I first bumped into Greg early in my Sonlight blogging career because someone linked to one of his anti-homeschool posts. Interested in hearing his dissenting opinion, I was even more pleased to discover that he was a huge anti-creationist as well.

I've been happily following him ever since.

And honestly, if you can get beyond the language that slips in--and pours out in the comments--it is fascinating to browse his posts. Like the one from yesterday about a common Christian lie. You've heard the chalk story, yes?

I've seen it pop up now and again across the blogosphere. It seems that people, and we Christians are no exception, really love to hear tales about how our side "wins" in this or that situation. But the Snopes article says it well, I think.

Chalk this one up as a charming parable, one not grounded in the facts as reported. It's David and Goliath in a classroom setting, the shaking-in-his-boots student taking on the ogre of non-belief in the form of a fearsome professor.

And I think it is important to keep this parable in the back of our minds as we listen to other things. What other lies are out there that we may be in danger of spreading?

Homeschooling allows us the unique opportunity to walk through these topics with our children. May we use these opportunities well!

Now, for something lighter from Greg: A very fun video about Auto-Tune. I know I've heard the sound before, but I didn't know the history. And, come on... this video has Weird Al in it. [NB: Obligatory notice: The video contains some pop-rapper-type video clips that contain women in typical pop-rapper-type apparel.]

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Brittany is a young mom. She has the common frustrations, fears and failures. The kids act up. She wonders if she's having a positive impact. She gets upset (but no more than her husband). Brittany currently has two little girls who try her patience, pick their noses and get incredibly excited when the rat takes a piece of hot dog from their hands. It's a fairly typical young family.

I mean, you have a pet rat. Right? Right?

And like most young families, these girls are learning at home. They're learning how to get dressed, how to not talk with their mouths full, how to identify shapes and colors, as well as how to play well with their sister.

But the fear lingers: Are the kids learning anything?

Brittany is happy to announce that, yes, yes they are! In fact, after many... many... many admonitions to keep her mouth closed while chewing, Brittany has seen some considerable improvement in the three year old. Brittany was so excited, she told me about it on the phone today.

This is home education.

And home education works.

Children all over the world learn how to tie their shoes, scribble pictures, count, sing, recognize shapes, identify animals and plants, attach significance to dates and so much more!

...all at home.

And that is why homeschooling is such a great option. Homeschooling is merely a natural continuation of something every parent does with the children they care for.

I've said all this before. But today I'm seeing it play out in my own house.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

One of my bloggy friends mentioned googling hate sonlight. And I thought, 'Hmm... I should write a blog post about the things that make Sonlight horrible so when people search for it, they hit my blog!' <Bwahahaha ha!>

Of course, those who have swung by my blog searching for "sonlight curriculum bad" only stuck around for 40 seconds.

So, please, before you close this tab, here are 27 Reasons NOT to Buy from Sonlight. The article contains a list of 27 things that make Sonlight a bad choice for your family. If you're looking for reasons to hate using Sonlight, 27 Reasons is the article for you.

What are the reasons I've heard? For your reading pleasure:

3 Reasons People Hate Sonlight:

1. I once chatted with a homeschooler--my age--who said that Sonlight was way too easy and it bored him. Not sure how that could be true, but I can't really argue with his experience. My guess is that he just didn't have a properly selected Core. If you need help choosing a Core that will best fit your family, chat with an Advisor (yes, it's free).
2. I've read several blog posts about how Sonlight brainwashes people and feeds them lies. Unfortunately, people on both sides of issues claim this. So Sonlight is probably more in the middle than is comfortable for some (see Reason 11).
3. Sonlight has way too much to do! This complaint is raised in Reason 6, so you should already know about it..

Bonus 4th Reason: And, of course, Sonlight costs money. That's because you get a hundred pounds of books and materials. And, well, that costs money. So that's not a good reason to hate Sonlight, but it is a legitimate complaint: When you buy lots of good stuff it costs money. I don't like it either.

What are some the reasons you've heard why people hate Sonlight?

Granted, I love Sonlight. But I know Sonlight's not for everyone.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Last night one of my friends mentioned that the director of Planned Parenthood had resigned and was now working for the Coalition for Life.

"Whoa! That's crazy," I said.

And a little misleading.

Turns out that it was a director of an abortion clinic in Texas.

Still... it's interesting. To me, at least.

First: Cool "win" for pro-lifers. So why haven't I seen this on the blogs? Have I just missed the ones that are talking about it?

Second: Lame "spin" that boarders on lying. Some small-time director had a change of heart. That's nice, but hardly earth-shattering. Is that why I'm not hearing about this more?

Third: Why can't I find any major news stations--or news websites--talking about this? I mean, KBTX isn't exactly nationally known... right?

So where is the spin and what is the cause of the silence?

And what do you make of this post?

How long do we have to wait before 20-20 hindsight starts to kick in? Or is that just a myth? What do we really know of history and how do we interpret it? What of people's motivations? And how do we get beyond our own biases and, as Simon and Garfunkel put it, seeing the things we want to see and disregarding the rest?

I just got the strange sensation that news reports are like textbooks. Somehow the presentation feels similar. The vignettes of solid facts that often lack emotion or, worse still, present a monochromatic world. I don't like that. That can't be the way things are.

And that's why I like the wild, emotional, conflicting world of blogs. This jumble of opinion and personal experience reminds me of the literature that made up my historical studies as a child. Granted, there are few blogs that match the literary quality of the award-winning books I experience because of Sonlight. But the human reality is similar. And I like that. What's more, I think more literary modes of presentation allow us to see more clearly what is spin and what is better left unsaid.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Yesterday I wrote about how we love getting your feedback. In fact, when you reach week 30 in your Instructor's Guide, we ask you to send us your thoughts. We want to know what you liked, what didn't work for you, of any errors you found as well as any other tidbits you'd like to share with us.

But one of my Product Development friends mentioned something crazy: We may not be able to implement your feedback for two years!

What? Is the Sonlight ship so staggering that she simply can't change course?

Sonlight Ship

Not at all!

Rather, to get next year's curriculum ready for you, we have to finish producing it before many families have even begun using the current version. For example, let's say that you just started Core K. Well, the next version of Core 1 will be available for you April 1, 2010. To get it ready in time, we need to be wrapping up on it now. But someone using Core 1 right now hasn't made it to week 30 yet.

That's one reason why it can take a while for us to implement your suggestions: We're already almost done with next year's products.

Like I said: Crazy.

At least, I thought so. That's why I shared it with you.

But we read every single feedback form we receive. We love hearing from you! And we seriously consider your insights and impressions. Just remember: You may not see the changes until the year after next. Not because we're not willing, but because while you're using this year's Core we're making next year's Core so it's ready when you are.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father