Ron Paul Launches Liberty-based Homeschool Curriculum

I will have to give this a look-see.
I have two children. My 18 year old went to preschool and private kindergarten (which was really a great little school), but the cost was prohibitive. For first grade, we tried my mother's school..my mom was a teaching assistant at the time. This school was public, but they boasted being the best in the district, had a rich school base, and catered to the wealthy families of the area that wanted a public school choice. Well, half a year into it, we could see that it would not work. My daughter was extremely bored in class, and the teacher did not appreciate her finishing her work so quickly and then having nothing to do. We held a meeting to ask if there was any way to supplement her education? The teacher was very annoyed and said she could not. She offered to let my daughter go the library instead. Nice.
So, we took her out and helped her finish first grade quickly, and spent the rest of the time moving her up through second grade that year. She was able to start on a third grade level the next school year and was then homeschooled until High School graduation. We did have her IQ tested a few times and her results hold steady at 160. She is in college now, and an exceptional artist. But more than that, she learned real life abilities that will help her as an adult. This is where public school is severely lacking. There is no way any pulic school teacher, no matter how well meaning, can tailor the education to help your child make the most of it. This is how very intelligent children fall to the wayside, and children that need real help get left far behind.
My son, now 6, is in an accredited charter school program. The school is really awesome..it provides 3 tracks to choose from. 2 of those tracks go twice a week, three days at home. The third track is entirely home-taught, but they offer a myriad of electives for all grades. It is almost like having a community college for young kids, with a great selection of everything from band, choir, history, art, pottery, literature, even physical education and sports.
We do Art in Action and lots of group field trips.
The only downside is that we do have state curriculum, which in my opinion, is a bit dumbed down, but we are allowed to supplement all we like and can even substitute if need be.
I encourage anyone that is feeling their child is having problems at school to consider charter and/or homeschooling. I only wish I had had the chance myself!

reply to post by jude11


Yes, it's a huge hole to fill. The moment that I saw the new "smartboard" in my son's kindergarten class I started to question the system. When he came home all excited and told me that the "smartboard "recognizes him and puts his picture on the board when he approaches it to solve a problem, I started to worry.
Then Sandy Hook happened, and every parent in the country worried. When he continued to come home with bruises and a horrible attitude from being bullied, in the first grade, I said enough. I ahve been homeschooling my son since the beginning of the second semester this year, and we have seen academic improvement. They weren't even teaching him spelling!!!

We have also seem dramatic improvements in personal communication skills and attitude. He is happier and having a lot of fun ( most days) with the classical style curriculum that I have adopted. Teaching young one's history and government is a tough one, you have to scale it all back so far for them to understand. This program being available is great, it gives me one more resource to pull from that is not the status quo of what they want pushed on our kids.

As OmegaLogos pointed out, it is FREE to use the curriculum from k-5 grade. My son will be starting second grade next year, and I will still have a few years to decide if it fits us before I have to pay for it. Besides, isn't $250 a small price to pay for the future of your child mind?

I guess my reply is all over the place, I really want to thank you again Jude11 for the great link!! There really is some invaluable information available there!

I just hope some of the naysayers read the rest of this, in a year and a half of public school, my son actually LOST reading skills that I had to repair. A homeschooling parent gives up what little personal time they may have had for the future of their kids and our future for that matter. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to put them down until you are willing to make that sacrifice yourselves.

I firmly believe that we need an educational system outside the control of the government. One that will teach real science and math. One that will teach the real history of the US, without omitting the false flags that have been used to justify wars, or the blatantly unconstitutional acts by our government. One that will explain the struggle between the new nation and the banks. And one that will do a better job at teaching reading comprehension. It amazes me that some people can read the Second Amendment and interpret that to mean that only militias have the right to bear arms.

It is obvious to me that the government cirriculum attempts to rewrite history to cover a multitude of sins, and to indoctrinate future generations to the idea the the Federal Government is the ultimate authority, and not the Constitution.

Growing up in Virginia, I got a heavy dose of Virginia history. There was a lot of emphasis on the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. We had to memorize Patrick Henry's speech, and it still sticks with me.

Personal Disclosure: Since your post appears to distort the facts by ommision, I kindly ask that you reconsider whether this is really a scam or not!

I honestly don't care if it is or not...I won't be participating either way.

I'm sure a lot of people are going to fall for this, I'm sure a lot of children are going to be mis-educated because of this, and I'm sure people don't care enough themselves to look into it to see if this is really something by Ron Paul or just a scam.

reply to post by xedocodex


I don't even care if it is endorsed by Ron Paul, the guy's a 70-something gynecologist, what possible opinion of value could he possibly have on education?

S&F

This is one of the reasons why Ron Paul, IMO, was our real last hope at change at a political level. How cool to see that he is still working to change us at the level things really count: Our kids.

I started homeschooling my daughter last year. If she chooses to stay at home next year also, I will look into this program! Thanks for the links.

Great! What we need are more whack jobs like Rand Paul running around telling people how to unrealistically live. We need more self-righteous wind bags preaching to us about a society that never existed in the first place, and never will. The home schooled are already at a disadvantage - learning ONLY what their probably society-fearing parents will allow them to learn. Then, when these poor sould do get released into the real world, they're totally unprepared to relate to the non-home-schooled world. So yeah Rand Paul! You go! Start creating you socially inept and awkward Rand-Youth. It should be a self-rewarding, ego-stroking occupation for you, since there's no way in Hell you're ever going to be President.

I learned a lot more going to a public school then my friends did home school

I dont mean math or science or history wise, I mean social skills.

I've always been an advocate of home-schooling since I've discovered the failure that the public school system really is. I think for the most part Ron Paul's curriculum can be great. There is nothing wrong with teaching your kids with a syllabus that is based on liberty, the Constitution, and the real history of the United States.

If you really dig deep, the public education system teaches children MANY lies and conveniently skips over many of American's darkest factual secrets.

Originally posted by ShadeWolf
reply to post by xedocodex

 

I don't even care if it is endorsed by Ron Paul, the guy's a 70-something gynecologist, what possible opinion of value could he possibly have on education?

reply to post by ShadeWolf


Answer: Quite a bit of value

Being a Medical Doctor is one feat, but he then spent another 2-3 years to specialize and become a gynecologist. It's safe to say this man has gone through more schooling than a majority of Americans...

Also, being in the medical field, you never stop learning. A good Healthcare professional will constantly read the latest research journals and attend many seminars about the latest breakthroughs. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention all of the work involved to keep and maintain a practicing licence... Depending on which State you reside in of course.

But getting back to the main topic, I love Ron Paul and his love for the Constitution, but I don't know if I think this curriculum is a good idea. In my opinion, any sort of education that is based on opinion is sketchy to say the least.

I won't be able to develop a true opinion about his curriculum until I can actually sit through a few hours of it and see what the material actually consists of.

I wonder how he'll reflect on the period of time between 1940 and 1980 where the entire "economic miracle" was a combination of low barriers for entrepreneurs (which large corporations actually create because THEY write up most of the Regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley) and government stimulus programs (creating roads, plumbing, rural electrification, etc.,).


America was NOT #1 for most of its history. It was actually rather bleak for the average American but we had lots of food and low skill jobs.


RP might stand by his guns, and not back down to crooks, but he's not that deep. Nor are the people who worship him as a genius -- they'd like to be. We all want this illusion that we can be self-made and not depend on anyone because we can hunt, or grow tomatoes in the back yard. Home schooling is the most damn inefficient waste of human capital because any of us may not have the time and energy. We specialize, because being really really good at one thing, allows everyone to be much more efficient.

Of course, I agree; life isn't always about efficiency. But if everyone home schools that's about 30% of the working population NOT being in the workplace. You just reduced the productive capacity and the GDP of the USA right there - not that there is anything wrong with that. The average worker has not been paid according to his/her increase in productivity -- so go with it! Screw the corporations!

But those lessons in "socialism" aren't the only thing that the home schooling movement is trying to protect their dear children from. It's lessons in "mom and dad's religious extremism isn't the only way to view the world." Nobody can hate European's more for their backward ways than someone who never ventured beyond their back yard.

The "reality bubble" that so many people live in now, need never be burst by the communal experience of education. We can all tell tall tales and scare them about bogey men; like the French. Yes, my kids are getting brainwashed in a public school; they now have lessons of history that tell them that the Iraq war was about securing America. I'm sure the next war will be righteous too, but nobody will hear about it.

Originally posted by xedocodex

Personal Disclosure: Since your post appears to distort the facts by ommision, I kindly ask that you reconsider whether this is really a scam or not!

I honestly don't care if it is or not...I won't be participating either way.

I'm sure a lot of people are going to fall for this, I'm sure a lot of children are going to be mis-educated because of this, and I'm sure people don't care enough themselves to look into it to see if this is really something by Ron Paul or just a scam.

I think a lot of people can come to wisdom without direct training. Becoming a Gynecologist does not make someone a sage about economics -- but it doesn't prevent them. We are not our jobs, after all.

However, RP doesn't seem to grasp how complex systems work. He's got a comic book grasp of a lot of dynamics -- and I say this in terms of the comic books of 30 years ago, the comic books today are actually a lot more in depth, layered and complex than most things on TV (but hey, it's a metaphor, right?)

People want simple answers and bad guys and good guys. I don't like all the forms I fill out for taxes, either. It's wrong -- but that's life.

Some of that self-reliance RP pushes is healthy, and people of college age probably need a bit of it. But it is absolutely a fools game if you plan a society based on everyone functioning perfectly. Efficiency means 5% of us have a job -- because I don't see how a perfect product needs someone to market it, a simple tax code doesn't need accountants, NO regulation means that you end up with one company for each service and the call center is off-shored or a darn robot.

People don't have a clue that MOST OF US are completely useless to providing the basics that everyone needs. There's no make-work and telephone sanitizers if Government is NOT making up hurdles for the big guys. The delusion all these Libertarian's have is that THEY are absolutely vital, or that THEY can survive if there is anarchy. It's the delusion of people between 18 and 35.

The problem is, that RP fans aren't going to get what they don't understand, and they already think they've got it all figured out. Every Tea Bagger, Ted Nugent fan, or Glenn Beck devotee also is a genius and knows "what THEY don't want you to know." Amazing that every one of these morons has a plan that's totally convenient for the purpose of neo-Fuedalism.

Teach your kids at home about the fantasy that private enterprise did everything good in the country, and warn them not to feed trolls or consort with fairies. The world will still function regardless of the nonsense sloshing around people's heads; it will just be that much more of a higher paying job to organize the clueless.

Originally posted by CALGARIAN
I learned a lot more going to a public school then my friends did home school

I dont mean math or science or history wise, I mean social skills.

Home schoolers are all taught that Public School is awful, or else, why would mom or dad spend so much time with it?

I went to advanced private schools -- and skipped grades myself. I went through 4 years of school in 1 year. I went from the most advanced enlightened school in New York as a small kid, and then was declared slow and retarded when I came to the south. An IQ test put me in a very challenging and elite private school where I thrived again. But I didn't know how to read until I was 10, but when I did, I was at a college level in a few weeks.

In short; I've been on both sides of the fence.

Pubic Schools were by far the best and the worst -- all depending on location, and how the community worked with the school.


I now have my kids in a Public School and its about the best elementary school in the country -- and a LOT of that has to do with community involvement and people not totally involved with putting food on the table.

"personal experience" is a trap for some people. Sure just reading about something doesn't give you a full picture, but on the other hand, people have one bad experience with an "ethnic group" or a school and they think that's the entire picture. From my own experience, I might believe that all Indian's are super intelligent and ethical; because I've only met the cream of the crop.


The BEST thing about a Public School is not what you may or may not learn -- most of the important stuff in life I taught myself. Public School is a shared experience of society. It enriches us because we can relate to each other. of course, some schools might be awful -- but that's often more a reflection of what family life is at home. If I were in a zip code where all the funds were shrinking because all the poor stressed out parents weren't around to raise their kids (or didn't care) -- heck, I'd go for home schooling as well.

I'm fortunate to be in a Zip Code where any school would function well. School is only a reflection of the community after all. A teacher can't make your parents push you to do homework, and they can't put food in your tummy at breakfast. The fools gold of Private School is that they pick the good students to enter, and pretend they made good students.

Ultimately, we are all individuals who must learn how to learn, but we also need to "toughen up" and learn to keep trying when things are difficult. We need to bump heads with people who aren't nice, and we need support from people who always have our back. The best choice is going to depend on where you are at and who you are as a person. There is no perfect diet or perfect solution and it's good to have ALL options for people.

Just don't take away our Public Schools or fall into this "voucher" nonsense. We need communities and that means public parks, sidewalks and yes, public schools. Otherwise, we will be a nation of bunkers and fences. Home Schooling can be awesome unless you are prepping for Armageddon and Jesus to return.

This is the best part of the WHOLE website.

State Regulations: Why the Ron Paul Curriculum Will Not Comply

source

Every parent must come to grips with the reality of state regulation. It is not the responsibility of the Ron Paul Curriculum to cooperate in any way with state agencies. The Ron Paul Curriculum is protected under First Amendment liberties. We have the freedom of the press to protect us. We can publish whatever we want.

This may sound hard-core, but that is my position. For as long as I am Director of Curriculum Development for this program, I will not recommend to any faculty member that he adjust one sentence to meet any state requirements. It is not our responsibility to crawl on our bellies to some state agency's requirement. Parents have to decide whether or not they are willing to do this, and to what degree they are willing to do this. That is not our responsibility.

Not only is RP trying to educate children, he's also FORCING parents to be responsible for their children's education.

~Tenth

Ben Swann was home-schooled as well. He's been one of the VERY few reporters who knew how important it was to spread the truth and a balanced view during Ron Paul's campaign. He's still doing it and gained a lot of respect doing so. If you don't know who he is, look him up.

xeocodecscsexc, you're letting your emotions get in the way of logic.

I don't understand why you would call this a scam. You're either trolling or have no idea what a scam is.

A scam is typically person A promising to provide a service taking exchange with person B but person A does not deliver on said promised service.

The only way this would be a scam is if this curriculum took money and didn't provide a syllabus or provided an extremely poor syllabus.

Ron Paul is worth more than a million dollars because of his gold investments from decades ago, when it was in the single and double digits, why the hell would he want to 'scam' people into homeschooling when he has been championing the cause for most of his adult life? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
I firmly believe that we need an educational system outside the control of the government.

This is what baffles me. Ron Paul is former government, was running for President. So in some parallel Earth, he is running the country right now, or the other Paul would be doing it. Had he been in government, would this be the school system applied?

The people who have never been through it will never know what homeschool is about. It's self study; there is a stack of books, a load of tests, and once that is done, one is enriched. I knew homeschoolers who were teenage businesspeople, and basically paid their own way through. I have also known homeschoolers who were there because they were expelled from the government-controlled public schools. Past all that there are still SAT tests and college entrance exams. You can't flip a hamburger without having a degree in this economy, so the real hurdle is getting through college.

If Ron Paul wasn't the big name attached to this homeschool program, would anybody notice? Look that it's 2013, education isn't the same as it was 20 years ago; a tablet computer changes the environment completely. It's still nation-centric studies.

I really didn't need any more reasons to love some Ron Paul, but I don't mind adding to the list. S&F..... let's get these garbage mouthed politicians put in their place....... the place where the rest of the garbage goes.

Originally posted by SmoothRhythm

Originally posted by ShadeWolf
reply to post by xedocodex

 

I don't even care if it is endorsed by Ron Paul, the guy's a 70-something gynecologist, what possible opinion of value could he possibly have on education?

reply to post by ShadeWolf

 

Answer: Quite a bit of value

Being a Medical Doctor is one feat, but he then spent another 2-3 years to specialize and become a gynecologist. It's safe to say this man has gone through more schooling than a majority of Americans...

Also, being in the medical field, you never stop learning. A good Healthcare professional will constantly read the latest research journals and attend many seminars about the latest breakthroughs. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention all of the work involved to keep and maintain a practicing licence... Depending on which State you reside in of course.

But getting back to the main topic, I love Ron Paul and his love for the Constitution, but I don't know if I think this curriculum is a good idea. In my opinion, any sort of education that is based on opinion is sketchy to say the least.

I won't be able to develop a true opinion about his curriculum until I can actually sit through a few hours of it and see what the material actually consists of.

edit on 4/9/13 by SmoothRhythm because: (no reason given)

how the heck does going through medical school give you any education on the education of other people?
does he have any teaching education? has he ever taught other people? there is a heck of a lot of specialized education that goes into teaching others.

i think anything based on promoting some political ideology, no matter what it is, is pretty shady.
sounds more like a way to bilk people out of money than education.