Category Archives: character education

It is a Good Time of Year for a Lesson in Manners

Leave a reply

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:02 — 6.4MB)

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

It is a good time of year for a lesson in manners. Manners would go a long way to making family holidays more pleasant. Manners would go along way to being a life skills that would support making a good living. Manners is the way to go a step up the socio-economic ladder. Yet, as a culture, we threw them out. They are neither taught nor modeled in public/government schools. Often even church leaders and Christian school faculty as short of their own lessons. It is worth some real study.

Btw, “social skills” is now beginning to be taught, given the crying need. Manners are part of social skills, often taught if at all in a disconnected way from character. Manners without reality, without a foundation in good character is at best fake. Don’t fall for this substitute.

Here is a past episode, one of a series that you can get, on manners. Feel free to contribute your own ideas. One of the challenges is that different communities have different rules. But there is a common rule set, found in many published manner books. Knowing these can really help.

False Choice of Communist Versus Fascist – Know What You Are Talking About

Leave a reply

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:02 — 19.5MB)

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

LEFT VERSUS RIGHT

In our world today, we talk a lot about Left versus Right politically. We call one kind of extremism “communist” and the other kind “fascist.”  It is abundantly clear, however, that we need some definitions.  These historical parties are a mix of both political and economic ideas or ideologies. They do not include the full spectrum of ideas and reality is not on a 2 dimensional spectrum.

Socialism is centralized government and redistribution of wealth. They coined the term “capitalism” which does not adequately define “free trade” of all kinds. Communism is merely authoritarian socialism. Fascism is centralized government while retaining private ownership of the means of production. Authoritarian government can partner with private industry and still be tyrannous. Democracy is rule by the majority. Republicanism (when used by American founders) meant representative democratic government under the rule of law, rather than of men.

In fact, communists and fascists are more alike than different. But, yes, they like to hate one another. Fascists, specifically the Nazis, were socialists, just like their Bolshevik and Trotsky-ite cousins. Both were authoritarian. Communists of the day like to call everyone they hated, a Nazi. Mao, Gramsci and others had their own twists, but all were based on increasing conflict toward revolution and top-down control afterwards.

What we really want, I think is liberty with some charity. I don’t think very many people want tyranny — except those few on top. They have been fairly successful at fooling all the rest of us.  Get definitions before you go out and fight for idea, some promise, (especially one that has always lost out, been fake, and stolen lives.)

THIS WEEK’S NEWS FROM CANADA

In this week’s news, hilariously, a government and specifically the Prime Minister of that government who like to make slurs against his opponents by calling them “fascists” and “Nazis”  (because he is a communist and the government there has long leaned socialist) actually invited an real Nazi, a fascist who fought for Hitler, into their official meeting and gave him a standing ovation — twice. They were thinking about the current conflict in Ukraine. However, they have many citizens who fought against Nazism, many from Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, and many from Poland who well remember World War II.  They took great exception to the Parliament’s invitation and honoring a Nazi. The international press noticed too. Canada’s government is in a scandal. More importantly, the government has been thrice caught in tyrannous policies, violating their own Charter Rights. This may end the PM’s career and I would expect an election to be called, or at the very least a shuffle in the Parliament. The Speaker resigned with apologies.

YOU ARE AHEAD WHEN YOU LEARN – IF YOUR TEACHER IS GOOD – BE THANKFUL

We could not have know about this drama when we made this episode several weeks ago. Dear listener, dear reader, feel good that you are ahead of many by learning. Please show us the love for how we have taught so selflessly for so long. Please send a thank you donation, share with your friends, and talk about these issues in civil ways. Thanks for your response.

False Choices in Children’s Literature : Dead White Guys or Trash

Leave a reply

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:05 — 18.5MB)

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

We just answered some mother’s questions about preschool curricula choices. The confusion arose because of some intended distraction fights among and between preschool educators.

Now, an even more pernicious false choice, even more intentionally caused. On the claim of needing to have diversity within the reading choices, all good literature has been banned. Good is defined as what has stood the test of time, and thus worth learning about. Further, it was replaced by tawdry, poorly written…. trash. Look, it is. Stop yelling and start thinking.

This situation in the classroom of teaching porn is heightened by the refusal to teach the classics. Diversity is great. INCLUDE female authors and authors of a variety of ethnic backgrounds or nationalities. Fine.

Reduce the book list  to only poorly written, modern books, especially on inappropriate topics, and you have ….   well, not anything worthy of being called learning. This is mis-education. And everyone knows it. That is why, instead of defending it, they get violent, first in words, then in actions, and finally in lawfare.

THINK FOR YOUR SELF.