A German family has made its way to the foothills of the Tenessee Smoky Mountains. They want asylum because the German Governments is reportedly persecuting them for homeschooling and for their religious beliefs. “Romeike, like many conservative parents in the U.S., said he wanted to teach his own children because his children’s German school textbooks contained language and ideas that conflicted with his family’s values. He had to pay fines equivalent to hundreds of dollars for his decision, and he’s afraid that if he returns to Germany, police will arrest him and government authorities will take away his children, who … Continue reading →

Homeschoolers tend to disagree with each other when it comes to who should teach a child what. There are some that feel the role of the homeschooling parent is to teach the child each and everything they need to know. This means imparting their own knowledge to the child and it also means learning difficult subjects before teaching it to the child. This approach to homeschooling is certainly honorable, but not the rule. I belong to a different school of thought that says teach the child what you know, and even learn a few things in the process. Meanwhile as … Continue reading →

When I was a teenager, my family (including parents and siblings) used to tease me about being weird and perhaps a bit crazy. The reason was that I was always doing something unexpected, and a bit off color. I said things they did not expect. I had ideas that were a bit unusual. When my family called me weird or crazy, my response to them was, “maybe I’m the normal one, and ya’ll are weird” I said this while pointing to other family members. I would smile and nod my head as I said this. When I first decided to … Continue reading →