Obscure

Matthew 7:12

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

According to President Obama,

“I’ve just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama told ABC News reporter Robin Roberts in an interview to air this evening.

He added that his wife, Michelle, agreed with him. “We’ve talked about it over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way,” he said.

“We are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others,” Obama stated, “but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing Himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule.

He explained his foot-dragging reticence to support full same-sex “marriage” by saying he “was sensitive to the fact that, for a lot of people, the word marriage was something that evokes very powerful traditions – religious beliefs and so forth.”

However, Obama had previously implied the Bible supports homosexual unions. “I believe in civil unions that allow a same-sex couple to visit each other in a hospital or transfer property to each other,” he said in 2008. “If people find that controversial, then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans.”

I find it interesting that, at best, President Obama is “mixing metaphors”.  He states that passages in Romans are “obscure” regarding same-sex marriage, and yet forgets an entire group of biblical passages that refer to male and female, man and wife, husband and wife and marital union between two people of opposite sex.

1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

If those two verses aren’t enough – I purposefully chose New Testament verses – then search for other verses about marriage in the Bible;  Genesis 1:27-28, Genesis 2:21-25, Malachi 2:14,15 just for starters.

What’s God’s description of “sexually immoral”?  

1 Corinthians 6:9–11
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  

I think that our President also mixes his use of religious beliefs.  He can’t quote or reference a Bible verse on one hand and then throw out the rest of the Bible because it’s uncomfortable or unpopular.  Supporters of same-sex marriage like to call those who oppose it “religious bigots” and “haters” and “bullies”.  And yet, they conveniently use obscure Bible verses to show that Jesus would have approved of marriage between two men or two women.  

God is very clear on the issue of marriage, sexual relations, salvation and what HE considers sin.  The Bible is either inerrant and infallible or it’s just a nice piece of out-dated literature.  You can’t have it both ways.  You can’t support some verses of the Bible and throw the rest out with the recycling.

Fear

I am scared that no one likes me; that people will laugh at me.

I am afraid that I don’t know what I’m doing; that I’m doing it all wrong.

I’m afraid that I’m a horrible parent and that my children will hate me or turn out horribly.

I’m afraid that I’ll fail.

I’m scared that no matter how hard I work, it will all fall apart.

And yet, every day, I get up and try it all over again.

Proof Positive

On Tuesday I was handed proof that our education system fails our children; more specifically it has failed MY CHILD.  My son reads at a 6^th grade level and does math computations at roughly a 5^th grade level although he’s currently in grade 7^th in our local school.  

I’m sure there are plenty of “reasons” that could be given for the statistics and results of the tests that were provided; but the facts are this:  Regardless of the educational instruction he’s been given since he left private school after 3^rd grade, his “knowledge” hasn’t progressed past the 4^th or 5^th grade level.

Sure, It’s “my fault” because I homeschooled him in 6^th grade.  Or, it’s the change from private to public to home-school in four years time. Or, he has a learning disability (he doesn’t).  Maybe he needs to be medicated (he doesn’t). 

Sadly, I could spend a lot of time and energy and emotion blaming or faulting someone or something for the problem; instead I’m going to take charge and spend MORE MONEY fixing the problems that have been created; money that I’d rather spend on vacations or clothing or food or just about anything else.

I’m furious that I need to make the decision to spend money to fix a problem that wasn’t created by ME OR MY CHILD.  I’m outraged that, year after year, budget after budget, levy after levy; the school district has the nerve to ask for even more money to fund a system that just isn’t working.  Not just for MY CHILD, but for many other children and parents and families who find themselves driving long distances, re-organizing calendars, and finding alternative ways to finance tutoring and educational assistance for children that the current school system just isn’t helping.  Because their system is faulty, flawed and just plain falling down useless.  

According to the National Center for Education Statistics about $10K per child is spent annually through government funded schools (Public – 2007/2008 figures).  http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66 So because my child is falling behind in basic skills and processes and educational instruction; based on his last three years of public education (4^th, 5^th and 7^th grades), I’d like a refund of $15K, please.  I calculate at $30K for three years (that’s on the low side, as the cost per student has increased since 2008), and if I assume he learned half of what he needed to know (which is a fairly large assumption based on the assessment test results I received) I think asking for half of those funds back is only reasonable.  

The largest majority of his 4^th grade year was spent instructing students to pass the WASL and 5^th grade (for us) was lost mostly to bullying and social struggles, which is why I pulled him out and home-schooled for 6^th grade.  7^th grade has been a lost year as well, as without the foundation of 4^th-6^th grades, he falls further and further behind.  And, to make matters worse, the system would just pass him onto the next grade instead of finding out ways to help him.  Failing grades in CORE SUBJECTS and they just move him up to the next level of frustration.

With this refund of $15,000, I can afford to pay for the roughly 200 hours of tutoring that’s estimated to be needed to get him ready for 8^th grade in the fall; and have enough to have him tutored for another 200 or so hours to keep him up to speed.

I am shocked at how much the educational system has changed in 30 years.  I don’t remember struggling in school; only in one class – Algebra.  My teacher worked with me after school, every day; my mother worked with me during homework, every night and I worked hard during class; only to pull a “D” out of the year.  My teacher and my mother communicated almost weekly on my progress, challenges and ways I could improve.  The rest of my classes, although not easy, weren’t particularly hard either.  I studied for tests, did and turned in homework and was a “B” student in every other class but that Algebra class.  I don’t remember having issues with writing assignments, studying for tests, organizing my binder or turning in homework.  And if I had, I knew that before I had gotten home from school, my teacher would have called my mother and worked out a solution to the problem.  No emails, no computerized grade system, no online ‘web-notes’, no daily agenda (calendar/day planner) to complete.  

My son struggles with division because he doesn’t adequately remember his multiplication tables.  My third grade teacher, Mrs. Potter (who was 80 when she taught me that year) made us memorize our multiplication tables until I’m sure we could say them in our sleep.  I think I still can say them all without much of a memory lapse after 40 years.  Without multiplication knowledge, one can’t calculate fractions or process any higher functions of math.  You can’t even go the grocery store and buy more than one soda without needing multiplication.

Reading 7^th grade story problems and text books are twice as hard when your vocabulary level is only at the 6^th grade level.  Spelling, writing and just plain understanding anything is all affected by reading.

Is my son smart?  Oh yes!  Does he have a disability?  No.  Can he learn?  Yes!

But the schools have focused more on test scores and passing kids from one grade to the next without actually finding out what the kids know and don’t know.  He would have been “graduated” to 8^th grade in June even with failing grades in all four core subjects.  It’s easier to overlook the actual problem than it is to fix it.  Their solutions?  A set place and time to do homework.  Checking the online system for what’s due (this subject is another ENTIRE post on its own).   Writing homework in the agenda.  Providing Motivation for him to complete.  And the grand finale?  Summer School.  They want me to send my child to the same system that is already failing him for another two months at an additional cost.  

So, here we are, less than two months before 7^th grade is over, financing 200 hours of tutoring to get him back to where he needs to be.  Thanks for nothing Public School educational system. 

How many of our kids graduate from High School?   According to the Alliance for Excellent Education http://www.all4ed.org/files/Washington_wc.pdf “about 62 percent of all students in Washington (State) graduate from high school with a regular diploma in 4 years.”   That’s 38 out of every 100 kids in OUR STATE ALONE who don’t graduate from High School.

“Since 1983, more than 10 million Americans reached the 12th grade without having learned to read at a basic level. In the same period, more than 6 million Americans dropped out of high school altogether.” (Reference: Education Statistics Reference Information “A Nation Still at Risk, U.S. Department of Education, 1999)

Why is our educational system so flawed?  I don’t know.  I’d like to think that it’s a simple solution.  More likely, it’s changing the entire system to be more beneficial and useful to all children in our country.  

I do wonder though how many of our graduated students who can barely read at an 8^th grade level will eventually end up on welfare or other government-aid programs.  And I wonder if that’s been the goal all along…

The Pity Party

Every time we start to get our heads above water, something happens and we lose all the progress we’ve gained.  

The car needs repairs, something major in the house needs replaced, braces, surgery, tutoring, activities.

I know God is my strength and that he gives us strength to deal with the issues he passes our way, but I am struggling with keeping my focus on the positive.  It takes so much energy to just get through a day.  

Some days I feel I’ve accomplished a lot only to have one little tiny thing completely destroy any progress that’s been made.

I am so tired of struggling, fighting, battling, and working.  For nothing.

Everything costs money.  

No matter how much we cut back or do without there’s always something else that has to be cut or trimmed or left out.  And then there’s always something that steps in to suck up the benefit.  Every time.

Yes, I know we have more than a lot.  And I know there are lots of things we don’t need.  It’s too overwhelming to take it all in.  

It’s just too much.  I don’t want to keep plugging away for no return.  No gain.

Goals?  I had them once.  I wanted to travel with my family, live in a well-kept house, and have a farm and a garden and a nice car.  Material things, sure, but I never planned or expected to have every day, every effort destroyed by such small matters that topple the entire structure.

Retirement?  That’s a fantasy.  Travel?  Even a plane trip is out of reach.  Bucket list?  Not even worth listing anymore.

What could I cut out?  Drinking, socializing, and dinners out.  No more candle or cooking parties.  Sell the large gas guzzler and get a more fuel efficient car.  Fire the housecleaner. Sell the junk we have.  Move to a smaller place.  No vacations, scout activities or extra-curricular events.  No more pets.  No more seafood or espressos.  Get rid of cable and cell phones.  No garden or flowers or yard/household items.

I could stop working from home – including the new business I’ve just spent money in starting – and get a job in the ‘real world’.  I could make more money and spend less time at home.  Put money in a 401(k) or IRA.  

What is the point of working so hard when it’s all just a whisper away from disappearing?