Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Elevating Rick Boyer



Yesterday that book that I mentioned previously came in the mail. It really grabbed me so last night I stayed up until I finished the breezy 146 pages.

As I said in that prior post, my hunch is that age-segregation represents perhaps the worst aspect of government schooling - which, given its track record is no small feat.

This book only bolstered my hypothesis.

The guy is pretty hardcore. He's a father and educator of 14 children; he runs a family business; and is a devout Christian. He's not only against the age-segregation of schooling, but also that of extracurricular activities like karate, ballet, and even Sunday school. Furthermore, he especially lambastes those homeschoolers who do everything as organized groups - instead of as families. In many ways, this is just re-creating the unreal school environment left behind. I particularly like Boyer's imagery here - he calls it *The Road Back to Egypt*.

Nor does he have anything nice to say about television. Think you can *limit* or *regulate* your child's intake of this narcotic?

Well you can't, in his eyes. The images, stories, frivolity, and trash that stream the airwaves are all poison. Good luck changing his mind - he thought it was garbage back in the days of Leave It To Beaver and I Love Lucy....and argues his case trenchantly.

Did you ever see a television character sit down with a book? Neither have I....and especially not a Bible! We get ludicrous horror movies and the most bizarre science fiction films imaginable. Yet, the image of a family grounded in Christian morality, one who looks to Scripture for everyday guidance may as well be the only untold story of an alien - even though millions worldwide, for two thousand years, have centered their lives thusly.

My kids are just about *off* the boob tube; I just wish I was man enough to remove them all - the TVs that is - from my house. Maybe next year....

I just don't see how anyone could read this, or any of his many other books, and not genuflect before this amazing man (and woman!).

What on Earth could be more joyous than having 14 productive, morally-centered children?

Who among us is going to leave a bigger legacy when they go?

8 comments:

panner said...

with 14 kids, imagine how much of Mother Earth's resources this guy's legacy will consume over generations. perhaps a more effective environmental conservation effort would have been to cut him off after two. Pun not intended.

CaptiousNut said...

Cracked yourself up with that one, heh?

BTW, *gold mining* is anathema to greenies. Seriously. They'll never let you in da club with that moniker!

Being a Nut however....brings almost automatic entry...

Anonymous said...

Boring!!!! Rick Boyer would not last a New York minute in that hot tub stress test posted prior. Isn't that the true measure of a man?

Obama is in NH today, visiting the most liberal town in the state. He doesn't dare wander to far off the reservation and actually encounter any real granite staters...
Kfell

CaptiousNut said...

Kfell,

It doesn't matter how long he would *last* in that hot tub....

With a batch of 14 he's obviously a monument to *motility*!

(As I am myself. I self-measure under the microscope regularly.)

Anonymous said...

Be careful! I hear you can go blind or get hairy palms doing that to often.

Now where is my dictionary?

Kfell

David said...

Just curious, this guy is against extra curricular activity, why? I probably won't get around to this one, but really wanted to know his logic for not being a fan of sports/other activities.

Enjoy your blog by the way, I've been reading for about a year now since I found it when you used to post on Forbes.

CaptiousNut said...

David,

All that I meant to imply in my post was that he was against *age-segregated* extra-curricular activities.

For example, he doesn't like how his church has a *youth ministry* and one for retirees. They should be combined, in his opinion. He also doesn't like age-graded Sunday school - not just because it puts 10 year olds with 10 year olds, but also because the parents aren't actively involved; such a system makes them *outsourcers* of religious education.

It may seem like Boyer is *against* everything but really, he is so *for* family and faith that not only is there no time for idling.

David said...

I can agree with that, I guess I didn't fully understand your point. The family's role in raising children has diminished so much in the past 30 years, or so I have come to observe. You can almost see the correlation with that and the shift away from faith in most modern famillies.

I was hoping we would see a resurgence of faith and family in light of this recession, but our country has taken the other route of expanding our debt bubble to evern more astronomical heights. How quickly we forget, I'll still probably hold on to my financial puts.