Erika Shupe *fake smile* Large Families on Purpose Part 2

[iweartanktops]

Now I am wondering what else I am missing! I am almost afraid to look because I (sadly) can't spend 24 hours a day on this site.  But I just found the Jill Rodrigues thread.  There are no words...

Oh, start at the beginning! It took me a good 2 weeks to get through all 9 Rodriguii threads! It's a shit show and a half! 

[pnwgypsy]

Maybe I'm going out on a limb, but I think there are a few reasons why they were so combative with her.  She is a woman with master's degree in divinity. Not only has she tarnished herself by exposing herself to the evil world of higher education, she is a woman trying to assert herself in a situation that they(fundies) feel should be lead by men. I can imagine that many fundies will be hostile towards a woman who has been formally educated in religion because they might see her as trying to usurp/speak over a man about religious matters, and (according to a literal interpretation of Paul's exhortations in Corinthians [i think]) that is a serious no-no. Its seriously sad and frustrating to see them dogpile someone like that. 

How dare she get educated in the bible of all things. She should be at home birthing babies to home school. The comments in that thread are gems.

[formergothardite]

Now I am wondering what else I am missing! I am almost afraid to look because I (sadly) can't spend 24 hours a day on this site.  But I just found the Jill Rodrigues thread.  There are no words...

After you recover from Jill Rod., you should try John Shrader, the world's most inept missionary. Much like Jill, every time you think it can't get more crazy, it does. 

[nausicaa]

Oh, start at the beginning! It took me a good 2 weeks to get through all 9 Rodriguii threads! It's a shit show and a half! 

"Shit show and a half" should really be the permanent, official title of the Rodriguii threads. 

[iweartanktops]

After you recover from Jill Rod., you should try John Shrader, the world's most inept missionary. Much like Jill, every time you think it can't get more crazy, it does. 

I'm just getting started with them!

[defraudingjezebel]

Erika certainly has been posting a number of "encouraging" links about having difficulties with homeschooling, and doubting one's ability to properly homeschool. If she isn't having serious issues with homeschooling, I'll eat my hat. Excuse my Christianese but I hope God ~lays it on her heart to try putting at least some of her kids in public school (Karen might be too close to finishing to even bother). 

[elliha]

Erika certainly has been posting a number of "encouraging" links about having difficulties with homeschooling, and doubting one's ability to properly homeschool. If she isn't having serious issues with homeschooling, I'll eat my hat. Excuse my Christianese but I hope God ~lays it on her heart to try putting at least some of her kids in public school (Karen might be too close to finishing to even bother). 

I really hope so too. I am definitely not against homeschooling but her version with mostly just doing exercises in a book/online seems so extremely tedious. I think she will have to either step it up and provide more variation and enrichment or let a professional take over by sending at least the children that are having the most problems to school. The thing is, maybe her oldest children have been the type that does well with this type of teaching and she might have thought that it works for everyone just like she thought that childproofing was not necessary because she didn't need to do it with her first. My guess is that she is at a sink or swin place now and if she wants to go on homeschooling she will have to do a little less cleaning and organizing and a little more actual teaching. I am a teacher and teaching is much harder than most people think. It is often pretty easy to teach 1-2 people something you know but the more people you have in your classroom the more adaptation you need to do to what you teach and to the independent work you provide. Everything will not suit everyone every time but you have to try to do what is best for as many people as possible on as many occasions as possible. On top of that she has children of different ages who will need different levels of explanations and material for optimal learning. I would feel that the age difference would be the biggest challenge. Not impossible but hard. Erika has expressed views that seems to say that she doesn't fully recognize different needs for different ages but she might have to accept it now to keep homeschooling and not go insane.

[Seven Severn]

I have to think that she's been talking a lot with Wendy Jeub. In light of Wendy and Chris sending their kids to public school she may be completely reevaluating her homeschool experience. If the Jeubs can admit that public school has its place then Erika has probably been forced to step back and assess her own efforts. Maybe. Hopefully.

[lauraloralara]

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but I think what Erika means by "making it a Christian public school" is that by sending your children who have been trained up in the way they should go *beam* to public school, and by other godly Christian parents doing the same thing, the school will become "Christian." A few years after Columbine, I read "She Said Yes" by Misty Bernal, the mother of Cassie Bernall, the girl who was (falsely, though due to confusion rather than deception, I think) reported to have said "yes" when the shooters pointed a gun at her and asked if she believed in God. Her mom wrote this book to talk about what an unlikely martyr she has become because she had been really deeply into the "occult" and "darkness" in the years immediately before the shooting. I don't remember if they actually sent her to a Christian school, but she ended up getting saved and everything and her parents were entertaining the idea of her staying in/going to a Christian school, but apparently she said she wanted to go to a public school because those kids didn't know God and she could evangelize and stuff there.

 

I'm a little fuzzy on the details (as I said, I read this probably 13 or so years ago), but that is what I thought about immediately when I saw that from Erika. She has many judgmental things to say about Christians who send their kids anywhere other than the dining room table for school. I spend about 4 hours yesterday while proctoring a test just reading through her educational "philosophy" posts. Sending your kids to public school is ungodly. Keeping them home and using government curriculum (e.g. virtual schools) is ungodly and any excuse to make it godly is just sliding into heathenism. I actually haven't come across her talking about private Christian schools, but I'll take a guess: parochial schools are works of the devil because they are Catholic, and other Christian school are to be avoided because they involve your children not being under your immediate control. They might use the bathroom off schedule and then the four horsemen of the apocalypse will come riding in.

[BunnyBee]

 

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but I think what Erika means by "making it a Christian public school" is that by sending your children who have been trained up in the way they should go *beam* to public school, and by other godly Christian parents doing the same thing, the school will become "Christian." A few years after Columbine, I read "She Said Yes" by Misty Bernal, the mother of Cassie Bernall, the girl who was (falsely, though due to confusion rather than deception, I think) reported to have said "yes" when the shooters pointed a gun at her and asked if she believed in God. Her mom wrote this book to talk about what an unlikely martyr she has become because she had been really deeply into the "occult" and "darkness" in the years immediately before the shooting. I don't remember if they actually sent her to a Christian school, but she ended up getting saved and everything and her parents were entertaining the idea of her staying in/going to a Christian school, but apparently she said she wanted to go to a public school because those kids didn't know God and she could evangelize and stuff there.

 

I'm a little fuzzy on the details (as I said, I read this probably 13 or so years ago), but that is what I thought about immediately when I saw that from Erika. She has many judgmental things to say about Christians who send their kids anywhere other than the dining room table for school. I spend about 4 hours yesterday while proctoring a test just reading through her educational "philosophy" posts. Sending your kids to public school is ungodly. Keeping them home and using government curriculum (e.g. virtual schools) is ungodly and any excuse to make it godly is just sliding into heathenism. I actually haven't come across her talking about private Christian schools, but I'll take a guess: parochial schools are works of the devil because they are Catholic, and other Christian school are to be avoided because they involve your children not being under your immediate control. They might use the bathroom off schedule and then the four horsemen of the apocalypse will come riding in.

 I completely agree with everything you said, I went to school with a fundie light family and in highschool they always took any opportunity to preach. I am not kidding anytime could be converted into a message ala Ken Alexander and soupgate. And they had there own bible study before school and they would ride your ass about coming "just one time to see if the word of God spoke to you". You would be in the hallway by yourself walking to the bathroom and one of them would just fucking pop up out of nowhere and try to convert you.

also their judgemental mindset was through the roof and nobody could stand them. I would not be surprised is Erika *smiles then slowly turns into a fucking ghoul* would be prepping her quiver to go out and be God's army in a public school setting. *yark*  RUN KAREN, RUN

[defraudingjezebel]

@elliha I agree with you completely. Her version of homeschool seems more like the kids teaching themselves from the book rather than her explaining things or working through it with them. How could it be anything else with 9 (!!) children doing it at a time, and almost all of them at different levels. That isn't to say that it couldn't ever work, but some kids definitely need more attention and interaction than that. 9 children homeschooling at once at totally different levels makes that kind of attention nearly impossible.  

[mango_fandango]

@elliha I agree with you completely. Her version of homeschool seems more like the kids teaching themselves from the book rather than her explaining things or working through it with them. How could it be anything else with 9 (!!) children doing it at a time, and almost all of them at different levels. That isn't to say that it couldn't ever work, but some kids definitely need more attention and interaction than that. 9 children homeschooling at once at totally different levels makes that kind of attention nearly impossible.  

She mentioned in one of the posts that she got Karen and Melanie to homeschool themselves when they were 10 and 9 respectively, once Brandon, Anna Marie etc were coming up to an age where they were eligible to join the Shupe SOTDRT. It's good to learn how to be an independent learner, but 9 seems too young to me. Also, looking at their recent schedules, Erika spends most of her time doing kindergarten/first grade with the youngest four. Riley on up have to do things alone, pretty much. 

At least it looks like Karen will be graduating this academic year. I bet she'll be kept around to help out- she already does things like "cracker math" with the kindergartners. It's not like the Duggar family where the oldest kids had graduated way before the youngest kids were even born. Even siblings helping out is better than nothing. I suppose half the reason that Erika uses Switched on Schoolhouse for 3rd grade and beyond is so that the kids can repeat lessons if they get stuck (at least, I guess that's how it works, I wouldn't know). 

[princessmahina]

I almost feel bad neglecting Erika for Baby Seewald.

 

Almost.

 

(Not quite)

 

She needs to hurry up and post something interesting so I can snark on it.

[Antimony]

We have Erika's classic passive aggression! A reader said... 

We have a 1200 Sq ft house but it's set up so much differently and no closets unsure emoticon it seems smaller....and only 1 bathroom.....that's the worst lol. Also no garage. #7 coming in March... come to the point that we may need to move frown emoticon
frown emoticon 

 to which Erika replies

Or pray and ask the Lord how He would have you fit into the space He has given you. he cares about you. 

How sweet of her!   

[elliha]

She mentioned in one of the posts that she got Karen and Melanie to homeschool themselves when they were 10 and 9 respectively, once Brandon, Anna Marie etc were coming up to an age where they were eligible to join the Shupe SOTDRT. It's good to learn how to be an independent learner, but 9 seems too young to me. Also, looking at their recent schedules, Erika spends most of her time doing kindergarten/first grade with the youngest four. Riley on up have to do things alone, pretty much. 

At least it looks like Karen will be graduating this academic year. I bet she'll be kept around to help out- she already does things like "cracker math" with the kindergartners. It's not like the Duggar family where the oldest kids had graduated way before the youngest kids were even born. Even siblings helping out is better than nothing. I suppose half the reason that Erika uses Switched on Schoolhouse for 3rd grade and beyond is so that the kids can repeat lessons if they get stuck (at least, I guess that's how it works, I wouldn't know). 

I think that a certain portion of independent work is great but to fully learn well it needs to be matched by other student's understanding of the subject and preferably an adult taking part as well sometimes. 

I work with online learning myself right now and I teach adult students who are often quite motivated and interested in what they study and still many just give up because it is hard. The type of online course I teach gives the students access to the teacher quite a lot through calls, skype or messages but most of the actual work is done on their own but I answer questions, correct their work and give them feedback to help themselves and tools to improve themselves. They can also do a lot of the type of exercises that you take and then retake if you have made a lot of mistakes which are not corrected by me directly. Still, this is as I said hard for many adult students and I assume that it would be hard for most kids as well. An adult often has much more skills in planning their work too but on the other hand I assume Erika's children are guarded by her enough to not have any opportunity to muck about so they will probably do what they need to at least pretend to be learning. 

I hope Karen gets to do something even if she stays on with the family, a class outside of the home even if it is just cooking or something like that or online classes (from a proper school/university). I just pray she can get to do something other than babysitting her siblings.

[princessmahina]

I think that a certain portion of independent work is great but to fully learn well it needs to be matched by other student's understanding of the subject and preferably an adult taking part as well sometimes. 

I work with online learning myself right now and I teach adult students who are often quite motivated and interested in what they study and still many just give up because it is hard. The type of online course I teach gives the students access to the teacher quite a lot through calls, skype or messages but most of the actual work is done on their own but I answer questions, correct their work and give them feedback to help themselves and tools to improve themselves. They can also do a lot of the type of exercises that you take and then retake if you have made a lot of mistakes which are not corrected by me directly. Still, this is as I said hard for many adult students and I assume that it would be hard for most kids as well. An adult often has much more skills in planning their work too but on the other hand I assume Erika's children are guarded by her enough to not have any opportunity to muck about so they will probably do what they need to at least pretend to be learning. 

I hope Karen gets to do something even if she stays on with the family, a class outside of the home even if it is just cooking or something like that or online classes (from a proper school/university). I just pray she can get to do something other than babysitting her siblings.

Erika does say that Karen wants to become a beautician and that she supports that. Supports it how though? The girl doesn't know how to drive, and even if she did, she doesn't have access to a vehicle (no clue about public transportation). Is Erika willing to finance her education? Or let her get a job to pay for it herself? In the next year or two, Erika is going to have to pony up either money, freedom, or excuses, and she's not great at releasing the latter two.

[LovelyLuna]

if Karen was aloud to go to evil government school then she might have had the opportunity to go to cosmetology school for free. I went a half day my senior year and then went to cosmetology school the second half. I finished up the summer after I graduated from HS, all completely paid for by the school district. It was a $3,000 course. They also had 2 dozen other things like floral arranging and mechanics.

(I also had driver ed covered because I took it as an elective)

[defraudingjezebel]

We have Erika's classic passive aggression! A reader said... 

 to which Erika replies

How sweet of her!   

I think talk about small houses is a sore spot for Erika. I can't remember the exact blog entry, but she has definitely indicated in some of her older blog posts (from 2011/2012) that she and Bob both really want(ed) to move into a bigger house. That hasn't happened, so she became the maven of organization.

I can't say I'm shocked that she doesn't have much sympathy for someone in a slightly bigger house than hers with fewer kids. She probably thinks that because she can do it, everyone should be able to do it. 

[mango_fandango]

Other people have posted similar things, and Erika's response is exactly the same. Why these people continue to look up to her I do not know. Her solution to every. damn. thing. is to pray. Yes, I know most of these people are likely the religious type... but what if God's response is for them to move, eh Erika?

[princessmahina]

Other people have posted similar things, and Erika's response is exactly the same. Why these people continue to look up to her I do not know. Her solution to every. damn. thing. is to pray. Yes, I know most of these people are likely the religious type... but what if God's response is for them to move, eh Erika?

I think God's solution is only what Erika wants it to be. Her only solution is to pray, because she has nothing to offer. She's not particularly wise or insightful, so she can't offer any kind of deep advice. She's good at organizing, but that's about it. She's really in her element when someone asks her about that. On other topics, she either makes things up (and gets called out for it) or tells them to pray. Because that's just about everything she knows.

[pnwgypsy]

I wonder where/how do the older girls attract potential suitors since they don't often get to leave the house?

Also, cosmetology school requires a diploma or GED. Can Erika just print a diploma and declare the kids graduated or do they need to take the GED? I looked up a cosmetology school in Mt Vernon WA - $16950.

[Iamhispurity]

I really hope she will send them to public school. They just seem so behind academically.

And : FREE KAREN!

[Eternalbluepearl]

Why would Erika be rude about someone wanting to move when she herself put her house up for sale? The fact that the Shupe house didn't sell is why they are still living there. What a hipocryte. It also amazes me that her hamster cage of a house has 3 bathrooms. My house has a tiny bit more square feet (for 2 people) and just the 1 bathroom. I guess God loves Erika more. *wink*

[browngrl]

She uses voice dictation on electronic things? What does that even mean? I do get what voice dictation is, but not in this context, and I don't use it myself. Does voice dictation correct your grammar? I thought it just wrote out what you said for you. Voice dictation can be a bit dodgy when it comes to spelling things."

I use voice dictation for work (in the hospitals/clinics where I work there are no human transcriptionists any more - it is all computer driven) and here is what I have noticed. Since we have gone to voice recognition systems, I (and most of the others I know who use it) have had their grammar/spelling skills go to hell.  In fact I don't even dictate in sentences anymore. I used pre programmed  templates when ever possible. I dictate in bullet points - using as few words as possible. The problem is that the more words you use the more likely you are to have mistakes and heaven forbid you use any even mildly complicated sentence structure. The spelling and grammar check programs (at least all the ones I've used) are inadequate for more than the basics.   So if Erika is using voice dictation to teach her children - expect their skills (such that they are)  to take a nose dive. 

[Seven Severn]

I think talk about small houses is a sore spot for Erika. I can't remember the exact blog entry, but she has definitely indicated in some of her older blog posts (from 2011/2012) that she and Bob both really want(ed) to move into a bigger house. That hasn't happened, so she became the maven of organization.

I can't say I'm shocked that she doesn't have much sympathy for someone in a slightly bigger house than hers with fewer kids. She probably thinks that because she can do it, everyone should be able to do it. 

And the thing is, their house is larger than what she claims (1100 sq. ft.). That seems to be just the first floor. The lower level contains two small bedrooms and the bath/laundry for a total of around 1500 sq. ft. An FJer (can't recall who) discovered this little anomaly via the county website or somesuch. Still not a big house for 11 people, but she's exaggerating its size so that she looks self-sacrificing.