I have never really identified much with my ancestry -- race and nationality are not things that matter much to me.  I am proud of America, or more so its foundation of faith and history of sacrifice for liberty.  (That's different than being proud to be an American, something which I did not choose, but nevertheless choose to remain.)  However, these Ukrainian history markers catch my attention, perhaps because of my Ukrainian ancestry, but more likely because they are fascinating history.  It is a region rich with history, but largely unknown in the west. Posted by Skanderbeg over on RedState: Today In History – 6 December 1240 With all my travel to and around Ukraine, I have indeed made it to Kyiv (that’s the Ukrainian version of “Kiev”). Kyiv is beyond beautiful. Kyiv is majestic. Kyiv began as a Norse outpost. As Viking traders began to make use of a fairly easy route to Constantinople (up the Narva River, a fairly easy portage across modest terrain, and then an easy journey down the Dniepro River to the Black Sea), around 800 they established a fortified post at about the only terrain feature along the Dniepro – some high bluffs along the western bank. Thus was born the city of Kyiv. The local Slavs realized quickly that these Viking traders, whom they called Varangians or Rus, knew what they were doing. Lacking leadership themselves, they came to the traders and made an offer. They offered the lead guy kingship, and the choice of any one of their many excellent-looking princesses to be his queen. With good leadership and a good position along a major trade route, Kyiv grew rapidly in strength, wealth, and importance. In 988, the Kyivan leader Prince Vladimir accepted Christianity from Byzantine missionaries – while one of those missionaries, Cyril, gave the Slavs a written alphabet for their language. Vladimir ordered all his subjects to convert with him; they were all herded along the main boulevard of Kyiv – called to this day “Christening Boulevard” – and into the shallows of the Dniepro for a mass baptism. Kyiv continued to grow and prosper as an eastern outpost of civilization. By the early 13th century, it was the second largest city in Europe – second only to Paris – with a population of 50,000. But all that came to an abrupt end on 6 December 1240. When dawn broke over Kyiv on 6 December 1240, the population was 50,000. By nightfall, the population had been effectively reduced to zero. After a brief siege, the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu, broke into the city. The city was quickly pillaged, burned, and demolished. Gone were the 400 churches. Gone were the monasteries. Gone was the legendary “Zoloti Varota,” the famous “Golden Gate” – known musically as “The Great Gate of Kiev.” And gone, mostly, were the 50,000 inhabitants – slaughtered or, for the few survivors, dragged off into slavery. Think you’re having a bad day? Methinks that 6 December 1240 qualifies as the ultimate “bad day.” "OK, I am considering homeschooling... what does this have to do with homeschooling?" you ask.  Well nothing, except... tell me if you learned any of this in public school?!? Oh, the history of the Mongols and Vikings goes much deeper and has far more impact upon what you might consider "relevant" history.  The shape of Christian Europe, your church, and religious practices might be significantly different without these two powerful forces in history.  It's not just Ukraine; try England, France, Germany, and Italy... getting more "relevant"? Dig a little deeper... no dumbed down, politically correct, and State approved textbook is needed. That's the power of homeschooling.

Each week Considering Homeschooling recognizes the faithful service of someone getting the message out about private, biblical homeschooling.  This week we recognize "ladyofvirtue" for her blog "Virtual Schooling".  Visit the original on the Large Family Mothering blog.   Virtual Schooling December 2, 2008 by ladyofvirtue I live in a largely blue-collar town. There are no mansions or super affluent people that make up our community. The families that choose to be "traditional", with the daddy as the breadwinner, struggle. Lots of homeschooling families that I know here have had trouble even affording a computer. In a community like ours, virtual schooling where the government sends a family a computer, pays for internet use, and supplies all sorts of glossy, colorful curricula and even science and craft supplies, is just too much of a temptation. When our state first began to offer such programs, I can remember the glowing reports of all of the "goodies" that were sent--it was like Christmas! Everything needed was provided, including scissors and craft paper, and seeds for growing things. Mothers who before had been wringing their hands wondering how they were going to afford the Saxon Math series were now almost care-free. But there was a catch. Someone has said that nothing in life is truly "free". With all of the goodies and the ease of knowing someone else was in charge came a large price. Instead of worries over buying supplies and curricula, now the mothers had a heavy burden placed on them every day. They had to coerce and nag and bite their fingernails over getting the work done that was required--a whole boat-load of extra fact-cramming and busy-work that made it almost impossible for anyone to have a good life, especially for the mother who had even 3-4 children on different levels. Instead of having their lives simplified, they were complicated beyond comprehension, and their children were being harmed in the process and turned into drones who hated anything to do with "learning". The most unfortunate thing of all was that most mothers were convinced that this sort of government-sponsored slavery was what homeschooling was all about! Many who were already feeling overwhelmed about teaching their own children became convinced, after allowing the state to muck with things, that homeschooling was impossible and horrid. So, they gave up. But learning is not a super-complicated thing that only professionals know how to do! Our children were born to us completely helpless--they could not even hold their own heads up! Somehow, with our encouragement, they learned to walk and talk and feed themselves. Children, even in some of the most impoverished conditions, learn to do these things, unless they are ill or haven't any food to eat. Why do children learn these things? Is it because they are constantly nagged, or they have been through the right "programs"? No. Children learn these things because they want to and they need to. The parents are there to facilitate and encourage. Now here is the secret that those who run teaching colleges and publish curricula and make their living on the supposition of universal idiocy do not want you to know: TEACHING CHILDREN IS NOT DFFICULT--THEY ALREADY WANT TO LEARN! I once checked out a magazine published for teachers from the library, thinking I could glean something of value for my own family. An article was written therein about teaching composition to middle-school students. I could not believe the amount of verbage it took--paragraph upon paragraph of evidence and studies and then the methodology that took pages to explain. What a waste! Writing is just an extension of language, another form of communication. When it is taught in this context, it no longer seems mystical or complex. Good writing is learned by reading the good writing of others--with reading aloud, discussion, and application. The same goes for the other subjects. Math is a sort of communication, it is the communication of the Creator to His creation--that there is order and care. Science is best described as the "thinking of God's thoughts after Him". The wonder of this planet and the universe is the only catalyst needed. Once the appetite has been whetted, a parent need only to watch a child take off like a rocket-ship (and be willing to enjoy the adventure). Of course, you can't enjoy the wonderful adventure of discovery with your child if every day is prescribed and written down. The time and energy you would normally have to explore and discover is all taken up by the reading of droll, dumbed-down texts, numerous questions to be answered by rote understanding, canned experiments and the like. Yes, there are times when a little rote learning can be valuable, but not as an all-encompassing program. The teaching of facts should be likened to handing out tools that a skilled craftsman, the child, can use to create and discover further. Rote learning should never become the end, but the means. We should not be so much concerned with turning out children who can win at Trivial Pursuit as much as we should be concerned with raising children who can take the information in any situation, analyze it, and come up with wise conclusions and solutions. I do not write theory here; I myself have seen the proven examples, and not just among my own children. But the public schooling industry, and it is a great part of our economy, does not want you and I to know just how simple teaching and learning really is. Just think of how many meetings and conferences would have to be canceled. Whole political commmitees would have to be disbanded. We would see a lot of educational phd's flipping burgers, and whole educational supply industries woud go belly-up. Besides all of this, those who desire power over our population would be the saddest of all, because people of America would once again, as in the crazy times of our inception, realize just how many choices they have, and would develop the intestinal fortitude to pursue those choices. I personally believe that it would allow Chrisitanity to return once again as the underlying foundation of our Republic, as parents would be allowed to pass on their Judeo-Christain values in a personal way to the next generation. But you won't read this in the leaflets sent out to entice you. They will act as your friend, and say how they understand that you feel unsure and intimidated. But they are not friendly. They only wish to use your own fears to convince you that you can not do it on your own. But, with God's grace and help, YOU CAN!!!!!!

The head of GM won't be executed, like he could have been in some parts of ancient Rome.

The CLEP US History 1 exam is a 3 credit Social Sciences and History exam that covers the early colonial period of North America though Reconstruction. This was our second CLEP test and overlaps material from CLEP American Government, especially the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Supreme Court cases. Students interested in history should be able to enjoy this exam and do well. Here are the materials we used, our study method and what you must know to pass.Available materials for this exam abound and many are good but our favorites were:InstantCert (invaluable for this exam, especially the feedback section of the forum) The CLEP History of the United States I w/CD (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the CLEP Official Study Guide 2010 (makes a great final exam) Peterson's online practice exams (harder than the actual exam but excellent for study)The History Channel Presents The Presidents For this exam we used a combination of texts, videos, flashcards and a few movies from the period. Making flashcards or a power point presentation of the presidents, the highlights of each administration, and the major supreme court cases were helpful to solidify the timeline and flow of the study. Reading through the text of the REA book, while taking notes was important for the first phase of study. Next we began practice testing, starting with REA's CD-ROM tests and moving to Peterson's online tests and finally ending with the CLEP Official exam. The practice testing phase showed us what we needed to study more and Wikipedia is a good source for this because it was so easy to search for the term or person we were unfamiliar with.The major "must knows" for this exam are:Women's issues of the period Reform Movements (both religious and political) Literature of the period Differences betwen the different British colonies Presidents, their administations (along with their scandals) The Constitution, Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation Slavery and Indentured Servitude A more detailed exam description can be found here.A suprising component about this exam was the time spent on more minor players and issues and less on major figures like Washington. If you need any more Social Science credits and don't mind a challenge think about following this exam with DSST Civil War and Reconstruction. More on that one later...

This 3 credit, upper level history exam is exactly what it claims to be, upper level and specific to the Civil war and Reconstruction. If your college requires a certain number of upper level exams, you are a student of the Civil War already or if you are an advanced student 17 or older this is an enjoyable study of a difficult period in US History. The materials are plentiful and interesting, the study guide is wonderfully accurate and what you learn will stay with you. Get ready for a powerful topic.Finding materials for this test is not difficult as the library and bookstore shelves are full of biographies and literature from or about this period. Here are the materials we found most helpful or enjoyable: The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Civil War, 2nd Edition (a good read) Sparks Notes Civil War and Sparks Notes Reconstruction (Small, concise, inexpensive and including short tests in the back) InstantCert Wikipedia - The American Civil War (we used Wikipedia more for this exam than any so far) The Dantes Official Fact Sheet (more on this great source later) Civil War Flash Cards Gettysburg (Widescreen Edition) (optional, but so helpful to put the pieces of this battle together) Gods & Generals (optional but wonderful, Lee and Jackson are must knows as are their impacts) Our method for this exam was new. As we had few official practice tests to gauge readiness we created a question sheet from the InstantCert forum feedback and started researching. Daily we searched for answers to questions from causes of the war to reconstruction policies. The students watched the Ken Burns Videos 2-5 times to get the most out of the visuals. Daily they used the InstantCert flashcards and did assignments from me based on the DSST Fact sheet. If a student knows the what, who, where and why of the DSST fact sheet they should be able to do well on this one. I broke the sections into 6 or so assignments with them filling in the outline percentage sections with research and answers. We spent evenings with Gettysburg and Gods and Generals DVDs.What you must know:Andersonville Battles, major and secondary (outcomes, stats, first, last, bloodiest, political and tactical impacts, Generals of each side) Government structure on each side, weakness of each Lifestyles of each side (women, poor, slaves, soldiers, POWs) Foreign affairs Slavery (conditions, abolitionists, emancipation) Literature of the time (Uncle Tom's Cabin and more)Weapons and their impacts Political Parties Reconstruction plans and failures Dred Scott decision, impact and implication A detailed exam description can be found here.My students recommend this test for an older student as it is very deep and detailed. Not many years are covered so each takes on more importance. This one is a challenge but my students were able to concentrate on this one subject (day and night some days) and do quite well. The 4 option multiple choice of a DSST exam is another blessing. If you choose this one we are sure you will discover much about a difficult time in our nation's history.