May 2009 Lower Family Newsletter

[Chad T. Lower]

The school year is almost over and that means lots of grading to do in a short amount of time.  Tomorrow (Monday) is the last day of classes for the semester.  Tuesday is a "study day" so there are no classes at all, and then final exams start on Wednesday and last a full week.  I will be giving 3 finals on Friday and 2 on Monday, then have them all graded and grades turned in by noon the next Thursday.  As such, this next week and a half will be a very busy one for me.  Although I won't be giving any finals Weds or Thurs, I will be holding office hours, so my days will still be busy on those days.

 

However, once grades are turned in, I have an entire month off!  In reality, that is not time off.  I will be getting ready to teach summer school and preparing for fall classes as well.  I also want to attend a math conference this summer, and Suzy has two writers conferences she hopes to attend as well.  We are already starting to try to find sitters to watch the children while we are both gone.

 

As far as the kiddos go, Bella's art class is over.  She had an art show as a culmination of her efforts in the class.  She had 5 pieces selected to be in the art show.  In the fall, we signed her up for AYSO soccer, which actually runs in the fall AND spring.  As such, practice and games have started back up again.  Bella is in the U-6 division which is basically for 4 thru 6 year olds.  If she plays again next year, she will move up to U-8 for two years.  In U-6, she is one of the tallest players, which could be an advantage, but she is not aggressive, so the visual height doesn't really help her much.  Last Saturday, she scored 4 goals and had 2 assists.  In U-6, the teams play 3-on-3 with no goalie.  At this point, they are trying to teach the youth basic rules like not touching the ball with your hands and how to put a ball into play depending on whether it went out of bounds on the sides or at the ends.  They are also trying to teach them which direction to kick the ball.

 

Malachi's preschool went to the farm this past month for a field trip.  He said the best part of the trip was when his sister (Ali) got licked by a cow!!!  He also got to see baby chicks and he helped a lady feed a baby cow (calf) with a bottle.

 

Ali has learned two more animal sounds.  The other day, she was barking and meowing continuously for what seemed like eternity.  Even though she know those sounds now, the last time we sang Old MacDonald, I said he had a dog.  She quickly corrected me and told me he had a duck.  Silly papa!!  She has also started storytime at the local library.  Already this month she has met an author and illustrator and got a signed copy of their book.  She is also learning some sign language at story time.  And I think she is eager to potty-train.  She enjoys taking off her diaper and sitting on the potty.  She hasn't gone in it yet, but soon (we hope).

 

Suzy participated in a writing contest during April called Script Frenzy.  The goal of the contest was to write 100 pages of a script (like television or movie) in 30 days (the month of April).  Although she has never written a script before, she decided to accept the challenge.  Unfortunately, she didn't make the 100 page mark, but she made 2/3 of her goal and still plans to finish her script even though the contest is over.

 

And she is writing this script in addition to writing her daily blog (passiton.today.com) Pass It On -- A Daily Dose of Encouragement.  She is still writing eHow articles as well, although not as many as the month before.  In April, she brought her total number of articles to 47 with 11 new articles (and one of the articles I wrote, "How to lose weight" was deleted on the grounds that it "didn't meet their editorial guidelines," but never specified what part didn't meet it or allow an opportunity to fix it.)  Again, all of her articles can be found at http://www.ehow.com/members/mrschadt-articles.html.  Her popular ones from this month are:

How to Write a Short Film Script 

How to Assemble a Western Bridle With Bit

How to Make a Sweatshirt Cardigan for Spring

How to Make Your Kids' Art Into Wall Decor

How to Make a Lunch Bag

How to Have Healthy Glowing Skin

 

If you have a Facebook account and want more instant notification when she finishes an article, you can add her as a friend.  When she publishes on eHow, it creates a note on her Facebook profile.

Finally, a request from me to you about something dear to my heart.  There are a few authors that I really enjoy and a few articles I try to read on a regular basis.  John Rosemond is a person that fits both categories; I have read books by him and he writes a weekly column that I subscribe to.  In just a moment, I am going to end this newsletter reprinting his article from April 14, but before I do that, I want to encourage you to read it carefully and do some more research at www.parentalrights.org.  Consider signing their online petition (one of the few times I would ever consider an online petition).  Consider printing the attached postcards and mailing them to your Senators and Representative (if you go to www.congress.org and type your zipcode+4, you can get their contact information--use their Washington, DC address).  You can even go to Rep. Pete Hoekstra's (MI) website about the amendment he initiated at www.parentsrights.us (the home page has a youtube video of an interview he did if you are more visual).  The government already has laws protecting children from abuse and neglect.  The way the treaty is written, if approved, my 6-year-old daughter could come to me saying she wants a tattoo and it would be ILLEGAL for me to tell her no!!

 

http://www.rosemond.com/view/389/22011/41409.html

4/14/09

Write Your Senators -- Support Parents' Rights

John Rosemond

Copyright 2009, John K. Rosemond

           Forget nationalizing the banks, certain influential Democrats in the US Senate are thinking seriously of nationalizing parenting, transforming it into “governmenting.”

            In February of 1995, at the urging of his wife (now Secretary of State), who just happens to be one of the world’s most ardent children’s rights advocates, President Bill Clinton signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The major media paid almost no attention to this momentous event, giving Clinton a free pass. Thankfully, early opposition in the Senate persuaded Clinton not to risk submitting it for ratification. The UNCRC has been in legislative limbo ever since…until now.

            The Convention is an international treaty that obligates signatory nations to conform their laws to its articles, certain of which extend needed protections to children, including protection from sexual exploitation. No sensible, moral person would argue with that. Other articles, however, extend to children such rights as “freedom of association” (Article 15) and “freedom of expression (Article 13).” The latter is written to include the “freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or in any other media of the child’s choice.” It is pertinent to note that “child” is defined as anyone under age eighteen. One can assume, therefore, that these rights activate at birth.

Yes, the freedoms in question are subject to limitation, but not at the discretion of parents. Nuances of that sort can only be exercised by the state. Parents are permitted to provide “direction” to the child in keeping with the child’s “evolving capacities,” but nowhere in the document is their authority recognized.

            Government intrusion into child-rearing matters is already a reality and has been for some time. But this is not mere intrusion; this is the replacement of parental prerogative by the state. The Convention allows for children to protest, through legal channels, parental limit-setting of almost every sort (Article 16: No child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy….), even to protest parental discipline. The language, often recklessly vague, clearly establishes the state as the final authority where the raising of children is concerned. As such, the document could more accurately be called the United Nations Convention on the Abolition of Parents’ Rights.

            This time around, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is one of the champions of ratification. She gave the Obama administration a March 23 deadline, already expired, for moving toward ratification. I think it’s safe to say that she (and many of her same-side-of-the-aisle colleagues) wants this over and done with before the American public is fully informed. During her confirmation hearings, UN Ambassador Susan Rice expressed support for the treaty, but did not agree to Boxer’s desire for hasty ratification.

            For more information on the UNCRC and to sign an online petition calling for a much-needed Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution, go to www.parentalrights.org. In the meantime, call and/or write your two US Senators and let them know how you’d like them to vote should ratification come to the Senate floor. Given that ours is still a government of, for, and by the people, let us pray that the people make themselves heard!

            Family psychologist John Rosemond answers parents' questions on his website at www.rosemond.com.

--
Chad T. Lower
a.k.a. Chopper
http://chadtlower.tripod.com/

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