PJ and DM this is confidential.


> I was a homeschooler for 8 years.  And at one time I was
homeschooling 5
> children (yes, all mine).  As each one developed an
interest and plan for

I think kids and school and food are interrelated so should
not be off topic ;

Actually between Paleo and Modern almost everything must be
on topic!

Home schooling must work for some.

My older children are all doing well;  the one of three that
has a degree does the worst.

Their problem may have been that  their Mother was a perfect
student herself-  she wore  thick glasses-  she told me that
she did not know that trees had leaves,  leafs or-  until
she was older and got glasses!     Her older sisters taught
her at home as playschool so she got all A's  in school
except in PE.   She is intelligent but some portion of
common sense is not in her make-up.  She went to the U and
demanded an Masters Degree  in one year,  they said No-  but
they gave in after  a few classes and wanted to share in her
Thesis.  She is the perfect student.  Unfortunately she
could not learn anything from life or me.   Before we got
our planned amicable Divorce ( The youngest child was 18)  I
begged her to go back to being the girl I married and/or  to
see a counselor.  She knew better.  I even told her that if
she could just go take a class in how to be married our
lives would improve.    I put this in because of the home
schooling thing-  I deferred to her as she was a school
teacher and had been awarded a Fellowship to learn more
about teaching.  And I had let her make all the decisions
about school and our  children.    Those children did not
have a sugar diet.

I think now that our children would have been better off if
she had encouraged them instead of "bugging" them.

She would harangue the 3 kids for getting a "B"  --If only
you had tried harder you would have got an A__  I  gave them
$5 for each  A  or  B  and congratulated then fir either.

So now with  another wife we have Robert, a boy now  in the
8th Grade. His grades are all  A or  B.   It is really
embarrassing to go to the Teacher conferences as his
teachers  ooze compliments about this boy.  How nice he is ,
how well he contributes to class, how much they like to have
him in their class.   Embarrassing because sometimes I am so
proud of him that tears come to my eyes.

Well Robert went to Kindergarten for two months.   I told
the teacher it was his first day of Kindergarten and mine
also.  Then we moved to another state where he attended K
when possible.  But he had lots of home school.

His first grade year we bought "Hooked on Phonics"  and he
taught himself with the tapes until I tried to push him and
he rebelled.  He finally went to the first grade in
California for only two months in the spring.  as the
section ended we went to help the class with an Easter Egg
Hunt and had a long talk with the teacher as we were the
only helpers,  at the end she assured us that Robert was
ready for the Second grade.

Robert started the Second grade in  a small town in Wyoming.
Immediately the school requested he be allowed extra help in
reading.    California must have been wrong.    In two
months they said he was up to speed in reading.  Then we
went to Mexico.  Although his Mother is Mexican Robert was
not completely fluent in Spanish.  But  He did fine in the
second grade in Mexico,  January to July.   The school did
not really want to take him so I sat in his class every day
for two weeks to make sure that he got started OK (  His
Mother came down a month later--we  were at a fishing
village not at his Mothers hometown).    I  found out that
 Mexican kids do not need to study reading!   The Spanish
language is so phonetic that after learning a  FEW
idiosyncrancies there is nothing left to learn about how to
pronounce a word.

 Since the third grade he has gone to school every day,  I
am suspicious about how much he learned in some areas,
however here the 6th Grade is a different teacher for each
class-  that is good.

This year  in  8th Grade he finally agreed with me that the
school lunch  is  junk food and is taking his lunch every
day.   At  home he has always had the health diet of not
much sugar or white flour.     He still can have candy or
whatever on Saturday.

I am his Father and I find that I must restrict TV and
Computer and insist one or two hours of study or reading
daily--if something happened to me I do not believe his
mother could enforce this.

About my schooling.  I started at age seven.  The grade
schools I went to were good and poor.   My mother could not
have home schooled us -she was in control but not firm or
mean enough to make us learn.   -but she fed us lots of
vegetables,  meat and some fruit which was expensive.    I
was  accepted at a prep school that we could not afford for
the first year of High School.  They could not help me.    I
went to public school for the rest of High School.  I  had
food allergies during High School with sinus headaches  as
the norm.   Later I found out this was a milk allergy.

I had read extensively all my life  and even though my
grades were poor in High School -  During my third year  of
High School at age 17 I took and passed the Army Air Corp
College  test to show I was at the Second Year of College
level in my academic achievements and was accepted as an
Aviation Cadet!

In spite of my lousy grades in High School --I was at the
top of my class in the Air Corp---Explain that!
The war ended and we were sent to Germany before graduating
from flying School.
In Germany I learned to speak fluent conversational German
in two years-  the third year I was called to act as
interpreter on occasion;

Returning to the USA  I took some tests for the University;
and was told I could do what I wanted.
I worked a few years in construction  during that time  I
QUIT  sugar and white flour (Milk  but not cheese had been
quit earlier.)   Then I went to College to learn more;  My
grades were double those of High School.

My assessment of school:

I could have skipped most of grade school --or if I had gone
to a better school?   And done as well or better.

The High schools I went to were not able to help a  student
WITH PROBLEMS  like myself;  I  was suffering from milk
allergy and the resulting sinus headaches during most of
High School.    My Mother sent me to get tested by the
School district more that once.
THEY NEVER FOUND MY SINUS PROBLEM!

I found it myself;   In Germany the US Army gave us powdered
milk which tastes like soap-  so I did not drink it.   I
felt wonderful for a year------then the Army brought in milk
from Denmark and I started drinking it.  Bingo!   I was
fortunate to discover that it was the cause of my sinus
problems.

So  I feel that food allergies and poor schools affected me.
Some of today's schools are excellent.

So I feel that  parent attitude affects students.  Parents
should have to go to Class on how to be a Parent.

So I feel that restricting simple carbs, helped my children.

So I feel that some few parents with some children can use
home schooling effectively.   Others  Cannot.

With respect to children I feel that parents who at least
take some time to listen to their children do them an honor.

I  have just discovered the Paleo Diet and it appeals to me
because my extensive reading in the nutrition area lead me
to it.
All I have to quit is Cereals and Cheese.

If you have read this far -do not complain-  surely your
keyboard has a delete key --over to the right.

Regards,  Lorenzo