Friday, June 24, 2005

Homeschooling Co-ops

Farmers in the past have formed co-ops to more easily sell their produce while making the most money from their sales. Co-ops like "IGA" were some of the earliest forms of the "supermarket". Why not try something like that with schooling our children?

The government has systematically ignored the education system for the most part, relegating schools and other education systems as the "bastard child" of the political process. So, our schools suffer, and so does our children's education. This is unacceptable. As of a few years back, we ranked 37th world-wide (in industrialized nations) in quality of education. What if a small group of educated moms and/or dads that stayed home to take care of their OWN children started homeschooling other parents' children? It would form a de-facto "private school" where there's no tuition fees. It would require some dedication from the "teachers". But, if these "teachers" are already homeschooling their own kids, why not extend that to other children?

This is in no way the solution to our education crisis, but it would reduce the problems facing the education system. One homeschooling parent, instead of teaching one or two children (their own children), would teach eight to ten. Eight to ten is still a manageable number. And parents can trade off. And homeschooling wouldn't have to just be during the daytime, either. And it doesn't have to be from K to 12, either. Homeschooling co-ops could be for preschoolers, where the "stay-at-home" moms and dads get together with their children and teach them their ABC's. This way, not only are children getting homeschooling education, but the socialization you get from sending your child(ren) to a public school...without the glaring inadequacies of public schools, and without paying through the nose for tuition to a private school.

Something to think about.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Reprehensible! (A coverup for a cause of Autism? - Scarborough Country - MSNBC.com)

A coverup for a cause of Autism? - Scarborough Country - MSNBC.com

Reprehensible. These shots are mandatory in the State of Maine; otherwise you can't put your kids in public school. So, you run a 1 in 166 chance of giving your child a mentally disabling disease (autism); or you keep him out of school. If you're RICH, this isn't a problem--send your kid to a private school. If you're not, either risk giving your kid autism or else.

Insert "X-Files" theme song here. I'm sorry, but if this isn't a valid version of a conspiracy theory put into practice, I don't know what is. When I saw this article, I felt like throwing up. Now I feel nothing short of rage.

Anyone who sees this article and lives in a state of "give your child shots or no school" laws, write your state representative or even your governor and give them a piece of your mind. This is our kids we're talking about!

Reprehensible!

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Coincidentally, I went to the CDC's website, and read their FAQ on thimerosal. Here is what it said (for question #5):

5. I’ve heard that children may be getting toxic levels of mercury from vaccines. Is that true?

No. There is no evidence of harm caused by the minute doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor effects like swelling and redness at the injection site due to sensitivity to thimerosal.

Most importantly, since 1999, newly formulated thimerosal preservative-free vaccines have been licensed. With the newly formulated vaccines, the maximum cumulative exposure during the first six months of life will now be less than three micrograms of mercury. No children are receiving toxic levels of mercury from vaccines.


No evidence of harm, huh?

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Synchronicities

The past few days have been a bit surreal. I can't say why, other than all the strange coincidences. Bearing my "delusions" in mind, one would've thought all the synchronicities would've stopped weeks ago. They haven't. Instead, they keep coming. References to my book...every time I start Windows Media Player, it's the same song...strange feelings (the "you know you're being watched" kind of feelings, but not)... Very strange. This one song is not "Xanadu" (the biggest synchronicity of them all), but "Don't Stop the Dance" by Roxy Priest; a song about doing the right things in life and to never stop living life to its fullest. Very much in parallel to my philosophy on "the Road" (see previous posts).

Very strange.

On another note, I've been seeing why I've been thinking so much about death. It's not death itself...but the end of the "good times." I've noticed that every time my mind has wandered to the concept of death, thinking about how things are now immediately precede it. I've been in the bad times, and they suck ass. And, I always have that old idiom in the back of my mind: "if it's too good to be true, it probably is." Because right now, things are too good to be true. And yet they are true. And these synchronicities keep coming.

I've spent so much time thinking about how the past were the "good days." These are the good days. And I get this feeling they're going to get even better. Much better.

Well, we shall see.