Happy Independence Day!

YOUNG PERSON INTERVIEWED For this holiday . we are going to play a rerun from back in 2009 when a young person from Rick Green's Patriot Academy was interviewed with us on the radio. Patriot Academy takes a few good students ever year (many more now than in the past), teaches them about how our the structure of our government works, and lets them get some real hands on experience both in "moot legislature" and at the Texas capitol. It was great to have this gal. Have a listen. For Patriot Academy : https://www.patriotacademy.com/ NEW ENGLAND PRIMER Another year, I was so taken with the influence of the New England primer, that I made my own "primer" -- which of course was very different. It is more like a basic civics discussion for children rather than a Biblically based first grade reader. I hope you like it, though. It is in the "shop." Please consider this: this thoroughly Biblical foundation for education was used from the 1600s through the 1930s. People still had doctrinal differences, but everyone agreed on the 10 Commandments; everyone agreed on teaching reading, everyone agreed that children should get moral teaching and Bible knowledge along with the ABCs. And the nation was much happier! GREAT HISTORY RESOURCES Also, let me alert you to the wonderful books that David and Tim Barton are providing. They do an awesome job of relaying real historical information, based on original sources, that means a whole lot both for a foundation to understanding our nation but also in terms of the current political structure.  And wow! they now have a museum. Imagine, seeing a real Geneva Bible, or holding a gun from the Barbary Wars, or seeing a letter than a president signed with his own hand. If you have a group, make an appointment for a tour. It is in Irving on Royal Road. I recommend it highly. https://www.journeymuseum.org/....visit/hours-and-admi And if you are a history teacher, please please, apply for the summer teacher training. It is like drinking out of a fire hose. Great fun. A good many teachers from around the nation arrive for a 2 1/2 day seminar in Irving/Los Colinas. David and Tim talk to you directly. And let you have a hands on experience with lots of artifacts. It can't be beat!  https://wallbuilders.com/summerinstitute/ it was refreshing to see well researched history, and get it in a non-polemic way. However, if you did need to answer in one of those hot, confrontative situations, you will want to know the actual facts. The presentation was helpful in that regard. It will very much furnish a teacher with ideas to enliven the classroom.  It certainly is a necessary corrective for anyone who had to endure the poverty of what history the government schools taught and the counter-productive fiction that some are now teaching. TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO TEST WHAT THEY ARE TOLD I couldn't help but buying some books. I bought 2 primers to give to my grandsons! Ha! But now I am trying to memorize the Shorter Cathecism out of it.  Most classical schools do break it down and help the grammar school children learn it. But David pointed out that it being in a question and answer format was probably purposive: teaching students to ask for definitions and for evidence, and for meanings. How refreshing. Different from merely "question authority" as being cynical and rebellious, this is more like "testing all things and holing to what is good."  Sounds like a great topic of discussion or even a project, while we endure some hot weather.