Raising Olives Book List

[longskirts]

Raising Olives has posted her kids' book list. It's like a summary of the Vision Forum catalog. She says they have other books to read for history, so I'm hoping there's some literature in the history list, but still... she certainly has come a long way from using Sonlight!

[debrand]

Although it is a Christian curriculum, I can't imagine any fundie using Sonlight. For a fundie, there would be too many questionable books.

[Austin]

What's the list?

[longskirts]

raisingolives.com/2011/09/character-book-list/

She used Sonlight for a long time, leaving out a few books that she considered inappropriate. Now the kids are reading all these "character" books instead.

[clibbyjo]

raisingolives.com/2011/09/character-book-list/

She used Sonlight for a long time, leaving out a few books that she considered inappropriate. Now the kids are reading all these "character" books instead.

OOOhhhhhhhh, what lucky kids. Mine went to the library yesterday and chose their OWN school books for the week. A bio of Hitler,a bio of Beethoven,bio of Heinz, 2 computer programming books,another Steven Hawkings and Hawke's Special Forces Survival Handbook. And a Garfield comic.

When her kids get lost in the woods and pray themselves to death, mine will be finding water,food, building shelter and getting out. :doh:

[slickcat79]

raisingolives.com/2011/09/character-book-list/

She used Sonlight for a long time, leaving out a few books that she considered inappropriate. Now the kids are reading all these "character" books instead.

Ugghhh. I hate when they start talking about character-based education. You shouldn't need an entire school curriculum to teach your kids good values. They'll learn that best from your example/guidance if you do it right.

[Austin]

Ugghhh. I hate when they start talking about character-based education. You shouldn't need an entire school curriculum to teach your kids good values. They'll learn that best from your example/guidance if you do it right.

My husband hates the character education, too. A good teacher does not need curriculum to teach values. If character and values are not infused completely in your daily instruction and interaction with your students, it's useless anyway. It's not like you can teach character from 9:10 - 9:35 every day.

Administrators, however, seem to love it. I guess they get to "check-check" their paperwork, which seems to make them deliriously happy.

[pomology]

raisingolives.com/2011/09/character-book-list/

She used Sonlight for a long time, leaving out a few books that she considered inappropriate. Now the kids are reading all these "character" books instead.

Yeah, back when she used to use Sonlight I went to their site and looked at what they had. I was impressed that it seemed to include a lot of books I consider worthy (can't remember any specifics right now except for The Westing Game). But this recent list kind of made me want to puke.

I find Kimberley an enigma. Even though she was homeschooled by a pretty Christian family, she went to college and got a degree. She even likes NY and the Met. She lets her daughters wear shorts and sleeveless shirts. She lets her young son wear headbands and necklaces and other girly accessories. But her beliefs are just as fringe as any other fundie.

[Kaylee]

Even from a fundie POV, I think it's said that the boys get to read a few books on theology and church history, but that is all absent from the girls' reading list. I would assume if it was that important to her, she'd want her girls to have some exposure to doctrine and history as well, or are they one of those families that teach girls shouldn't have their own beliefs but just echo those of their father and then their husband?

[NurseNell]

The only book on either list I've read is The Confessions of St. Augustine. I don't know how old her boys are but I consider that a book for mid teens and up.

All together it's a pretty sad list of books.

Nell

[GenerationCedarchip]

That is a really sad list of books. And I can't imagine training girls to be like Elsie Dinsmore. Also, what's with wanting your boys to develop their character by reading about the Titantic? Aren't they kind of missing the point of that whole tragedy? If this was my school list, I'd die of boredom! :?

[NurseNell]

That is a really sad list of books. And I can't imagine training girls to be like Elsie Dinsmore.

Is Elsie Dinsmore an old book, as in the 1920's? I vaguely remember my mother having an Elsie Dinsmore book, not sure if I still have it among her stuff. My mother was Unitarian and her parents were liberals so wonder why she'd have this book unless it was the 1920's version of the 1950's Nancy Drew books.

Nell

[maybeizfundie]

There are a couple in there that I would definitely use, lots that I wouldn't necessarily, especially Elsie Dinsmore. (I'd take a much more international approach with the whole "Christian Greats" thing. Christendom isn't limited to Europe and America.) I'd be interested to see what their history and science reading list looks like. If it's decent, I wouldn't have much problem with this list, understanding that it's designed to reflect their beliefs and assuming it's a long-term reading list (should read sometime over the course of the next few years) and not the extent of their school reading.

[pomology]

Even from a fundie POV, I think it's said that the boys get to read a few books on theology and church history, but that is all absent from the girls' reading list. I would assume if it was that important to her, she'd want her girls to have some exposure to doctrine and history as well, or are they one of those families that teach girls shouldn't have their own beliefs but just echo those of their father and then their husband?

Eh, she did say that she wanted the girls to read a lot of books on the boy's list, but not the other way around. So the boy's book list was probably more a neutral list than a boy's list. I hope, anyway.

[Rachel333]

Some Sonlight books are definitely too liberal for most fundies. They actually expose children to different worldviews.

I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorite fundies point out the racial insensitivity in some of the books. heldts.blogspot.com/2010/11/curriculum-course-change.html

"Don't tell, but I've decided to throw out most of the missions books altogether. Unfortunately however, NOT before I'd ordered one of them from half.com...and was appalled by the language and the way things were portrayed. Referring to a particular culture as "stubborn and ignorant", insinuating that Africa was a dark and spiritually lacking place. Ugh. (Crazily enough, this book was written in 1993! Sheesh!)"

(She's kind of an interesting fundie. She's in her 20's and is in Ethiopia right now adopting her 6th and 7th children, two girls with Down Syndrome. She was/is Protestant but is headed to a Catholic conversion, which is definitely different from most fundies. There's still the typical birth control is evil, women need to stay at home, homeschooling is best, etc. stuff, though.)