Being Misled: Misleadership (Part 3)
In the first instalment of this series, I talked about how we are often purposefully misinformed, usually towards having us normalize and accept something that would never have been accepted in the first place.
Next, applying what we had learned in the first session, I proposed how noble causes can be created, manipulated and misdirected to advance an ulterior goal.
In this session, I want to show how we are often being misled to trust things that just ain’t so.
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Being Misdirected: Misleadership (Part 2)
Applying what we have learned about not accepting the information we are given at face value and knowing that we are often being manipulated to support causes we know very little, if anything, about, all towards a predetermined goal, I thought it might be time to consider what might have happened within the realm of education in the Province of Alberta since 2015.
Please understand that this particular issue cannot be entirely blamed on or attributed to the existing NDP Government as it begins with Bill 10, created and passed by the previous Progressive Conservative Government before the 2015 election. Still, the majority of what may be considered to be the most egregious actions have indeed been initiated and implemented by the existing Minister of Education.
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Being Misinformed: Misleadership (Part 1)
It has often been said that things may not always be as they seem. This is true. Perhaps even more often than not. It is also well known within leadership circles that the best way to get what you want is to create a situation where the people are led to demand what an agency desires to do. This series will be addressing this issue.
We are most likely only getting the information we are supposed to get; that is, what information we are to accept as factual, even when it isn’t. The question is, whose interest is being represented and/or protected and what is the reason for it?
To be sure, there has never been a shortage of liars, cheats, deceivers, and con artists to trick, dupe or indoctrinate us, but it seems to be far more prevalent today, than ever.
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Quit or Carry On? Quitting (Part 10)
Actually, there are no good reasons for quitting. Well, I wish this were true, but it isn’t. Sometimes life has a way of throwing things at us that require major shifts in plans, if not paradigm changes to our lives.
We started this series with reasons for not quitting, the biggest being that we, as followers of Christ, are not really given the option to quit, that is, if obedience matters.
We then went on to discuss how (grand)parents, church, family and children can all play roles in convincing us to lose our resolve to home educate and send our children back to the very system we originally intended to escape.
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Your Quitting Is Not My Fault! Quitting (Part 9)
I received an interesting email the other day from a former student who must have been struggling with decisions he had made. In a half-hearted attempt at justifying his case or cause, he had come to question a number of things associated with our past relationship.
While I am not at liberty to discuss the issue raised in this communication, I do believe my response contains thoughts that everyone should consider.
Here goes!
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Quitting Due to Burnout: Quitting (Part 8)
One of my greatest disappointments is when I see parents lose their resolve to home educate and send their children to school. I keep thinking that I could have done better, that maybe I should have been able to see this coming and to have done something to avoid this catastrophe.
I have been advising families for a long time and I know that once families decide to quit home educating it is nearly impossible to convince them otherwise. Still, and against my better judgement, I usually feel the need to do something out of my Christian conviction to love my neighbour even though I risk wasting my time and more by attempting to clearly explain how their decision to quit is in error.
The following is what I wrote to such a family in response to their letter informing me of their decision to send their children to school after many years of having home educated them from the start. I hope you can glean some pearls of wisdom from what I wrote:
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Pressured by Parents to Quit – Part 4: Quitting (Part 7)
Since this is the final part in a continuous series, I highly recommend that if you have not yet viewed the first three parts of this series, that you do so before proceeding.
GP – Third, there are standard tests given by a third party at the end of the school year to determine if the child has met provincial standards. “Boy” deserves to be taught to the standard and we think you need to have some accountability to someone.
LG – Yes, “Boy” deserves to be taught to a standard, but whose standard are we using? The absence of true standards is the best kept secret of the entire education industry. They cannot exist. How can we standardize people?
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Pressured by Parents to Quit – Part 3: Quitting (Part 6)
This week we continue to “evaluate” a stereotypical letter from loving (grand)parents to new home educators. To put this into perspective, this young family is not only the eldest in the (grand)parents’ family but also the first to make the decision to home educate. Although it may be difficult to see, both parties share a Christian worldview.
Since this is the third part in a continuous series, I highly recommend that if you have not yet viewed the first two parts of this series, that you do so before proceeding.
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Pressured by Parents to Quit – Part 2: Quitting (Part 5)
With permission and protective of privacy, I would like to share and comment on a letter received by a young family from their loving (grand)parents.
Please bear in mind that these (grand)parents are very sincere in their concerns and likely had no bad intentions in writing this note, even if displaying a profound ignorance of home education. It is equally important to understand that both parties claim a Christian worldview.
Note: Since the letter provides three main concerns, I have decided to break it up into three parts to be addressed over the next three weeks.
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Pressured by Parents to Quit – Part 1: Quitting (Part 4)
One of the biggest disappointments in life is when either parents or children fail. There are innumerable stories of how parents have failed children. In many ways, most of us feel a bit cheated by our own personal upbringing. Even the best parents fail, you know, because everybody falls short of perfection.
Children can also be a real source of heartache for parents. In fact, I doubt that there has ever been a child who has not disappointed his/her parents at some point, because children, like parents, also fall short of perfection.
It should be obvious that the closer the relationship, the greater the possibility for disappointment and since there is no closer relationship than the parent-child one, everyone will experience disappointment, regardless of the age of those involved. This goes both ways and involves both positive and negative traits and recollections.
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