I am the oldest of seven children, and have been home educated since birth. My parents were both public school teachers who read Raymond and Dorothy Moore's six homeschooling books while they were expecting me. Convinced they could not entrust their children to government schools, they chose give us a different childhood.
They read numerous books to us from Good Night Moon to Pilgrim's Progress, biographies and the Bible. They took us everywhere they went from wedding parties and funerals to speaking engagements.
After reading Samuel Blumenfeld's NEA Trojan Horse in American Education, my parents were delighted to go hear him speak in Visalia, sponsored by the John Birch Society when I was an infant. Mr. Blumenfeld spoke on the history of public education from his book: Is Public Education Necessary? Blumenfeld, a writer for Grosset and Dunlap, exposed faulty look-say method for teaching English. He is the author of Alpha Phonics, a book Mom has used to teach all of us to read. Dad has used it to tutor some students.
Blumenfeld had a vivid understanding of the importance of literacy; his own mother, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, never learned to read.
We joined the John Birch Society when I was 4 years old. The Birch Society, named after a martyred Christian missionary to China, taught us principles of economics and good government. We learned that wealth comes from production, not price controls. And principles in the Constitution; that Rights come from God and therefore governments are created by men to protect those rights. When people use civil government to forcibly redistribute wealth, as in Rome, where the working men were taxed to provide bread and circuses, it untimely brings death of that culture.
Mom and Dad started a 5 minute radio program in the '80s and '90s called One Christian Family that aired weekly on 1180 KERI. Dad took me to interview people like candidates for office and a former LAPD officer giving his experience during the LA riots.
Once, after interviewing David Funderburk, former ambassador to Romania, as Dad was taking him to his next speaking engagement, I asked what the children were like in Romania. Mr. Funderburk said the Children in Romania do not smile. During Ceausescu's regime, he wanted more people to rule over and required every Romanian woman to have five children. Many fulfilled their obligation then dumped the babies on the street to be taken to state orphanages. Visiting the orphanages with his daughter, little Romanian children often asked why his daughter was smiling.
In 1991, Mom and Dad started building our house. Mom was expecting Victor, who is the fifth child. We were getting tight in 1128 sq feet house dad had purchased when he asked Mom to marry him.
Mom spent many hours drawing house plans at the kitchen table, incorporating ideas from houses we had visited and fixing problems she saw with the house we lived in.
While wiring our new house, Dad listened to talk radio and Spanish preachers working for his bilingual credential. When they encountered a new phase of construction, Mom took us to Visalia, learned something of how to do it from the workers at Home Base, picked up the "How To" booklets and figured it out with Dad when he got off work.
Mom and Dad taught us that the world is a battle ground, not a play ground and that we should take every opportunity to learn. He has sacrificed to take us to meet our heroes and in my sister's case, this led to her marriage to a man she truly respected.
As soon as my parents realized I could read, at only eight, they handed me the books they were learning from. The first big one I read at nine, was Grand Illusions; the Legacy of Planned Parenthood by George Grant. Other childhood reading included the JBS news magazine THE NEW AMERICAN along side Nancy Drew and books of speakers like Broken Earth - Rural Chinese and the impact of China's one child policy by Steven Mosher. As a result, at a young age, I was able to know what I believed about abortion and why - not simply repeating what my parents said.
I studied with Robert Welch University, an online liberal arts college with all Ivy League professors. One favorite was Thomas Woods Jr., the author of the bestseller, Politically Incorrect Guide to History, (Regnery Press.)
My research papers include, Women in the Ancient Near East, which shows that Biblical culture is superior in its treatment of women. And a study of Greek and Hebrew influenced education in the Roman Empire.
In 2007, for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, I wrote Refuting Revisionism at Jamestown for THE NEW AMERICAN, covering the Quadricentennial celebration and surrounding controversy.
I have been a part of Freedom Generation Summer camp www.freedomgen.com for 12 years, first as a camper and now, a counselor and speaker. So far, my subjects include; 500 years of American History in One Hour, an exciting look at the providences in our land. Two Revolutions; the French and American Revolutions Compared (The two had little in common) and the Communist Manifesto, A look at Marx, his little book, and the impact of his ten planks in our nation.
My interests include history, sewing, theology, writing, jogging, baking bread, hospitality, selecting excellent art, listening to Celtic music, entrepreneurialism, reformation, figuring out how to buy things bulk, movie soundtracks, working with my siblings and home making.
I would be glad to hear your questions or comments regarding this column. regina@portervillepost.com
