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Dear Readers:
In this issue of The Way Home, we present an excellent article by a former high school math teacher “Why Do My Kids Need Algebra?” We hope this sheds light on a perennial worry that many parents face. Our second article is by Mary and me, “Where Is the ‘Real’ World”? We wrote this after growing weary of hearing non-homeschoolers talk about how our children were being raised to avoid the “real” world – which is not real at all, but is a fabrication of Madison Avenue and mass consumerism. We hope you enjoy it and we appreciate your reading our publications and your dedication to building a brighter future “real” world!
Michael Leppert
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Nelson Academy of Agricultural Science
Affordable, high-quality agricultural courses for homeschoolers.
by Michael Leppert
If your child is interested in agricultural and/or veterinary pursuits, the Nelson Academy of Agricultural Science offers the perfect study solution – online agriculture courses! Or, maybe your child simply has an interest in taking an agriculture science course . . . Nelson Academy again provides the solution.
Mr. Leroy Nelson, founder of Nelson Academy, taught agriculture and advised FFA chapters for more than 15 years in his home state of Montana, and a five of his student FFA advisees are Montana state officials for the FFA. Since 2004, he has been the superintendent of the Opheim, MT, school district.
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"Why Should My Child Take Algebra,
Other Than 'Because It's On The SAT?'"
by Mike Maggart, former Algebra and Geometry teacher.
A homeschool parent recently asked me why her child should take Algebra, other than "because it’s on the SAT." As a former math teacher and current developer of instructor-based math courses for homeschoolers, I get this question all the time. Parents understand why basic computational skills are helpful in everyday life, but they are skeptical about the value of learning to solve an equation, simplify a square root, or derive the quadratic formula.
A very simple answer for why a student should move a step beyond the basic computational skills and study Algebra is to develop a mastery of the basic skills. Algebra is like "boot camp" for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and understanding the relationships between numbers, because it requires extensive use of these skills throughout the course. For example, to solve a polynomial equation, a student may do twenty different calculations in the course of one problem, and on top of all that, they’ll need a strong understanding of the relationships between numbers to be able to determine if their answer makes sense.
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Don’t Feed the Bully – Great Summer Reading
By Michael Leppert
This is an engaging book, perfect for children from 10 to 14, that deals with bullying in a humorous but thoughtful manner. Hannibal Greatneck III is a detective in the 6th grade at a new school. He is immediately confronted by a cage in the middle of his new classroom where the school bully sits – or is he? Hannibal finds mystery upon mystery as he traces the origin of the cage, its occupant and the instigator behind it all – maybe the real bully?
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Where Is The "Real" World?
By Michael and Mary Leppert
“If you homeschool your kids, how will they ever experience the "real" world?"
Is this a familiar question? The matter of "real" world compatibility is one that we have thought about a lot, and after "homeschooling" our son to adulthood, it has definitely resolved itself in our minds: We know we have done the right thing by homeschooling our son, because we have kept him in the real world. In our case, the homeschooled life that often feels disorganized and chaotic has provided our son with experience in business, experience dealing with folks of all ages and numerous hard days of REAL life.
There are many homeschoolers who live as we do, starting their own businesses, working out of their homes and living lives like Colonial Americans did. One of the many frustrations that I, Mary, hear a lot is from moms who feel that very little academic work gets done because their kids spend the whole day helping with grocery shopping, cooking, helping siblings, doing household chores, etc. What better experience with real life is there?
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Learning A-Z Offers One Source for
Teachers' Needs of Today
www.learninga-z.com
Every child is a unique individual with unique learning styles and personality. So one size can never fit all students, but Learning A-Z can provide the flexible materials that can fit the needs of teachers.
Learning A-Z's affordable, easy-to-use teacher resources fill the teaching gaps left by many Reading, Writing, and Science education programs. Explore their site and see why Learning A-Z printable books and worksheets, and other projectable, online interactive and mobile teacher resources, are already being used in nearly half of the school districts in the U.S. and Canada and 155+ countries worldwide.
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