Little Things Matter / Fall Break This Week

Alden (left) is pictured with Michael during a visit to Main Event.

Life is made of moments.

Interestingly, we had a wonderful Docent at the Modern Art Museum on Friday, and following her beautiful presentation, our students, as they are accustomed and inclined to do, shook her hand and thanked her. During this time she commented, “Well, this is a first!”

Our remarkable Docent guides us at the Modern. Notice Mason’s new RED shoes! How can you miss them? If he clicks these together he will be in Kansas soon.

And I privately thought – it appears that others she took the time to teach about the beautiful exhibits did not express their appreciation. And, I also thought about how proud I was of our children. Yes, it was a little thing to take a moment to say, “Thank you”, but it communicates something much larger – that the little things truly matter.

I am always proud of our students. Allow me to give you a good example of why I continue to be proud of them. Recently one of our children, Alden, noticed a member of our armed services standing nearby. He walked over to the man, extended his hand to shake his, and then he thanked him for his service to our country.

Ian shows me what he wants for Christmas.

A little thing? No. It was a singular, significant moment in the lives of both individuals, which continues to blossom into beautiful reflections that can be treasured in the memories of many. Alden’s parents, Jesse and Laura, can share in the pride I feel. It is obvious that his thoughtful deeds have been derived from parents who take the time to convey the message that little acts of appreciation are so very important. (By the way, Alden has my vote for Governor one day).

These behaviors convey a much deeper message and meaning than we are aware of. They communicate our love for one another. They say, “I care”. And this message is more important today than ever. The love we have for others must be expressed, if we are to live a life fulfilled and if we are to survive.

Our rescued baby bunny has many friends. One is truly overwhelmed!

Todd Smith, an entrepreneur and motivational speaker for the last 30 years, reveals that it is indeed the little things that can influence every part of our lives and make all the difference (littlethingsmatter.com).

Another insight he provides relates to one of life’s simple but powerful truths: that is when you focus on others rather than on yourself, you make a positive difference in two lives—yours and the person with whom you interact.

Did I say, “Overwhelmed”?

I highly recommend Todd’s new book: “Little Things Matter – 100 ways to improve your life today”.

Rosie will soon be 19. I credit the puppychinos provided by our good friends at Starbucks (and Ian’s tender, loving care).

IMPORTANT  DATES:
Dec. 5-6 Texas Assn. for Gifted & Talented Conference
Dec. 13 Museum of Americas (in Weatherford)

Either the end is near,              or I’m in Weatherford.

Dec. 20 Last Day of Fall Semester
Dec. 23 – Jan. 7 Winter Break Holidays (better known as Christmas Holidays)
Jan. 24 Fort Worth Stock Show (It was called the FAT stock show. But, Dr. A lost a few pounds.)

Rylee is obviously impressed  with her assignment!

The Very Edge of Reason / Modern Art Museum

Rylee meets with her fan club.

“The human mind likes a strange idea as little as the body likes a strange protein and resists it with a similar energy.”  
– W. I. Beveridge

We stand at the very edge of reason, entrusting whether anyone can Nobly advance our cause better than we, ourselves.

And the answer is NO. Freedom does not offer advantage to other than the free.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan ignited an avalanche of protest in addressing opposition to his highly valued educational initiative: Common Core State Standards. Opposition to his effort to formulate a highly standardized education has come from parents across this nation. And I understand why!

Well-intended acts can have disastrous results. The road to Hades is paved with good intentions is an idiom or proverb about the difference between what someone intends to do and what they actually do.

Another puppy won the lottery – in the arms of Love.

Such a linear and narrow focus, as promulgated by Secretary Duncan, excessively, immoderately and unduly restricts essential academic freedom and constitutes a sublime form of slavery. Being sublime, it appears elevated or lofty in thought, impressing the mind with a sense of grandeur or power. But we are rapidly becoming addicted to this assessment syndrome. The heavy hand of government needs to be reconfigured. After all, it is our hand and, in the voting booth, it is far heavier than the adversaries of freedom. We cannot allow our hands to be held, as if tied behind our backs or kept hidden in our pockets. Leave them there and they will lose circulation.

Our freedom is a thing not only of functionality, but of unfathomable beauty – capable of spiraling our intellects and our visions into new dimensions and revealing depths of imagination as yet unknown.

My dear friends, our Honored Dead, buried across battlefields around this world, loved us more than life. But they can no longer stand by your side to defend what is now yours. But you can stand. And you can speak. And you can sing and protest. And you, by the Grace of God and every drop of their precious blood, can act. Their memory is a constant call to arms. And it is a celebration of a cherished gift – that of life itself, embodied in the freedom of thought and the freedom to act.

Scholarship takes a break.

America is beautiful. And its beauty resides within you. It is the very beat of your heart. It is the love of your brother and sister that fought so valiantly for you, who lie cradled in the Arms of God and buried deep within our hearts. Such vibrant beauty you can never truly behold. We stand but in the the shadow of the beautiful sunsets of their lives.

So open your eyes. In no other nation on earth will you behold the likeness of such as our precious Liberty. People are struggling to get INTO the United States, not leave. They can see our Liberty more clearly than we.

No, as so many Veterans have shared with me, freedom is not free. It is the costliest possession on earth. If they could but speak they would admonish you to accept it, possess it, treasure it, admire it and, above all, defend it. And pray for all those whose sacrifices have placed it painfully and lovingly into you hands.

My friends, Veterans Day is every day! It is this day and every tomorrow. Let us celebrate it in every act, in every movement and in every moment we walk this earth. And in so doing, do not accept the judgment of others that your child can be categorized, judged, selected and sorted and dictated to. Your precious children must never be assessed by dubious instruments of questionable reliability and quality, funded by corporate and other special entities with their own interests in mind.

   Kirby takes a break.

Regardless of the jargon related to, “competing with other countries”, please remember that our Great Nation was made as such under the umbrella of an academic freedom that surpasses all understanding. When our highly trained and deeply dedicated professional educators were not tethered to the dictates and artificial constraints of puffed up, egotistical and corporately funded politicians, our schools produced mentally healthy, highly productive and beautifully idealistic graduates, who propelled us to become the wealthiest Nation on the earth and its only superpower.

Our teachers and children were NOT bullied into this achievement. They were enabled through the freedom to be, all they could imagine and all they desired. Freedom is the key to our future. It always was and always will be.

Toss the tests. And, for the sake of our beautiful children, let us rid ourselves of every political figure who pretends to know more that we do. British historian and moralist, Lord Acton, once famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

As we pretend to, “leave no child behind”, we are absolutely corrupting our schools.

Ian expresses a new dimension in Philosophy!

On Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, we will meet at the MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH, 3200 Darnell Street (telephone 817-738-9215) at 10:00 a.m. Do NOT drop your child(ren) off early or without Dr. and Mrs. Anderson present. Our self-guided tour will start at 10:00 a.m. Following this tour we will dine at the museum’s restaurant, Café Modern, at 11:30 a.m. After lunch we will have a docent-guided tour of the special exhibit followed by shopping at the gift store. Pick-up is at 2:30 p.m. at the museum.

Terry Haggerty draws on the vocabulary of abstract art to create his illusory paintings and large-scale wall works. The artist’s central motif is created by painting patterned lines that alternate a light and dark color, such as white and blue. When juxtaposed, these colors play off of each other, appearing to advance and recede as seen in Kinetic Friction – pictured left.

Haggerty applies multiple coats of paint to his works to create sleek and fluid surface patterns. He also changes the direction of the uniformly painted lines at certain points—bending them toward the edges of his canvases or walls, for example, and/or changing the course of their paths at the center of his compositions. By manipulating color and line in this way, Haggerty’s imagery becomes a study in spatial and sensory perception, appearing to hum and even making his two-dimensional paintings appear to be three-dimensional. This combination of serial color and pattern, along with his redirecting of the lines, has a crucial impact on the overall pictorial appearance of the artist’s works. It immediately transforms his simple painted stripes into vibrant and undulating images that seemingly alter space.

We don’t explain them, we just train them (Kids & Dogs).

The Modern maintains one of the foremost collections of modern and contemporary international art in the central United States. Various movements, themes, and styles are represented, including Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, Pop art, and Minimalism, as well as aspects of New Image Painting from the 1970s and beyond, recent developments in abstraction and figurative sculpture, and contemporary photography, video, and digital imagery.

FINANCIAL: No fee for admission. GIFT SHOP: Has fascinating items.
LUNCH: Café Modern is serving contemporary American cuisine. Please provide funds for lunch. One check per table will be provided. A gratuity will be added. Students please order from the Children’s Menu and Observe the POLICIES of the Museum (In other words, do not take the artwork home!)

Uniform pants with a belt, polished shoes & monogrammed shirts required. PARENTS /GUARDIANS NEIGHBORS / SIBLINGS are invited to participate on our trips. EMERGENCY NO: 682-777-1908

Missy is such a camera hog.

IMPORTANT DATES
Nov. 25-29 Thanksgiving/Fall Break (No school this weak) Ooops! Dr. A apparently was not a strong speller)
Dec. 5-6 Texas Assn. for Gifted & Talented Conf. (No school)
Dec. 13 Museum of Americas (in Weatherford)
Dec. 20 Last Day of Fall Semester
Dec. 23 – Jan. 7 Winter Break Holidays (better known as Christmas Holidays)
Jan. 24 Fort Worth Stock Show (In Dr. A’s youth, it was call the FAT stock show. But, he lost a few pounds.)

We enjoyed our visit to the Japanese Garden

Creating Renaissance Men and Women / “Ender’s Game”

The Anderson School is dedicated to creating “Renaissance Men and Women” through a classical education blended with an emphasis upon higher level thinking skills.

Yes, she sleeps there still. And her nose still misses the door by, well, a nose!

I have always defined a Renaissance person as one who is capable of doing anything with virtually nothing, which reminds me of starting a private school. But the ideal of the Renaissance Man evolved into a cultural movement that spanned the 14th through the 17th century. It began in Italy and spread to the other countries in Europe. The term Renaissance man or woman refers to a person of many accomplishments – one who has numerous interests and is accomplished in many areas and is well educated, highly cultured, and proficient.

Yes, our children bring their puppies to school.

I know it is asking much of ourselves, but it is now necessary to take giant steps back in time.  This is becoming much more apparent, if our children are to survive what is rapidly evolving into an overly complex and incomprehensible future. With drop-out, drug and

Kylie’s puppy is “Lucky”

alcohol addiction and suicide rates so unbelievably high and accelerating, we need to do something different! Folks, we need to do something other than losing the precious lives all around us. Did you know that the top ten jobs that were in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we do not know exists. The U. S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 39. One fourth of our workers have been with their current employer for less than a year. One half have been there less than five years. It is not now possible to predict what specific jobs to prepare for. The future is uncertain and totally unpredictable.

But there is hope, in knowing that our children can be molded and shaped into new, resurrected Renaissance Men and Women, armed with the broad knowledge of a classical liberal arts education and in firm possession of a high self-esteem, garnered from years of joyful living. ucollege.edu/news/2010/01/10/training-jobs-dont-exist

Philippe Arrighi teaches French Language, History and Culture

There are about 540,000 words in the English language – about five times as many as during Shakespeare’s time (many of them created by William). One week’s worth of news contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a LIFETIME  just two hundred years ago. More new information will be discovered this year than in the previous ten thousand years. Technical knowledge is doubling in less than two years, which translates to a strange phenomenon: it implies that students beginning a four year technical degree will discover that what they learn in their first year of study will, to a great degree, be outdated by the third year of study. In philosophy we recently discussed an astute observation of Albert Einstein,

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”

Yes, we enrolled  Kylie’s friend.

This commentary comes from one of the few people principally responsible for such, “a dangerous place to live”. But his keen discernment is an accurate assessment. We must do something! Even if it involves turning the clock back. So the Anderson family decided to forgo the fads and fancies of corporate driven curriculums, which will become outdated and virtually worthless in less time than it takes for me to find my car in the parking lot of yet another rapidly disappearing and obsolete phenomenon – the shopping Mall. The truth is: everything is becoming outdated and obsolete – even you and I. And the real fear that I have is that our children are in such danger. So what can we do? We need to answer this question, before the mushroom-cloud shaped ghost of Einstein haunts us on a scale that compares favorably to forever.

The solution requires an uncommon measure of common sense. And this must be coupled with the courage only Love unparalleled can provide. In the compassionate wisdom of Leo Buscaglia we find the key:

“When man has love he is no longer at the mercy of forces greater      than himself, for he, himself, becomes the powerful force.”

So let us look deep into our own hearts to find the compassion to be

Dr. A is awake!

courageous and turn back the clock, so that we may seek salvation for our children – salvation found in the stunningly beautiful minds of those who have come before us. Let us embrace the greatest philosophers and the very best teachers we can find. And these phenomenal beings are found in antiquity. And they, and their truly inspiring ideas and ideals, have been patiently waiting for a long, long time. So close that politically correct, highly controversial and financially inspired state adopted text book and place it where it may never be discovered again (do not use a clay jar – they last too long). I call such dumbed-down objects de-un-art: intellectual pollution. They have been aligned with the priorities of the failed, “No child left behind” fiasco. And, if you know anything about the textbook adoption process, you will have similar sentiments. The truly great and inspiring textbooks have existed for hundreds to thousands of years. So quickly (and I do mean quickly)  travel to another soon-to-be rapidly disappearing outdated technology, the neighborhood bookstore, and blow the dust off of a great play by William Shakespeare or any work by a noted historian or philosopher of glorious times gone by. You shall never regret rediscovering the romantic and beautiful, “Splendor in the Grass” of the world we once knew. And you shall find solutions to problems we will assuredly encounter. Or you can stumble along looking for a pathway covered by the weeds of ignorance and arrogance.

Look! A politically correct tree.

Please feel free to utilize our Anderson School Reading List found under Academics on our website: www.andersonschool.net. These works are classical, philosophical and historical in nature. The knowledge to be gained from them is the foundation for a lifetime of learning. It was compiled with the kind assistance of the highly recommend Walsingham Society of Christian Culture and Western Civilization walsinghamsociety.com, Oxford University and our own teacher of Language Arts, LeVonna Anderson. These Classics of Western Language and Literature are the true textbooks for all time. In our classical liberal arts curriculum, our children have acted in numerous Shakespeare plays, under the direction of noted actor and director, George Rodriguez. They study the great classics of Western civilization, together with the Classical Languages of Greek and Latin, under the guidance of Classics Professor Harry Lacey.

Professor Lacey teaches Latin, Greek & Epic Literature.

They are engaged in critical thinking activities, discussion and reasoning with Mrs. Anderson on a daily basis. And they question everything in Philosophy with Dr. Anderson and are tutored in mathematics through calculus. Our goal of producing Renaissance men and women, classical thinkers, is to prepare and arm our children with the vital tools of higher level thinking skills and the wisdom of the ages they will need in an uncertain and dangerous future.” The Classical curriculum offered at the Anderson School is similar to what was offered to previous generations, dating back to that provided the Romans and Greeks. This is, in our not-so-humble opinions, what is needed to be mastered in order to become a true modern day Renaissance Man or Woman. It is what is needed to thrive and, importantly, survive. At the Anderson School our goal is nothing short of salvation.

Believe it or not this is an oil slick on the Caspian Sea (or an eerie message).

On FRIDAY Nov. 15, 2013

we will meet at 9:30 a.m. at Half-Price Books, located at 475 Sherry Lane, north of Ridgmar Mall –Telephone: 817-732-4111. At approximately 10:15 a.m. we will travel to the FOOD COURT in the Ridgmar Mall to enjoy lunch. Following a quick lunch, we will walk to the RAVE 13 THEATRE located in the Mall at 2300 Green Oaks Road, telephone (817) 566-0025, to enjoy the highly acclaimed new movie Ender’s Game, (Rating: PG-13, for some violence and intense depiction thematic material) / Run Time: 1 hour. 54 minutes and starting at 11:15 a.m. Younger students will view another film with the blessing of Mrs. A. PICK UP will be at the theater at 2:00 p.m. The starting time may change, please be patient. Dr. A may become anxious but popcorn will help.

Emergency Telephone 682-777-1908

If you arrive late, we shall have departed with your child(ren) and will return to school. Please call if you will be late. Students are NOT to leave the bookstore, food court or theater without the approval of Dr. A (wake him gently with the smell of warm popcorn if necessary)

FINANCIAL: We have been told Tickets are $5.00 but this may be incorrect – please pay at the Box Office. Please provide funds for a good book and funds for lunch. Refreshments: Yes!

Uniform pants with a belt & red monogrammed school shirts are required. PARENTS / FRIENDS / NEIGHBORS, are invited to participate on our trips.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Nov. 22               Modern Art Museum
Nov. 25-29         Thanksgiving/Fall Break (No school)
Dec. 5-6              Texas Assn. for Gifted & Talented Conf. (No school)
Dec. 13               Museum of Americas (in Weatherford)
Dec. 20               Last Day of Fall Semester
Dec. 23 – Jan. 7  Winter Break Holidays (better known as Christmas Holidays)
Jan. 24                Fort Worth Stock Show (earlier known as the FAT stock show, but Dr. A lost a few pounds)                                        

A. n . d . e . r . s . o . n

Where precocious children are nurtured, appreciated & eat a lot of popcorn!

JOY COMES FROM WITHIN / JAPANESE GARDENS

The sharing of your joy is Love.

In his inspired and insightful work, Joy, Osho posits that, “To be joyful is the basic nature of life. Joy is the spiritual dimension of happiness, in which one begins to understand one’s intrinsic value and place in the Universe.”

Osho tells us that, “Real education will not teach you to compete; it will teach you to cooperate. It will not teach you to fight and come first. It will teach you to be creative, to be loving, to be blissful, without comparing yourself to others. It will not teach you that you can be happy only when you are the first– that is sheer nonsense. You can’t be happy just by being first, and in trying to be first you go through such misery, that by the time you become the first, you are habituated to misery.”

People touched by you will not be ordinary anymore.

“A real education will not teach you to be the first. It will tell you to enjoy whatever you are doing, not for the result, but for the act itself. Just like a painter or a dancer or a musician…

Osho says you can paint in two ways. You can paint to compete with other painters; you want to be the greatest painter in the world, you want to be a Picasso or a Van Gogh. Then your painting will be second-rate, because your mind is not interested in painting itself; it is interested in being the first, the greatest painter in the world. You are not going deep into the art of painting. You are not enjoying it, you are only using it as a stepping-stone. You are on an ego trip, and the problem is that to really be a painter, you have to drop the ego completely. To really be a painter, the ego has to be put aside. Only then can existence flow through you. Only then can your hands and your fingers and your brush be used as vehicles. Only then can something of superb beauty be born.”

Nobody can be unhappy in the here and now.

“Real beauty is never created by you but only through you. Existence flows; you become only a passage. You allow it to happen, that’s all; you don’t hinder it.”

“But if you are too interested in the result, the ultimate result– that you have to become famous, that you have to be the best painter in the world, that you have to defeat all other painters hitherto– then your interest is not in painting; painting is secondary. And of course, with a secondary interest in painting you can’t paint something original; it will be ordinary.”

“Ego cannot bring anything extraordinary into the world; the extraordinary comes only through ego-lessness. And so is the case with the musician and the dancer. So is the case with everybody.

Happiness is always with you. It has nothing to do with anything. It is just the non-expectant, relaxed, at ease state of your being with existence.

“In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: Don’t think of the result at all. It is a message of tremendous beauty and significance and truth. Don’t think of the result at all. Just do what you are doing with your totality. Get lost in it, lose the doer in the doing. Don’t “be”– let your creative energies flow unhindered.

Krishna says to “Just be in a state of let-go. Say to existence, ‘Use me in whatever way you want to use me. I am available, unconditionally available.’ Then whatsoever happens through you will have a great authenticity about it. It will have intensity, it will have depth. It will have the impact of the eternal on it.”

In America, the pursuit of happiness is a birthright. It is not mentioned in any other constitution in the world.

Jesus says: Remember, those who are first in this world will be the last in the kingdom of God, and those who are the last will be the first. He has given you the fundamental law– he has given you the inexhaustible, eternal law: Stop trying to be the first. But remember one thing, which is very much possible, because the mind is so cunning it can distort every truth. You can start trying to be the last– but then you miss the whole point. Then another competition starts: “I have to be the last”– and if somebody else says, “I am the last,” then the struggle, the conflict, begins again.

I highly recommend Osho’s book: Joy, The Happiness That Comes From Within, from St. Martin’s Press, New York. © Osho International Foundation. And visit: http://www.osho.com

Our Trip this Friday: Japanese Garden

On FRIDAY, November 8, 2013, we will meet at 10:00 a.m. at the JAPANESE GARDEN, located at 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard (817-871-7685/817-871-7682). Please gather at the main entrance of the Japanese Garden. Our SELF- guided tour starts at 10:00 a.m. Be on time – if our tour has started – just catch up with us. Do not drop off children without Dr. or Mrs. Anderson present.

“I’m singing the Jail House Blues.”

We will spend approximately 1½ hours on our tour & visit the TREASURE TREE GIFT SHOP (Tele: 817-871-7668). Following the tour, we will travel to McKinley’s Fine Bakery & Café, 1616 South University Drive, Fort Worth (817) 332-3242 to enjoy lunch. Following lunch, we will walk to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in the University Village – a Mary Alice favorite! (located very close to McKinleys) at 1612 S. University Drive #402 University Park Village, (Tele: 817 335-2791). Pick-up is at the BOOKSTORE at 2:30 p.m. DRESS FOR THE WEATHER Please observe the POLICIES of the Garden. Uniform pants with a belt, polished shoes & red monogrammed school shirts are required.

Lila voices her opinion.

A different perspective. PARENTS / GUARDIANS /NEIGHBORS / SIBLINGS / VISITORS and THE CURIOUS are always invited to participate on our trips. EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 682-777-1908 Please do not disturb Dr. A. should he be found on the trail all alone and asleep or muttering incoherently to himself or a passerby or a frog or a tree. Teaching for many years is a highly probable causative factor! Students are NOT to leave any facility at any time for any reason, including the need to secure a ride, without the approval of Dr. or Mrs. Anderson. FINANCIAL: Admission: Adults & children 13 and over – $5.00 Children (12 yrs. & under) $4.00 Please pay at the gate. GIFT SHOP:

Who or what do you think this photograph depicts?                   The answer – next week.

There is a fabulous, “Treasure Tree” gift shop. LUNCH: Please provide funds for lunch at the restaurant and books from the bookstore. NOTE: We must follow the Garden Visitor Etiquette.

IMPORTANT DATES

Nov. 15         Movie: The Book Thief & Barns & Noble Bookstore

Nov. 22         Modern Art Museum Nov. 25-29   Thanksgiving/Fall Break Dec. 5-6       Texas Assn. for Gifted & Talented Conf. (No school)
Dec. 20         Last Day of Fall Semester
Dec. 23 – Jan. 7 Winter Break Holidays (better known as Christmas Holidays)
Jan. 24          Fort Worth Stock Show (earlier known as the FAT stock show, but Dr. A lost a few pounds)

A . n . d . e . r . s . o . n

Kylee discovers Gold at Fossilmania

Where precocious children & our precious pets (including our famous Rabbit) are nurtured and appreciated.