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[Editor: Considering Homeschooling is proud to present this special guest column by Michedolene Hogan of Unique Parenting.] By: Michedolene Hogan When parents send their children to school, they expect for their children to be taught the necessary academic skills appropriate for their age.  Yet, there scope of education is growing at an alarming rate.  Schools have begun to overstep their boundaries and assume the role of the home in many aspects such as the socialization of our children. According to the 2003 Webster's New World dictionary, to socialize means to make fit for living in a group.  This definition is similar to that found in the 1810 Merriam-Webster which states: To make social: especially to fit or train for a social environment.  In order to be properly socialized, children must be able to be sociable, having a disposition to associate and converse with others.  Children must have the ability to join in company or society and to unite in a general interest.  Children must also have the ability to work in conjunction with others in the community and conform to laws.  Children must exhibit respect for authority and an understanding of how the world works.  Observation and practice are the main tools that children employ in order to learn these social skills.  Based on the aforementioned necessary skills one would assume that the best place to learn such skills is in a classroom surrounded with peers and authority figures, right?  Wrong. What kids really learn in traditional public education settings Traditional public schools settings are not as idealistic.  Children may be surrounded by their peers but, these are not the best role models for social behavior.  In schools, children often meet peers who are involved in delinquency, low academic achievement and exhibiting behavior problems.  These are the children who get the most attention from their teachers and as a result, stand out to their peers.  In the end, our children learn an unacceptable concept of social behavior by practicing what they observe.  Despite this reality, the school continues to take the lead in training children for social situations. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, in their research on the validity of Early Childhood Education, determined that enrollment in formal schooling before ages 8-12 was not as effective as projected, but put children’s development at risk.  They presented evidence of a correlation between the following childhood problems and the increasingly earlier enrollment of students: Juvenile delinquency Nearsightedness Increased enrollment of students in special education classes Behavioral problems Early enrollment in schools interrupts bonds and emotional development that children form in the home with parents.  This damage, as found by the Raymond and Dorothy Moore, is not repaired in an institutional setting. Over 8,000 studies were conducted in the 1970’s by the Moores.  In the end, they concluded that, “Where possible, children should be withheld from formal schooling until at least ages 8-10” because, “children are not mature enough for formal school programs until their senses, coordination, neurological development and cognition are ready.” Another theory, developed by teacher John Caldwell Holt, stated that “academic failure of school children was caused by pressure placed on children in schools.”  He declared in 1980, “I want to make it clear that I don't see home schooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools.  I think that the home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we call learning or education.  Home would be the best base no matter how good the schools were.” The school setting expects children to handle a whole new set of emotions as early as 3 years of age.  At this tender age, children do not even understand their emotions, much less know how to appropriately deal with them.  Children end up imitating their peers, whom as stated earlier may be involved in a number of behavior issues.  The impact of a child’s sociability is an absolutely harmful progression away from positive sociability and self-concept. This progression is best explained in When Education Becomes Abuse: A Different Look at the Mental Health of Children. Here is their explanation of the sequence of emotions experienced by young children in early childhood settings: Uncertainty as the child leaves the family for a less secure environment Puzzlement at the new pressures and restrictions of the classroom Frustration because they are not ready to handle the regimentation of formal lessons (unready learning tools – senses, cognition, brain hemispheres, coordination) Hyperactivity growing out of nerves and jitters from frustration Failure which quite naturally flows from the four experiences above Delinquency which is failure's twin Benefits of Home Schooling Learning in the home is the best option.  Home is the where true learning, exploring the world, takes place.  ‘Learning’ in this case includes not only academic education but also an understanding of the social environment of the world.  Teaching children in the home has countless benefits including: Home provides the proper atmosphere and value system to build upon.  Home sets the example of honoring and respecting authority.  Home teaches children how to be part of their community both physically and spiritually. Children with home as their base of exploration benefit from more time spent with warm, responsive parents, limited time with peers and free exploration under parental guidance.  The parents are in control of the social influences and the child isn't exposed to the whirlwind of emotions that come with early childhood education.  Children build a strong bond with the parents as the center example for proper social behavior and are given more opportunities to be among their community in a guided manner. The National Home Education Research Institute conducted a survey in 2003 of 7,300 adults who had been home schooled.  Their astounding results once again make a case for the home; 71% home schooled adults are active and involved in their community compared to 37% of U.S. Adults from a traditional education background.  76% of home schooled adults between 18-24 voted within the last five years compared to 29%.  The numbers are even greater in larger groups at 95% compared with 53% of traditional schooled adults.  The survey also reported that 58.9% of home schooled adults reported that they are “very happy” with life compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. Population.  73.2% find life “exciting,” compared with 47.3%. Socialization is to make social: especially to fit or train for a social environment.  Children best acquire this skill through the practice and observation in the home, not in the schools.  Raymond and Dorothy Moore recognized this need in their first publication in 1975.  That was just the tip of the iceberg in the research of socialization and teaching children.  Evidence abounds and grows continually to support the home as the best place to socialize our children.  Most recently, the NHERI statistics drive home the essential call to all parents to model their successful and productive adult lives with their children as the best social example to follow. About the Author: Michedolene Hogan lives in a quiet neighborhood of Yucaipa CA with her husband of 15yrs.  Her favorite activities include spending time with her family and crafting fun family activities.  She finds her greatest satisfaction in being a stay at home mom raising healthy children and publishes a bi-weekly newsletter offering advice for building strong families.

Are you pursuing a business degree? Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you need to set yourself apart from other entry-level employees at work? If you said yes to any of these, maybe CLEP Principles of Management is a course for you.The CLEP Principles of Management exam is a 3 credit Business exam that covers material taught in a college level introductory course in management and organizations. It includes operational and functional aspects of business and human resources. This was our first business exam and it proved to be a good place to start. Here are the materials we used, our study method and what you must know to pass.Many materials are available for this course but the good news for the cost conscious collegiate is our favorites were almost all free or low cost. We purchased the REA Principles of Management Guide with the CD-ROM practice tests but found other materials we preferred. We used:Principles of Management (Cliffs Quick Review) Peterson's Online Practice examsInstantCert ($20 a month) plus the feedback on the InstantCert forum (priceless)CLEP Official Study Guide 2009 A good study method always works in phases and this course was no exception. First we read through the Cliff's Notes Management text, made flash cards and took notes from it and the InstantCert forum and studied the InstantCert material. Next we began the practice test phase, beginning with the Peterson's tests (see the post on studying wrong answers for more details on this process) and ending with the CLEP Official test for a final exam. As soon as both students were scoring in the 60's or 70's on their practice tests we made the appointment with our local testing center. We are pleased to report that they both passed but not with the scores they would have liked. Here is their advice:Peterson's test were by far the most helpful of all the materials. We were glad to have taken them each twice, at least.CLEP Official was good but it was not a true indication of what would be on the test.Be ready for 20 or more names of management theorists and their theories, some we had not encountered in our practice materials.InstantCert was great.Find another source, like Wikipedia or another textbook for more of the theorists.Take notes at the testing facility during your test (they provide paper for this). Sometimes this helps with eliminating incorrect answers.Make sure you know and understand:1. Types of Power (reward, legitimate, coercive, expert and referent)2. Authority (functional, line, staff)3. Types of management structure (formal, functional, mechanistic, network, organic, team)4. Types of teams (functional, cross-functional, self-directed)A complete exam description can be found at College Board.Sometimes the best part of an exam is when you are finished, and while this is partly true we learned so much about the evolution of management here in the United States, how we manage our homes, how the church is managed, how employees respond to different types of managers and how unions affect business. Having spent time in a large hospital we have new insight into how the staff was organized. I pray that the Lord uses this insight for His glory in the lives of my children.

Exactly a year ago, on August 13, 2009, I published a Virtual Homeschool Fraud Alert that you might remember reading. My reason for sharing this information was to hopefully minimize the amount of families who might fall victim to these companies and their deceptive tactics. Little did I know that so many of you would share this information with so many others -- including your homeschool support groups, state leadership, HSLDA, etc. I had only hoped that some families who were considering one of these companies might find and read the alert and still have time to preserve their limited budgets for homeschool curriculum resources for the year. At the time I first shared this information, I honestly thought it was mostly common knowledge. For years there have been complaints against Mimi Rothschild's companies. Whenever I read a forum where a newbie was asking advice about signing up for one of her "academies", someone quickly jumped in to point them to lengthy online discussions with multiple grievous complaints -- and warn them away. I honestly didn't realize how many thousands of families had no clue that anything was amiss with Mimi Rothschild and her companies. I was only really thinking about families who were just beginning to homeschool -- those who would not have been around long enough to have seen the dozens of testimonies of families who had been defrauded over the past few years... (Read full article for more)

The 2024 Junior Fellows Program (JFP) is accepting applications now through Monday, November 27, 2023. JFP 2024 is a paid internship offering remote and onsite projects for many different majors and interests.OpportunityThe Junior Fellows Program is a paid, full-time summer internship that enables the next generation of diverse cultural institution professionals to experience and interpret the collections, events, and services of the world's largest, all-inclusive library. Projects increase access to Library of Congress collections and promote awareness of the Library's resources to Congress and people in communities across America. With guidance from mentors, Junior Fellows produce products that position the Library as a dynamic center for fostering innovation, sparking creativity, and building lifelong connections. Program Dates and ScheduleJFP24 starts on Monday, May 20 and ends on Friday, July 26, 2024. Junior Fellows work 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday.EligibilityCurrently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students from all majors, and recent graduates between January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023 are eligible to apply. How to Apply Download the JFP How to Apply This brochure provides step-by-step advice for preparing and submitting an application. Read the full description of JFP 2024 on the Library’s Internships and Fellowships Opportunities Review remote and/or onsite project offerings and follow the links to USAJOBS to apply.Connect with JFP Visit the JFP Overview page on loc.gov for intern portfolio content, including capstone Display Day videos. Subscribe to the Of the People blog, an active platform for intern spotlights, program resources, and new ways to use Library collections.Researching the Black Press in Chronicling America (Remote)Project Description: In this project, the Junior Fellow will learn how to research the Black Press in America in the 19th and early 20th centuries using primary and secondary sources and write newspaper history essays to provide context to users of Chronicling America under the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). This project seeks to expand collection access and context for many of the individual newspaper titles digitized in a 2021-2023 project. The incumbent will create up to ten well-researched newspaper history essays up to 500 words long, representing significant titles or groups of titles from this collection, providing additional context to the content in the newspapers, the community they served, and the publishers and editors who created the newspapers. Americans will benefit from this project by gaining a deeper of the Black Press and its impact.Knowledge and skills required: Ability to perform research in historic primary resources. Ability to research and write concise, well-written essays for public consumption. Knowledge of 19th and early 20th century African American History, including people, events, and places. Familiarity in using digital collections repositories or databases, or digitized materials.Knowledge and skills preferred: Ability to perform research in historic newspapers. Familiarity with the American Black Press in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

At the FDA, we rely on our many advisory committees to help us make sound decisions based on the best science available. Advisory committees give our own FDA experts outside, independent, and professional advice on various complex scientific, technical, and policy issues.