Another Bombastic Botkin Webinar!

[Marian the Librarian]

The Botkinettes have finally update their blog (first time since Valentine's Day!!11!!), and are pushing yet another in a series of webinars designed to help their followers take dominion over the universe. Or something. And prepare their offspring for "real life." Because real life, as we know, means kidults in their twenties, and thirties, and forties, and beyond, living under their parents' thumbs, always and forever.

(Text quoted in its entirety, because it's just too good not to.)

What Should a 21st Century Education Look Like?

We homeschooling parents know we’re giving our children a decent academic education. But let’s face it – we sometimes wonder if we really know how to equip them to be the adults the 21st Century needs. After all, the world our children are inheriting will be more complex, uncertain, and turbulent than the one we had to face.

Will your children know how to handle business and finance in a down economy? Defend their faith to militant antagonists? Stand firm against a defiling culture? Fight for their freedoms? Take advantage of technological innovations? And see opportunity amid the chaos?

More importantly, what kind of salt and light are they prepared to be? They may be able to name every country in the world, but do they know how to disciple the nations? They may know about the Battle of Waterloo, but do they know how to fight the battles of today – to win? Homeschoolers have proven they can beat the world at geography and spelling. But can we lead in the arts? Can we lead in the gates? Do we know how to take dominion of science and technology?

If your children are going to be the leaders of the 21st Century, they need to be educated for it. And even if you feel unprepared to equip them for this… there’s no one more qualified for the job than you.

The “Ready for Real Life†webinar, hosted by the entire Botkin family, will take on the practical side of educating children for the real world, also tackling every-day issues like saving money on curriculum, teaching your children to take responsibility for their own education, dealing with different learning styles, teaching social skills and confidence, helping children who don’t like to read or write, creating an educational home environment, and helping children learn marketable skills.

Hear from each member of the Botkin family, as they talk about lessons they’ve learned along the way, books and resources they recommend, things that worked for them, and things they’ll never do again.

Six Sessions, Plus Free Bonus Q&A Session!

Webinar sessions will run every Tuesday evening, 7PM CST, from September 3-October 15. Each session will include time for Q&A, plus you’ll get a free bonus Q&A session at the end.

Sessions include:

Ready for What? What We Must Educate Our Children to Be and Do

Ready to Think and Communicate: How to Have Something to Say and How to Say it – Studying Theology, Apologetics, Critical Thinking Skills, Writing, Researching, Editing, Speaking, and how to boldly give an answer.

Ready to Lead Culture: How to Take Dominion of the Arts Without the Arts Taking Dominion of You – Studying Music, Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Fashion, and Filmmaking

Ready to Take Dominion of the Earth: Studying Science, Math, Engineering, Medicine, Computer Sciences, Agriculture, Construction, and the basic knowledge necessary in order to participate in 21st Century progress.

Ready to Lead in the Gates: Studying Economics, Law, Political Science, Military Studies, Geography, and History

Ready for Anything: Figuring Out Vocation, Gifts, Real Life Skills, and the Unique Challenges of the 21st century

Bonus: Final Questions and Answers

Home education pioneers and thirty-year veterans Geoffrey and Victoria Botkin homeschooled their seven children from the beginning. Geoffrey has also lectured on philosophy and history at Hillsdale College, on politics at the Heritage Foundation, on media at the Christian Filmmakers Academy, and on theology in the U.S., Germany, Central America, South Sudan, and New Zealand. He and Victoria will be joined by all seven of their grown children (two married with children), including Isaac (author of Outside Hollywood, producer of “Navigating History: Egypt,†and faculty at the Christian Filmmakers Academy), David (military historian, IT professional), Anna Sofia and Elizabeth (authors of So Much More and It’s (Not That) Complicated, producers of “Return of the Daughtersâ€), Benjamin (musician and composer), and Lucas (volunteer firefighter, studying emergency medicine) and Noah (web developer and designer, studying alternative energy).

[ILoveJellybeans]

Ready for What? What We Must Educate Our Children to Be and Do

Ready to Think and Communicate: How to Have Something to Say and How to Say it – Studying Theology, Apologetics, Critical Thinking Skills, Writing, Researching, Editing, Speaking, and how to boldly give an answer.

Ready to Lead Culture: How to Take Dominion of the Arts Without the Arts Taking Dominion of You – Studying Music, Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Fashion, and Filmmaking

Ready to Take Dominion of the Earth: Studying Science, Math, Engineering, Medicine, Computer Sciences, Agriculture, Construction, and the basic knowledge necessary in order to participate in 21st Century progress.

Ready to Lead in the Gates: Studying Economics, Law, Political Science, Military Studies, Geography, and History

Ready for Anything: Figuring Out Vocation, Gifts, Real Life Skills, and the Unique Challenges of the 21st century

Bonus: Final Questions and Answers

Hahahahahaha like that will happen.

They dont teach kids thinking skills, if they did that, they might grow up to have their own opinions. Fundies teach their kids to parrot everything they say without thought.

By science, they mean fundie science. Which looks like someone took a ton of drugs and wrote down the weird thoughts that came to them. Adam and Eve riding dinosaurs? Lol.

[DomWackTroll]

"...and Noah (web developer and designer, studying alternative energy)."

Noah, just set Doug Phillips in front of a few hundred wind turbines and ask him about the virtues of the Confederacy. He'll easily power the entire nation.

[VooDooChild]

The “Ready for Real Life†webinar, hosted by the entire Botkin family, will take on the practical side of educating children for the real world, also tackling every-day issues like saving money on curriculum, teaching your children to take responsibility for their own education, dealing with different learning styles, teaching social skills and confidence, helping children who don’t like to read or write, creating an educational home environment, and helping children learn marketable skills.

Hear from each member of the Botkin family, as they talk about lessons they’ve learned along the way, books and resources they recommend, things that worked for them, and things they’ll never do again.

Six Sessions, Plus Free Bonus Q&A Session!

Webinar sessions will run every Tuesday evening, 7PM CST, from September 3-October 15. Each session will include time for Q&A, plus you’ll get a free bonus Q&A session at the end.

Sessions include:

Ready for What? What We Must Educate Our Children to Be and Do

Ready to Think and Communicate: How to Have Something to Say and How to Say it – Studying Theology, Apologetics, Critical Thinking Skills, Writing, Researching, Editing, Speaking, and how to boldly give an answer.

Ready to Lead Culture: How to Take Dominion of the Arts Without the Arts Taking Dominion of You – Studying Music, Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Fashion, and Filmmaking

Ready to Take Dominion of the Earth: Studying Science, Math, Engineering, Medicine, Computer Sciences, Agriculture, Construction, and the basic knowledge necessary in order to participate in 21st Century progress.

Ready to Lead in the Gates: Studying Economics, Law, Political Science, Military Studies, Geography, and History

Ready for Anything: Figuring Out Vocation, Gifts, Real Life Skills, and the Unique Challenges of the 21st century

Bonus: Final Questions and Answers

?!?! Based on all their Military experience, I suppose. :roll: and can any one explain to me just how the Arts can take dominion over me?

[Librul]

I would like to Disciple a Nation. I will take Monaco. Thank you.

Also, I am taking Dominion over the Arts and the Earth. Sorry, I called it first.

[JesusFightClub]

Ready for What? What We Must Educate Our Children to Be and Do

Ready to Think and Communicate: How to Have Something to Say and How to Say it – Studying Theology, Apologetics, Critical Thinking Skills, Writing, Researching, Editing, Speaking, and how to boldly give an answer.

Ready to Lead Culture: How to Take Dominion of the Arts Without the Arts Taking Dominion of You – Studying Music, Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Fashion, and Filmmaking

Ready to Take Dominion of the Earth: Studying Science, Math, Engineering, Medicine, Computer Sciences, Agriculture, Construction, and the basic knowledge necessary in order to participate in 21st Century progress.

Ready to Lead in the Gates: Studying Economics, Law, Political Science, Military Studies, Geography, and History

Ready for Anything: Figuring Out Vocation, Gifts, Real Life Skills, and the Unique Challenges of the 21st century

Bonus: Final Questions and Answers

A six hour session is enough for that? In what alternate universe?

I suppose fundies value the *idea* of scholarship over scholarship itself. I feel strangely unsurprised.

[pirate]

In order to be a truly talented artist/writer/musician, isn't it necessary for "the arts to have dominion over you" rather than vice versa?

"Real Life Skills" = "We don't need college".

[sableduck]

Do they realize that son Lucas, working as a volunteer firefighter and studying EMS, will inevitably work with women? I"m sure they believe that it is a male dominated field which would make it acceptable for their son, but there are many women in it. In fact if he goes as far as paramedic and does this as his job, he will be spending the night(possibly alone) with women and at the very least a great deal of time with women alone.

Signed, a female firefighter-paramedic

[fatcat]

Wow, could they sound any more pretentious? Seriously, can someone explain what all this faux-intellectual gibberish has to do with Christianity? (This is a rhetorical question, you don't have to answer it).

This is the first I've heard of Lucas being a volunteer firefighter. He also seemed to be overshadowed by his siblings. If what they write is true, seems like he's doing more for other people than the rest of the family, so good for him I guess.

[YPestis]

Do they realize that son Lucas, working as a volunteer firefighter and studying EMS, will inevitably work with women? I"m sure they believe that it is a male dominated field which would make it acceptable for their son, but there are many women in it. In fact if he goes as far as paramedic and does this as his job, he will be spending the night(possibly alone) with women and at the very least a great deal of time with women alone.

Signed, a female firefighter-paramedic

I think the stereotype is that firefighters and paramedics are predominately female. If Lucas does become a paramedic and end up with female co-workers.....well, that would be interesting. Perhaps he will quit! Or write a book about "Keeping Purity with Heathen Females". I dunno. It's going to be a hoot to see these sheltered, fundie men forced to interact with women as they look for work in the real world! :lol:

[lemonhead]

Hmm. Well, I was homeschooled and learned nothing about world geography, because you know, America is God's Country and the only one that counts; and I learned only the A Beka revisionist history (something something...SPANISH ARMADA 1588...something). Seriously, that's all I remember from high school history :roll:

I also learned nothing about money management nor social skills, and as a result found myself very quickly swimming in a sea of debt and terribly lonely as a young adult. Somehow I am skeptical that this webinar series will provide any truly useful advice in those areas though, beyond "don't borrow" and "secondary separation blah blah blah." Unfortunately, when homeschooled kids from the very extreme subculture do leave the fold, they are often terribly unprepared because their parents have set them up for failure, and a 6-hour webinar is not the solution.

[lemonhead]

Oh, and all of this for only $39. What a deal!

[Ms Lucy Fur]

I'm still stuck on the critical thinking skills. It ALMOST makes me curious enough to check it out, but I would never contribute to that lunacy.

[YPestis]

I'm vaguely intrigued by this seminar, but don't want to spend the $40. I wonder if there's a way to win a free lesson.

[Burris]

I'd love to listen, but my money is all in use: I'm cutting up $20 bills and throwing bits of them into the sewer.

Do I still get access to tbe ~ BONUS! FREE! ~ Q and A?

[fun2beme]

Wouldn't Lucas also have to *gasp* touch female patients? Honestly, with his upbrining, how will he handle doing CPR on a woman, cutting open a lady's top and/or bra for a defibilator, carrying an unclothed female out of a burning building, etc?

Seriously, I really do wish him well. His goals are extremely admirable and I hope he finds fulfillment.

[Shoes Grace]

I would like to Disciple a Nation. I will take Monaco. Thank you.

Also, I am taking Dominion over the Arts and the Earth. Sorry, I called it first.

Do you have a flag?

[Olive Plant]

Wouldn't Lucas also have to *gasp* touch female patients? Honestly, with his upbrining, how will he handle doing CPR on a woman, cutting open a lady's top and/or bra for a defibilator, carrying an unclothed female out of a burning building, etc?

Seriously, I really do wish him well. His goals are extremely admirable and I hope he finds fulfillment.

Lucas is winning the "most likely to escape daddy's lifestyle" award. He's the only one in the family whose vocational path appears to lie outside the family compound. Possibly he'll even meet nice people who don't believe everything he's been brainwashed with since birth. If he can stop the "need to save them from the power of their sin" mentality long enough to pay attention, he may see they're genuinely happy and purposeful, even the females who are there outside their daddy's protection. But let's not count on it.

I want someone to ask him how he deals with learning about female anatomy, CPR on females, etc. Possibly in the free introductory session.

Edited to add: what if Lucas is only a volunteer firefighter for BRADRICK! ?? Or some other such nonsense that means he doesn't actually do anything?

[Sharpie]

I love that they describe Lucas as studying 'emergency medicine'. If he is studying for EMT certification, good for him. But it's a lonnnnggggg way from that to med school!

[loulou]

"...and Noah (web developer and designer, studying alternative energy)."

Noah, just set Doug Phillips in front of a few hundred wind turbines and ask him about the virtues of the Confederacy. He'll easily power the entire nation.

That is absolutely one of the funniest things I have seen!!! Thanks for making me laugh hysterically after a long crappy day!

[Mary C Doates]

Lucas is winning the "most likely to escape daddy's lifestyle" award. He's the only one in the family whose vocational path appears to lie outside the family compound. Possibly he'll even meet nice people who don't believe everything he's been brainwashed with since birth. If he can stop the "need to save them from the power of their sin" mentality long enough to pay attention, he may see they're genuinely happy and purposeful, even the females who are there outside their daddy's protection. But let's not count on it.

I want someone to ask him how he deals with learning about female anatomy, CPR on females, etc. Possibly in the free introductory session.

Edited to add: what if Lucas is only a volunteer firefighter for BRADRICK! ?? Or some other such nonsense that means he doesn't actually do anything?

I had this exact thought! Being a volunteer EMS or firefighter for Bradrick! would not require actual contact with females, or with actual emergencies for that matter.

[slickcat79]

More importantly, what kind of salt and light are they prepared to be? They may be able to name every country in the world, but do they know how to disciple the nations? They may know about the Battle of Waterloo, but do they know how to fight the battles of today – to win? Homeschoolers have proven they can beat the world at geography and spelling. But can we lead in the arts? Can we lead in the gates? Do we know how to take dominion of science and technology?

O rly? :? I don't doubt there are many homeschoolers who are skilled at geography and spelling, but anyone who's ever read a fundie blog can tell that spelling and grammar are not exactly emphasised at the SOTDRT.

And really, if Geoff and Helpmeet are such great veterans of homeschooling, where is the fruit of their efforts? Do any of their children have advanced degrees? Have any of them even been to college? Have they acheived anything or reached any milestone that can be measured by someone other than their parents and "like-minded" friends? Not that there isn't value in entrepreneurship, but if their goal is to teach people how to homeschool for the 21st century I would expect some concrete evidence of their qualifications.

[Sobeknofret]

I was excited about this and ready to sign up, until I realized that $40 will pay for half of my kid's homeschool science lab class, in which he will learn about *real* science, not creationism. Sorry Botkins, you lose.

[Olive Plant]

Let's translate the Botkins inflated resumes into standard English:

Isaac (author of Outside Hollywood, producer of “Navigating History: Egypt,†and faculty at the Christian Filmmakers Academy): Self-published author and member of some little group that makes shitty movies

David (military historian, IT professional): tries to support himself by dinking around on the computer and likes to read neo-Confederate propoganda in his spare time

Anna Sofia and Elizabeth (authors of So Much More and It’s (Not That) Complicated, producers of “Return of the Daughtersâ€): Self-published authors and "producers" of one of the aforementioned shitty movies

Benjamin (musician and composer): tries to support himself by dinking around on the computer, particularly with DJ software he composes pseudo-classical music on

Lucas (volunteer firefighter, studying emergency medicine): wants to get out and actually learn something useful, but is pressured by family into settling for some Bill Gothard or Doug Phillips rip-off of the real thing

Noah (web developer and designer, studying alternative energy): tries to support himself by dinking around on the computer, occasionally reads articles about solar energy. Dreams of implementing something that will save his family from having to rely on the evil, evil socialist government, who secretly runs all electrical companies.

[lilith]

I had this exact thought! Being a volunteer EMS or firefighter for Bradrick! would not require actual contact with females, or with actual emergencies for that matter.

I imagine Lucas has been inspired by Doug Phillips(is a tool)'s Titanic extravaganza and taken him up on his exhortation to "bring back the doctrine of women and children first". I think he's imagining himself in a spiffy suit, coming to the rescue of sweet Christian damsels in distress, not working as an EMT and dealing with society in general, including the non white, non saved, non middle class faux genteel.