Léo's Insights
A place where issues related to the Christian walk and its application to home education is discussed.
Topics are meant to challenge you to think differently, to make a difference in this world, starting with the children you have been blessed with.
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The Heartbeat of Education Unlimited (Part 2)
By the mid-1990s, we had become unschoolers, not because it was trendy, as most home educators of that era simply desired to outperform their local school, but because it was the only way we could respect the individuality of each of our children as well as the uniqueness of our family. We had broken free from the school mould.
This discovery not only benefitted our children at home, but applying what I was learning through my home educating experience to my classroom, greatly improved my students’ situation as well. In other words, not doing school at school greatly benefitted my classroom students also.
I changed my classroom persona from being a “teacher” to being a “mentor.” This made such a tremendous difference that I became known as the one who could cause my students to think. While I should have been honoured by this, I was actually saddened as I believed I was doing nothing more than what should have been expected of all teachers.
Continue reading “The Heartbeat of Education Unlimited (Part 2)”
The Heartbeat of Education Unlimited (Part 1)
Faye and I started Education Unlimited in 1999, as a home educating couple wanting to help and encourage other home educating parents.
It has since grown to include a wonderful group of like-minded individuals, including facilitators, managers and assistants who share the vision and direction of this ministry. It has also come to include a large number of parents seeking true freedom in educating their children.
My own professional education journey started over forty years ago. It took me through 25 years of classroom teaching in two provinces, in two languages within private, separate and public schools.
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Introduction to the 2019-20 Academic Year
What a difference a day makes! Twenty-four little hours!
These two sentences are actually the first two lines in an old song originally popularized by Dinah Washington in the late 1950s. Although the song was about how one’s life can suddenly be much improved with a positive event, we all know life can also deal us events and issues that can be more of a disastrous nature.
Alberta home educators should have been collectively singing that song on the morning of April 17, 2019. What a difference a day made! Twenty-four little hours saw the removal of an anti-Christian government that essentially thought it was far wiser than parents. Twenty-four little hours moved Education Unlimited from threatened extinction to being given at least another year to live.
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Goodbye! (June 2019)
Some bloggers do their blogging in real time. That is, a particular week’s entry was created that week and so is usually representative of the most current events. In my case, due to the complexity of having to juggle a lot of things and people to make this work, blogs are usually created in advance.
This means that something could have occurred after the blog was completed that renders it, well, out of touch with the reality of a particular moment. This is usually not the case here as most topics covered in the blogs are not time sensitive, but this one is.
Goodbye can mean a lot of things, like “see you after work” or to end a phone conversation. It can also mean “buzz off” or “I don’t love you anymore” (a rather juvenile way of saying “I have decided that you are no longer important to me” or “my needs are more important than yours”).
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Streaming In Schools: Opinions (Part 6)
I would like to say that my disagreeing with an article happens on occasion, but that would be untrue. I disagree with most articles I read in papers, journals and magazines. I try to limit my reading to media that reflects my worldview, but Christianity is now in disrepute because its enemies, while claiming the moral high ground, have said so.
Moral high ground, eh? The problem is, there cannot be a high, or low ground for that matter, when the basis for such does not exist.
Simply put, moral relativists immediately contradict themselves when they claim there is no such thing as right and wrong when they uncritically claim that their statement is indeed true and right. It is not morality that these lost souls are debating, but the essence of God.
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My Opinion on RESPs: Opinions (Part 5)
Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) are…great… maybe… if everything goes according to plan. That is, if parents believe that college is the ultimate educational goal for everyone (and it isn’t) and can predict with certainly what a child will ultimately do in life (which is highly unlikely), RESPs could be a good thing.
Indeed, good accountants will advise their clients to look into RESPs, but usually as a last resort to tax saving strategies that include better instruments such as Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) designed to reduce tax liabilities.
However, in my opinion, the best way to reduce this tax liability is to have lots of children! This is a simple strategy since having more children, besides bringing in more blessings, usually results in less taxable income!
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What Matters Most In Life: Opinions (Part 4)
Last week, we had an opportunity to discuss how one can communicate very effectively with very few words. I am sure the irony of me, a rather verbose individual, speaking about not needing many words to effectively communicate, was not lost on you!
A very good example of clearly communicating a very deep concept with very few words is found in the First Epistle of John.
The Apostle John had been a part of Jesus’ inner circle where he had listened, questioned and learned. Not only had he witnessed the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, but he was among the last to have seen Him before His ascension.
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Too Many Words! Opinions (Part 3)
The screaming was enough to make your blood curdle! Our young daughter was in a state of sheer terror! My wife and I burst into the room, not knowing what to expect, but the anxiety level was very high.
We were relieved to see that what had caused all the ruckus, was a moth which had come close to my daughter as she lay in her bed. That was easily solved with a single blow, ending the life of the intruder, but everyone’s heart was still pounding.
That is, everyone except our youngest child. Our daughter’s two year old brother was sitting straight up in his crib, bewildered by all the fuss. He looked up to us with those big brown eyes of his and simply said “bug.”
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Extracurricular Lessons Part 2: Opinions (Part 2)
Last week, I talked about a student who likely learned more from a bad decision than the actual curricular instruction he received in class.
I should tell you that this happened a long time ago in a rural school. I have my doubts as to whether today’s parents and children would cooperate as those of that story did. I especially doubt that this would occur in an urban public school. In this way, I am glad my classroom teaching days are behind me.
This next story does take place in the last school I taught in, which was a big, multicultural high school in Edmonton. This school must have had students representing every country in the world. At least that is what it seemed like and that is what made it special.
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Extracurricular Lessons Part 1: Opinions (Part 1)
Blogging is interesting to say the least. It is an opportunity to share my views with those who may be interested in them. This means that I am never sure who my audience may be. That makes, at least my blogs, a bit of a gamble!
Not only am I not really clear on who is taking notice, learning or perhaps being offended by my efforts, but there is a question of how to best make them available. Blogs can be unrelated to one another or delivered as a series following a particular theme. I tend to favour this latter approach to blogging as most topics usually require a few instalments to be properly addressed.
However, it is probably not a good thing to split a series up with breaks such as Christmas. This means that we sometimes need a few blogs to bridge a gap. The next few blogs are a bit of a mixture of different things that I trust you will enjoy.
Continue reading “Extracurricular Lessons Part 1: Opinions (Part 1)”