Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,363
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 6, 2014 14:05:47 GMT
Good morning everyone,
Today begins week [HASH]3 of the LIW course. Have you watched the lectures yet? It looks like there are 8 videos for the coming week. I haven’t viewed them yet but plan to watch at least one each night this week.
I am caught up with the biography readings (have read up to chapter 9). I found the discussion in chapter 8 regarding The First Four Years and Let the Hurricane Roar (Young Pioneers) to be an interesting one. The parallels between the two books are pretty fascinating, as is the writing relationship between Laura and Rose.
I had thought about downloading Young Pioneers on my Kindle. I downloaded the sample, but in the end decided to get it from the library instead. I also picked up The First Four Years. Yesterday I read Young Pioneers. It’s a quick read, if anyone is interested. I had read both of these books previously, but had no recollection of Young Pioneers.
What I found most interesting (more than the story itself) was the introductory material that I read in the Kindle sample (it’s not included in the paperback that I got from the library). The Editorial Preface is written by Jeffrey A. Tucker, who runs a website and publishes books for “the liberty minded”. However the Preface doesn’t state who this guy is other than his name. I had to look it up. He obviously is aware of Rose Wilder Lane’s political leanings/philosophies (I had been aware, as well, but my background until now has been pretty limited), as he questions whether the novel and it’s focus on the natural obstacles to human progress are an allegory on the need for Rose’s generation to overcome the natural obstacles of government regimentation. He also questions “are lovers of freedom today also young pioneers, trying to find their way in a world of command and control?”.
Then there’s the Forward, written by Wendy McElroy, a “Canadian individualist anarchist’ (I also had to look her up), who discusses how this novel and others like it allow us to “live liberty through the eyes and actions of characters who touch emotions as well as our lives”. She then goes on to question whether the novels of Ayn Rand “give a visceral view of life as it could be and should be”.
Yikes. Here I am, thinking that I am reading a story about a teenage couple trying to make a life on the prairie! Or was RWL’s intention something entirely different?
This is all definitely a significant detour from the LIW course content, but it is all some interesting food for thought—probably a discussion for a different day, but I thought I’d share it anyway.
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,007 
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Post by mimima on Oct 6, 2014 22:42:31 GMT
I bought a copy of "Young Pioneers" but it is out on loan, so I haven't read it yet. I find the entire story of Rose's writing and publishing that book to be such a horrible betrayal - yikes. She definitely does not come across well in the course book either. I accidentally over-read (I read 9-15 instead of stopping at 11 or 12, where we were supposed to stop) so I am not sure how much this has been gone into in the course so far.
I knew that Rose had political viewpoints that it has been asserted she inserted into the books, but I wasn't prepared for her personality.
Anyway, I haven't listened to the lectures yet, I am hoping to get to them tomorrow.
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tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Oct 6, 2014 23:44:15 GMT
I did the readings and watched 2 of this week's videos. The first lecture is (as always) a recap of this week's readings. The last video (an interview with the lady who runs/cares for the Rocky Ridge Farm) is very interesting and more informative than most of the lectures so far.
I haven't explored all the political side like Jili has. I'll get around to that soon. I enjoy learning more about the sometime strange dynamic between Laura and Rose.
For those who are interested: I did have my first meeting of my 3rd/4th grade "Little House" book club. They are loving the book and did really well on our discussion. We meet over lunch (only 30 mins) so it felt a bit rushed. We discussed: their favorite character so far and why that character appeals to them; historical vocabulary they didn't understand; we did a Venn diagram comparing their family & activities compared to the Ingalls family. I had created a worksheet with these questions, so they were prepared to discuss.
We are reading 3 chapters per week and I give them a discussion guide for the chapters.
Teacher Peas: I talked with my principal about the course and she is letting me document my class time and book club time to earn an PLU. I'm sure I'll put in more than 10 hours. Not sure how your county or state does PLU or continuing ed hours. Is any body else planning on using this as a PLU?
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,363
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 7, 2014 3:31:38 GMT
I bought a copy of "Young Pioneers" but it is out on loan, so I haven't read it yet. I find the entire story of Rose's writing and publishing that book to be such a horrible betrayal - yikes. She definitely does not come across well in the course book either. I accidentally over-read (I read 9-15 instead of stopping at 11 or 12, where we were supposed to stop) so I am not sure how much this has been gone into in the course so far. I knew that Rose had political viewpoints that it has been asserted she inserted into the books, but I wasn't prepared for her personality. Anyway, I haven't listened to the lectures yet, I am hoping to get to them tomorrow. I listened to the first two lectures tonight. There are a lot this week so I'll have to go slow to fit in everything else I have to do in my real life. In the lectures Hill talks about how Rose tried to persuade Laura and Almanzo to leave the Ozarks for many years, but they just loved their lives there and had no desire to leave. It seems to me that Rose was a fascinating person in her own right. I completely agree, however, that what I've learned about her so far isn't very positive. She would have been a very intense and difficult person to be around, I sense. |
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,363
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 7, 2014 3:36:40 GMT
I did the readings and watched 2 of this week's videos. The first lecture is (as always) a recap of this week's readings. The last video (an interview with the lady who runs/cares for the Rocky Ridge Farm) is very interesting and more informative than most of the lectures so far. I haven't explored all the political side like Jili has. I'll get around to that soon. I enjoy learning more about the sometime strange dynamic between Laura and Rose. For those who are interested: I did have my first meeting of my 3rd/4th grade "Little House" book club. They are loving the book and did really well on our discussion. We meet over lunch (only 30 mins) so it felt a bit rushed. We discussed: their favorite character so far and why that character appeals to them; historical vocabulary they didn't understand; we did a Venn diagram comparing their family & activities compared to the Ingalls family. I had created a worksheet with these questions, so they were prepared to discuss. We are reading 3 chapters per week and I give them a discussion guide for the chapters. Teacher Peas: I talked with my principal about the course and she is letting me document my class time and book club time to earn an PLU. I'm sure I'll put in more than 10 hours. Not sure how your county or state does PLU or continuing ed hours. Is any body else planning on using this as a PLU? Your book group sounds really interesting. I could almost see myself doing something like that as an after-school activity (our school offers them each semester). I'd like to integrate the reading with some sort of cooking or craft activity, though. I'll have to give all of it some thought. I'm in education, too-- and I can't even imagine there would be any way we'd be able to use this course to document CPDUs (continuing professional development units). It's a great idea, though. In my case, I'm a SLP and have multiple agencies to document continuing ed. for, so I try to stick to activities that pertain directly to my field. It's just easier for tracking purposes and to make sure I get everything done like I am supposed to. My fun fact for the night that I learned from the videos: Laura and Almanzo were both short. Laura was just under 5'0" as an adult, and Almanzo was about 5'4". Their house at Rocky Ridge Farm was constructed with their needs at the forefront. The kitchen counter stands 29" from the ground. Interesting stuff! Someday I hope to go visit. |
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tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Oct 7, 2014 10:31:43 GMT
Jili: I think it would be very fun to do some cooking with the book. Whenever I do a book club I always try to serve a food treat that relates to the book; it will be a challenge in this book!
I'm a media specialist so fortunately this course work does relate to my professional field! I'm enjoying the course and I can benefit with a continuing ed credit at well.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Oct 10, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
I finally got the instructor's book last night (some snafu with the interlibrary loan), and I feel like I've already heard much of it, word for word, or nearly so, in the lectures. Really glad I didn't end up *buying* that one instead!
Regarding recipes, the more I think about it, I'm nearly certain I've GOT some sort of a kid-aimed little house themed cookbook! I don't know where my little house series books are, but for some reason I strongly feel like that cookbook is packed in some books still boxed since our move (er - 7 years ago!), because I have a mental picture of where it was at the old house. I'll try to look this weekend and see if I can find it!
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Post by grammyj64 on Oct 10, 2014 17:11:59 GMT
I have a hard time watching the lectures. I find her very stiff. That said, I find myself contrasting her views on the Rose/Laura relationship and on Rose in particular with the view of Susan Wittig Albert in her book, A Wilder Rose, which is much more sympathetic toward Rose. I respect Albert as a writer and know that she does good research, plus she is a PhD and former college English teacher and college Dean, so her credentials are every bit equivalent to Smith-Hill's. It's interesting to see how differently two scholars interpret the same body of information.
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,007
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Post by mimima on Oct 10, 2014 22:17:10 GMT
For those who are interested: I did have my first meeting of my 3rd/4th grade "Little House" book club. They are loving the book and did really well on our discussion. We meet over lunch (only 30 mins) so it felt a bit rushed. We discussed: their favorite character so far and why that character appeals to them; historical vocabulary they didn't understand; we did a Venn diagram comparing their family & activities compared to the Ingalls family. I had created a worksheet with these questions, so they were prepared to discuss. Thank you for the update - I've been curious. I'd love to hear about some of the Venn Diagram answers - what a great idea! It would be interesting to hear some of the historical vocabulary words as well. One thing I noted when I re-read the series this spring is that she uses the British/Canadian spelling "cosy" |
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Post by workingclassdog on Oct 10, 2014 22:25:29 GMT
My fun fact for the night that I learned from the videos: Laura and Almanzo were both short. Laura was just under 5'0" as an adult, and Almanzo was about 5'4". Their house at Rocky Ridge Farm was constructed with their needs at the forefront. The kitchen counter stands 29" from the ground. Interesting stuff! Someday I hope to go visit. I only got through the first week. With looking for a job, being sick, and my baby having a terrible accident, I just couldn't keep up.. so I appreciate all you who are sharing their thoughts here... By the way, I have seen their house at Rocky Ridge, and yes that house was built for small people.. VERY small.. I felt like it was almost walking through a big doll house. |
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,007
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Post by mimima on Oct 10, 2014 22:43:49 GMT
WCD - I'm sorry to hear about your baby. Hope she's doing better, huge mom hugs.
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