outside the herd mentality and lives liberty in reality. And succeeding in doing so means never being quite so willing to let others assert control over individual choices again. This is the legacy of homeschooling for us, just as it is the legacy of homebirthing, the legacy of living Judaism, and the legacy of growing up libertarian.

While we aren't Jewish, the rest of it certainly applies. This legacy we are creating-- this life we are crafting out of thin air and Thoreau-- I am betting everything we have that it is the best gift we can give our kids. But that legacy, I have taken some of that into myself. Homeschooling has been something I have done for my children, but it is something that most certainly nourishes the parents of this family as well.

Bags for Fun

I would love to make this happen here. I can totally see some local parks really stepping up for this.

In a terrific promotion we can only hope will lead to more creative thinking, Rye Playland in Westchester, NY recently held a promotion where every child that turned in 100 plastic bags for recycling received free admission to the park that day.

All told, the kids put together some 39,995 plastic bags as they worked their way through the turnstiles in search of a good time at one of the most historic amusement parks in the country.

And while we recently highlighted a high school student who recently came up with a way to make plastic bags decompose in just three months time, the truth is that simple actions like this not only go a long way towards cleaning up the local environment but help educate kids, their parents and the public about what a positive contribution they can make by limiting the use of plastic bags.

So hats off to the folks who run Rye Playland, perhaps those at Six Flags will take the hint and come up with something similar?

I would love to head this up. Who would be the most likely to be receptive to this?

Pacific Science Center is my first, immediate thought. One of the zoos, perhaps-- especially a place like Northwest Trek? Or would something like this catch the eye of a in-need-of-good-PR venue like the EMP or Wild Waves?