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In Honor of Thomas Jackson
“Stonewall” Jackson
If I were to ask you to name the greatest general who ever served America, who would you name? Would it be Patton, MacArthur, Washington, or maybe perhaps Colin Powell or Norman Schwarzkopf? I would have to answer that the greatest general to ever serve his country would be Thomas Jackson. Never heard of him? Here, maybe if I told you his nickname it might help; Stonewall Jackson.
Thomas Jackson was an instructor at V.M.I., (Virginia Military Institute), when the call came from Abraham Lincoln to supply 3 regiments to support the oppression of the insurrection in the Cotton States. Unlike the tyrant Lincoln, Jackson understood the relationship between the States and the federal authority, and his loyalty was, first and foremost, to his native state of Virginia. When asked whether he would support the secession of Virginia, Jackson stated, “If Virginia adheres to the United States, I adhere. Her determination must control mine. This is my understanding of patriotism. And though I love the Union, I love Virginia more.” Continue reading
Finding Josephine
Inspired by letters he reads when he buys a 150-year old farmhouse, Writer/Director Rory Feek pens a story about the wife of a civil war soldier who enlists in the army and fights her way across the country to find her missing husband.
Thanks to Granny – I have been following the story of Joey and Rory for some years now, but what you are about to watch is the trailer for a brand new movie – and it is a true and total surprise. More than this – it is a TRUE story.
Of course Hollywood won’t back it or put it in the theaters – ’cause it ain’t got any of those “funny-folk” in it. But you can pre-order a copy for yourself. ~ Ed.
Read the complete story as to how it all came together…
A $20 Gold Coin that Saved a Life
A story that a sweetheart gave a Confederate soldier George Dixon a $20 gold coin dated 1860 as a good luck charm has been validated. The story was that George kept the coin with him always, in his pocket, as good luck. During the Battle of Shiloh, George was shot point blank. The bullet struck in his pocket hitting the center of the gold coin. The impact was said to have left the gold piece bent, with the bullet embedded in it which saved his life. Continue reading
The Humanity of Huck Finn
Huckleberry Finn and Jim
Huckleberry Finn is no hero, though he does symbolize the American conscience at the time Mark Twain wrote, or at least the conscience Twain hoped for. Yes, Huckleberry Finn is a coming-of-age tale and a social criticism and satire, but it also asks crucial questions: Who actually changes? What type of American will change?
Continue reading
An Education to Restore Wonder
On a recent fall afternoon, bright and chilly as it can be in the Midwest, a group of parents in St. Louis had the opportunity for an informal visit from the president of Wyoming Catholic College and his wife, who is an associate professor at the school. The Doctors Arbery — Glenn and Virginia — each brought to the group the approach they take to education at the school, approaches exemplified by those whom they were quoting. Continue reading
Robert E. Lee, General (January 19, 1807 ~ October 12, 1870)
On this remembrance day of the birthday of General Robert E. Lee.
Harper’s Weekly, July 2, 1864
Rest at Peace my General. I’ll see you at Sundown..
Four Pros of Homeschooling
…and 4 Challenges
When deciding whether or not to homeschool your child, it’s important to keep in mind both the positives and negatives of homeschooling.
All parents want what’s best for their children. But when it comes to schooling, the field of choices can be murky and the decisions difficult. Parents don’t always get a close look at what goes on in their kids’ schools, nor can they fully understand the demands of homeschooling until they’ve made the leap. Continue reading
Police seized my clients’ children because they were Homeschooled
In a decision last week, the European Court of Human Rights has undermined its claim to being the “conscience of Europe” and pitted parents against children.
The Wunderlich family wanted to do what thousands of families in America do with no questions asked: educate their children at home.
But homeschooling is not allowed in Germany, and the state has relentlessly pursued the Wunderlichs and even seized their children. Continue reading
Thanks to Their Student Loans, Millennials Expect to Die in Debt
Adulting, the now common idiom, is hard. And to many millennials, the grim realization that debt will always be part of their lives is not making it any easier.
In some cases, their debt load is so soul-crushing they expect to die without ever paying what they owe back. So how much does this problem have to do with the higher-education crisis the country is facing? As it turns out – EVERYTHING! Continue reading
What Are Symbols For?
In 1875, Rev. Moses Drury Hoge stood before 40,000 people in Richmond, Virginia, at the foot of the newly dedicated statue of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, and delivered what one historian called the “noblest oration of his later life.”
He believed that in the future, the path to that statue would be “trodden” by the feet of travelers from “the banks of the Hudson, the Mississippi, [and] the Sacramento…from the Tiber, the Rhine, [and] the Danube.” They would be accompanied by “Honor” and “Freedom,” the twin principles by which Jackson lived and died and which these pilgrims would seek to celebrate. Jackson represented the best of American society and his memorial reminded not just America, but the world, of patriotism, heroism, and duty, the highest traits of Western Civilization and of all dead heroes. Continue reading
Statues are more than a Monument to a single man
As I carefully read and re-read what follows below – I sit in grief tonight – not just for who these images represent – but what they represent… and I mean far greater than the Southern region of this once great land – but in fact – the slow, sad death of the entire nation. I am not just speaking of the Confederate States of America – but the united States of America. Throughout history – no nation nor her people have always been in agreement, but I’ll not take the time to list any for you this day.
I warned though the pages of several of our blogs over the past few years – that the America we thought that we knew – is dead. We have let the enemies of BOTH of our peoples (North and South) enter through the back door and we are losing the war. Those who are destroying the history of the South and America – are not our countrymen. They are ignorant tools of the foreign invaders of which we were warned. The goal of the handlers is the complete annihilation of all that we once were. This has been their goal since 1776. Continue reading
This is how to help children find their moral compass
Photo by Tobias Aeppli
Writing in The Atlantic, Paul Barnwell says that students today have a “broken moral compass” because “The pressures of national academic standards have pushed character education out of the classroom.”
One of the reasons I wrote A Gift of Wonder was to share a picture in which character education is integrated with academics. I discovered that this approach made my lessons engaging and thus made it easier for students to grasp the academic content because they were never bored. Continue reading
‘Education’ Marches On… To Oblivion
As 2018 wound down, our nation’s colleges and looniversities continued their campaign to bury our civilization under a mountain of idiocy.
At Penn State—where “Coach” Jerry Sandusky practiced pedophilia for umpteen years before they finally caught him in 2011—the resident sages are offering a new “examine relations between gender and agriculture” — that is, Ph. D. candidates — to “examine relations between gender and agriculture,” at the end of which, these suckers – er, students – will become “gender fellows.” Continue reading
Why School Has Nothing to Do With Students
Teachers (have gone) on strike in the Los Angeles school district …
They have plenty of complaints. But what they don’t have is accomplishments.
Only 22% of fourth graders in the district scored proficient in math. Even a typical terrible inner-city school district has a 30% proficient rate.
Since 2003, 245,000 students have left the district in favor of better districts, or charter schools. Continue reading
South Carolina bill would require high school students to take personal finance class
A new bill has reportedly been pre-filed in South Carolina that would require high school students in the state to take a personal finance class.
Under the legislation from Republican state Sen. Luke Rankin, high school students would be required to take at least one half-credit personal finance course and pass a test at the end of the school year in order to graduate, a local ABC station recently reported. Continue reading
New Study Shows That Students Learn More Effectively From Print Textbooks Than Screens
Today’s students see themselves as digital natives, the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology like smartphones, tablets and e-readers.
Teachers, parents and policymakers certainly acknowledge the growing influence of technology and have responded in kind. We’ve seen more investment in classroom technologies, with students now equipped with school-issued iPads and access to e-textbooks. Continue reading