(L120) Benefits of The Ron Paul Curriculum

NOTE: If you are looking for an accurate and honest recount of what the RPC is like, please see my article/essay The Truth About Gary North & The Ron Paul Curriculum

1.) No stress
Let your children go at their own pace, and don’t sweat it if something comes up. There is always tomorrow and you are in charge of the deadlines!

2.) Timely online support for parents and students
If you have a question that other students on the forum cannot help you with, just shoot an email over! Quick and simple.

3.) Flexibility
Whatever schedule you or your children may be on, the RPC will work for you. Since you are in charge of when everything needs to be done, you can change times and goals of assignments to fit your personal schedule.

4.) Personally tailored to your needs
If your child wants to learn more about something specific that the RPC does not have, you have the ability to get them that education elsewhere. Because the RPC does not issue diplomas, it is up to you to decide what criteria must be met to get a high school credit. This can mean completely creating your own course! (I did this last year – I started and ran my own business. It was successful, and great training!)

5.) Average cost with no monetary risk
At around $500 a year, the cost of this curriculum is nothing above average. Your membership and courses come with a (time limited) money-back guarantee; if it doesn’t work for you and your family, get your money back and go elsewhere!

6.) Great professors & complete courses
From well known names like Tom Woods to Gary North, your child is guaranteed top-notch educators. All courses are complete, and consistent. You will never have to worry about going elsewhere for information – each class has been meticulously planned.

7.) student to student interaction
The comment/constructive criticism boards are all student run. This means that students hear many angles of feedback, rather than just one response from the teacher. Everyone helps each other and it is a great sense of community.

8.) Entrepreneurship training
Typical college is not the only route to success! Teach your children all about CLEP exams, starting a business, and so much more. Your child will pick up on hundreds of life-hacks throughout the course of their education that they could not acquire anywhere else.

9.) Real-life training and preparation
Most adults know the struggles of learning to do taxes, what money really is and where it comes from, etc. But wouldn’t life have been so much easier if you had learned these things before you had to put them into practice? The RPC has your children covered with a personal finance course, government 1A & 1B, business, and many more. Your children  have to stress like you did after their personal real-life preparation courses.

10.) The course plans are already made for you – just set your kids up and let them go!
No more late nights planning and stressing out; with the RPC all you need to do is give the kids deadlines for their work and let them go. Every lesson, assignment and course is already created and structured for you.

11.) You have more time to focus on each child because they learn independently.
Chances are, when one kid needs help the other will be preoccupied with a lecture or essay. Since you are not teaching them all at once by yourself, you can focus individual attention without slowing your other children down. The time of a homeschooling parent is precious, and the ability to successfully stretch yourself over multiple kids in a school day is priceless.

12.) Freedom based curriculum (Austrian Economics)
Do you want your kids to grow up sharing the same core values as you and your spouse? If so, then look no further. You kids, no matter their age, will be taught in language that they understand the truth about freedom and how to live a liberty-based life.

13.) Christian insight and problem solving with morality are always present
If you are looking to avoid the spineless and inconsistent teachings of the public school system, then you have found your destination. Here with the RPC your children will learn that the right, just, and moral thing to do not only corresponds with the freedom and rights of each individual, but with the core teachings of Christianity as well.

14.) Non-violent approach to a quite violent world
Your children will learn when they are being coerced, and when they are having their rights violated. They will also learn how to deal with these occurrences in a calm, non-violent, non-aggressive manor in order to deescalate the situation.

15.) Political knowledge and understanding
Teaching students how to act and thrive in the real world both politically and socially is extremely important. Knowing your enemy is half the battle, and the RPC will gear up every student with the knowledge to defend their stance.

(L115) Why Should I Choose The Ron Paul Curriculum?

NOTE: If you are looking for an accurate and honest recount of what the RPC is like, please see my article/essay The Truth About Gary North & The Ron Paul Curriculum

1.) The ability to incorporate lessons/courses that are important to you or your child (which are not already included in the curriculum), and the ability to learn (or teach) through experience.
This is not to say that the RPC is lacking courses in any sense, however should you have a child interested in studying something specific, then you have the ability to meet their educational cravings. This means going into the real world and allowing your child to do exactly what it is they are learning about. If you pair this hands-on-learning with a years worth the essays, projects, research, etc. it could end up counting as a high school credit.
This ability to personalize your own (or your child’s) education is something that cannot be found anywhere but in a homeschool environment. Thanks to the RPC specifically, I was able to create my own entrepreneurship course with all of the information of I acquired about starting a business in my junior year. I designed the entire course myself, and with supervision from my guardian I set my own goals and regulations as well. I created my own business; this meant I had to create a written business plan, make a custom logo, advertise on a budget, manage a schedule, be in charge of tracking and allocating my own expenses and profits, serve my clientele, and so much more. It actually became a good source of income for the time I was running it, and I ended up expanding my services after a few months. (Had I not moved across the country, I would still be in business today.) Not only did this custom course offer me real life experience, but it gave me an understanding of entrepreneurship which has helped put me on a path to be a successful adult.

2. The ability to learn (or teach) at your own pace!
We all learn at different speeds and in different manors. Some people like to do one course each day of each class. Others (like me) like to focus on one course per week. The Ron Paul Curriculum offers the ability to learn and teach at your own speed for the entirety of your K-12 duration because the parents are 100% in charge of the deadlines! No rushing, no lost sleep, no stress; for you or your children! Sick child? Family emergency? No worries! School can wait until tomorrow – there will be no catching up to do, and no negative repercussions. You as the parent are in control; what better way is there to make sure you are satisfied with their progress and growth?

3.) A like-minded community of families and children, all at your fingertips.
The peer-run feedback boards of the Ron Paul Curriculum offer a broad range of constructive criticism, as opposed to getting one opinion from a single teacher. This allows your child to expand their own understandings of what they believe and why. It will also build your child’s conversational and debate skills, all the while connecting them with kids like themselves all around the world.
It didn’t take long for me to build both academic and personal relationships with other homeschoolers through our blogs. I learned how to put my knowledge into conversational practice, simply by offering and receiving feedback from other students.

4.) Flexibility
Every family dynamic is different, as is each individual child. No matter the work hours, travel abilities, and physical limitations of you or your child, the RPC can fit your needs. All you need to get class done is internet and a computer. In today’s day and age, these things can even be accessed for free at a library if need be.
During family emergencies, I have still been able to reach my own personal deadlines and goals because I do not need to be home to do school. I can be on the train, a plane, or even at the hospital completing certain tasks.

5.) Christian, and liberty-based: all in one!
Not only will your child get an honest and true education, but they will also get a morally sound education. I think that this piece really does speak for itself considering how hard it is to get top-notch educators living by the freedom philosophy.
The first year I was a member of the RPC, I was not religious. I was not offended, or crushed with Christian standpoints. I was simply educated enough to understand the morality of Christianity. By my second year in the RPC, I had been born again. I did find my new understanding of God to be quite helpful and enriching when it came to some of the things I was hearing, however this is not only a curriculum for Christian families by any means. The RPC suited my needs when I was both a Christian, and an atheist; it also gave me my first real life lessons about freedom, and liberty. I don’t know what more I could have asked for.

 

(L95) In 20 Years I Will…

“The lifestyle I want 20 years from now”

In 20 years time (if we all survive on earth that much longer), I will be 37 years old. By this time, I will hope to have accomplished the majority of my goals (and maybe some dreams too)!

First and foremost, I would love to have a big family! This would mean as many kids as Carmine and I could comfortably afford, (no grandkids yet, but hopefully they wouldn’t be too far off in the distance). They will be raised in the outdoors, making forts and mud pies rather than downloading apps and begging for the latest trending toy. They will all be homeschooled, and our children will learn through true experience like we all should have!

To go along with our large and well functioning household, it would be a dream to carry out everyday life self-sustainably. (I’ve always lived on a farm in my heart!) We would have goats for milk and cheese (it is much healthier for humans than cow milk and/or cheese). Horses for riding and plowing fields. (Not only are they good work animals, but they are extremely therapeutic; knowing how to ride, care for and work with horses are fantastic skills to have.) I certainly wouldn’t complain if I was allowed to have a donkey or mule either! Chickens (and roosters) would certainly be a must; I’ve had them before and not only are they great for waking you up before your alarms do, but the eggs are delicious. There is a difference between meat chickens and egg chickens contrary to common knowledge, and it would be possible we could have meat chickens to sell to others. I just don’t think I would be able to eat an animal I raised, and I am not huge on meat anyways.

Last but not least, I hope that Carmine and I may have both achieved our career goals and fulfilled our callings. This would mean, most importantly, that we will have our own liberty based church. Carmines indisputable calling from God is to be a preacher, and I couldn’t be more proud of his persistent studies and growing relationship with The Lord. We have both grown so close to our Creator since we were born again in May of 2015 and I can’t even imagine the things that could happen within the next 20 years! As I am still unsure of my calling, I do know that it is either to bake, or to work with animals. I have always had a special relationship with animals, mostly dogs, and God has used them to touch and greatly affect my life since I was born. On the other hand however, I feel that I am being drawn to bake, and decorate. I am not quite sure of the significance of this yet, and only time will tell. I sure hope that 20 years is enough to find out! It would be beyond my wildest dreams to have a dog rescue animal rescue in general); a farm would make fantastic space for a dog sanctuary as well.

The one thing that I am sure of is that God will grant Carmine and I exactly what we need in this life, and that is all that I could ever ask for. Only time will tell quite what that means!

(L55) High Bid Wins or First Come, First Served?

In what area of your life would you prefer ‘first come, first served’ to ‘high bid wins’? Why?

Well, in my current situation first come first served is more convenient for me than high bid wins because, quite honestly, I am nearly broke and I have more time than money. Convenience however does not always equate to morality, and so I would have to say that I would always prefer high bid wins. My reason for this is that by deciding first come first serve should be the standard of the market, I am penalizing people who’s time is more valuable than their money.

A high bid wins standard throughout the market would be comparable to (something along the lines of) a six-flags line for a ride. There would be two lines alongside one another; one where time is less valuable so the wait is longer and the price is cheaper, and one line in which you can pay more for a shorter wait. This is a more fair, and  free market based system of serving customers because it favors both people who have more money, and people who have more time. Nobody is penalized or excluded.

Another example of this would be online shopping. Nobody waits in line to shop on the internet, they just pay and wait for their product to be shipped. At checkout however, there is an option to pay more in order to have the product shipped faster. The idea of high bid wins, otherwise known as priority shipping, is not condemned in society because it is private. However should this system be applied in public, people who have been trained their whole lives to wait in line become outraged, as they feel their have been cheated or treated unfairly by this high bid wins system of market freedom.

(L65) Swedish Prosperity & Fascism

1.) The standard claim about Sweden is that it shows that society can prosper without such a free market and with extensive government intervention. Based on the lesson and on your reading, what would be a good response to this claim?

Sweden’s prosperity was originally birthed from a free market capitalistic economy, as well as avoiding war (as best they could). There is no historical evidence, even as late at the 1950s, of great welfare funding, and Sweden’s Austrian economics standpoint lasted between the 19th and even the early 20th century. The economic strength and prosperity that resulted from these practices was eventually funneled into a welfare state. Between 1970 and 1989 taxes were raised and hand-outs were increased; Sweden’s place as the 4th richest industrialized country dropped to the 14th by 1993. Just as capitalism had built their country strong, the turn away from it had began to make their country weak economically; since then however, economic freedom has increased (and surpasses that of the United States greatly).

2.) What were the primary values of fascism?

The primary values of fascism basically hold that the rights of the individual are far surpassed by the “good of the Nation”. In the words of Mussolini, “everything for the state, nothing outside the state, nothing above the state.” Beside putting the state on a pedestal and pushing for political centralization, fascism also highly encourages nationalism and the glorification of the military.

(L15) The Welfare State – Immoral and Unconsitiutional

In your opinion, does the state have the right to redistribute wealth from some people to others? Why or why not?

Property redistribution, (also known as the welfare state), is not only immoral, but a legal obstruction of my inalienable (birth) rights to liberty and property. Should another person have a greater need for my property (money) more than I do, it would be up to me to voluntarily help that other person. For the government to step in and take a portion of my income and give it to someone else is theft by coercion (threat of force). The welfare state impedes upon both my rights to not have my property stolen, and to not have my freedom (liberties) obstructed.

(L10) Human Rights

1.) Is there a “right of free speech” in the abstract, or is the question of free speech at root a matter of property rights?

Free speech, while being an essential human right, stands only on the basis of property rights. When property and human rights are separated, human rights become inconsistent and imprecise at best. They must instead, for understandings sake, be viewed as two pieces of the same thing, (rather than two different things). For example, if I were to rush into a movie theater shouting “Fire! Run! The theater is on fire!” I would get thrown out. I would not be thrown out because I was exercising my freedom of speech, but because I was on someone else’s property, and I was violating the set rules that they have on their property. I would be thrown out because I yelled (which is against the owner’s rules), not because of what I yelled.

2.) Explain the difference between positive and negative rights, using at least one example.

Negative rights are rights that simply require the absence of interference from others; for example, the rights to life, liberty, and property. More specifically, the right not to be killed, the right to not have my liberties infringed upon, and the right to not have my property stolen. Positive rights on the other hand place burdens on some people to obtain specific benefits for others. Positive rights are things that are all especially desirable, but not technically human rights; the reason for this is that positive rights may only be obtained through plunder and coercion.
Positive rights create conflict (between positive and negative rights) because, one’s negative rights will never infringe upon another’s (negative) rights. Positive rights however (in every case) will infringe upon one’s negative rights not to have their property (money) stolen. Negative rights require only self responsibility and mindfulness of others, whereas positive rights violate people’s negative rights (God given/birth rights) and incite threat-assisted theft.