Pros and Cons

One of the good things about homeschooling is that I have control over my daughter's curriculum and how and what she learns.

One of the bad things about homeschooling is that I have control over my daughter's curriculum and how and what she learns.

I have spent a lot of time this summer researching curriculum, not to switch from Calvert, but to supplement it, as she wants and needs more info and more depth than is offered in any fifth grade curriculum. I have been purchased a bunch of stuff, but passed on a lot more. I have looked in depth at many different things and I have found a disturbing trend, but I am not sure if it is in what is available or in my reactions.

I have reached the point that as soon as I see the words "from a Christian perspective," I quit reading. I don't know if I am missing something that may be really good, but so many of the things I actually looked at before reaching this knee jerk reaction pushed stuff that is not based in reality. Sorry, but the world is not 5,000 years old. Man and Dinosaurs did not live at the same time. Evolution happens every day. Change is the nature of the world, not stasis. Science is not the place for religious education, and with all the revisionist history that is out there, I don't trust the history texts either.

Some stuff I have looked at I can use and leave out the fallacies, but with so much of it, especially the free stuff, there is no way to eliminate it all. This makes me sad, as I am not opposed to moral lessons or philosophy intertwined with facts--looking at not only whether we can, but whether we should. I think Literature is a wonderful resource for this, but attributing evil intentions to a character because it is other than Christian makes no more sense than assuming that every character portrayed as Christian is always right and good. This is especially important when looking at historical figures. Is it right that American Indian tribes were wiped out because of Christian missionaries bringing discord and disease? Were the Crusades, called for by the Church, a good and right thing, or were they political maneuvers promoted for personal and political power? I want my daughter to make moral decisions not by limiting her world view, but by expanding it. I want her to see cause and effect, both the good and the bad. I want her to learn to research and make her own choices and decisions, not accept something as true because it was told to her by an authority figure. I want her to argue with me when she disagrees, and be able to back up her arguments with documentable facts. I want her to be able to think and analyze and not be blind to manipulations. This is why I agree with the Bill Nye video I posted. I think it is dangerous to the future of America to teach our children nationalism as opposed to patriotism, religion as opposed to science, mythology as opposed to history.

And as a Homeschooler, I can't blame anyone but myself if I fail.