I have been reading, off and on, in a very spotty fashion, the autobiography that my great, great grandfather, Samuel Gompers wrote, back in 1923. I have now settled somewhat into a routine. I try to read something of a religious nature in the a.m. and something on my kindle at night (that way I don't have to put on the bedside light and bother Rick) and this book I keep in the car to read while I am waiting outside Becky's voice lesson or waiting for Sean to come out of his high school at 3:00 p.m.
I decided to do a running commentary on it, since I am finding it really fascinating. I'll do chapter summaries. I haven't gotten very far into the book at all because for a couple weeks there it got put to the side.
Chapter 1 - East Side London to East Side New York - this chapter is so interesting. You get an intimate account of what it was like to grow up in industrial London in the 1850s. He was born to Dutch Jewish parents and grew up in an area of London called Spitalfields across from a silk factory. His was a warm, loving and large family. They were pretty poor but he loved the freedom of playing in the streets with all the other children. He didn't have much schooling but what he had he enjoyed thoroughly and it was enough to set him on a lifelong love of learning. He was apprenticed to a cigar maker before they moved to New York in 1863. New York was a real cultural melting pot. He describes the passage over in wonderful detail. Their first home, though larger than the one in London was across from a slaughter house and the stench made it uninhabitable. They moved after a few month.
Chapter 2 tells the story of Gompers youth, growing up in New York City. Gompers is not shy or very modest in talking about himself. He was obviously a very intelligent, quick minded and extroverted sort of person. He was a good cigar maker, loved to read and very much alive to the cultural whirl of New York. In this chapter he meets and marries his wife when he is only 17 and she 16. They couldn't even afford to live together at first. While Gompers occasionally mentions his wife in a passing remark or about one of his numerous children who came along, you get the distinct impression he did not spend much time at home. He was very involved in all sorts of fraternal organizations and meetings and rallies having to do with the working man's rights. I found myself feeling a little sorry for Sophia, his wife.
Chapter 3 - As an Onlooker is a really interesting chapter because it details all of Gompers impressions of the Communist/Socialists/Workers Rights movements going on in all sort of turmoil and vivacity in New York at this time. It was like a bubbling stew. All these former radicals from the European 1848 and later revolutions, found their way to New York. Gompers witnessed all this with avid interest. Let me just say, I wish I had inherited his memory for detail. He must have kept really detailed records of everything. He related first and last names of so many people, addresses, dates, with incredible detail. It is a bit overwhelming and maybe could have been edited a bit to save the book from being verbose. Gompers is a man of supreme confidence though, and he is not afraid to tell you either. It was during this time of exploring Marxist ideas and rubbing elbows with revolutionaries that leads to the title of the next chapter.
Chapter 4 - I Learn the Weakness of Radical Tactics - here Gompers both admires and recoils from the radicals that seem to want to hijack any true reforms for worker's rights. Gompers is a practical man and he really doesn't have time for intellectual posturing or ideologies and emotionally symbolic acts that have little practical results for bettering the poor man's lot in life. He witnesses the violence and extremism of both the radicals and the authorities and he doesn't like the way the former engenders an reaction on the part of the police and the owners instead of promoting genuine dialogue. One bizarre thing that happens in this chapter is that someone named John Brophy attacks Gompers when he is giving a speech. My jaw dropped when I read that! The dates were all wrong but there was my grandfather's name (also a labor leader but about 2 decades later than this). I had to ask my Aunt Jackie about this. It turns out it was a different John Brophy and no one knows anything about him except he showed up in this little recounting of an incident in Gompers' early years in the labor movement.
Chapter 5 - Building the American Trade Union - Gompers never had trouble getting work and he begins to focus his enormous energy on trying to form a stable union for local cigar makers. The unions were not very organized, there was a lot of political upheaval and. for example. strikes would be called on impulse. Someone would get mad at some appalling condition they had to work under, angrily they'd announce they'd had enough and go on strike. Gompers helped form No 144 and tried to steady the men by getting them to agree to proper methods of organizing and striking so that they'd stand a better chance of getting their demands met. It was hard going. The early union had trouble with so many things. The men were undisciplined. For instance, they were all so poor and not used to having cash around, but whoever was union secretary collected dues and had to do something with the money. No one was used to keeping money in a bank, so they'd keep it at home where their wives and children, who were constantly in need (these were all poor tenement workers) would be tempted by the money. It took a lot of hard battles to get the men to understand how things needed to work and to see the big picture. But slow and steady wins the race. After ten years the union was so organized and had grown in esteem in the eyes of other trade unions that Gompers was able to help start the first federation of trade unions.
To be continued. . . .
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Young Pioneers - Book 9
Canoeing with the Cree made me want to read another American adventure book. At the same time, I was looking through the book list for Mother of Divine Grace's American literature for 9th grade, thinking that Becky might really like it (even though she'll only be 8th grade next year, it really looks like a curriculum that would suit Becky's style). Well, one of the books listed is Young Pioneers by Rose Wilder Lane.
I am a big aficionado of the Little House books. I reread them every year starting from about 4th grade through high school. I have read them out loud to my kids at least twice. I also have a couple of books about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Recently, (meaning 6 or 8 years ago) I read Laura's diary she kept while traveling to Missouri with Almanzo to start their farm in the Ozarks.
I had heard that it was thought Laura's daughter Rose was the real author of the Little House books and for some reason that really upset me, so I never wanted to read anything by Rose. I just didn't want to believe that things weren't exactly as they seemed. I was a little bit irrationally sentimental about them. I think I had a sneaking suspicion that the rumor might be true and this was due to my dislike of the last book in the series, The First Four Years. This book is not written in the same style at all as the other books. It is a rather depressing bare bones telling of the first four years of marriage. Now I knew that Laura had been a newspaper columnist for the local paper there in the Ozarks and I had read her journal so I knew she could write, but what she wrote was very factual and not in the lovely narrative fashion that the Little House books were written. The First Four Years was found after Laura died, I think. So it looks like she wrote the skeleton of the book and then Rose took that story line and made it into a real compelling narrative.
Well, my disillusionment is complete. Young Pioneers is obviously written by whoever wrote the Little House books. It was originally entitled Let the Hurricane Roar, and it is basically a retelling, with slightly different characters and perspective of On the Banks of Plum Creek. Instead of the Ingalls family with Ma and Pa and the little girls, it is about a very young married couple who settle into the very same sod house with the same plum trees and the same roaring creek. The couple was originally named Charles and Caroline, but the names got changed to David and Molly to prevent confusion, apparently. But David acts just like Pa and Molly acts just like Ma. And in my kindle edition they occasionally would use the name Charles instead of David. Oops. Someone needs a better proofreader.
However, the story is so charming and well told that it is quite enjoyable. I really loved it and I think Becky would too.
The funny thing about the edition I read was that there was practically more Forward, Introduction and commentary than story itself. Apparently Rose Wilder Lane is a heroine to Libertarians. So the padding in front of the book and back are all about how this novel reflects libertarian values. I did half-heartedly read the stuff at the beginning before the novel and skipped the stuff after. I could have done without the preaching (even if I can sometimes sympathize with the libertarian perspective.)
It was a very interesting read, a sweet story, but don't read it if you want to go on believing Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House books!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I am a big aficionado of the Little House books. I reread them every year starting from about 4th grade through high school. I have read them out loud to my kids at least twice. I also have a couple of books about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Recently, (meaning 6 or 8 years ago) I read Laura's diary she kept while traveling to Missouri with Almanzo to start their farm in the Ozarks.
I had heard that it was thought Laura's daughter Rose was the real author of the Little House books and for some reason that really upset me, so I never wanted to read anything by Rose. I just didn't want to believe that things weren't exactly as they seemed. I was a little bit irrationally sentimental about them. I think I had a sneaking suspicion that the rumor might be true and this was due to my dislike of the last book in the series, The First Four Years. This book is not written in the same style at all as the other books. It is a rather depressing bare bones telling of the first four years of marriage. Now I knew that Laura had been a newspaper columnist for the local paper there in the Ozarks and I had read her journal so I knew she could write, but what she wrote was very factual and not in the lovely narrative fashion that the Little House books were written. The First Four Years was found after Laura died, I think. So it looks like she wrote the skeleton of the book and then Rose took that story line and made it into a real compelling narrative.
Well, my disillusionment is complete. Young Pioneers is obviously written by whoever wrote the Little House books. It was originally entitled Let the Hurricane Roar, and it is basically a retelling, with slightly different characters and perspective of On the Banks of Plum Creek. Instead of the Ingalls family with Ma and Pa and the little girls, it is about a very young married couple who settle into the very same sod house with the same plum trees and the same roaring creek. The couple was originally named Charles and Caroline, but the names got changed to David and Molly to prevent confusion, apparently. But David acts just like Pa and Molly acts just like Ma. And in my kindle edition they occasionally would use the name Charles instead of David. Oops. Someone needs a better proofreader.
However, the story is so charming and well told that it is quite enjoyable. I really loved it and I think Becky would too.
The funny thing about the edition I read was that there was practically more Forward, Introduction and commentary than story itself. Apparently Rose Wilder Lane is a heroine to Libertarians. So the padding in front of the book and back are all about how this novel reflects libertarian values. I did half-heartedly read the stuff at the beginning before the novel and skipped the stuff after. I could have done without the preaching (even if I can sometimes sympathize with the libertarian perspective.)
It was a very interesting read, a sweet story, but don't read it if you want to go on believing Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House books!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Canoeing with the Cree - Book 8
Eric Sevareid was a famous newscaster who worked alongside Walter Cronkite. He made his name as a foreign correspondent during World War II. When he was just about to graduate from high school in 1930, he and his friend Walter Port decided to go on an adventure. They wanted to do something crazy and canoe from their town of Minneapolis to the Hudson Bay which was 2, 250 miles away. They figured out how to pay for the trip by talking a newspaper into accepting the stories of their journey as they traveled. They were so anxious to get started they skipped a couple of final exams. Would a high school let kids graduate nowadays if they missed their finals?
The boys got a little discouraged because everyone said they couldn't do it, but then everyone said, well they are young, let them try. Again, nowadays, it is always safety first! Sevareid was only 17 at the time.
They had only so much time in which to travel so many miles to their destination. Winter comes very early. At times the journey was thrilling, the countryside and rivers or lakes beautiful; but much of journey was incredibly grueling. Mosquitoes and black flies, aching muscles, injuries, sunburn, rapids, portages where they had to hack their way through the bush, all unrelenting arduous labor with little real rest, and this went on for months.
The boys hunted along the way to supplement the flour, bacon, etc they had brought with them. They hunted turtles, rabbits and birds. They ate a lot of fish, of course. They met with many river people, other boaters, rangers, and as they got out of the settled areas and into the wilder ones, they met many Cree Indians.
This book, Canoeing with the Cree, is based on the reports the boys sent back to the newspaper whenever they reached a civilized outpost along their way. It is also based on the journals they kept as they traveled. They met many colorful people along the way who helped very generously, from a doctor who knew Sevareid's father growing up and who saved Walt's life threatened by a dangerously infected thumb, to a Cree woman who spoke little English but told them, using a watch, what direction to go in order to find the right outlet to the river they wanted.
Towards the end of the journey, the situation gets quite desperate. They don't see any other people for weeks. The weather has grown quite cold. It rains constantly. They are growing dangerously low on food and they are exhausted. To portage their canoe they have to make two trips, one to carry their gear and another to carry their canoe. They have to climb over sleet covered rocks. Their gloves and shoes are disintegrating. And they are never quite sure where they are or if they are on the right track.
When they finally reach Hudson Bay, the sea!, they are incredibly relieved and triumphant. They were the first modern folks to canoe such a long path, probably very much as the Vikings must have back before Columbus discovered America.
This book is a classic adventure tale. I highly recommend it. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
The boys got a little discouraged because everyone said they couldn't do it, but then everyone said, well they are young, let them try. Again, nowadays, it is always safety first! Sevareid was only 17 at the time.
They had only so much time in which to travel so many miles to their destination. Winter comes very early. At times the journey was thrilling, the countryside and rivers or lakes beautiful; but much of journey was incredibly grueling. Mosquitoes and black flies, aching muscles, injuries, sunburn, rapids, portages where they had to hack their way through the bush, all unrelenting arduous labor with little real rest, and this went on for months.
The boys hunted along the way to supplement the flour, bacon, etc they had brought with them. They hunted turtles, rabbits and birds. They ate a lot of fish, of course. They met with many river people, other boaters, rangers, and as they got out of the settled areas and into the wilder ones, they met many Cree Indians.
This book, Canoeing with the Cree, is based on the reports the boys sent back to the newspaper whenever they reached a civilized outpost along their way. It is also based on the journals they kept as they traveled. They met many colorful people along the way who helped very generously, from a doctor who knew Sevareid's father growing up and who saved Walt's life threatened by a dangerously infected thumb, to a Cree woman who spoke little English but told them, using a watch, what direction to go in order to find the right outlet to the river they wanted.
Towards the end of the journey, the situation gets quite desperate. They don't see any other people for weeks. The weather has grown quite cold. It rains constantly. They are growing dangerously low on food and they are exhausted. To portage their canoe they have to make two trips, one to carry their gear and another to carry their canoe. They have to climb over sleet covered rocks. Their gloves and shoes are disintegrating. And they are never quite sure where they are or if they are on the right track.
When they finally reach Hudson Bay, the sea!, they are incredibly relieved and triumphant. They were the first modern folks to canoe such a long path, probably very much as the Vikings must have back before Columbus discovered America.
This book is a classic adventure tale. I highly recommend it. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Saturday Update - Happy News!
The big news around here is that my lovely oldest daughter is now officially engaged. Our son in law to be is a nice young man, also 23 - same age as Hannah, whom she met at college.
They don't know when they can get married but tentatively they'd like to marry in the fall before Hannah has to do her student teaching. I think she is more intimidated by that than getting married. She'd like to have a couple of months of married bliss under her belt before she begins 14 weeks of student teaching.
They don't have any money and at first that really bothered me and I kept talking about waiting a couple of years, however, I am growing soft for the following reasons:
1. They are young and in love and eager to start life together. There is a lot to be said for the energy and momentum that gives.
2. They both have common sense and are well educated. They can deal with obstacles. And the obstacles will be learning experiences that hopefully will bring them closer. Things might be a little rough now but I think things will smooth out as they grow.
3. We are in a position to help them out some, so we can jumpstart them a little financially. I am glad we are in that position.
When Rick and I got married we were older, closer to 30 than to 20. We'd both worked a while and were used to being independent. I didn't ask my dad to pay for our wedding since I was marrying a Jewish guy in a Unitarian Church. I thought that I didn't have the right to ask my dad to pay for everything. I didn't realize that hurt his feelings until later. I thought I was being noble! But we did everything on a tight budget. I wore my older sister's wedding dress. Rick asked a friend of his to doing the wedding photographs, we had another friend do the flowers (which were cheap, we only had potted chrysanthemums, the only flowers in season in November and then two bouquets, one for the bride and one for the bridesmaid. We only had one bridesmaid).
The way we chose our wedding date was pretty practical. We originally thought we'd get married in the spring but then we decided, why wait, so I started looking around for a place to have the reception. I discovered the cheapest places were rooms run by the parks. So I would call them up and ask if they had anything available. I called one place and they said no but then I called back a couple of weeks later and they had a cancellation for November 5th. I then hurriedly called the UU church and asked if we could get married on that day and they said, yes they had an opening. Voila!
We had our wedding in the afternoon and the reception was a 'tea.' We just served hors d'oeurves and cake with coffee or tea or sodas. We had champagne for the toast. The worst thing was the DJ we hired. I really wanted a live band but there was no way we could afford that. The DJ was terrible, he looked hung over and he was playing all the very music I didn't like. I went over in the middle of the reception and was like, why the heck are you playing this music??? The guy had forgotten my playlist that I had spent hours filling out! Grrr. I specifically wanted Motown, 1950s and big band stuff. He was playing 1980s top 40 drivel.
We had a very nice honeymoon staying at a couple of bed and breakfasts. We couldn't decide if we wanted to go to the beach or to the country, so we spent a couple days in Middleburg and then a couple days at Cape May.
Well I could babble on a good deal more. I never was a wedding kind of person. I liked the way I got married - kind of minimalist while still being fairly traditional about it. But I find I am excited about this and looking forward to all the planning. I didn't know I'd react this way!
Anyway, I am going to an all day writing seminar today, so I must be off to that.
They don't know when they can get married but tentatively they'd like to marry in the fall before Hannah has to do her student teaching. I think she is more intimidated by that than getting married. She'd like to have a couple of months of married bliss under her belt before she begins 14 weeks of student teaching.
They don't have any money and at first that really bothered me and I kept talking about waiting a couple of years, however, I am growing soft for the following reasons:
1. They are young and in love and eager to start life together. There is a lot to be said for the energy and momentum that gives.
2. They both have common sense and are well educated. They can deal with obstacles. And the obstacles will be learning experiences that hopefully will bring them closer. Things might be a little rough now but I think things will smooth out as they grow.
3. We are in a position to help them out some, so we can jumpstart them a little financially. I am glad we are in that position.
When Rick and I got married we were older, closer to 30 than to 20. We'd both worked a while and were used to being independent. I didn't ask my dad to pay for our wedding since I was marrying a Jewish guy in a Unitarian Church. I thought that I didn't have the right to ask my dad to pay for everything. I didn't realize that hurt his feelings until later. I thought I was being noble! But we did everything on a tight budget. I wore my older sister's wedding dress. Rick asked a friend of his to doing the wedding photographs, we had another friend do the flowers (which were cheap, we only had potted chrysanthemums, the only flowers in season in November and then two bouquets, one for the bride and one for the bridesmaid. We only had one bridesmaid).
The way we chose our wedding date was pretty practical. We originally thought we'd get married in the spring but then we decided, why wait, so I started looking around for a place to have the reception. I discovered the cheapest places were rooms run by the parks. So I would call them up and ask if they had anything available. I called one place and they said no but then I called back a couple of weeks later and they had a cancellation for November 5th. I then hurriedly called the UU church and asked if we could get married on that day and they said, yes they had an opening. Voila!
We had our wedding in the afternoon and the reception was a 'tea.' We just served hors d'oeurves and cake with coffee or tea or sodas. We had champagne for the toast. The worst thing was the DJ we hired. I really wanted a live band but there was no way we could afford that. The DJ was terrible, he looked hung over and he was playing all the very music I didn't like. I went over in the middle of the reception and was like, why the heck are you playing this music??? The guy had forgotten my playlist that I had spent hours filling out! Grrr. I specifically wanted Motown, 1950s and big band stuff. He was playing 1980s top 40 drivel.
We had a very nice honeymoon staying at a couple of bed and breakfasts. We couldn't decide if we wanted to go to the beach or to the country, so we spent a couple days in Middleburg and then a couple days at Cape May.
Well I could babble on a good deal more. I never was a wedding kind of person. I liked the way I got married - kind of minimalist while still being fairly traditional about it. But I find I am excited about this and looking forward to all the planning. I didn't know I'd react this way!
Anyway, I am going to an all day writing seminar today, so I must be off to that.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Housekeeping Chronicles - 2/4/14
Oh boy. I didn't get anything done housekeeping wise except emptying the dishwasher, scrubbing some pots and moving a load of laundry.
But Tuesdays are driving days.
First got up early with Sean and helped him finish his vocabulary and grammar homework. For some reason he was given a slew of pages to do in these two subjects. I got him up at 5:45 and he worked from about 5:55 to 6:50 on them.
Drove him to school.
Let Becky sleep in a bit (so I could get a shower in before beginning with her.)
We did some Latin review after breakfast
Drove her to voice lessons. Drove her home from lessons.
Then I did something very bad - we stopped at Chick fill a for lunch.
Came home and worked on logic homework and then catechism.
Took her to art
Picked Sean up from school
Did something bad again and got a caramel sundae from McDonald's. Sean always wants to eat something before he visits his Psychologist.
Totally forgot to pick up Becky from art while Sean was at his appt. I got a call from a mom about AHG stuff and I just sat there in the parking lot talking for a long time with her.
So after getting call from Becky wondering where I was, I got Sean out his appt early and went and picked her up.
Now I am home. Frozen lasagna is in the oven.
So basically junk food and driving with a little learning thrown in there. That's Tuesday!
But Tuesdays are driving days.
First got up early with Sean and helped him finish his vocabulary and grammar homework. For some reason he was given a slew of pages to do in these two subjects. I got him up at 5:45 and he worked from about 5:55 to 6:50 on them.
Drove him to school.
Let Becky sleep in a bit (so I could get a shower in before beginning with her.)
We did some Latin review after breakfast
Drove her to voice lessons. Drove her home from lessons.
Then I did something very bad - we stopped at Chick fill a for lunch.
Came home and worked on logic homework and then catechism.
Took her to art
Picked Sean up from school
Did something bad again and got a caramel sundae from McDonald's. Sean always wants to eat something before he visits his Psychologist.
Totally forgot to pick up Becky from art while Sean was at his appt. I got a call from a mom about AHG stuff and I just sat there in the parking lot talking for a long time with her.
So after getting call from Becky wondering where I was, I got Sean out his appt early and went and picked her up.
Now I am home. Frozen lasagna is in the oven.
So basically junk food and driving with a little learning thrown in there. That's Tuesday!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Housekeeping Chronicles
I meant to keep up the food diary, but life got busy and it fell to the wayside. I thought for sure I would just eat badly without it and I did eat worse than I had when I was maintaining the diary, but somehow, miraculously, I am still 4 pounds lighter a week later! I do think even though I didn't write things down, there was a spillover effect that made me more conscientious about what I was eating.
So eheu! (I'm getting really into Latin since I help teach it and we've been participating in National Junior Classical League's Certamen - 5th place on Saturday out of 18 teams).
I thought I'd chronicle my paltry, listless attempts at housekeeping this week. I am pathetic at this, but if I force myself to write it down in a semi-public place, maybe it will have the same effect as the food diary and I'll be that much (which means just a little bit!) better.
So, it was a hectic week last week what with taking almost a whole day with Jackie, then being at the co-op all day Thursday and then gone all day Saturday for the certamen, I had some catching up to do, household wise. And Friday was a very low energy day that I basically wasted.
Sunday - got up early and went grocery shopping. Then Mass, then out to breakfast. Came home and piddled around, then had to take Becky to an AHG thing. But for housekeeping I attempted stairs/hallway.
Swept stairs to basement. (Actually I might have done this on Friday. . . . wow, bad memory!)
Dusted woodwork in hall and on stairs
Cleaned up piles of junk that have been in the upstairs hallway for about a year now. The hallway is just wide enough that stuff stacks up on the sides along the wall and people can still pass back and forth (actually we are good at just stepping over things anyway).
Reorganized the giveaway corner
Moved old linens, etc that were supposed to be given away a long time ago and somehow got passed over.
Threw away junk
Straightened the little bookcase in the hallway.
Vacuumed the hallway
Still to do: put aways sleeping bags and a couple of big comforters that are still on one end of hallway.
Vacuum steps.
I think it is kind of ridiculous that it took me that long to just tidy the upstairs hallway and then dust a bit. That's crazy! However, it is nice that the hallway is (mostly) clear now.
Today I'd like to:
(Updated 5:48 p.m.)
Get a couple loads of laundry done and put away (only 1 load washed/dried and not put away)
Finish up hallway/vacuum stairs (done) (I also vacuumed my room and bathroom and Becky's room)
Clean out fridge and get trash to the curb (done)
Give a quick clean up to the powder room (done)
Have the kitchen cleaned before I have to head out to teach RE this evening. (cooking dinner now and cleaning as I go!)
More update - I feel like journaling the homeschool part too.
While Becky had math tutor from 9 to 10, I planned my RE class for tonight.
Around 10:30 we read the first Act of Henry V out loud. She played Ely in the first scene and King Henry in scene 2. I had did Canterbury and all the other characters. She's surprisingly good!
We did about 10 minutes of Latin vocabulary review right after lunch.
Then Becky had to play catch up. She was supposed to write out her outline for her essay on Robin Hood last week but never did it, so she did it today. She worked hard for a good hour on it.
So eheu! (I'm getting really into Latin since I help teach it and we've been participating in National Junior Classical League's Certamen - 5th place on Saturday out of 18 teams).
I thought I'd chronicle my paltry, listless attempts at housekeeping this week. I am pathetic at this, but if I force myself to write it down in a semi-public place, maybe it will have the same effect as the food diary and I'll be that much (which means just a little bit!) better.
So, it was a hectic week last week what with taking almost a whole day with Jackie, then being at the co-op all day Thursday and then gone all day Saturday for the certamen, I had some catching up to do, household wise. And Friday was a very low energy day that I basically wasted.
Sunday - got up early and went grocery shopping. Then Mass, then out to breakfast. Came home and piddled around, then had to take Becky to an AHG thing. But for housekeeping I attempted stairs/hallway.
Swept stairs to basement. (Actually I might have done this on Friday. . . . wow, bad memory!)
Dusted woodwork in hall and on stairs
Cleaned up piles of junk that have been in the upstairs hallway for about a year now. The hallway is just wide enough that stuff stacks up on the sides along the wall and people can still pass back and forth (actually we are good at just stepping over things anyway).
Reorganized the giveaway corner
Moved old linens, etc that were supposed to be given away a long time ago and somehow got passed over.
Threw away junk
Straightened the little bookcase in the hallway.
Vacuumed the hallway
Still to do: put aways sleeping bags and a couple of big comforters that are still on one end of hallway.
Vacuum steps.
I think it is kind of ridiculous that it took me that long to just tidy the upstairs hallway and then dust a bit. That's crazy! However, it is nice that the hallway is (mostly) clear now.
Today I'd like to:
(Updated 5:48 p.m.)
Get a couple loads of laundry done and put away (only 1 load washed/dried and not put away)
Finish up hallway/vacuum stairs (done) (I also vacuumed my room and bathroom and Becky's room)
Clean out fridge and get trash to the curb (done)
Give a quick clean up to the powder room (done)
Have the kitchen cleaned before I have to head out to teach RE this evening. (cooking dinner now and cleaning as I go!)
More update - I feel like journaling the homeschool part too.
While Becky had math tutor from 9 to 10, I planned my RE class for tonight.
Around 10:30 we read the first Act of Henry V out loud. She played Ely in the first scene and King Henry in scene 2. I had did Canterbury and all the other characters. She's surprisingly good!
We did about 10 minutes of Latin vocabulary review right after lunch.
Then Becky had to play catch up. She was supposed to write out her outline for her essay on Robin Hood last week but never did it, so she did it today. She worked hard for a good hour on it.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Simply Classical - Book 7
Simply Classical; A Beautiful Education for Any Child by Cheryl Swope is an argument for and a handbook on how to give children who struggle because of disabilities a truly classical education. It is very clearly written and tackles the many issues in a forthright and thorough manner.
Swope begins by telling her story. She and her husband adopted twins, Michael and Michelle, at 13 months old. These children were born with all sorts of issues and as they grew more became apparent. Not only were they delayed physically, but it became apparent they were delayed in other ways as well. Over the years, between the two, they were diagnosed with schizophrenia, autism and all sorts of other disorders like Attention Deficit, mild cerebral palsy, mild mental retardation, etc.
Because of the physical delays, Swope got right into a vigorous schedule of therapies. This led into therapies dealing with speech as well. Almost right away Swope was confronted with the choice to 'wait and see' as one doctor put it to her, or to be aggressive. She sensed the need to be aggressive and she was right. Raising these children was a long term and love-filled project. Right from the get-go Swope chose to really work on all these deficits so that the children could reach as much potential as possible.
Swope was a long time teacher (with a degree in special education) and had already become convinced of the worth of classical education. But now she had to defy the conventional operating mode of special ed goals. She didn't want her children's education to be just about training, she wanted it to be about their souls. So she went about adapting classical methods of education to fit her children. And it turned out to be the best thing for them.
Classical education is about learning the good, the true and the beautiful. It's goal is to form a virtuous adult, one with a depth of knowledge and insight, discernment and nobility. It's methods are often seen as very rigorous, so how would this apply to such 'limited' minds as Michelle and Michael?
Swope lays it all out here. This book is very practical. Here are some of the topics Swope addresses:
What Classical Education is,
How to informally assess your child's needs (complete with developmental charts),
What it takes to get a child formally assessed,
Strategies for behavioral and social development,
How to accommodate learning to your child's mental age,
Daily plans on how to structure days at various ages and stages of education,
Testimonials from other homeschooling parents of LD children,
Lots and lots of resources, tips and encouragement
***********************************************
I went through a period where I was really angry at the classical education folks. My own kids had LDs and I resented the accelerated academics that I saw being pushed everywhere in the homeschool and schooling worlds of classical ed. It took all my kids so long to read and I remember how painful that was and then to read, for example, in the book The Well Trained Mind that teaching reading was 'easy' or looking through the Veritas Press catalog and seeing kids being expected to read books like Ivanhoe in 4th grade was so discouraging. My kids weren't good enough for classical education. The same thing happened with schools. At a couple of points during the course of the years we considered attending schools and twice the kids were rejected by seemingly 'Christian' classical schools. I grew resentful because it seemed to me that the schools were more concerned with their reputation than they were with providing each and every unique child with a godly education. Through Circe I came to learn about Paula Flint and Debbie Harris who work with struggling kids, deeply believing that every child deserves this kind of education.
Now I have a daydream of my own - that I could start a school. This school would accept any child and their education would be a loving, classically oriented one that saw him or her as a soul made in the image of God. Classical education, by emphasizing the good, the true and the beautiful, brings out the good, true and beautiful in the student, in whatever capacity that student may have. I have no idea if I have the wherewithal to launch such a project, but it is an abiding dream I have.
This book is a keeper. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Swope begins by telling her story. She and her husband adopted twins, Michael and Michelle, at 13 months old. These children were born with all sorts of issues and as they grew more became apparent. Not only were they delayed physically, but it became apparent they were delayed in other ways as well. Over the years, between the two, they were diagnosed with schizophrenia, autism and all sorts of other disorders like Attention Deficit, mild cerebral palsy, mild mental retardation, etc.
Because of the physical delays, Swope got right into a vigorous schedule of therapies. This led into therapies dealing with speech as well. Almost right away Swope was confronted with the choice to 'wait and see' as one doctor put it to her, or to be aggressive. She sensed the need to be aggressive and she was right. Raising these children was a long term and love-filled project. Right from the get-go Swope chose to really work on all these deficits so that the children could reach as much potential as possible.
Swope was a long time teacher (with a degree in special education) and had already become convinced of the worth of classical education. But now she had to defy the conventional operating mode of special ed goals. She didn't want her children's education to be just about training, she wanted it to be about their souls. So she went about adapting classical methods of education to fit her children. And it turned out to be the best thing for them.
Classical education is about learning the good, the true and the beautiful. It's goal is to form a virtuous adult, one with a depth of knowledge and insight, discernment and nobility. It's methods are often seen as very rigorous, so how would this apply to such 'limited' minds as Michelle and Michael?
Swope lays it all out here. This book is very practical. Here are some of the topics Swope addresses:
What Classical Education is,
How to informally assess your child's needs (complete with developmental charts),
What it takes to get a child formally assessed,
Strategies for behavioral and social development,
How to accommodate learning to your child's mental age,
Daily plans on how to structure days at various ages and stages of education,
Testimonials from other homeschooling parents of LD children,
Lots and lots of resources, tips and encouragement
***********************************************
I went through a period where I was really angry at the classical education folks. My own kids had LDs and I resented the accelerated academics that I saw being pushed everywhere in the homeschool and schooling worlds of classical ed. It took all my kids so long to read and I remember how painful that was and then to read, for example, in the book The Well Trained Mind that teaching reading was 'easy' or looking through the Veritas Press catalog and seeing kids being expected to read books like Ivanhoe in 4th grade was so discouraging. My kids weren't good enough for classical education. The same thing happened with schools. At a couple of points during the course of the years we considered attending schools and twice the kids were rejected by seemingly 'Christian' classical schools. I grew resentful because it seemed to me that the schools were more concerned with their reputation than they were with providing each and every unique child with a godly education. Through Circe I came to learn about Paula Flint and Debbie Harris who work with struggling kids, deeply believing that every child deserves this kind of education.
Now I have a daydream of my own - that I could start a school. This school would accept any child and their education would be a loving, classically oriented one that saw him or her as a soul made in the image of God. Classical education, by emphasizing the good, the true and the beautiful, brings out the good, true and beautiful in the student, in whatever capacity that student may have. I have no idea if I have the wherewithal to launch such a project, but it is an abiding dream I have.
This book is a keeper. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
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