Jeffrey R. Holland Talk

I read these 2 talks today that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his son Matthew Holland gave in 1983 in the Priesthood Session of Conference. They were sent in a homeschool newsletter that I receive. They are about fatherhood (and parenthood in general). I really enjoyed them and they made me have the desire to be a better mother.

You can click on the titles to read the talks.

"Muddy Feet and White Shirts" by Matthew Holland

"Within the Clasp of Your Arms" By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars is starting to make sense to me now. I like when they travel to different planets. I am starting to learn their names: Tatooine, Dantooine, Alderan, Hoth, Yavin, Dagobah, Cloud City (that one reminds me of a world in Super Mario). I am not sure if I spelled them correctly. I don't remember anymore... I also know that the Millenium Falcon is Han's ship, the Executor is Darth Vader's and Slave I's is Boba Fett's.

So they are on Hoth and the Empire finds them. Luke almost gets eaten by a snow monster. Ben tells him to go to Dagobah to find Yoda. Han saves Luke and he sleeps inside of some animal thing. Han and Leia fly away on the Millenium Falcon with C-3PO, Human Cyborg Relations. Luke trips a big, huge machine with legs that shoots. He flies with R2D2 the Astromech to Dagobah. He finds Yoda in a swamp. He lifts some rocks. He stands on his head. Han and Leia fly into a mouth of a monster. They fly out. They fly next to the Executor. The hyperdrive doesn't work. They fly onto the Executor to hide. They leave with the trash. Boba Fett sees them. He goes to Cloud City before them and tells the Empire where they are. Han and Leia get to Cloud City. Lando Calrissian meets them. He has to turn them in. They don't trust him anymore. Luke sees them and wants to help them. Yoda and Ben tell him not to go. He goes. It is a trap. Han is frozen in Carbonite and turned over to Boba Fett so that he can give him to Jabba the Hutt because Han owes Hutt money. Lando helps Chewy, Leia and C3PO escape. C3PO was blasted and is in pieces. Luke falls into the trap. R2D2 escapes with the others. Luke faces Vader. They sword fight. Vader is Luke's father. Luke yells - No. Vader cuts off his hand. Luke hangs from the bottom of Cloud City and calls to Leia. She makes Lando turn around to get him. R2D2 saves the day and fixes the hyperdrive. They zoom to lightspeed. They are going to Tatooine to rescue Han. Leia loves Han. Han knows.

It was fun reading it with Felipe. He even got teary-eyed but he won't admit it.

Luke needs to listen to Yoda or Ben for once.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Felipe and I read this book together. He is a big Star Wars fan. I enjoyed reading it and now I understand the movie better. I always get lost about what is going on after they escape the Death Star. This book is like watching the movie. It has the exact dialogue and description as the movie. Felipe could quote most of the dialogue before I could read it. We have a few more books we want to read but soon enough we are going to read Episode V.

It makes me sad that Luke eventually turns to the Dark Side. I think it is interesting how George Lucas associates anger with the Dark Side and the ones who hold in anger and resentment usually end up there like Anakin and Luke. It just makes me not want to let anger build up inside of me or resentment either.

Books That I Have Skimmed Through

I made a new list of books I have skimmed through. I get a lot of information-type books at the library that I skim like homeschooling books (or books on education), how-to books, etc. I never record them here because I don't actually "read" the whole book, but just the parts that interest me. So I have decided to keep a record of these books that I am familiar with.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This is the second time I have read this book. I read it to Felipe. At night he usually has work to do on the computer like working on his dissertation. So while he works I read to him. He can't work without some kind of noise. (I am the complete opposite. I can't work with noise.)

So Felipe and I always ask the question: Who was proud and who was prejudice? To me it seems like the author infers that Darcy was proud and Elizabeth prejudice, especially by their conversation at the end. Felipe thinks that Elizabeth was proud and prejudice and that Darcy was just reserved (and maybe a little rude at the beginning in his comments). I think they were both proud and prejudice.

The book is just so fun to read. Mrs. Bennett's and Lydia's ridiculous comments and the father saying that Wickham is his favorite son-in-law make me laugh. The letters from Collins are hysterically funny and so is his admiration of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The characterization of everyone is wonderful. They all seem so real that sometimes I forget it is fiction. My only complaint of the book is that it needs more dialouge and less telling.

Some favorite quotes from the book:

"Nothing is more deceitful," said Darcy, "than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast." (Ch. 10)

The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance." (Ch. 10)

Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth—and it was soon done—done while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire. (Ch. 15)

"I certainly have not the talent which some people possess," said Darcy, "of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done." (Ch. 31)

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.

There was one about only remembering past occurences that give pleasure that I liked as well and a few others but these will do for now.

El signo del castor by Elizabeth George Speare

I read "The Sign of the Beaver" in Spanish mainly as a way to learn some new words in Spanish. The story takes place in the 1700's. A 13 year old boy, named Matt, is left alone to watch the family cabin in Maine while his father goes back to bring his mother with her new baby and his sister to the cabin. It is anticipated that he will only be alone about seven weeks but it ends up that he is alone for about five to six months. He is befriended by an Indian and his grandson, Attean. He is asked to teach Attean English. Neither enjoys the lessons and so they spend most of the time hunting, fishing and exploring the woods. He learns many skills from Attean. The word sign has symbolic meaning in the book. Words and writing (such as in books) is considered the white man's signs. The indians also have signs that Matt learns. They leave signs to mark their way in the woods and also they leave their tribe signs on trees to claim their territory.

Both boys grow up in the book. Attean gets to become a great hunter with the other men in his tribe and Matt feels grown up because he was able to watch the cabin and maintain it until his family comes back.

I enjoyed the book. I think my kids would like it when they are a bit older.

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

First of all I am going to quote some of my favorite passages from the book.

"The only vital method of education appears to be that children should read worthy books." (p. 12)

"The desire of knowledge (curiosity) was the chief instrument of education, that this desire might be paralyzed or made powerless...by encouraging other desires to intervene between a child and the knowledge proper for him, the desire for place - emulation; for prizes - avarice; for power - ambition; for praise - vanity, might each be a stumbling block to him." (p.11)

"it is necessary that they should have some knowledge of the wide range of interests proper to them as human beings, and for no reasons of convenience or time limitations may we curtail their proper curriculum." (p. 14)

"Our mistake is to act in such a way that they, only, seem to be law-compelled while their elders do as they please...he has posed as a person in authority, not under authority. The teacher...may not be arbitrary but must act so evidently under authority that children, quick to discern, see that he too must do the things he ought and therefore that regulations are not made for his convenience. (I am assuming that everyone entrusted with the bringing up of children recognizes the Supreme Authority to Whom we are subject, without this recognition I do not see how it is possible to establish the nice relation which should exist between teacher and taught." (p. 73)

"Few things are more delightful than the acquisition of knowledge." (p. 86)

"If they (youth) are so taught that knowledge delights them they will choose companions who share that pleasure." (p. 87)

"After all, life is very short...let us get into ourselves as much love, as much admiration, as much elevating pleasure as we can, and if we view education merely as a discipline in critical bitterness, then we shall lose all the sweets of life and we shall make ourselves unnecessarily miserable. There is enough sorrow and hardship in this world without introducing it prematurely to young people." (p. 126)

"One thing at any rate we know with certainty, that no teaching, no information becomes knowledge to any of us until the individual mind has acted upon it, translated it, transformed, absorbed it, to reappear like our bodily food, in forms of vitality. Therefore, teaching, talk and tale, however lucid or fascinating, effect nothing until self-activity be set up; that is, self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid upon the surface of a child's nature." (p. 240)

Some of the points of education that I particularly liked from this book are:

-Children are wearied as passive listeners. Lessons should be short and concise without too much lecturing from the teacher.
-Attention to lessons should be unfailing, prompt and steady. (Easier for child when lessons are short)
-Children are responsible for their learning. Information should be presented once and not repeatedly. When it is repeated the children don't take responsibility anymore but the teacher. The teacher will repeat again and again - force-feeding the listener.
-Children's lesson books should be the best available.
-Children should not be bribed to do their lessons with prizes, rewards, threatenings, etc. They should be expected to do their work.
-Children should never be regarded as inferior. They should not be talked-down to or talked to in a condescending tone. When reading, we should not stop to define every word that we think is above them.
-A child's personality can be injured by an overly-nice teacher that the child ultimately works to please; By suggestion - or constantly suggesting to the child what he/she should do; by Fear, etc.
-We should guard our actions and words in front of children.
-Before we teach children to be critical of what is bad we should teach them to recognize and admire what is good.

One of the things I love about this book is the emphasis on teaching children about God. It reminds me that all knowledge is connected and from God. "The Glory of God is intelligence." (D&C 93)

There is much advice on how to teach individual subjects. The only problem I have with the book is the lack of emphasis on math. I like math and I think it is a lot more useful and vital than depicted in this book and in the Charlotte Mason Philosophy. It makes me wonder if she, herself, was not very good at math and thus chose to place little emphasis on its importance. The problem is that, as a result, I see many homeschool moms place little emphasis on math.