Erika Shupe says you need less entertainment

[tkr322]

From her FB page:

 

HELP WITH PRODUCTIVITY & LEARNING - I was told something at the recent Christian Heritage Homeschool and Family Discipleship Conference that really struck a chord with me, and which I thought you all might benefit from as well. That it's not only good to strive to be more productive and learning with our time, but to *actually have less entertainment available*. I often think we should be listening more to hymns during our days than Broadway musical music or movie sound tracks; that we should listen to messages in the car instead of audio books all the time; that we should have more non-fiction reading in our home than fictional. But so often in my weakness I desire the "dessert" type of time-users rather than the "meaty" ones. And it has so helped me to do what my spirit was leading me to - by not having the entertainment even available! How simple! We don't keep audio books in the car, but albums of messages. We don't check out from the library all the fictional reading (chapter books for older kids - we still get all the little kid's books), but rather non-fiction, educational books. Years ago we removed our TV from our home so it's not even a temptation to vegging out and watching it. There's nothing inherently wrong with Broadway musicals, audio books, or TV - but when used in excess it's a waste of valuable time. So we simply have less "dessert" available and more "meat" and we're all growing again spiritually and in character, catching vision for our future goals, remembering why we're here on this earth, and having rich conversations! Praise the Lord. *smile*

 

This woman is seriously insane.

[AnywhereButHere]

Those poor kids must have such an emotionally desolate life, and the saddest thing is that they can't have much to compare it to, so it must seem perfectly normal to them. I can't even imagine their library reading list. *shudder* I read a lot of non- fiction and am *gasp* entertained by it, so one of us must be doing it wrong. Then again, I believe that you learn more if you are engaged in/entertained by what you are doing, so honestly, I think she’s less about learning and more about boring her kids into automatons.

[Rebelwife]

Aside from anything else, her use of the word "fictional" is making me stabby. *twitch*

[Loveday]

I totally agree with you, Erika! *smiles* So much so that the first thing I'm going to do is stop reading your oh-so-entertaining blog! *grins evilly*

:roll:

Seriously, those poor kids. :angry-banghead:

[paintergurl]

The art of expression is for some reason looked down upon in this culture, to a frightening degree. Unless it comes from Bible, or people who claim to know Bible, it is deemed a waste of time, unproductive and worthless. These people's lives, to me anyway, seem perfectly joyless.

And there is that odd phrasing again - 'catching vision'. Is that like J'Michelle 'catching a baby'? What are all these things, floating around?

[Pandora Moon]

We don't keep audio books in the car, but albums of messages.

What on earth are message albums? Does she mean sermons or something else?

As to not keeping audio books in the car, I'm surprised she doesn't make everyone listen to the bible in the car.

[Jinger Jar]

Her post is a perfect example of dichotomous thinking. There's no middle road or moderation with fundies.

[Cheetah]

Must be like living with the thought police at her house... it will be curious to see what sort of relationship she ends up with with her kids once they are grown.

[usmcmom]

I just checked out her facebook page and it looks like she's trying to sell a backyard slide. I wonder if she's making her kids give up their play set. Also, there are lots of photos of herself on her page, just like on her blog. I get the feeling she thinks very highly of herself, based on the way she poses for the blog. I don't think that's very modest. :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

[ILoveJellybeans]

Life must suck for Erika's kids.

I think they are the only people in the world who would be good enough for the newest generation of Maxwells. If Steve can look past Erika's short hair, he might let their younger kids court his grandchildren.

If any of Erika's kids don't hate her and want nothing to do with her when they are older anyway.

[Curious]

When I was a kid (and really still today) I loved to read and would read pretty much anything. I read a variety of fiction and non-fiction and always have. I don't like westerns much, but in a pinch, if that was all I had, I'd learn to make do I'm sure. Hopefully, her kids are the same way. Her beef seems to be with the "fun" value, so as long as they don't seem to be actually ENJOYING whatever she is providing for them to read, at least they will still get some type of reading material.

Once they are older, hopefully their love of reading open up their world for them.

[Koala]

When I was a kid (and really still today) I loved to read and would read pretty much anything. I read a variety of fiction and non-fiction and always have. I don't like westerns much, but in a pinch, if that was all I had, I'd learn to make do I'm sure. Hopefully, her kids are the same way. Her beef seems to be with the "fun" value, so as long as they don't seem to be actually ENJOYING whatever she is providing for them to read, at least they will still get some type of reading material.

Once they are older, hopefully their love of reading open up their world for them.

I would be a little nutty if someone took my books away.

[Marianne]

I learn to read by myself when I was 3. I remember reading Redwall when I was 4. And then, I never stop. This and music have saved my sanity. I have no stability, no family, no love, no attention, but I had books. And with books, I had love, family, friends, love, wonderfull journey, discovery. I was always reading. i learn books by heart - first it was a book of poesie - and I recites them in my head when I feel lonely, so I feel I have friends. That's just that. Musset, Rowling, Martins, Carrey, Mieville, Vernes, Rostand, they are my friends.

Poor children. I'm nearly crying for them because books can save your life and they have no this luck :(

[themothership]

Those poor kids. I think they have it worse than the Duggar kids and that says a lot!

[Coco]

I just checked out her facebook page and it looks like she's trying to sell a backyard slide. I wonder if she's making her kids give up their play set. Also, there are lots of photos of herself on her page, just like on her blog. I get the feeling she thinks very highly of herself, based on the way she poses for the blog. I don't think that's very modest. :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

It's a cool spiral slide. Maybe they were being too wild on it as a way to relieve the boredom :lol:

[Coco]

From her FB page:

HELP WITH PRODUCTIVITY & LEARNING - I was told something at the recent Christian Heritage Homeschool and Family Discipleship Conference that really struck a chord with me, and which I thought you all might benefit from as well. That it's not only good to strive to be more productive and learning with our time, but to *actually have less entertainment available*. I often think we should be listening more to hymns during our days than Broadway musical music or movie sound tracks; that we should listen to messages in the car instead of audio books all the time; that we should have more non-fiction reading in our home than fictional. But so often in my weakness I desire the "dessert" type of time-users rather than the "meaty" ones. And it has so helped me to do what my spirit was leading me to - by not having the entertainment even available! How simple! We don't keep audio books in the car, but albums of messages. We don't check out from the library all the fictional reading (chapter books for older kids - we still get all the little kid's books), but rather non-fiction, educational books. Years ago we removed our TV from our home so it's not even a temptation to vegging out and watching it. There's nothing inherently wrong with Broadway musicals, audio books, or TV - but when used in excess it's a waste of valuable time. So we simply have less "dessert" available and more "meat" and we're all growing again spiritually and in character, catching vision for our future goals, remembering why we're here on this earth, and having rich conversations! Praise the Lord. *smile*

This woman is seriously insane. :wtf:

Yeah, my parents did that to us too. We were always in church (i went up front and got "saved" at 5) but my faith was things like praying that i'd wake up from my nap in time to watch the Superman cartoon. (yay '80's). Then a decade later my parents ditched the TV and decided that we would be semi-mennonite... and the literature selection in THAT segment of fundie-land is 90% propaganda. Not real life at all. Most of it could be renamed Dick and Jane meet Jesus. milestonebooks.com/list/Storybooks_Ages_16-Adult/

We listened to the Alexander Scourby KJV on tape, as well as sermons during the day. We weren't bad kids, but it made life a spiritual hell. Eventually i ended up having a nervous breakdown in my late teens from trying to deny half my personality for years.

Anyway, said all of that to say, you don't have to beat religion into kids, just live it and they will pick up on it. Nothing kills a tender heart like being force-fed religion.

**ETA: The Shupe kids look like they would have a BLAST re-creating musicals. We did that too but our troupe was only 6 girls, they have a whole theater cast. :dance:

[browngrl]

The life Erika is pushing is grim - quite Maxwellesque really. I can see two results of this latest push by Erika to take all the fun and serendipity out of life. (1) The children's sprits will be entirely crushed. They will respond to this with either terrible depression or step ford wife like robotic behaviour. (2) The children will rebel. As they have had no experience in making any decisions or making moderate choices - this will likely end badly.

[Shrinra]

The life Erika is pushing is grim - quite Maxwellesque really. I can see two results of this latest push by Erika to take all the fun and serendipity out of life. (1) The children's sprits will be entirely crushed. They will respond to this with either terrible depression or step ford wife like robotic behaviour. (2) The children will rebel. As they have had no experience in making any decisions or making moderate choices - this will likely end badly.

Erika worships the Maxwells - she even makes their bean slop burritos and green smoothies, so I guess this is to be expected especially after we saw her home. Now all she needs to do is put up pictures of them cleaning the ceiling fans and they will be indistinguishable.

[ILoveJellybeans]

When I was a kid (and really still today) I loved to read and would read pretty much anything. I read a variety of fiction and non-fiction and always have. I don't like westerns much, but in a pinch, if that was all I had, I'd learn to make do I'm sure. Hopefully, her kids are the same way. Her beef seems to be with the "fun" value, so as long as they don't seem to be actually ENJOYING whatever she is providing for them to read, at least they will still get some type of reading material.

Once they are older, hopefully their love of reading open up their world for them.

I was the same, I would read anything. I used to read my mom's parenting magazine when I was really little, just because it was there. I would read the back of shampoo bottles when in the bath, just because it was there. I was always the kid who would be reading chapters ahead of the book we were reading in class, or looking through different pages on the textbooks.

Fundies suck the joy out of life.

[paintergurl]

I just spent almost 2 long, painful hours reading her blog, and her righteous responses to anyone who questions her ideologies and advice for raising a family. I read her response to a blogger who wondered about the reason for producing these mega-families. While most of the quiverful types merely claimed that they love children so much more than the rest of us, Mrs Shupe was aggressively judgmental... and actively claims to raise smarter, better educated, better adjusted children, with more generous and loving hearts who will flourish in the world, while our under-educated, TV watching kids will fail miserably and, within the next generations, will eventually die off.

If this woman Loves children so much more than me and other mamas, other than to see them meet her many conditions and restrictions, I am not feeling it. A very proud and exceedingly awful woman.

[Jana814]

She sounds like a true nutcase. Can someone tell me this women's blog name.

[Coco]

largefamiliesonpurpose.com

[feministxtian]

Erika Shupe needs a swift kick in the ass, a nice stiff drink (or 3) and STFU.

[16strong]

I guess I understand some of the things she is saying, like retaining math in the summer, etc. but what I don't understand is why the kids can't have unstructured play. She says it is because they get in fights and have arguments (read:annoy Erika) but what she doesn't understand is that fights are learning experiences. They teach kids how to solve problems, how to interact with others, and how to compromise to get what they need. If they are not allowed the occasional scuffle, then they are not picking up those crucial tools for interaction with others. Erika is essentially stepping in to solve all of their problems, rather than letting them learn how to solve things themselves.

[Jana814]

largefamiliesonpurpose.com

Thanks! I know her blog. I guess I forgot her name.