Leaping From The Box

Normally I post book reviews on my personal blog, Musings, Mischief and Mayhem, unless the book (or other item) pertains in some way to educate or homeschooling. But I have recently read Barack Obama’s two books, The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from My Father and thought that the readers here at Leaping From The Box would enjoy hearing about them also. So, today I will begin the first of a three-part review of Audacity of Hope, Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream, with a review of Dreams from My Father to appear in the near future.

The Audacity of Hope

The Audacity of Hope, Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream was a slow read, not because it was not interesting, but because each chapter gave you cause to stop, think, consider and reread sections.

Audacity contains a prologue and epilogue and then nine chapters. Each chapter goes in some depth about the past choices that America made, both as a country and as individuals, to bring us to where we are now in each of these areas. Obama then explores what may occur if we continue on our present course and what alternative courses we could choose.

Republicans and Democrats

Obama discusses the relatively recent events that led to our “great political divide” and explains what politicians gain from adopting polarizing viewpoints. Unfortunately, their gain is our loss. As Obama states, “It is such doctrinaire thinking and stark partisanship that have turned Americans off of politics. But for those of us who believe that government has a role to play in promoting opportunity and prosperity for all Americans, a polarized electorate isn’t good enough. What’s needed is a broad majority of Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and independents of goodwill – who are reengaged in the project of national renewal, and who see their own self-interest as inextricably linked to the interests of others.”

Obama believes that the electorate is waiting for politicians to rise above dogma and the polarity that has been the norm in Washington for the past thirty years or more. He believes that Americans “are waiting for a politics with the maturity to balance idealism and realism, to distinguish between what can and cannot be compromised, to admit the possibility that the other side might sometimes have a point.”

Values

This chapter discusses some of the core values that most Americans believe in: family, community, patriotism, obligations of a citizenship, a belief in something bigger than ourselves, an individual’s value as a person. And the ensuing tensions that those often contrasting values create in a society.

“In a country as diverse as ours, there will always be passionate arguments about how we draw the line when it comes to government action. That is how our democracy works. But our democracy might work a bit better if we recognized that all of us possess values that are worthy of respect.”

Of all the values Obama mentions, there is a recurring theme of empathy throughout the whole book. “I believe a stronger sense of empathy would tilt the balance of our current politics in favor of those people who are struggling in this society. After all, if they are like us, then their struggles are our own. If we fail to help, we diminish ourselves.”

Our Constitution

Before Obama became a U.S. Senator from Illinois, he taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. His admiration and respect for the Constitution comes through loud and clear. It is obvious, too, that he is not a strict constructionist, stating “… it is not a static but rather a living document, and must be reading the context of an ever-changing world.” Later in the chapter he writes, “In sum, the Constitution envisions a road map by which we marry passion to reason, the ideal of individual freedom to the demands of community. And the amazing thing is that it’s worked.”

Coming soon: Part Two, covering the next three chapters of The Audacity of Hope.

I have drooled over the Teaching Company Great Courses catalogue for years, wishing for this course or that course. After reading Timothy’s description of The Story of Human Language in his blog post A Brief Description of Why I’m Ignoring Y’all over at Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and buy a course. I mean, my birthday is coming up and all, and I don’t want this old brain to turn to mush from disuse! This course is 18 hours long, broke down into 36 thirty minute lectures. By the time I was into lecture two, my son was watching it with me. The presentation is very well done and the topic is most interesting! I wonder if dh would like a course for his birthday? This one on Modern Economic Issues looks interesting!

All of their courses go on sale one month out of every year, so only buy them on sale! And, if you are willing to part with them after watching them once or twice, they seem to hold their resale value very well on E-bay.

Another response to a question I received about unschooling. If you have your own question, click on the “Email Me Today” link on the right sidebar and send me your question.

Background: We have homeschooled our children for many years. Our eldest is now in college. But my dw continually stresses out about curriculum and “being behind,” and this stress is loaded upon the remaining child as she is pressured to complete particular work.

Questions: Is it possible to transition to an unschooled paradigm with only a 15-year-old left in the house? How? What difficulties can one expect? How does one set up transcripts for college?

Thanks,
Unschooling Wannabe Dad

Dear Unschooling Wannabe Dad,

The quick and easy answer is, “Of course it is possible to transition to unschooling!”

Does your youngest child wish to unschool? Does she already unschool in some fashion and just does not realize it? If she has some input into what her studies are and how/when she does them, then she may already be unschooling to some degree.

Unschooling Difficulties

One key to unschooling success is to have everyone in the household at least willing to give it a good try. If your wife is already stressing and worrying, then I suspect she will have a great deal of difficulty adjusting to the notion of unschool. You might need to do some “selling” of unschooling to your wife: meet some local unschooling families, learn about unschooled students who successfully made it into college, joining some unschooling email lists or support groups, and read some good unschooling books.

How is your eldest doing at college? Is your wife worrying because the eldest is having difficulties adjusting to college? Or is she just worrying because that is her natural tendency? If she has specific concerns, such as writing abilities or particular math levels, it may be necessary to compromise and continue with an academic schedule (plan) for those areas and then allow your daughter to unschool in all other areas of her life.

Other than getting your wife on board, the only real difficulty I can think of is if your youngest is uncertain about unschooling or believes that unschooling might not work. Sometimes students are so used to having their academic work laid out for them, without their having any input into what they study, that the idea of unschooling seems scary or even wrong in some way. They worry that they won’t cover the necessary material to get them into college. Or they flounder for a while, not certain what to do nor when, simply because they are so used to following someone else’s schedule.

Deschooling

Your daughter might find it necessary to deschool for a while, just to gain the time and perspective to see what she wants to do for herself. Deschooling is like a vacation from prescribed learning, allowing the student to regain touch with her own desires, her own reasons for learning. Sometimes deschooling is necessary for students who have always followed a strict regimen of learning where they had no input into what they learn (whether school-at-home or in public school). The rule of thumb with deschooling is one month for each year that child has been in public school. Since you have already been homeschooling for a number of years, your daughter might not need that long.

Transcripts for Unschoolers

As for transcripts, there are many ways they can be done, depending upon the homeschool regulations in your particular state. Many homeschools are considered private schools; if that is the case in your state, you create your child’s transcript, translating their activities and interest into “schooly” subjects. In Alabama (the state I have the most familiarity with), homeschoolers join church schools and the church school provides the transcript and/or diploma, based upon the information provided by the homeschooling family.

There are also some “unschooling schools” that provide transcripts and diplomas for unschoolers, which might be a way of reassuring your wife that the necessary material will be covered for college. One such school is West River Academy.

Unschooling High School

Unschoolers can and do graduate from high school and go on to college just fine. We graduated two unschoolers, and while our eldest decided not to attend college, she easily could have, given her grades and SAT scores. Our middle child is currently enrolled at Tallahassee Community College, majoring in computer science, and made the Dean’s List last semester. Both unschooled their high school years, each in their own particular way. I chronicled some of their unschooled high schooling a few years ago, which you can read at Unschooling High School.

Unschooling Wannabe Dad, please let us know what your family decides to do and why!

Readers, do you have any suggestions for this Unschooling Wannabe Dad? Please post your comments!