Three years ago I didn't even know that a place called Kyrgyzstan even existed. But then I started the process of adopting from there and noticed the name pop up now and again. Kyrgyzstan won a few medals in this last Olympics, for instance.

Then yesterday things went nuts there.

The nation turned itself inside out. A coup. Killing in the streets. Protests. It's a mess. And it doesn't help that there is pressure from Russia and the US on either side of this small country.

Your prayers are very much appreciated for the people of Kyrgyzstan and the three children we call our own who are still over there.

I'm personally invested in what happens in Kyrgyzstan now. I have their weather forecast location saved on my Wii weather report. I'm interested in what transpires in that area of the world.

Sonlight strives to give you and your students a similar connection with nations around the globe. The people you meet and the places you go in Sonlight's literature-based history programs give you experiences in other lands. You don't just read about a place; you learn about the people within it. People like the three children in orphanages somewhere near a political overthrow taking place right now.

The goal is that our hearts and minds would begin to develop a broader perspective on the world. That we would move beyond our own myopic experience and consider what else we might do with our lives to best impact others, both here and abroad.

Granted, what Sonlight will give you is not even close to the connection you feel when you've got people (your people) over there. But it's a great start and a very easy way to discover the broader world around you.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

I'm not so sure anyone else noticed, but it was painfully clear to me:

He was clueless.

The lanky kid strolled down the hall trying to act cool, but there was a nervous twitch in his gait. He was unsure of where he was going. The building was unfamiliar. The social expectations foreign. He was a lost figure in the midst of a sea of knowledgeable, comfortable, normal kids. The way he kept glancing at the paper in his hand made him look like a tourist from another land.

He was lost.

Over the next few months I watched him as he sat in the front of all his classes, ate lunch by himself in one of the locker rooms, didn't really make any friends and never talked to anyone outside of class. He didn't belong in this world. He was socially inept and awkward.

He was a homeschooler.

Those poor awkward homeschoolers.

"What school do you come from?" a classmate would ask.

"I was homeschooled," he'd reply.

That's typically where the conversation would die. No one cared to learn more about homeschooling. It was different, unfamiliar, and that was enough for them. Besides, this kid was weird.

...

But as I look back on myself, now from the perspective of a few years and experience, I was no more awkward than any other student entering a new school filled with kids who had known each other since preschool. Granted, I may have willingly challenged the system a bit more coming from an educational model that encourages dialog between students and their instructors. I may have been more vocal about a few things now and again because I was uninhibited by years of peer pressure to conform. I may have been a tad of a loner, not willing to push myself on others, but that's because I only ever really had one truly incredible friend at a time. I wasn't looking for a social circle.

So are teenage homeschoolers sometimes awkward?

Absolutely.

They're about as awkward as any teenage kid. Toss a student from any background into a new situation and you're bound to have a certain amount of dysfunction.

That's life.

And it has almost nothing to do with homeschooling.

...

Not long after starting "real school" this young man ate lunch with a diverse circle of friends. He was active in the school community. He excelled in his classes. He even got to be homecoming king once...

Not too shabby for a homeschooler.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

I disagree.

Stupid questions come in the form of:

• Questions asked without seeking answers.
  I don't mean rhetorical questions. I mean the kind of thing I'd say to my wife if I was upset that dinner wasn't ready, "What have you been doing all day?" Those are not my finer moments.
• Questions asked to prove how ignorant another is.
  I did this in high school a few times to prove to myself that my teachers were clueless. ...not a good practice and a very good indication of how much of a prideful punk I was. Notice that I wasn't seeking answers.
• Questions designed to annoy/crush someone.
  Been guilty of this one too. A friend and I were debating birth control. Granted, I felt like she was attacking me personally, but that is no excuse for my scathing question which brought tears to her eyes. This is also related to not seeking answers.

I'm sure there are many other forms, but you get the picture: Questions asked for some reason other than to get answers are not good questions.

But it's so easy, oh so easy, in the heat of a moment to pull out these powerful tools. Rubbing someone's ignorance in their face is so tempting. Smashing someone's position with a loaded question is so easy...

Unless you are met by those who have gracious answers.

Alasandra recently posted some answers to some questions. I thought the questions were interesting and the answers provided--before commenting was closed--are great. My favorite was #4:

Okay. Seriously. If parents are stupid — as in, not all that bright from an academic perspective — should they homeschool?

My answer: Absolutely!

If your education left you "not all that bright from an academic perspective" there is no better time to learn then with your kids. I know I'll be relearning things throughout my life and I hope to constantly learn new things... and I did great from an academic perspective!

The idea of giving up because you're "stupid" is sad to me. Homeschooling offers us a completely different approach: Life-long learning.

It's a beautiful thing.

May our questions--and answers--always be as beautiful.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

I grew up in church so some things never even cross my mind to question. My reasoning is something along the lines of, "If smart people for a couple thousand years don't take issue with this, why should I?" Not the greatest of positions, but, then again, I have to pick my battles. So I tend to only research the issues that people mention in passing.

And someone mentioned, in passing, that Jesus was only in the ground for a day and a few hours. I was reminded of this as I sat down for our Good Friday service: If Jesus died on Friday evening, somehow got buried right around then--even with the whole Pilate/Joseph exchange and whatnot--then rose again early Sunday morning... well, Jesus would have been "in the ground" for little more than 24 hours.

That is strange! How had I never noticed that?

I was surprised to discover that there were not a bunch of suggested solutions. I fully expected to find scholars debating this one hotly, arguing back and forth about what the "Biblical" answer was. Instead, I found two. Just two. Two rather straight-forward solutions.

The first, while easier to explain, didn't satisfy me: Jesus was buried for part of a day, which could be counted as a whole day in the sense that "I worked all day on researching this topic" ...despite only spending a few hours.

Eh, okay. That's fine, but not all that scholarly. And it's not nearly as interesting as...

The second, which points out that there were two Sabbaths that week. What? Two Sabbaths?

Yep.

While not incredibly written, I really liked this article on the issue. The short version: Jesus was buried at sunset on Wednesday and arose at sunset on Saturday. The message of this Easter lesson is three-fold:

1. Looking back on history not only clears up questions but gives an even greater appreciation for other cultures and times
2. Don't let the beauty and simplicity of traditions distract you for the reality and struggle of the past
3. and The incredible power of history recorded in Scripture is absolutely amazing.

I can see how my lack of questioning every aspect of my faith could be viewed and naive and foolish. Burying ones head in the sand is certainly not a good course of action. On the other hand, a quick search unearthed a wealth of scholarship on this subject. And so I find the skeptics position to be one that is even more naive: Thinking of questions and then not bothering to look for an answer is even more foolish than trusting those who have gone before to have those answers.

Granted, we must be active is searching out answers when questions arise, or we are even greater fools than those who question us. But learning new things is fun. At least, I love to learn.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Bromide: platitude; a trite or obvious remark

Brought to you by Daphne Gray-Grant

Doing stressful things alone can tweak you out. The lone crazy person, wandering the jungle with a gun is now both iconic and contemporary (especially if you're watching Lost). The propensity for us to get in trouble on our own is also hinted at in passages of Scripture that mention how it's not good for man to be alone and the need for the body to work together.

We need people. Friends. Those who can encourage us to become the people we should be. Because, let me tell you, friends, I'm not yet the person I should be. There are days when parenting makes me feel like I'm the lone crazy person, wandering the forest with a gun.

There's currently an interesting discussion in part of the scientific community concerning the propensity for bad parenting and the abuse of children.

Karen Joy

I can totally relate to Karen's feeling that the parenting gene has passed me by. But for all my protests, I'm grateful that my wife and friends continue to nudge me to spend time with the girls.

The question for me isn't between nature and nurture. I learned in Psychology that it's nature via nurture, but I don't care much about that either. I'm much more interested in how I can overcome my nature/nurture to become who I should be. What I care about is community.

Who's supporting you? To whom are you listening? Are you alone, or have you found a group of friends to help keep you moving in the right direction?

That's what you need.

That's what I need too.

Where can you find a community? Here on the blogosphere. The Sonlight Forums. Facebook. Your local church.

It's a start, at least.

Where have you found community that fits your needs?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

1. Have short hours
2. Have long wait times (bonus points for bad hold music)
3. Have tiered support: "I can't help you with that"
4. Give but one point of contact (email)
5. Have people who don't know your product support it

How does Sonlight stack up to these?

Short hours: We do have limited hours. Some would say that they're standard, but that doesn't mean I don't get frustrated when someone tells me I can contact them during normal business hours... between the time I start and stop working. But with our many support options, I don't know how big of a deal this is... I ask for your thoughts below, so please keep reading.

Long wait times: I had to wait for a while to get through once. But I usually get help from Sonlight pretty quickly. And I've been very impressed with how fast I get someone via Chat. (Yes, I've chatted our Customer Relations team many times.)

Tiered support/Tied hands: Sonlight rocks this. Our incredible customer support people have the power to help you. Granted, they can't give you up to half the company, but do they have the authority to act on your behalf (so be nice <smile>).

Only email support: Nope. Not at all. Sonlight offers you phone, email and chat support. More than that, we've also got the Forums and Facebook, not to mention this blog, if you want to get opinions from customers who are currently using Sonlight.

Scripted answers: I used Sonlight when I was kid, but I don't have much experience teaching with it yet. But I can point you to the veteran homeschool moms who do have a ton of experience. Sonlight's Advisors are here to answer your questions about Sonlight and help you select the best program for your family. They'll look things up for you, but they won't be reading a script. This is personalized help based on years of experience at it's finest!

What say you? Have you been frustrated by Sonlight's hours? Do you find we get to you promptly on the phone and via chat? Have you been "wowed" by CR's ability to resolve your issue? Which is your favorite: Phone, email, chat, Forums? Have you chatted with an Advisor?

We say we have world-class support and strive to "wow" you each time you contact us. I'm curious: Do we live up to that?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father