PirateF

Congratulations! Our son is Henry. Not only because of AS, but also because we just loved the name. Our daughter is Scout. She would have been William Roark had she been a boy. They both have family names for their middle names. We had intended to call Henry "Hank" but it never took. Obviously I see nothing wrong with naming your child after a person or character who portrays values you admire. Just because my daughter's name is Scout doesn't mean I expect her to have an awkward haircut and play a dancing ham in a school play, for example. Leonard Peikoff's daughter is Kira; another prominent Objectivist - I can't think of who right now - has a son named Francisco. Why not check out the book Cool Names for some ideas?

Never mind the atrocious and disgusting ideology of the reviewers themselves...from a writing standpoint, that is possibly one of the worst movie reviews I have ever read. Quit your day jobs, girls. Maybe Canada needs movie reviewers?

I am very happily driving our new VW Passat wagon. It's cute, safe, sporty, and suits my needs (hauling around two small kids, shopping, etc.). We really wanted a Volvo XC or an Audi wagon, but the Passat was easily $10K less than either of those options and frankly, I think I am enjoying it just as much. Jason is less happily driving my old '97 Blazer until we can afford to get him something a bit more fun.

I learned to speak Flemish (Dutch) fluently at the age of 18 by studying abroad in Antwerp, Belgium for one year. It wasn't easy, especially since everyone there was anxious to practice their English with me! I had to force people to speak to me only in Dutch so that I could learn. The combination of being immersed in it every day together with studying a dictionary at night, looking up any new words I had heard and/or preparing vocabulary for things I needed to do/say the following day worked very well for me. Oh, and watching Britcoms on the BBC with Dutch subtitles! My AFS year was 14 years ago but I am still well-versed in the language. Although I do have a very strong American accent, I'm told. There is no question that adults have to make a conscious effort to learn a language while young children can acquire it effortlessly. But you are highly motivated and I'm sure you'll do well. I would suggest finding an outlet where you can practice speaking Japanese with native speakers. If not an extended trip to Japan (where you preferably stay with a family), then perhaps a "Japanese club" of some sort? Where you go out for dinner and speak only Japanese? I know at my university there were clubs like this for all sorts of languages, even Dutch (although there were only three of us in it, LOL). Good luck!

I saw the Republican counterpart to that bumpersticker: "W stands for Women in 04". HUH? Worse, it was on a female co-worker's car. Apparently her idea of what's best for women is for them to have no say over what happens to their own bodies.

I went to a summer graduate course at Loyola College in Maryland - a Jesuit institution. Once you get used to the image of Jesus on the cross hanging in every classroom and priests walking around campus, it's not so bad. Religion didn't enter into the coursework, but it was a rather condensed graduate program. I have no idea what sorts of general "Jesus" requirements might be mandatory at the undergrad level.

Let's not forget the episode of the Simpsons where they send Maggie to the "Ayn Rand School for Tots". A very Rand-like preschool director swipes her pacifier saying, "You won't be needing THIS" and throws it in a huge box. Later all the toddlers overthrow the school and free their contraband binkies. I take it as a good sign that Rand and her novels are cropping up in popular shows; at least it's an indication that not only the writers of the shows are somewhat familiar with her but that they expect a certain segment of their audience to be, too.

If I understand your "logic" correctly, if I support an individual's right to have an abortion, then I am obligated to have one myself or be labeled a hypocrite. There are lots of ways to support a war. Signing up to fight is only one of them. Some of us choose to support it in other ways, like writing essays and letters to the editor, or by educating people through forums like this one.

Welcome! I think your "round-about' approach to becoming an educator is probably a smart one. I would encourage you to study lots and LOTS of history as well to give yourself a sturdy foundation. Also, check out the Ayn Rand Bookstore for Leonard Peikoff's lecture on Philosophy of Education to find out how to apply Objectivist principles to what you already know about teaching. Lisa Van Damme also has some excellent taped lectures on her experience with homeschooling. Enjoy!

I'm all for encouraging independent thought, naturally...but what I observed at St. John's was a persistent belief that everyone's thoughts are equally valid. Perhaps because I only know the school through my sister, I have a skewed notion of what it's all about, but it struck me as very "One can't really know anything" territory.

If I may ask, assuming you had an understanding of Objectivism when you were selecting a school...what made you choose St. John's? The reason I'm asking is, my sister graduated from there. Not that she had much of a grasp on reality before she went, but in her four years there I watched her struggle so much because of the lack of clear direction, the "we don't claim to know any more than you" mentality. I sat in on a lecture..whoops, excuse me, a seminar - on John Locke, and was horrified that they spent three hours discussing his words in a complete vaccuum. Each time someone would attempt to include some fact that would lend context to his writing, they would get a slap on the wrist and a reminder that they were only allowed to discuss the words in this specific essay (sorry, can't recall which one). After the class I mentioned my concern about the lack of context and my sister's response was a nonchalant, "Yeah, we tend to avoid context here." Anyway, I definitely see the appeal to studying the "Great Books" in depth, but the discussion method used at St. John's definitely troubles me.

That's great! I love boys at Max's age. Good luck with your school search...at least you are starting early! I meet so many parents who don't discover Montessori until their children have already had several bad experiences at traditional preschools and by then, while not "too late", they certainly have missed out on so much by not starting in Montessori by the age of 3. Let me know if I can be of further help!

Re: Montessori for toddlers My personal view is that a primary Montessori experience (3-6) is something I would consider extremely valuable for all children. So if it becomes an issue of affording one or the other, I would definitely save your $$ to put him in a good primary program. If we had an AMI accredited toddler program available to us, we would have taken advantage of it, but since we don't, I feel that the home environment is preferable to anything else. The "work" of a toddler at that age is to perfect his coordination of movement, to gather information through the senses, and to acquire language. The home is the perfect environment for these tasks. Make the environment safe so that he can explore as much as possible. Don't limit him because he will get dirty. Go outside even when - especially when - it's raining or muddy. And constantly give language for the things he's experiencing. Try to give the correct name whenever possible. "That's an oak leaf." As for toys, you sound like you are on the right track. Absolutely order the Michael Olaf catalog (the one for 0-3 year olds is called "The Joyful Child") because not only do they carry many developmentally appropriate toys, but the catalog is also full of valuable information on child development.

It is fairly typical, sadly. If the ages are grouped as you say, then I can tell you right now, the school you are looking at is not accredited through AMI. It still might be a nice place, and your child might get a lot out of it, but if you are seeking a true Montessori experience, I'm afraid that is not going to be the place for you. Now, some AMI schools do have toddler programs which would be ages 15 months to 3 years. Then the primary class is 3-6. The Montessori primary (3-6) class is designed to be a 3-year cycle. New children enter at age 3 and stay with the same teacher and the same community of children through Kindergarten. Each year, the 6-year olds graduate, the 5-year olds become the leaders of the class, and new 3-year olds enter. The youngest children have built-in role models in the older children. They look forward to their turn to become the leaders of the class. The older children get an amazing opportunity to be leaders, instead of starting over as the "little kids" in a new class. The 2-3 year olds benefit immensely from being included with the older children in terms of the language and behavior that they will absorb. The older children benefit from having the younger ones included because the little guys provide countless opportunities for the older ones to practice what they have learned. A four year old who is learning to tie shoes, for example, doesn't have to look far for a chance to try out his new skills. Traditional preschools/day care centers are licensed through DCFS (or whatever your local agency is) or the Dept of Ed and both institutions seem to have a huge problem with children who are not toilet trained being in the same room as those who are. That's why you see 2-3 year olds separated from 4-5 year olds in most traditional early childhood programs. Then, you often have parents who can't accept the concept of kindergarteners not having their own special room, so you see a lot of programs that take kids 5 1/2 and up and put them in their own space. Unfortunately, many Montessori programs end up bowing to pressure from the licensing agencies or from parents and rationalizing their choice to do so. There are ways for schools to work around these requirements, and both of the schools I have worked in - both AMI accredited - have done so. I'm sure you will agree that it is more important to follow the developmental needs of the child than to appease some government agency's arbitrary guidelines. There is no health risk posed by having children who are still learning to use the toilet included with older kids, not when all of them are taught from day one about the importance of handwashing, and when they are provided with role models who do not encourage the type of behavior that is typical in most "traditional" programs. I'm going to encourage you to read more about Montessori before you make a decision. Montessori: A Modern Approach by Paula Polk Lillard is a good place to start. If you want to read Dr. Montessori's own words, try The Secret of Childhood Good luck!

OK, having trouble posting an image. Here's a link instead: Pink Tower The pink tower gives the young child (around 3) a sensorial experience with cubic dimensions. The largest cube is 10 cm squared and they decrease in size to the smallest cube which is 1 cm squared. The child develops the ability to discriminate between cubes which are quite close in size in order to stack the tower correctly from bottom to top. Later, he might play a game in which an adult or another child removes one of the cubes from the tower and he must indicate where a cube is missing. The cubes are also used, after much sensorial exploration, for a language lesson: "Big" "Bigger" "Biggest" (or "small"...) There isn't a developmental reason for it to be pink, other than the fact that there are specific characteristics assigned to other colors in the environment (red, blue, green) so I suppose Dr. Montessori chose pink to differentiate from some of the other activities. I used it as an example because many people recognize it as one of the quintessential Montessori materials, and because it's a good litmus test for how well the classroom meets Montessori's own standards. It is important for the pink tower to be kept stacked as you see in the picture so that each time a child passes it, he takes in an impression of it in its correct form. If it is allowed to become damaged, or worn, the exact dimensions won't be correct. It should not be displayed with cubes missing or out of order (obviously sometimes a child will put it away out of order and it might take a while for the teacher to get over there and fix it - but usually an older child will notice it and fix it!) Anyway, my point is - notice how the pink tower is kept and you will have a good sense of the overall care and attention paid to the materials as a whole.