Come see me at the Real Food Revolution.

I was recently asked about socialization.

Honestly, I try so hard not to roll my eyes whenever someone brings that up.  To me, it shows the tendency humans have to simply parrot something they heard without actually thinking it through.

Behind the socialization question is the assumption that children are socialized via spending the majority of their time with other children of the same age.  Really?  Who came up with this definition?

Now, seeing as though the socialization question always arises from the subject of home schooling, behind that assumption is another assumption; School (government or private) is the best place for socialization to occur.  In actuality, I would dare say that teachers, in an effort to accomplish any education, waste a large portion of their time discouraging socialization.  No talking.  No passing notes.  Stand in single file, facing ahead.  Keep your desks in rows.  Stop whispering.

For most school children, recess is the only time that one can engage in any real form of socializing.  But I am told that many schools have now whittled recess down to a tiny portion of the children’s day, and some schools have tossed it out altogether.  In the schools’ defense, they’ve finally realized that recess usually involves undesirable consequences like bullying and injuries, and they’ve rightly concluded that really isn’t what socialization is about.

So what is socialization about?

Wikipedia describes it as “the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies. It may provide the individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within their own society; a society itself is formed through a plurality of shared norms, customs, values, traditions, social roles, symbols and languages. Socialization is thus ‘the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained’.”

This raises several questions.  What ‘norms, customs and ideologies’ are children ‘inheriting’ in a school setting?  Are they valuable and beneficial?  Should this be the role of school?  If schools are supposed to ’supply the skills and habits necessary to participate within society’ and a society is a ‘plurality of shared norms, customs, values, traditions, social roles, symbols and languages’, how exactly does school accomplish this goal?

If a truly sociable person is an individual who can engage and relate with many people of different ages, race, income, and religion, one could say that students could learn those skills through making friends with other students who are different from them.  And yet, walk in any school and you will notice the self-segregated groups.  Private schools especially discourage diversity, just by their very nature.  There are, perhaps, fewer things as unbreakable and damaging as cliques, and schools are a breeding ground for them.  That mindset develops into a way of life.  Look at how many actually believe that it’s advantageous to live in places like subdivided neighborhoods or retirement communities.  Check out most people’s friends, on Facebook or real life.  We love homogeneous puddles of indistinguishable identity.

But here’s an interesting side note.   When socialization is brought up, I have found that most people who are concerned about the socialization of home schooled children are usually troubled about the possibility of them missing out on playing sports or attending prom.  Even setting aside the fact that some home schoolers do, in fact, still participate in those things… Are parents so small minded and compliant that they view such things as imperative to a child’s development?

The sad thing is, all of this just points to a disheartening reality; The typical parent isn’t as concerned about little Junior becoming a well-rounded, neighborly, free-thinking adult as much as they are worried about him reflecting well on them as a parent, fitting in, and adhering to their specific subculture’s definition of “cool”.

I love watching my children learn.

Their intent expressions as they concentrate…

Their satisfaction when they solve a problem…

Their confidence as they work, knowing I am always close by to assist if they need it…

I love being a part of it.

This is Spence attending his Life Skills class here at the Klaty Real World Institute.

It’s school fund raiser season.
We’re more than happy to give money in the name of helping children learn.  After all, what is more important than children’s education?

I’m not hatin’, you just need to keep the following digits in mind for minute.  Ready?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Public School Finance Data, in 2007 the per-pupil local revenue from local sources (taxes) averaged $3957.  Adding in the additional state and federal revenue, the total per-pupil spending for Michigan students is $11, 557.  Erring hugely on the conservative side, with five of our children of government school age the total per-pupil revenue would be about $55,000.

An interesting note.. Private schools spend about half the amount per pupil than government schools.  So, going by their numbers, expenses for five children would be roughly $27,500.

Those who choose to learn at home do not get a dime from local, state, or federal sources.  Yet, they are taxed to pay for the governmental school system.  Each year we personally pay thousands of dollars to the state education system.  It’s a double hit.  Random fund raisers make it a triple hit.

That’s fine with us, since we’re not interested in the big thumbs that come with handouts.

But here’s the problem.  The children we are educating here at the Real Life Training Institute are at a serious disadvantage!  Where are their funds coming from for their books, supplies and field trips?

It’s an outrage, folks!

We could hold a big fundraiser, like the private schools.  Ask you to buy stuff you don’t really want or go somewhere you’d rather not be.  But, no, we want to make this as convenient and painless as possible.

For their benefit, we are offering the opportunity for you to contribute to the Real Life Training Institute.  This will help pay for necessary expenditures like books and other school supplies, art supplies, computers, musical instruments, additional lesson fees, teacher’s lounge, cafeteria food, political action committees, transportation costs, health services, playground equipment, custodial equipment and supplies, internet services, uniforms, furniture, sports equipment, etc.

Please take a moment and support the Real Life Training Institute.
The Klaty children are depending on you.

We accept cash or check, mailed to 2700 Parkside, Flint, Mi 48503

Or CLICK HERE to donate quickly and easily online through PayPal

We thank you in advance for your generosity!

A few months ago, Chase made his own worm composting bin. He layered shredded paper and food scraps from our kitchen, and added Red Wrigglers we ordered online.

It didn’t take long for the worms to create their magic, and all the garbage became rich, nutrient dense compost! After separating the worms from the compost (tedious and dirty work) he returned the worms back to their bin to repeat their work. He even had enough worms to add another worm bin.

That loud buzzing in the trees you hear this time of year? It’s the cicadas singing!

The children found a cicada in the process of molting.

Due to missing a couple weeks of ordering from my food co-op, this morning we had to make a dreaded trip to the grocery store. The ridiculousness of our food habits and system is astounding. I was freshly irritated by the vast amounts of dye, preservatives and poisons like MSG and Splenda. Not to mention that there is high fructose corn syrup in everything.

I couldn’t even bring myself to buy most of the stuff that I had on my list.

Robb and I recently had the opportunity to watch the movie Food, Inc. in Ann Arbor. The subtitle is How Industrial Food Is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer - And what You Can Do About It.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone. If you are passionate about food and its effects on health, like I am, you will enjoy it. But those who really have no idea about where our foods come from and why it matters should especially watch this!

Just one aspect it explores is the horrific effect of cattle “farms” feeding cows corn instead of pasture and hay as they were designed. When E. coli levels go berserk in the cows from eating such garbage, it gets in the meat through contact with manure during the oh-so-safe government regulated slaughtering. Yum.

But instead of changing what they’re feeding the cows or even how animals are slaughtered, they come up with the grand idea of spraying meat with ammonia. To kill the E. coli of course.

Sounds like a solution to me.

One thing I disagreed with is how they brought out the cost aspect of eating healthy. They did such things as comparing the cost of broccoli to a hamburger, and commenting on how much medications cost for a family struggling financially.

While it’s true that you can get a hamburger for 99 cents, or a taco for 79 cents, what that person is not taking into consideration is the long term costs of choosing the “cheaper” foods. Obesity and the related health problems, along with heart disease, diabetes, etc are almost always food related. Eating crap and then complaining about the cost of medications to treat the consequences of eating that crap is pure idiocy.

Plus, those “cheap” foods just do not fill you up like whole foods do. So you end up eating more of them, more often. Which also means more money spent.

Long story short, I did not have much sympathy for the family they interviewed. The man who was struggling to pay for basic living expenses as well as his diabetes medication, ordered a Dr. Pepper to go with his meal. Um, why not water? So they filled up on cheap hamburgers because they “don’t have time to make it at home” and that’s “all they could afford”. Hmm.

How’s this for just one idea: Spend a couple hours one day and make enough homemade tortillas to store in the freezer. They’re just flour, water, oil and salt. Easy peasy. Then, buy a big bag of rice and a big bag of dry beans. They are so very cheap! Soak some beans, then put them in a crockpot overnight with some of the rice. Place some tortillas from the freezer into the fridge. In the morning, you just grab a couple tortillas, pile on some rice and beans, maybe some toppings like lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc., a fruit (apple, pear, banana, etc) and BAM a fast, healthy, CHEAP meal.

But, whatever. I kinda got off on a tangent.

My absolute favorite part was at the end of the movie, when it pointed out how much we actually control what kinds of foods are made available to us. Through our food purchases, we send a message to the companies making and supplying food.

We vote three times a day. What are you voting for?

Here’s the movie trailer.

The word conjures up endless definitions, emotions and opinions.

I love the approach Charlotte Mason takes, which is what largely guides our home schooling methods.

You can summarize Charlotte’s approach to education in three words. (borrowed from Simply Charlotte Mason.com) Charlotte believed that “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.”

By “atmosphere,” Charlotte spoke of the environment our children grow up in. She knew that the ideas that rule our lives, as parents, will have a profound impact on our children. “The child breathes the atmosphere emanating from his parents; that of the ideas which rule their own lives”.

By “discipline,” Charlotte emphasized the importance of training our children in good habits—habits that will serve them well as they grow. In fact, she likened good habits to railroad tracks that parents lay down and upon which the child may travel with ease into his adult life. Good habits are a powerful influence on our children and must play an important part in their education. “It rests with [the parent] to consider well the tracks over which the child should travel with profit and pleasure”.

By “life,” Charlotte wanted to remind us that “all the thought we offer to our children shall be living thought; no mere dry summaries of facts will do”. And the methods that Charlotte used presented each subject’s material as living ideas. Here is where the reading, writing, and arithmetic come in, along with all the other school subjects. But notice two important points: first, they are presented as living thoughts; and second, those school subjects occupy only one-third of the big picture of education.