Two days ago, my sixth grade daughter, my fourth grade son, and I read a couple of chapters in a wonderful textbook titled The Landmark History of the American People by Daniel J. Boorstin.  It was part of our Sonlight homeschool program.  We learned about FDR and his famous statement that “the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”  He made that statement while America was in the depths of the Great Depression in 1933.  Wasn’t I surprised when that very same quote became a topic of discussion on one of my favorite blogs.  Hugh Hewitt takes Eugene Robinson to task for misusing the quote to bash President Bush.  My daughter, Kelly wants to be a journalist when she grows up.  We will use this as an object lesson in our discussion tonight of why it is best not to go to J-School if you want to be a journalist.  Whether it was ignorance or dishonesty doesn’t matter.  Both make for a lousy product.  That is why we are telling her that, if she cannot study under someone of the caliber of Marvin Olasky at U.T. then it is better to get a degree in something else and then apply for an internship at World Magazine.

On Another Note…
On the way home for lunch yesterday, I listened to Stephen Covey of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People fame on the Laura Ingraham radio show. He talked about five things, actions really, that get in the way of leading a productive and happy life. I was in the car for just a few minutes and all I heard was the list, but I though it was a great list that could apply to our little family and homeschool. We had a family discussion about the list and agree that life would be better in our household if we practice avoiding these pitfalls.

  1. Complain – A waste of your energy and an impediment to the progress of others.
  2. Compare – Striving for excellence is a worth goal. Comparing oneself to another is just a measurement and could be an invalid one at that.
  3. Criticize – Getting to the root of a problem is the path to the solution, not just articulating an opinion about what is wrong.
  4. Contend – Misplaced anger and contention waste time, energy, and emotion that could be better applied.
  5. Compete – Competition can be unhelpful in the setting of a family or a homeschool where people ought to be working together to accomplish common goals.