Homeschooling and Technology: The Allure for Modern Families

September 27, 2011

Written by Malia Jacobson (www.thewellrestedfamily.com)
Posted with permission.

Modern homeschooling and technologyIf Seattle dad Mike Beery knows his way around pixels and PhotoShop, it’s no surprise; he’s a seasoned graphic designer. More surprising is the fact that he manages his business alongside a bustling classroom—granted, the class convenes at his family’s Beacon Hill kitchen table, and the students are his two children, Grace, 11, and Gavin, 8.

Together with his wife, Debi, a nurse at Swedish Medical Center, Beery juggles a home-based graphic design business with full-time homeschooling. Because they don’t fit into the mold of the typical homeschooling family — stay-at-home mom, breadwinning dad — people are surprised that homeschooling works for them, says Beery. “But if we can do it, anyone can.”

The Beerys illustrate the changing image of homeschooling. Like the graphic images Mike creates for clients, it’s a picture colored by modern technology, as electronic curricula and online schools make home education a possibility for people from all walks of life.

Homeschooling comes of age

Once thought of as an educational off-ramp for a select few, homeschooling is now a viable option for families that might not have considered it a decade ago. The population of homeschooled students grew by about 7 percent from 2007 to spring 2010. According to Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., founder and president of Salem, Ore.–based National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), there are now 2.04 million homeschooled students in the U.S.—an increase of 140 percent since the turn of the last century.

Thanks to lowered social stigma around homeschooling, it’s no longer something that’s left wing or right wing, reserved for the ultraconservative or new agers, says Ray. “It’s clearly a viable option for mainstream America.”

Just who is homeschooling these 2 million students? The needle hasn’t moved in terms of homeschooling demographics; there is still more than a grain of truth to the belief that homeschooling families tend to be white, religious and larger than average.

According to published reports from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the NHERI, the vast majority of homeschooled students are white (77 percent), and their families are helmed by married parents (97.9 percent), with a mother who doesn’t work for pay (81 percent). Most of the families (68.1 percent) have three or more children.

Reports from the NCES indicate that today’s home-educating parents are slightly less likely to do so for religious reasons (2.4 percent) and slightly less likely to be white (1.7 percent) than they were a decade ago.

According to the NCES, parents’ top reasons for choosing homeschooling have remained consistent: the desire to provide moral education, concerns about the school environment and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at local schools. The overarching theme, says Ray, is that most parents who choose to homeschool believe they can provide a better education at home, and they embrace their right to do so. That aspect of homeschooling hasn’t changed.

One-to-one learning

So then, what has changed about homeschooling in the past decade? What is prompting families to jump onboard? According to Ray, Beery and others, it’s a combination of technology-aided learning and a corresponding surge in educational options for homeschoolers, from free, government-run online schools and online tutoring to turnkey DVD curricula.

These new educational offerings do more than crowd display booths at homeschooling conferences. They remove a major access barrier to homeschooling—the need to have a parent at home full time.

By reducing the intimidation factor, the isolation and even the parental workload once associated with homeschooling, online schools and complete-school-in-a-box curricula make it possible for working parents, single parents and other nontraditional homeschoolers to successfully educate their kids at home.

Parents can choose from a growing menu of options to completely customize their child’s education, and that’s extremely appealing, says Ray. “With the variety of support systems, curricular materials and online support services that are available, there is absolutely no lack of anything that a homeschooling family could want,” he says.

The Beerys find balance with a DVD homeschooling curriculum that provides video instruction and lesson plans for each child. It’s rigorous and fairly structured, and, because the lesson plans come already tailored to each child’s grade level, Beery doesn’t need to spend hours each night preparing the next day’s schoolwork—something he doesn’t have the time for, since he often works at night. Prepping for each day takes about five minutes, he says.

“My wife and I provide support and help when the kids need it. She helps with math; I’m the history person. But they’re old enough to work pretty independently now.” Most days, the kids spend their mornings on lessons; Beery oversees their work and stays in touch with clients. Afternoons are spent at swim lessons, sports classes and other activities.

Technology-supported home learning also addresses the unique challenges faced by single and divorced parents. For childbirth educator Kelli Barr-Lyles of Spanaway, a divorced parent, Washington’s free online school, The Columbia Virtual Academy, is a way for her to meet her ex-husband halfway.

Her two sons, Jonathan, 13, and Christopher, 9, check in regularly with a learning adviser and fill out monthly accountability worksheets. The system builds learning outcomes into her style of “unschooling” while providing enough structure to keep her former husband, who favors more traditional education, happy.

“It drives me crazy, but it holds me accountable,” she says.

Technology facilitates learning in a way that homeschooling’s early pioneers couldn’t have dreamed of, says Barr-Lyles. Christopher is studying computer animation, something she doubts he would be able to pursue at a traditional middle school. Whether this is a real interest or a passing phase, she’s more than happy to help him follow his current passion. “The best thing about homeschool is the level of customization it offers. I can follow their interests.”

Modern homeschoolingCreating connections

Technology also increases the feeling of being connected and creates a sense of community, says Barr-Lyles. Finding support is important, especially as kids get older and the playdates and parent-child gym classes that once provided regular interaction with other homeschoolers taper off. Luckily, the nearest homeschool group is usually just a few clicks away on the web. “There’s plenty of support out there,” she says. She belongs to “at least a dozen” homeschooling support groups through Yahoo and Meetup.com.

Debra Green of Aurora, Colo., didn’t have the benefit of online support when she homeschooled her first two children, now 26 and 23. Now that she’s homeschooling her younger children, Lilly, 6, and Nathanial, 5, she draws on experience and resources from around the world through Heart of Wisdom, a worldwide Christian homeschooling group that communicates primarily through email and message boards. She organizes a local chapter, Home of Wisdom, in her hometown.

Virtual support groups create camaraderie and a larger pool of resources and knowledge, she says. “We can cry to each other and help each other.

Community programs, often facilitated and managed online, allow homeschooling families to circumvent one of the primary challenges associated with homeschooling: socialization.

The perception that homeschooled children aren’t well socialized just isn’t true, says Beery. Through community homeschooling programs, such as swim lessons and regular playdates, his kids interact with kids of all ages, and adults, too. “That’s important. I think my kids probably get more and better socialization than they would in public school.”

Tech troubles

But there can be downsides to the explosion of technology-aided homeschooling, says Ray. Often, too many choices mean that homeschooling can be overwhelming to newcomers. “When your child attends public school, the curriculum is figured out for you,” says Ray. But homeschoolers are faced with the significant challenge of sifting through dozens of curricular offerings and countless websites and message boards to find out which approach is best for their unique child. It’s information overload, plain and simple.

Starting homeschool was ex­tremely overwhelming at first, says Barr-Lyles. “You feel like the world is on your shoulders. I know my kids better than anyone else, so I had to figure out, how are we going to do this? But you have to weed out the ‘stuff’ out there that doesn’t apply to you and your kids, and it’s hard.”

Even with the world of technology-aided learning at their fingertips, modern homeschoolers shouldn’t discount the importance of face-to-face support. Local support groups, with their meetings, group activities and field trips, are always going to serve an important role, Ray notes. “People still want — and need — high-touch interactions,” he says. “I think that piece is never going to go away.”

For the Beerys, that means supplementing the DVD curriculum with a weekly homeschool co-op, where the kids learn alongside their friends. The face-to-face learning is the perfect complement to techno-homeschooling, says Beery; his kids get the best of both worlds. “We couldn’t do it any other way.

Tacoma-based freelance writer Malia Jacobson was homeschooled in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Her homeschool memories involve trekking to far-flung bookstores every fall to pick out textbooks and workbooks.

ND Policy Council Fund Raising and Educational Event with Ron Paul

This is not a campaign stop for Ron Paul, but a fund raiser and educational event for the ND Policy Council.

4th Annual Free Market Forum - Legalize Capitalism
“Legalize Capitalism”
Presented by
North Dakota Policy Council
Presenting sponsor
Treasure Island Coins & Precious Metals


What: Free Market Forum
Where: Fargo Civic Center - Fargo, ND - (See accommodation options below)
When: Saturday, November 5, 2011 - (Tentative agenda below)
Tickets: (See below)
Why: To raise awareness of the NDPC, raise funds to promote free enterprise, and network with supporters of limited government. The United States of America must legalize capitalism once again to restore its greatness. Find out the path that Congressman Paul thinks we need to take to legalize capitalism.
(More information will be available soon.)

Ticket Information

(Click HERE to purchase tickets online. Email us at info@policynd.org with any questions or if you prefer not to pay online.)
VIP Table Sponsorship - $10,000 - This sponsorship comes with 10 VIP tickets to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 10 signed copies of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 10 dinner tickets with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
Table Sponsorship - $5,000 - This sponsorship comes with 8 VIP tickets to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 5 signed copies of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 8 dinner tickets with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
Table Sponsorship - $1,000 - This sponsorship comes with 2 VIP tickets to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 2 signed copies of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 8 dinner tickets with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
VIP Ticket - $500 - This ticket comes with 1 VIP ticket to a private reception with Congressman Paul, a picture with Paul, 1 signed copy of Paul’s book Liberty Defined, and 1 dinner ticket with priority seating for the dinner and speech.
Single Dinner Ticket - $75 - This ticket is for general admission to the dinner and speech and are available for only $50 for a limited time.

Because the NDPC is a 501c3 organization, the entire cost (minus the value of the meals and books) of the sponsorships and tickets are tax-deductible. We are also prohibited by the IRS from endorsing anyone to be president of the United States or any other elected office.

A Christian Philosophy of Education - By Gordon Clark

This book was influential in my life. When I first read it, I felt betrayed by my Christian pastors and teachers. No one ever told me how thoroughly my education could have been Christian and the advantages to having a thoroughly Christian education. Here are a few quotes to give you the flavor of Gordon Clark's writings.  J P Bartlett

" A narrow technical training provides no safeguard against being deceived. Only a liberal arts education that uncovers three thousand years of human motives, foibles, reflections, and devices offers hope." p. 19

"There is only one philosophy that can really unify education and life. That philosophy is the philosophy of Christian theism. What is needed is an educational system based on the sovereignty of God, for in such a system man as well as chemistry will be given his proper place, neither too high nor too low. p. 21

"...unless a thinking begins with God, he can never end with God, or get the facts either." p. 31

"The atheist who asserts that there is no God, asserts by the same words that he holds the whole universe in his mind." p.38

"Non-theistic justifications of arithmetic are failures because non-theistic theories of life are failures." p. 59

"In the Christian view, motive is as important as the overt act." p.66

"Experimentation itself, as the philosophy of science shows, is based on philosophic principles. The choice of methods of experimentation is directed by the experimenter's view of what the world is like." p. 68

"The early American colleges were distinctly Christian institutions. But the public school system, unlike the colleges, was not so inspired." p. 69

"The Scriptures say that the fear of the Lord is the chief part of knowledge; but the schools, by omitting all reference to God, give the pupils the notion that knowledge can be had apart from God." p. 73

"..Christians should organize as many schools as possible, and seek to dismantle the tax-supported school system. The exercise of liberty is essential to its preservation. p. 190

"Besides History there are Physics and Mathematics. So far as their details are concerned, it is harder to infuse the courses with Christian material. But it is not hard to do so when the discussion turns to their significance." p. 195

"The just about knowing more and more about less and less until one knows everything about nothing has almost come true." p. 195

"Broad views of the sovereignty of God as affecting all parts of the universe, and the consequence that science and theology form a single, organized, intelligible system, are both inspiring and necessary; but the only proof of which they are capable is their application to the details of physics, psychology, education, politics, and all else." p. 215

Gordon Clark penned this book in 1946.

What do you think?

Home School Political Action Needed = You Become a Delegate

In order to advance home school freedom in North Dakota, people who want home school freedom need to be elected to state offices. Home educating families that use the Bible as their guide to what is righteous and good in politics, government, law, and economics are in the best position to significantly impact politics in North Dakota by their participation in the delegate process. The delegate process is where candidates get selected at Republican and Democrat conventions by the delegates. It is an easy process, but God-fearing Bible-doing candidates won't get their names on the ballet without God-fearing Bible-doing people present as delegates.

Please pray about involving all your family members ages 18 and over as delegates and see what a great impact you can have on your district and state. Younger family members could consider helping at the conventions also.

I plan to be a delegate again this year. There are 2012 candidates who will improve the home school climate in North Dakota and they need your help by being a delegate. I don't know of anything that the NDHSA can do to promote home education freedom more than to help home school families become delegates and support likeminded candidates. Call me at home to discuss the details if you like at 701-263-4574. The following article includes the details.

Jim Bartlett

How do you defend liberty and control government? Become a Delegate!

How do you ensure the right people are elected to office?

How do you secure your rights, those of your children and protect our nation from an ever growing and powerful government which is controlled more and more by officials that don’t share your beliefs, don’t represent your values and are working against the will of the people?

By voting in the November election? NO, by then it’s too late!

By the time you go to the polls to vote, the deciding has been done and all that’s left is for you to ratify the decision with your vote or to simply not vote. The person who will be elected has already been selected. The choices of who you can vote for have already been made. If you wait until November to get involved, to influence who will represent you in elected office – it’s too late.

If you want your vote to have the biggest impact; if you want to actually have a part in determining your choice of candidates – you need to be involved in your legislative district and become a delegate to your party’s convention. It is the delegates that determine who you will have the opportunity to vote for in November.

At the district level:
The party (Democratic or Republican) chooses who will have input on the party platform and thus what the platform will be. (In North Dakota the platform is composed of “resolutions” presented by each legislative district at the party’s convention).
The candidates for the state legislature are chosen.
The delegates to the state convention are chosen. And it is these delegates that determine who will represent the party on the Election Day ballot.

What does a Delegate do?

A Delegate to the State Convention represents (in fact, determines) the will of the party, and carries the voice of the grass roots. The Delegate helps direct the path the party takes by deciding who will be the party’s candidates in state and federal races. Delegates to the State Conventions choose the Delegates to the National Conventions where the presidential candidates are chosen. All the debates about who is the best candidate and how much support will go to each candidate are all really decided at the district level and then at the State Convention. After that, voting on Election Day is little more than as a rubber stamp for what others have already decided.

How to become a Delegate in 5 easy steps
1. Find out what Legislative District you live in and who Chairman is for your Legislative District.Here is the interactive map of North Dakota’s legislative districts: http://web.apps.state.nd.us/hubexplorer/legislativedist/viewer.html

For the ND Republican Party:

http://www.northdakotagop.org/about/district-chairs/

Note: This fall district boundaries will be redrawn to adjust for population changes since the last US Census. This will likely only affect those who live in larger cities, especially Fargo and perhaps Grand Forks. But to be certain, check the map again in late December or early January.

2. Attend your Districts Reorganization and Nominating Convention.

Contact the Chairman of your Legislative District. Ask them when they will be holding their Reorganization Meeting and their Nominating Convention. Mark these dates on your calendar and attend. Some districts may hold both the Reorganization Meeting and the Nominating Convention at the same time. The Reorganization Meeting is where party members elect the leadership of your Legislative District. This is important because a District Chairman has a lot of say in deciding who becomes a delegate or candidate and how the party rules are applied to party business. Reorganization meetings are normally held in the spring of odd-numbered years. However, where new district boundaries are created, there will be a new reorganization meeting held sometime between November of 2011 and early March of 2012. The Nominating Convention is where candidates for State Legislature are nominated and Delegates for the State Convention are chosen. Even-numbered districts select their legislative candidates in the years of the presidential campaign. Odd-numbered districts elect their legislative candidates in the off-presidential years. For the 2012 election even numbered districts will be nominating their candidates for the state legislature.

3. Read and understand your State Party and Legislative District by-laws.

The ND Republican Party by-laws are here: http://www.northdakotagop.org/rules-and-mode/ Your Legislative Districts will also have their own version of these by-laws. You need to get a copy of your Legislative District’s by-laws from your district chair.

4. Actively participate in your District Nominating Convention.

It cannot be emphasized enough: Attendance at these meetings is vital! There is no substitute for your attendance. There is no other opportunity to have your voice heard. Once decisions are made at the District Convention, it’s final. Get to know the candidates seeking your party’s nomination to represent your district in Bismarck. If you are not able to find out about the candidates before the Nominating Convention come prepared to ask the candidates questions. Do not allow the nominating process to proceed if there are things you are uncertain about or that don’t make sense to you.

Ask questions: Understand what is being considered and why before casting your nominating vote. You are not there to rubber stamp the party’s agenda but to ensure that the candidates and agenda that emerge are ones that represent your beliefs and philosophy of how your government should function.

Choosing Delegates to the State Convention: It is only at your district nominating convention that delegates to the State Convention are chosen. The process for choosing Delegates depends on:
The District’s bylaws
The number of people who attend this meeting
The number of delegates your district is allowed
The leadership style of the District Chairman.

If your district is allowed a large delegation—say 70 delegates—and only a handful of people show up for the meeting, then it is likely that everyone who attends the meeting who wants to be a Delegate will be. Delegate positions that are not filled at the convention may then be appointed by the District Chairman. That’s why it is important to have good district leadership. You may vote at the meeting to send 20 liberty-minded people as Delegates to the State Convention, but if the Chairman fills the remaining 50 delegate seats with those who support the status-quo, then your efforts to steer the party towards liberty will be thwarted. On the other hand, if the district is only allowed a small number of delegates — say 20 and 30 people show up for the meeting, then it is likely that all the Delegates will be voted on at that meeting.

Since the majority rules at these meetings, you want to be sure that you have brought plenty of liberty-minded people with you to this meeting, otherwise those few Delegate seats might go to people who will not necessarily be working for a pro-freedom platform or will not support pro-freedom candidates. The only way to ensure the District meeting moves the party towards small constitutional government and nominates like minded candidates is for you to attend and participate in your District’s Nominating Convention.

It is also important you make sure to bring other like-minded people with you to the meeting. You want to ensure that whatever voting takes place moves the party towards an agenda of smaller government and personal liberty. If you think you and your friends constitute a majority at the meeting, you might consider presenting a slate of delegates. If, for example, the District is allowed 70 delegates, you might present a slate of 40-50 delegates that you know will all work to move the State Convention towards a pro-freedom agenda. That would leave the District Chairman with 20-30 other seats that s/he can fill to his/her liking, but it ensures that the majority of the Delegates who represent your District will work for a small government, pro-liberty agenda at the State Convention. It also means that you don’t necessarily have to have all 40-50 of those people attend the meeting. But you do need to make sure that you have a majority of the voters at that meeting committed to pass that pro-liberty Delegate slate at the meeting. To successfully present a “slate of Delegates” be familiar with the District’s by-laws to ensure your nominations are within the bounds of the District by-laws. Before presenting a “slate of Delegates” know you have a majority of those attending that will support the slate you present. If you don’t have a majority, an alternate slate could be presented made up of individuals with a liberal/progressive mindset.

5. Attend the State Convention

The state GOP Convention will be held on March 31 – April 1 in Bismarck, ND. The likely cost $75-100 plus the cost of travel. Stay in touch with other political groups, such as Campaign for Liberty. Many of these groups will help people defray the costs of the convention (especially hotel and transportation expenses).

** Go to http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Click on ND for updates. Here you will be kept informed about issues as well as provided additional training, insights and information on the convention process. Be fully informed. Be fully prepared. This will make you an effective Delegate

Baraminology

Baraminology is a new field of biology and is the creation science alternative to classifying biological organisms with evolutionary thinking.  It is not yet complete, but neither is the evolutionary three or five or other kingdom classification systems.  God created by kinds that don't have common parents.  He created plants, he created animals, he created people.  He created horses, he created dogs, he created lizards, he created fish.  Evolutionary based classification systems attempt to connect all kinds and species.  The Bible and the creationist work on the Baramin system of classification don't connect the kinds.  Here is one drawing to get you thinking about Baraminology and some quotes on the key points.  There is still plenty of room for further research into God's taxomony of biological life.

"The Darwinian macroevolution model is represented by a single tree of relationships, every form of life being related to every other form of life (Figure 1). In the baraminic model there is a forest of trees without connecting roots (Figure 2). One of these rootless trees would have branches representing only human diversification, another for canids, another for felids, etc.  For people reared on an evolutionary diet, the above menu can be difficult to swallow and digest, because students of biology have been taught to think genetic relationship rather than genetic discontinuity. "

Here is how the Christian researchers are viewing their work in Baraminology:

"It is like there has been a huge snowfall covering the trees to the top, and we are digging down into the snow to identify the connections, the branches, limbs, and trunk. Is there one tree below? Or is it an orchard of separate distinct trees? As the data slowly come into view we will have arguments about what is connected to what, or whether there is discontinuity at a given place."

It sure would be nice for this to have already been figured out, before we study science and biology, but it seems that this process of man taking dominion by naming things in alignment with God's creating of things is still work that needs your generation to flush out the details of.

Try sketching out a few kinds yourself to see how far you get.  How far can you get starting with your favorite pet?  Penguins?  What problems do your notice with the five kingdom system: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species?  What problems do you see in discussing a new system of classifying biological life?  How far does the Bible go in biological classification? Does body, soul, spirit all need to be part of baraminology characteristics? How would you differentiate a fly from a horse from a eukaryotic cell or person specifically and Biblically?

References 1, 2, 3

Scriptures

1. Genesis 1:11
   And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
2. Genesis 1:12
   And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
3. Genesis 1:21
   And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
4. Genesis 1:24
   And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
    
5. Genesis 1:25
   And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
   )
6. Genesis 6:20
   Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
7. Genesis 7:14
   They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
    

Home Schools Rise in China

Home schools emerged in many places of China today due to the parents' concern about the public education, the China Youth Daily reported Monday.

A growing number of parents in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces are choosing to let their children receive an education at home rather than attend public kindergartens, primary, junior or senior middle schools.

Some parents think their children cannot realize the happiness of learning, acquire useful knowledge effectively and master learning for a modern society through the current methods taught in schools.
A recent seminar about launching home school projects was held by 21st Century Education Research Institute in Southwest China's Yunnan province, attracting a lot of advocates.

Wu Gang, who used to operate an IT company in Sichuan province, chose to stop his company to take his son to Dali, Yunnan province, to be taught at home, after his child was not willing to go to school. Wu's son, now 15, is self studying natural and social science and holds an insightful view on some problems, which Wu believes is due to home lessons being an effective and relaxed way of learning. He also believes teaching at home will give his son more free time to practice study and make friends, as well as to expand his views.

Ririxin School, one of a number of home school style private schools in Huilongguan and Tiantongyuan communities in north Beijing, which was set up in 2006 by four families who wanted to give their children a better education, now has about 150 students. Although it has developed into a formal school, it features parent self-help teaching and parents' participate into school affairs.
Experts say the trend of home schools is due to a diversified demand for education and people should recognize the value of home teaching and attach great importance to the parent's participation in a child's education.

Virtual Charter Schools are not Home Schools

There is currently a national discussion among home school leaders on the tendency of many unaware home schoolers to go back to public school in a form called "Virtual Charter Schools."  The bottom line is...

As HSLDA attorney TJ Schmidt put it, "The term homeschooling did not come about because of the location of where the education is taking place, but because it was initiated by the parent, directed by the parent, and funded by the parent." Being at home schooling does not mean you are homeschooling.

Here is a helpful website on why not to fall into the virtual charter school trap: http://www.virtualcharterschoolmyths.com/  Stick to real, Biblical home schooling, God's blessing is on that!

An introduction and the myths revealed:

In a transparent effort to ride on the coat tails of the successes enjoyed by those who home school their children, Idaho virtual charter schools intentionally emulate the terminology and imagery of the home school movement. At the same time, those taxpayer-funded charter school programs bank on parents, school officials, and legislators continuing to be uninformed about the limitations and failures of those programs.

This report exposes the myths that have insulated Idaho virtual charter school programs from the surprising shortcomings that have become evident as this movement has taken root here in Idaho. Specifically, we'll look at these five critical myths that have disguised the failures of the virtual charter school movement:

• Myth #1: Students in virtual charter schools excel academically
• Myth #2: Virtual charter school programs provide flexible instruction
  
• Myth #3: Parents of virtual charter school students are actively involved in their children's education
• Myth #4: Virtual charter school students can use a faith-based curriculum
• Myth #5: Parents will save money by enrolling their children in a virtual charter school.

In the final analysis, virtual charter schools produce anemic academic achievement. By law they must be sanitized of any spiritual perspectives. And they fail to provide significant cost savings for the parents of students enrolled in those programs.

Instead, parents should carefully consider embracing private home education, the method that produces unequaled results academically, socially, and spiritually.

Young Home School Author, Hadassah, From Beulah, North Dakota Releases First-time Novel

Beulah, North Dakota, August 22^nd, 2011

Makala Kopp, also known by her pen name, Hadassah, graduated from high school during her junior year at the age of 17 with a story on her fingertips and a message burning in her heart. Instead of heading off to college like most young people, Hadassah dedicated the following year to writing. Now, two years later she is self-published author. Her motivation in writing “Called and Chosen” is simple. “Are you aware that the One who walks with me and converses with me everyday longs for and pursues your heart?”

Called and Chosen tells the story of Eden Vanette who is living out her life as a young musician, artist, and businesswoman in New York City when she discovers adoption papers validating her Jewish heritage. With this discovery comes a letter from her birth mother telling Eden she’s been “chosen,” but for what?

Feeling betrayed by her family and plagued by mysterious dreams, Eden leaves family and friends, traveling to Israel to make sense of her mother’s letter. In the land of her forefathers, Eden meets her grandfather, whose secrets help her discover more than just her identity. And what about Micah, the kind, attractive young man who works at her grandfather’s winery?

Then one night, dangerous Arab fanatics murder Eden’s grandfather, plundering and destroying his villa and vineyard. They take Eden hostage, believing her to be the “chosen one” spoken of in ancient prophecy. Their motive? To destroy her and the ancient treasure they believe she holds. Beaten and fearing for her life, Eden comes to understand the mystery of being a “chosen one.” But will she live to pass on her knowledge—the ancient treasure?

Interwoven with mystery, intrigue, and romance, this tale of unshakable love and undeniable truth will make you wonder: have you also been “chosen?”

https://www.winepressbooks.com/product.asp?pid=3372

Government Courses for Home School and Home College

Christian home schooled and home college students interested in influencing governments and politics are encouraged to take one or more of these courses as part of their curriculum. Let Dr. Bartlett know if you take one of these courses so that your homework can be customized to the North Dakota government context and support moving North Dakota home school legislation forward in 2013 and beyond.

GOV 101 - Comparative Views of Government

This class introduces students to the different views regarding how governments should be established. Students must read the required readings and produce an outline of the important points they gleaned from the readings which they will turn in for part of their grade. Students will also need to dialogue with the professor about the readings once they are assigned. They will then be required to write a comprehensive term paper in which they will compare and contrast the various schools of governance by answering a question posed by the instructor.

Instructor Professor Dr. Hector Falcon
Format: Correspondence
Course Fee: $75/credit 4 Credit hours $300.

GOV 201 - Biblical Principles of Civil Government
This class introduces students to biblical principles of civil government. Students will produce an outline of the major ideas they glean from the readings which they will turn in for part of their grade. They will also need to dialogue with the professor and answer questions as they progress through their reading assignments. Students will then be required to write a final comprehensive paper in which they will write about the ideas they have gleaned in order to answer a question given by the instructor.

Instructor: Professor Dr. Hector Falcon
Format: Correspondence
Course Fee: $75/credit 4 Credit hours $300.

GOV 220 - Calvin and Government
In this class students will be introduced to Calvin’s ideas related to governance. They will outline important ideas they derived from the readings and turn them in for part of their grade. Student will also dialogue with the professor about their readings and be required to complete a comprehensive final paper that utilizes the ideas they have gleaned to answer an exam question given by the instructor.

Instructor: Professor Dr. Hector Falcon
Format: Correspondence
Course Fee: $225. (3 Credit Hours @ $75/hr

GOV 220 - America's Constitutional Republic
Students will be introduced to America’s constitutional form of government. They will be required to turn in an outline of ideas they have gleaned from their readings for part of their grade. They will also be required to dialogue with the professor about their readings and write a final comprehensive paper in which they will incorporate the ideas they gleaned from the readings to answer an exam question given by the instructor.

Instructor: Professor Dr. Hector Falcon
Format: Correspondence
Course Fee: $300. (4 Credit Hours @ $75/hr

GOV 240 - The Theology Of The State
This course deals with an in-depth study and analysis of God's Truth over against Statist Religion and power.

Requirements: Each student must show an in-depth understanding of the material presented and must be able to accurately discuss and apply the details of the material in written format.

Instructor: ProfessorRev. Dr. Paul Michael Raymond
Format: Correspondence Course Fee: $225. (3 Credit Hours @ $75/hr)

GOV 310 - Statesmanship: Government Law and the Constitution

Course Materials: A series of political and legal lectures will be the primary source of learning along with readings on statesmanship principles.
Instructor: Rev. Dr. Paul Michael Raymond
Format: Correspondence Course Fee: $225. (3 Credit Hours @ $75/hr)

GOV 340 - General Equity of the Judicial Laws

This course explores the historical usage and biblical meaning of the General Equity of the Mosaic Judicial Laws. This will include a review of the development of these doctrines from the Reformers to the Westminster Assembly, with special attention to source documents. Topics discussed with include the three-fold division of the Law (Moral, Ceremonial and Judicial), the classes of Judicial Laws, the Westminster Confession of Faith, Establishmentarianism, the Magistrate as Keeper of Both Tables of the Law, the usage of the term “General Equity” by Reformed Divines, and the modern applicability of the Mosaic Judicial Laws.

Course Materials: A series of lectures will be the primary source of learning along with supplemental readings.

Instructor: Prof. Adam Brink
Format: Correspondence Course Fee: $225. (3 Credit Hours @ $75/hr)

GOV 360 - Reformation and Resistance

This course explores the impact of the Protestant Reformation on the American Declaration of Independence, and theory of civil resistance. Far from being the product of the Enlightenment, the American theory of civil resistance is the direct heir of the Reformation. In this course, we review the source documents which inspired or were directly borrowed from to formulate the Declaration of Independence. The main source document is the Holy Bible, from which the Reformers derived their doctrines of a) righteous rule, b) the definition of tyranny, and c) the right to defy tyranny. After Scripture, we review various influential documents from the Reformation which applied the Bible's teaching, from sources as varied as German Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, English Puritans, French Huguenots, and English Marian Exiles. This course is critical in re-establishing the foundations of the Reformed doctrine of civil resistance, and applying it to our current political crises.

Course Materials: A series of lectures will be the primary source of learning along with supplemental readings.

Instructor: Prof. Adam Brink
Format: Correspondence Course Fee: $225. (3 Credit Hours @ $75/hr)

ENROLL VIA NEW GENVEVA CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (HTTP://NEWGENEVA.US)

Public Schools History, Problems and Molech Worship Context

1. Public School History

2. Public School Problems


3. God Worship v. Molech (State) Worship Context (Rushdoony audio)

Call for Strategic Planning Ideas: NDHSA State of the Art to Cutting Edge

By Jim Bartlett

I received a newsletter from an electronics manufacturing company recently with some helpful insights on how organizations can do their best in competitive industries.  Below are a few of the thoughts from Jim Raby, Technical Director for STI Electronics, that are also helpful toward advancing the state of the North Dakota Home School Association. The bottom line: Get young adults (and other creative) ideas involved to move the NDHSA from state-of-the-art to leading edge in serving God and the home school families of ND.

To read more of this article, visit the NDHSA Blog at: NDHSA.blogspot.com

From Jim Raby: "I was just thinking about ..companies and how some of them work very hard to maintain growth and market edge, while others have coasted along with products that they have had for years and as a result, get by or are passed by in an aggressive industry.  Now...to advance the state-of the art..Many times a company will pull their .. staff directly from the old school population and ask them to do this advanced planning and design.  It is difficult to see how these people will think ahead or out-of-the-box.  They are only going to support the old design and confer with the same old school colleagues and have  no new ideas. To achieve or develop leading edge technologies, one should go to a university known for producing great .. talent and collaborate with their students or recent graduates. These people have no preconceived notions, have no old ideas and don't know any better than to think out-of-the box using new technology.  As a result, leading edge technologies are developed that meet the challenges of today that are brought to the market.... Do you need help in advancing the state of the art with your products to become leading edge or are you just going to change colors of the units and shipping containers? ..desire revolutionary thinking..."

Christian thinking young home school adults should be encouraged to use all of their talents to the glory of God (Ec. 12:1) and their good ideas are very important to the advancement of the Kingdom of God via Christian organizations like the NDHSA.  Just as in the electronics manufacturing example above, to advance the NDHSA from state of the art to cutting edge, anticipate and meet the current and future needs of a larger and more diverse home educating population -- young adult home schoolers, we need your insight.  And the NDHSA welcomes your participation in all aspects of its home education ministry, from board members, staff positions, to volunteers or just sharing your ideas with us via an email.

Could your family take a few minutes after dinner one evening and brainstorm about how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the NDHSA?

If yes, please take a few notes and send your thoughts to me, including any "out-of-the box" ideas that you think that the NDHSA should consider.  The NDHSA Board of Directors will be meeting for their annual retreat at the end of August with long-term strategic planning on the agenda and therefore, your ideas will be helpful and timely.  Give us a call or email or reply to this blog post to let us know what you think we can do to be more effective and efficient in: outreach to churches, help public school parents transition to home education, convention planning, legislative action, home college development, information resources, political action, publications, fund raising, support groups, encouraging dads in leadership, or other areas of interest.

Watch Divided the Movie – Free Online

By Jim Bartlett, July 2011

If you have been concerned about the effects of youth group ministry on your family or are wondering what a family-integrated church is all about, then watching “Divided” may be helpful to you.  It is very common for home school families to notice issues with their church experiences.  I think this is because they are taking Biblical duty seriously and as a result, the Lord is showing them where church experiences differ from the Bible.

Watch” Divided” the movie HERE (http://www.dividedthemovie.com/ndhsa)

Visit the NDHSA Blog Here to read the rest of this article which contains additional  recommended references on youth ministry and family-integrated church.

When our family began home schooling we heard about “family friendly” churches and then asked our pastor what a “family friendly church” was.  He explained that a family friendly church was one that had programs for each age group.  When I heard that I thought, “I don’t know what a family friendly church is, but I don’t think that is the right description of one.” Today, the term used for a family friendly church is “family integrated church” and such churches deliberately keep the children with the families for worship and usually don’t have Sunday schools or youth groups.  They tend to serve youth in family other integrated manners.

A few years ago, I attended a great example of a family integrated church in Iowa after a home school convention in Iowa.  Each family sat at a round table together for Sunday school and Worship and lunch.  We are now helping to develop a family-integrated church in our area, which was common for 1800 years of church history, and is common among most home fellowships today.

Divided the Movie helps people understand that most young people are leaving the faith because the church has abandoned the Bible in how youth are being educated in the home and church. Instead, the evolutionary-based factory model of segregating children by ages, just like public school, has been adopted by most churches.  Long story short: Platonic family-separating psychology and pragmatism has usurped Bible.

Watch” Divided” the movie HERE (http://www.dividedthemovie.com/ndhsa)

Two other references along these lines that have been helpful to our family on the topic of youth ministry and family-integrated churches are:

By Christopher Schlect, Canon Press, free online HERE.

FAMILY WORSHIP: Biblical Basis, Historical Reality, Current Need by Kerry Ptacek, Southern Presbyterian Press, 1994. Free online HERE.

The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches (http://www.ncfic.org/)  has directories for both families and churches doing or interested in family-integrated churches. So far only three families and one church haves signed in from North Dakota.  Check that out HERE. http://www.ncfic.org/family-list

The Two Kingdoms: Of the Ungodly Power and of the Cowardly Retreat

By Bojidar Marinov | Published: July 6, 2011, American Vision

When a few weeks ago the Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli spoke to a group of 250 pastors assuring them that the churches are not only permitted but also expected to speak on political issues, and thus encouraged the pastors to give “guidance on issues that fall in the political world,” he didn’t do anything the Reformed theological tradition disapproves of. To the contrary, by doing that, Cuccinelli followed in the footsteps of those government magistrates in the Bible of whom Calvin says that are praised for “taking care that religion flourished under them in purity and safety.” Indeed, if the church is instructed to speak to governors and kings (Matt.10:18), then every governor or king that encourages the church to speak to him and advise him in his policies is obedient to his Biblical mandate in his calling before God. Whatever Cuccinelli’s personal reasons for his encouragement to pastors could be, his call must be praised highly by the church as an example for Biblically obedient magistrates, and the pastors must be strongly admonished to take Cuccinelli’s advice.

But no, some supposedly “Reformed” authors wouldn’t agree with Calvin, and wouldn’t agree with Jesus’ commandment for us to speak before governors and kings. In an article with the disparaging title, “When Churches Play at Politics,” Peter Wehner disagrees that the pastors should accept Cuccinelli’s encouragement – and Christ’s commandment, for that matter – to instruct governors. While we will return to his specific arguments later, it is helpful to note at the beginning that he summarizes his position with the words of Tim Keller, a prominent PCA pastor: “The church as the church ought to be less concerned about speaking to politics and more concerned about service.”

Now, Tim Keller’s views of social theory, economics, and politics deserve a more thorough treatment. But this statement of him is very important since it very well exhibits the basic position of the Two-Kingdom Theology: The radical separation between the sacred and the secular, between the “spiritual” concerns of the church and the “political” ministry of the state. This dualistic fragmentation of life has been plaguing the church and its theology for the last two centuries, leading to the disintegration of the Christian civilization created by our forefathers; and the taking over of the West by the secularists who create no such division in their own ideologies and religions.

What will the results be if we accept Keller’s statement as authoritative? Can we really separate between politics and service as he recommends? And who determines what “politics” is and what “service” is? Tim Keller and others like him are eager to limit the pastors’ political involvement but they are not as willing to limit the politicians’ “service” involvement. Thus the pastors are limited but the politicians are not, and therefore it is the politicians that are free to determine what is “politics” and what is “service.” Like I pointed out before, in such a situation we should expect to see the politicians gradually expanding the definition of politics to include what traditionally has been service. Our modern history has many examples of this. Education used to be a service provided by the church; today it is politics from beginning to end – laws, federal and state agencies, regulations, teachers’ unions, etc. Care for the elderly was traditionally Christian service, today it is politics – Social Security, Medicare, regulations and tax rules for retirement accounts, inheritance issues, etc. Care for the poor has always been the responsibility of the families and of the church – as the Bible clearly states in both the Old and the New Testaments – and today welfare is the largest financial commitment of the modern civil governments, as well the major topic in all political campaigns, legislature sessions, and political debates. Regulation of relationships between employers and employees, debtors and creditors, was the topic of many sermons in the colonial era and the early U.S. History; today these economic issues are entirely within the jurisdiction of the state.

So where do we stop? And how can the pastors oppose this absorption of everything by the state? Keller doesn’t say; neither does Wehner. They do not seem to notice the trend; or if they do notice it, they do not seem concerned about it. One could make a conclusion they welcome the march to statism. Eager to limit the pastors to their “spiritual” calling, they do not seem as eager to limit the politicians to their “secular” calling. Socialism wins by default in the outworking of such a theology in practice.

Wehner himself adds another argument against the pastors’ political involvement: Their lack of competence or insight. This is a serious issue, we must admit. But then Wehner’s conclusion is again in favor of the statist solution: If the pastors are incompetent, then the state’s “experts” should take over. Again, he claims, the pastors must remain limited and restrained, and the state reign supreme over all.

But why are pastors incompetent in the first place? Aren’t most pastors the product of the multitude of seminaries that teach the Two-Kingdom doctrine? Aren’t the seminaries supposed to teach the pastors to apply the Word of God to every area of life? What stops the seminaries from doing that? Isn’t it the same Two-Kingdom Theology that says at the very outset that pastors shouldn’t be concerned with politics but with “service”?

Wehner puts the buggy before the horse. He uses the incompetence of the pastors to justify his position that the pastors shouldn’t get involved in politics. The truth is, the incompetence of those pastors is the very product of Wehner’s theology taught in the seminaries. No seminary offers courses on political science, Biblical economics, Biblical philosophy of history, Biblical view of welfare, employer-employee relations, war, etc. No seminary teaches a comprehensive worldview to make the pastors competent to talk about any issue in our modern society from a Biblical perspective. The seminaries stand on the same foundation Wehner stands on: Churches should not “play at politics,” i.e. pastors should be silent on political issues. When seminaries believe that, we shouldn’t expect them to teach their students anything that smacks of politics in our modern world, and therefore the seminary graduates will remain incompetent to give the Biblical principles and inside to those areas of life that are “politics.” Pastors indeed are incompetent. And Wehner and others like him bear the responsibility for it.

Ironically, Wehner’s complaints against the incompetence of pastors don’t speak well of his friend Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Mohler’s own words, “the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world.” Albert Mohler has trained thousands of pastors, directly and through his influence over other seminaries. And those thousands of pastors are exactly the pastors that Wehner talks about: incompetent and without insight when it comes to comprehensive view of life. Wehner is completely right: very little insight and wisdom comes from those pastors trained by Mohler – and in fact, from the pastors of any other denomination in general. What stops Mohler, with his influence and knowledge, from training those pastors to be competent?

The answer is: His theology. Mohler is one of the most prominent defenders of the Two-Kingdom Theology. The same theology that calls for the radical separation between sacred and worldly, spiritual and political, nature and grace, the Law of God and the “natural” law. Mohler’s theology forces him to produce incompetent pastors, devoid of any knowledge about the application of the Bible to all of life, because all of life is not under the directions of the Bible in the first place. Mohler doesn’t believe Christians can offer anything more than just vague “influence” in the society; and he insist they should restrain from any control or power over government or cultural decisions and policies.

This is especially visible in an interview that Mohler himself took of Peter Wehner about Wehner’s book, City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era. A significant part of the interview is devoted to the Two-Kingoms view that there is no such thing as a Christian culture. Mohler asks the question, “You are not really suggesting that there can be a creation of Christian culture.” And Wehner replies:

 I don’t think we can create a Christian culture. I think part of that frankly is grounded in scripture itself and Christ said that the world hated me and the world will hate you.

The two then continue to bash the view that we must create a Christian culture; they offer only what they call a Christian “influence on the culture.” They know they can not separate from the culture but they want to be faithful to their preferred theology of the two kingdoms. So, just like Keller, they place a very specific limit on Christians (“Do not create a Christian culture”) but they do not place such limit on the non-Christians. Non-Christians in government and in other vocations are free to do as they please, create pagan culture with everything it entails – government, economics, science, family, entertainment, literature, law, etc. – on the basis of their own ideologies and religions. But Christians are barred from doing such a thing. At the most, Christians are allowed to only “influence” that culture already created by pagans.

But wait, what are they going to “influence” it toward? “Influence” means “sway, make one change direction.” If Mohler and Wehner have no Christian culture to offer as an alternative, to what direction do they want to influence the prevailing pagan culture? Do they expect Christians to sway the pagan culture to a better pagan culture? On what foundation should this “influence” be based if Christians don’t have a culture to start with? Should they beat something with nothing? If Christians have no culture to offer, then they have no cultural solutions to offer, then by default they will be incompetent and with no insight to participate in the culture. If “the world will hate you” means what Mohler and Wehner want it to mean – no Christian culture – then why should it mean Christian cultural “influence” at all? Will a Christ-hating world be more willing to accept Christian cultural “influence” than Christian culture? If that hatred means that a Christian must shy from building a Christian culture, why not mean that a Christian must shy from anything cultural at all, including cultural influence?

Thus by default, a pastor trained by Mohler and by the seminaries influenced by Mohler will have to be uneducated and untrained and incompetent about the world. He has no other choice but retreat. He will have to focus on “service,” but only “service” as defined by the government bureaucrats, i.e. everything that is still not taken by the state. His Two-Kingdom Theology will discourage any cultural endeavor he might have – and of course, the very seminaries that trained him won’t offer him any training in cultural endeavors. By default, the government and the cultural leadership must be left in the hands of non-Christians. Not only Mohler and his theology discourage Christians from cultural and political leadership, they also actively promote non-Christian – i.e. ungodly – power over the society and over Christians themselves, and over their churches. Peter Wehner’s complaint against Cuccinelli, and Albert Mohler’s theology of the Two Kingdoms are in effect the religion of statism dressed in religious and theological garb. The two kingdoms of that theology are the ever expanding kingdom of unlimited ungodly statist power, and the ever shrinking kingdom of Christian cowardly retreat, incompetence, and lack of insight and wisdom. Wehner’s observations about the pastors’ incompetence are correct; he only misses the fact that that incompetence is the fruit of his own theology, and of the theology of his theological friends.

So, Cuccinelli is right, pastors must speak up on political issues. But we also need to understand that as long as the seminaries are captured by professors who refuse to preach the comprehensive Gospel of the Kingdom of God, the church will remain incompetent and unable to speak. As long as the seminaries’ theology encourages the cowardly retreat from our obligation to build a Christian culture in obedience to the Great Commission, our land will be under the oppression of ungodly powers. Competence comes only from the Word of God, and from a theology that submits everything under Christ and His Kingdom. Christians must stop listening to Wehner and his theological accomplices and accept their comprehensive responsibilities in the Kingdom of Christ.

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Author: Bojidar Marinov

A Reformed missionary to his native Bulgaria for over 10 years, Bojidar preaches and teaches doctrines of the Reformation and a comprehensive Biblical worldview. Having founded Bulgarian Reformation Ministries in 2001, he and his team have translated over 30,000 pages of Christian literature about the application of the Law of God in every area of man’s life and society, and published those translations online for free. He has been active in the formation of the Libertarian movement in Bulgaria, a co-founder of the Bulgarian Society for Individual Liberty and its first chairman. If you would like Bojidar to speak to your church, homeschool group or other organization, contact him through his website: http://www.bulgarianreformation.org/

Uncollege & Theil Foundation Inspiring Projects

Notice at Uncollege.org that the unschooling method of home schooling is equally applicable to college studies. Over the years, there has been several good websites by uncolleging students which they used to keep their learning organized and displayed. Though uncollege.org doesn't promote Christian education, the founder has been speaking at home school conventions around the country, and the methods of uncollege can be used to learn anything. There was a good and simple example of a student curriculum vita linked to uncollege.org. Dale Stephens is the 19 year old founder of uncollege.org and has received a grant for $100,000 to develop the concept further from the Theil Foundation.

The Theil Foundation encourages young people to challenge the authority of the present and familiar with $100,000 grants to students under 20 years old. Here are a few of the interesting projects that might inspire other home college methods (e.g., Biblical Concourse of Home Universities, AME Program, New Geneva) and students to realistically think high tech and outside the box.

1. Extend the human lifespan for a few more centuries and commercializing anti-aging research. .

2. Make affordable scientific instruments using open source hardware systems such as liquid chromotography.

3. Molecular spintronics fabrication to therapeutic drug design and synthetic biology to build a diagnostic biosenser.

4. Developing peer-based recruiting processes.

5. Create technologies which help people self-organize to solve social problems such as inflation.

6. Decentralize banking in poor countries with mobile financial services.

7. Create a tool for teachers to create and share lessons online by students and other teachers.

8. Mobile apps for the 21st century classroom.

9. More efficient motor for electric vehicles.

10. Solar panel rotation systems for optimizing energy usage for small villages.

2011 North Dakota Freedom Index

The North Dakota Freedom Index has the voting records of the entire North Dakota legislature on various freedom related issues like homeschooling.

In addition to showing how you are being represented by your public servants, the bill descriptions help teach about the proper role of government. This is a great educational tool for sharing with others.

The North Dakota Freedom Index is available free of charge HERE

Do this data demonstrate that North Dakota is a conservative state or a liberal state? How would you summarize the data in this document?