From Ugliness to True Beauty at CiRCE

No, not my Circe.

I spent half of last weekend in the company of the CiRCE Institute's president Andrew Kern, his lovely wife, and one of their great speakers, Vigen Guroian, discussing three fairy tales (Annika, you would have loved this--a taste of the course they no longer offer at Sewanee). Those who know me know that I place a good deal of emphasis on the story (see what I did there?) as education, and fairy tales were a big part of our curriculum, even on the high school level. To hear these men speak from their hearts on matters so close to my own was sheer pleasure.

It was beyond amusing to hear Mr. Guroian open with the story of Nasreddin's sermon, with which I have also occasionally opened a talk. N.B.:  He tells it better than I do.  At the 2013 CiRCE conference Mr. Guroian spoke on King of the Golden River, one of my favorite fairy tales. The story is available in this anthology, and on Kindle here. Mr. Guroian's CiRCE talk on the story is here (check out the many other worthy selections as well).  So few people I know have read this story that just meeting someone who has was nearly enough for me.

But CiRCE offered far more on that rainy day. Three classic fairy tales, The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, and Grimms' Cinderella, were given the CiRCE treatment--studied, not deconstructed; valued, not devalued; imagined, not re-engineered--to the delight of the fortunate attendees.  And no feminist lenses blurred the gimlet eye as we searched for beauty in the texts.  We read, they read, and we all simply talked about the stories.

It would take a better memory (and ears, frankly, for the audience was not on mic) than mine to do justice to the erudition of the audience, but it thrilled me to be among them. The gentlemen themselves presented the stories to us passage by passage in close reading to help us find the good, true, and beautiful in each story. We read plenty of ugly in each tale as well, but through the ugliness we see beauty, don't we?

The sessions were rather like drinking wine with experts. One tastes, takes notes, and hopes he might recall the details later. But one also enjoys the moment when the wine first hits the palate, the moment it warms in the mouth, and the finish as you reflect and anticipate the next draught. This meeting resembled a vineyard afternoon. We drank the literature deeply, and savored the flavor together.

 A few highlights: The notion of surrendering to beauty in The Ugly Duckling; the idea of sensitivity in The Princess and the Pea; and the truth of the communion of saints in Cinderella. Want more? Check out CiRCE's audio library. Much of the content is free, and most of the rest is a mere pittance. Perhaps these talks will be made available, but similar talks are on the website.

Please, reread these stories in good translations, not simplified versions, to find the details in full. A picture book version, while beautifully illustrated, will often, at best, dumb-down the text for children, or, at worst, sanitize the text, removing all the beauty along with the ugliness, rendering the story meaningless.

Edited to add:  The Usual Suspect has a tag line in class, "Just read the book," which is his answer to just about everything we ponder. Of course, it has become a bit of a friendly class joke. Wish he had been there to hear Mr. Kern say the very same thing...

I Was a 5th Grade Unschooler

Problem was, I went to school.

This past Christmas, my mother brought over a pile of my childhood stuff, and my 5th grade report card was in there.  I was in a gifted program, but you would not know it from my grades:  I got a C in literature.  Is that possible?  It seemed unlikely that I deserved it, because most of what I recall from 5th grade was literature (and that dismal sewing class where I made a garment that my girls refer to as "that dress-thing").  Even French class was literature; our teacher read Les Miserables aloud to us.  In French, bien sûr.



I recall spending hours at my best friend's house reading and talking about books.  We read and reread Narnia and Little House, drawing pictures and maps, and affirming each other in choosing "Peter" or "Laura" for the names of our yet-unborn children.  I walked to school most mornings, uphill in both directions (there was a hill between home and school), as the sun rose on frosty winter mornings, singing Tirian's marching song in my head as I stomped through snow.  Once that year I brought The Last Battle to Symphony Hall and read during Seiji Ozawa's inaugural season, while the Boston Symphony played Flight of the Bumblebee and Bolero.  It was a school trip, and someone ratted me out to the teacher for reading, so I know she knew I was reading.

As a class, we read Animal Farm, and chanted "Four legs good; two legs bad" together, until someone screamed "two legs better" and we all laughed.  Each student was assigned a Newbery Award book, and each gave a presentation to the class.  We cried as Lori described the possessed sister in The Bronze Bow.  We all longed to hear the Heynal with its broken note when Mark told us about The Trumpeter of Krakow.  When Richard reenacted the scene with molten silver spilling over Johnny Tremain's hand, we all stared in amazement at his talent, until we discovered that Richard had actually fainted, and had to be taken away by ambulance (he was fine, and returned to school the next day).  After everyone had given a presentation, we all traded books until everyone had read through the list.

During a unit on pirates, we each put on a puppet show based on the life of a real sea raider.  I chose Captain "Red Legs" Greaves, a pirate with a heart of gold, who was fleeing captivity when he joined a band of bloodthirsty buccaneers.  We watched the 6th graders' performance of The Taming of the Shrew, and sang "Brush up your Shakespeare" in the schoolyard.  And we wrote our own (rather bad, I'm afraid) plays based on classroom shenanigans, like the time the bus broke down on the way to Old Sturbridge Village, and John put a toad down Mary's shirt as we waited by the side of the road for a replacement bus.  Gosh, it should have been a better play, with material like that.



So, why was my grade so mediocre?  We were required to write weekly book reports, and I simply didn't bother to write them.  To this day, I find book reports intrusive, as well as formulaic and dull, and I never require them of my children.   Like many unschoolers, we read and talk about books, sharing quotations, passages and impressions.  When they were younger, my kids made maps and invented their own stories.  They challenged each other with impromptu trivia quizzes.  We took field trips to visit settings (or places very like the settings) of our favorite books.  And we parents stepped back, giving the kids the freedom to be Swallows or Bastables or Hobbits.

Looking back, I now realize that my friends and I did the same in 5th grade. Maybe I deserved a C, but I unschooled an A's worth of memories.

Free Science PDFs from National Academy Press

This just in:

The National Academies—National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council—are committed to distributing their reports to as wide an audience as possible. Since 1994 we have offered “Read for Free” options for almost all our titles. In addition, we have been offering free downloads of most of our titles to everyone and of all titles to readers in the developing world. We are now going one step further. Effective June 2nd, PDFs of reports that are currently for sale on the National Academies Press (NAP) Website and PDFs associated with future reports* will be offered free of charge to all Web visitors.


Check it out and see if anything will help with your homeschool!  http://www.nap.edu/

Liberal Arts for Broadcasters and College Professors

I just heard a broadcaster complain that she had taken courses in her field in college (communications, political science) but missed taking classes in the liberal arts.  What a shame.  Liberal arts classes ought to be required.  I suspect that a good grounding in the liberal arts would make her a better broadcaster for one simple reason:  her grammar would be better.  It often requires two hands to count the number of subject/object errors made by this particular online hostess in a single one hour broadcast.  Local columnists in our print media make the same error as frequently.  Are there no grammar books?  Are there no copy editors?

Perhaps a class in grammar, specifically, should be required for those majoring in communications and journalism. Now that the SAT includes a writing component (I hear that many colleges don't consider this section) grammatical weaknesses ought to be obvious to colleges, and ought to be addressed immediately.

Speaking of colleges, this same radio program interviewed a college professor who also struggled with grammar as he was speaking.  He, too, complained that he had not been required to study the liberal arts.  His errors made me reconsider sending my child to that college.  Are my standards too high, or should all college professors, no matter the field, be required to have mastered basic English grammar?

Smart Stuff on Imagination, plus Books for Parents and Others

First, whet your appetite with a few lectures of interest, and a discussion of the fate of the picture book.

And now...
Finally, released for your reading pleasure!

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child.

Anthony Esolen's new book describes the ways in which society and schooling are harming our children.  Yes, I know you have heard that before.  So have I, and I have seen it both as a student and a teacher.  But of the many, many books, magazine articles and lectures on the matter with which I have become familiar, this book sums up my thoughts most completely, and rather more eloquently (he even shares my distaste for the term "play date").  It's one of those books that I fill with scrappy bookmarks and quickly scribbled margin comments.  Professor Esolen's playful reversal--like Lewis' Screwtape, the author expounds upon the worst of  imagination-killers as though they were the most worthy methods--reminds us of our own complacency, of how the unnatural has become the norm and the natural the enemy, unnoticed.   Read this and see if you agree. (I suspect I have much more to say about this, and  I may discuss this in depth here at a later date.  Stay tuned!)

Even if you have no children, don't miss Professor Esolen's wonderful Ironies of Faith.  I think it would be an excellent guide for a small book club reading group.  Ah, to have the time and company!

Also, fans, new and old, of Professor Esolen's work may also enjoy the quite wonderful Touchstone magazine, and the companion blog, Mere Comments.

More published anecdotal thoughts on raising children:

Saving Childhood by movie critic Michael Medved

Weapons of Mass Instruction by education critic John Taylor Gatto

Why Gender Matters by Dr. Sacks (I don't agree with everything here, especially his ideas on giving "mature" teens birth control, but overall his observations on gender differences are sound).

And for the young man, grown and introspective:  The Compleat Gentleman by The Catholic Thing (website) editor Brad Miner.

When Does a Library Cease to Be a Library?

Annika is at the library. I dropped her there, though she usually walks the 6 blocks, as it is a delightfully oppressive 101 degrees outside. Our library is commonly known as the coldest place in the village, with air conditioners pumping hard to keep the reading areas at about 55. No kidding. Annika will head up to the young adult reading area, where incredibly comfortable chairs are placed among the shelves, and where no young adults are ever seen lounging, unless they are my young adult children. I kid you not.

I love our library. I love the librarians, the volunteers, the pages who work there, and for the most part, I like the book selections that are available. I have been a "Friend" of the library from time to time, and when the children were younger, they participated in many programs, from story time for the youngest, to various crafts (filling in for the lack of craftiness here at home), to the babysitting class for 12 year olds that frightened Libby out of her wits with tales of choking babies and bleeding toddlers. When the children were very young, our library had a small concert series featuring a local quartet.

The stories were read by the paid librarians, but I believe the other programs were run by volunteers. As I understand, anyone may present a program at a public library, as long as the program is open to the public. And perhaps these are services that a library should provide.

In the next village, which no doubt received a massive state grant for its library, the facility includes a 300 seat theater, two smaller recital rooms, and more. Programs for everyone, from babies book time to senior driving refreshers are taught. Full theatrical productions take place. Professional musicians give educational concerts with pre-concert talks. Oh, and they have books, too. In fact they have one of the largest collections in the area.

But a typical library is not just a place to find books anymore. There are DVDs. Where our local library used to charge a nominal fee--usually a dollar--for borrowing a DVD, all media are now free. The librarians complain to me about grandmas dragging children out of the library with an armful of DVDs, while having told the children firmly that they may not take out books. I have witnessed this myself. I have seen children run to the shelves only to be told, "No books today!" No books?? Isn't this a library?

***

Related:

Just read this online at School Library Journal: Cuts Hit Library Serving Kids With Autism. It seems that New Jersey's Governor Christie has proposed to cut the state budget's contribution for libraries in NJ by 74%. Draconian, or not? Should states be funding local libraries? And what precisely needs to be funded? (A librarian once told me that all fines and fees go into the local village budget, just like parking tickets and meter money, not back to the library...perhaps that ought to change?) It seems as though the library ought to have few expenses: Staff, maintenance, and purchasing. Volunteers back up the staff and work on other programs, right?

The library in the SLJ newsletter provides services for an unknown number of autistic children. The library director claims, "Our work with individuals on the spectrum will continue despite our need to balance our budget." (Good on them!!) The folks working in this program are volunteers, many of them on the autism spectrum themselves. Heck, their book club for autistic teens doesn't even meet in the library...it meets at Panera. So, the program is run by volunteers, and does not meet in the library. How will the program suffer from cuts in the state budget?

The library in the piece has had to cut back in some areas, including staffing, but is dealing with the cuts in a reasonable way. It is clear from the emotional headline, though, that SLJ has a political agenda. But for those of us who do read past the headline, there really is nothing related to the autism service that will be harmed. So perhaps SLJ has ceased to advocate for reading, and is simply advocating for money, using people with autism as an emotional tool to push their politics. After all, if one can read, one knows that the headline distorts the truth. So, have libraries ceased to be places that encourage reading?

So Bad, in So Many Ways

Politics aside...

Where is Gareth Malone when you need him?

More on Graduate Education

This time, literature in particular is the topic of an essay. This piece, from The Chronicle of Higher Education, suggests that literary criticism or "readings" may impede our own personal interpretation of an author's idea, and ruin the effect the writing ought to have on us individually. Stick with him through the example of Marx as literary critic, and see if you agree in the end.

A New University Model?

From the NY Times: A thought provoking Op-Ed piece on our universities, including a prescription for change. I don't agree with all of the ideas (regulation makes me bristle, and some of his suggestions happen already in large university settings, without being required), but anyone who says "abolish tenure" gets my attention. This ought to inspire some conversation in faculty dining halls.

There Were No Vampires

...when I was a student there.

As I recall, there were bombthreats, forced busing and all that sort of thing. But no vampires. Sheesh.

Quick Non-fic Review: Real Education

Just finished Real Education by Charles Murray, who also wrote the controversial Bell Curve. The book is written around 4 premises: Children have different abilities; half of children are below average; everyone does not need to go to college; the future of America depends on how we educate the gifted. Addressing the secular masses, Murray makes a case for a liberal arts education before college, insists that we need more cultural literacy (something the current president could use, whether he is campaigning in all "57 states," giving a speech in Ford's theater or speaking before both houses of congress), and discusses education in terms of Gardner's multiple intelligences at length. And he seems to say that homeschoolers may have an advantage in that we seem to already know and use his suggestions, finding alternatives to college and encouraging our children in a way that acknowledges and nurtures their strengths.


That children have different abilities is one of those painfully obvious ideas that folks are quick to deny. If only they had better schools, the ultimate curriculum, certified teachers, more money, etc., all children would be able to learn. Murray contends that none of this is true; you can make a learning experience safer and more pleasant, but the result won't vary:

Half the children are still below average. No matter what you do, unless, of course, all children are identical and there is none achieving more or less than any other.

Everyone does not need to go to college. He makes a great case for skilled labor careers.

On educating the gifted: This is an interesting part of the book, and one I'm still thinking about. How do we educate the gifted, and why does it matter for the future of the country?

What? Kids Need to Play?

I noted this in the "required reading" box, but it's worthy of an expanded post. Once again, research money proves the painfully obvious: Kids who get a break from academics fare better than those who did not. Oh, and specifically, kids with attention problems benefit from play in natural settings. I'm stunned:

"A small study of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder last year found that walks outdoors appeared to improve scores on tests of attention and concentration. Notably, children who took walks in natural settings did better than those who walked in urban areas, according to the report, published online in August in The Journal of Attention Disorders. The researchers found that a dose of nature worked as well as a dose of medication to improve concentration, or even better...

other research suggests that all children, not just those with attention problems, can benefit from spending time in nature during the school day. In another study of children who live in public housing, girls who had access to green courtyards scored better on concentration tests than those who did not."

Why is this a surprise to anyone? Have the folks in charge of schools never observed children?

Newsflash: Learning Can Take Place Outside of School!

Oh, you already knew that? Well, just in case no one believes you, it has been verified by the National Research Council. Here's a bit of a soundbite to give your relatives (emphasis mine):

"Learning is broader than schooling, and informal science environments and experiences play a crucial role," said Philip Bell, co-chair of the committee that wrote the report, and associate professor of learning sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle. "These experiences can kick-start and sustain long-term interests that involve sophisticated learning. Think of the child who sees dinosaur skeletons for the first time on a family trip to a natural history museum, and then goes on to buy dinosaur models and books, do Web searches about dinosaurs, write school reports on the subject, and on and on." and "...even everyday experiences such as a walk in the park, contribute to people's knowledge and interest in science..."

Read the press release here.

It's a good thing we have organizations that will study such things. Otherwise, how would we ever know that learning can take place in museums or on a nature walk? And while this study specifically examined science education, do you suppose that students might learn about other subjects outside the traditional classroom?

What a Waste of Words

...and money is the Oxford Junior Dictionary. I am sure you've all heard that the enlightened editors have removed words that children no longer need; words like "nun" and "monk" and "christian" are no longer included. And if that particular word-ban does not bother you, try looking up "beaver" or "magpie" or even "acorn." This time of year, a curious young nipper might find "holly," but "ivy" is gone. He won't find the "almond" in his Swedish Christmas pudding, either. These words have been replaced by such modern terms as "blog" and "voicemail." In one change that borders on irony, the word "blackberry" was removed to make room for the word "Blackberry," with the updated definition: No longer is it a fruit, but a device.

None of this had to happen for me to rant against the silly thing called a "Junior Dictionary." Why not just hand a proper dictionary over to the kids when they are ready? What is a junior dictionary for, except to destroy the natural enjoyment of words? I recall tedious dictionary lessons in class using a junior dictionary, looking up a list of words, writing out the dictionary definitions. Yawn. Left to my own devices with a legitimate dictionary, I would spend hours at home reading the real thing, page after page, distraction followed by blessed distraction. So many words! Old meanings, new meanings, big words, small words, the familiar and the unfamiliar together, words with more than one meaning, all bound up in a big fat book.

And wasn't the size of the book an attraction? It seems that the one objective of the publishers of the Junior Dictionary is a consistently small size. Thus, when new words are added, "old" words are removed. Size matters, indeed, at least to the publishers.

So as children sit inside and play video games, rather than play outside or attend religious services, the dictionary is changed to reflect a brave new world. After all, if we kept words like "saint" and "sycamore" a child might become curious and wonder what he's missing.

Read more here and here.

Narnia Goes Green at The Franklin

There's an exhibit on Narnia, opening Friday, in at The Franklin in Philadelphia. It includes costumes from the movies, props, interactive exhibits (see more by clicking on the exhibit preview video) Sounds great, right? But, disturbingly, The Franklin is using the Narnia exhibit as a vehicle for environmentalism. At least, that's how they are marketing the exhibit. From the website:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition takes you on a magical tour where sets, original props, and newly created interactive exhibits drive home a powerful real world message about our stewardship of the environment.

How heavy-handed will the message be? Hard to say, from looking at the exhibits and workshop descriptions, it looks like it's mostly a geology program with a thick Narnian veneer. One part of the exhibit does touch on--you guessed it--man's impact on the climate.

Don't get me wrong: I like the planet, and I love Narnia. I would be happy to visit The Franklin twice...once for the Narnia exhibit, and once for an interactive session on global geology. But to market an exhibit on Narnia as a "powerful real world message about our stewardship of the environment" strikes me as totally wrong-headed. First, the environment was not Lewis' point. Second, Narnia's environment, at least in the first book, was disrupted by magic, and magic returned it to normal. Earthly environmental issues are not so easily pinned on any one thing, nor are they easily cured (and some would argue, natural processes need no cure). Third, do the curators believe that any child enchanted by Narnia is going to be primed for a lesson in Earthly ecology? Really? I find that children are offended by those who try to so dupe them.

All that said, the exhibition runs through April, and yes, we will go. ;)

"We Learned to Make Crowns"

There is a movement of sorts to move some aspects of education to the out doors. I was involved on the local level in the late 80s as a naturalist for a consortium of school districts, providing educational experiences outside the traditional classroom to hundreds of school-aged children. It seems only natural that I should have continued to educate my own children out of doors when I decided to homeschool. And to this day, I do try to get the children out for many hours during the week, though as they get older, they often have their own plans, which may or may not included outdoor activities. Still, not one of my children balks at the idea of being outside for long hours, and we enjoy hiking and exploring as a family as frequently as possible. Even the college student living in the Big City likes to walk through the park for the refreshment of spirit.

Outdoor Education is nothing new. Educators like the late Charlotte Mason have advocated long hours out of doors for children, especially young children, and I have always agreed. But there is currently a growing movement that is knocking on the door of mainstream educators called "No Child Left Inside" with the well-organized Children and Nature Network as a major proponent of outdoor education. I think these folks are on the right track...but like most innovational educational movements, the public education system will at best interfere, muddling the purpose of outdoor education, and, at worst, ruin the best efforts of outdoor education proponents and declare it a failure.

Consider this article and video of a new outdoor-based education model in Wales. I just watched the video of the new school program (listen for the very cute Welsh lilts in the children's voices), and it struck me funny that the children were outside yet doing the things they might well do while inside a classroom. Certainly, making "crowns" is not an activity exclusive to the outdoors, even if you do glue leaves upon them. And while the model of education is "play-based," the reporters are quick to note that the "best" Scandinavian models start formal education later, yet read earlier.

Thought: Start formal education later=save taxpayers money, and, according to the reporter, the results are better. If the play-based outdoor education model is better, why do it in school? Surely it does not take an expert in education to allow children to play freely? And as we see from the video, professional educators cannot help but meddle, having the children make paper crowns. Sheesh. When I was a kid, if we wanted to make a crown of natural materials, we might take forsythia and weave it together. We might make long chains of dandelion stems or make daisy necklaces. We might do any number of things without anyone giving us an assignment and making it "educational." And my own children, without any formal education, did the same sort of things, from building forts to hiking hills, to planning gardens.

These folks in charge, well-meaning as I am sure they are, cannot in one breath talk about children being natural learners and then instruct them in paper crafts which just don't follow any natural model of play-based activity. There is a place for the adult, certainly, in the world of early childhood education, but if that adult is not the parent, then the educator replacing the parent must learn to facilitate rather than initiate activity. Better yet, keep the children home and get them into the great outdoors daily. It's not that difficult, and you don't need a federal program.

BTW...here are some crowns from our 2007 outdoor production of A Midsummer Night's Dream:

Wesley Smith on Bioethics

The placement "test" for writing during Libby's orientation this past semester included a response to Peter Singer's thoughts on animal liberation. As absurd as it is, this is probably one of Singer's least controversial ideas. Singer is a fan of infanticide. Wesley Smith has just posted a video of a talk he (Smith) gave at Princeton a few years ago in response to that university's decision to tenure Singer. I have been a fan of Smith's blog, Second Hand Smoke, for a while, but didn't know too much about him. After watching the video, I will heartily recommend his blog to everyone. Here's the video (not for kids):



More folks like this, please.

It's Just the Godlessness of it All

What do you do when your college freshman calls you at 12:30 am crying? You go pick her up. It's a good thing it's only 40 minutes away. What was wrong? Nothing...everything...that stupid "ethics" class (an Orwellian course title if there ever was one)...just...stuff. Definitely the kind of answer that requires a good night's sleep in one's own bed. Especially if your next class isn't until one o'clock in the afternoon.

I drafted Paul, still awake despite the hour, to drive in with me. I like driving (you heard?), and I like it even better when there's no traffic. Late night, it was just Paul, MacB. and the taxis. Except by the residence hall. Paul called her as we approached. "Where are you?" she asked. "Behind a fire engine," he answered sleepily. It was late...The fireman waved me around, and we pulled up to the hall. Libby came down in her PJs and we drove home. We had a good chat on the way. Nothing big was wrong...just a bunch of little things. And exhaustion.

Not sure how to solve all the little problems, though we are working working on it, and making quick progress. Of course, a long sleep and good coffee make even a gloomy rainy day seem better than the day before. And on the bright side, there are only 4 weeks left in the semester, and a new class will, we hope, will bring a better teacher.

The good thing? All the music classes are great, and going very well. The rest will work out, I'm sure.

ETA: Is picking her up a symptom of Overparenting??

Overparenting

Yikes:

"Because the test results are rendered in numbers—and can thus be compared with the norm, the ideal, and the neighbor’s kid—ambitious parents may, at this point, begin hiring tutors. According to Marano, there is now a four-billion-dollar tutoring industry in the United States, much of it serving elementary-school children. (Some of the coaches sent out by Princeton Review, a leading tutor-provider, charge close to four hundred dollars an hour.) If tutoring doesn’t do the trick, enterprising parents can argue with the school that their children, because of special needs, should not be held to a time limit in taking standardized tests. In 2005, according to Slate, seven to nine per cent of students in Washington, D.C., were given extra time on their [tests]. Their scores—which were sent out to colleges, with no notice of the dispensation, alongside the scores of students working against the clock—were, on average, well above those of others."

From book reviews on the subject at the New Yorker. Read it all. You'll laugh before you quake in your boots.

Clearly, I'm not doing enough for my kids. Or maybe, just enough. Or maybe too much? Who's to know until it's too late??

Seriously, though. We know a student who "founded" a charity at age 7, plays an instrument, does research on brain surgery over the summers, has written two books, etc. How can one compete with that when it comes to college admissions? Or do colleges have a clue, and catch on to these things? I mean, I am raising renaissance kids, but I like to believe that their interests in many subjects are real, and that if I do facilitate their research and help them find summer programs and all that, I'm just doing what they need me to do, and no more.

How much parenting is too much parenting? I think that as homeschoolers, we can overparent in a more subtle way sometimes, or, as T says, we can benignly neglect our children and call it unschooling. Of course, his tongue is firmly in his cheek when he says that. So where is the balance? When does facilitating become intrusive?

Dickensian Post on First Things

In response to the 2007 National Endowment for the Arts report that (shocking!!) teens and young adults don't read (much):

How then should Dickens be taught? As with all of literature, he must be taught with affection, with enthusiasm, with patience, and with a taste for eccentricity. A more fitting introduction for young minds might be found in the reckless youthful energy of Nicholas Nickleby, with its hero who descends to fisticuffs in defense of a downtrodden drudge or attacks strangers in defense of his sister’s virtue. It is perhaps easier to relate to the trials and tribulations of young Oliver Twist than to sympathize with Pip. The death of Nancy is far more dramatically accessible than that of Sydney Carton, and with the former there is the advantage of a cast of colorful, evocative characters—Fagin, Bill Sikes, Nancy, Jack Dawkins, Charlie Bates, and, above all, Bulls-Eye, unite to make the novel one of Dickens’ greatest achievements.

We need to recover the lost art of enjoyment—enjoyment that is not simply mind-numbing intoxication or drooling appreciation of a television hero. Through the classics, a proper appreciation for virtue (classical and moral) may be effectively cultivated.

Read the rest. I, for one, am glad that the story of Dickens being paid by the word is apocryphal.

ETA: Try this link to the First Things article. The other is just not working, for some reason...