DaveTown

Epictetus, again:

It is for you then, to look to the faculties you possess, and considering them to say, “Zeus, send me what trial thou wilt; for I have endowments and resources, given me by thee, to bring myself honor through what befalls.” Nay, instead, you sit trembling for fear of what may happen, or lamenting, mourning, and groaning for what does happen, and then you reproach the gods. What else but impiety indeed can attend upon so ignoble a spirit as yours?

And yet God not only gave us these faculties, which will enable us to bear all the issue of events without being humiliated or broken down by it, but, as became a good king and a true father, he gave us this gift free from all let or hindrance or compulsion – nay, he put it wholly in our hands, not even leaving himself any power to let or hinder us. Yet possessing these powers in freedom for your own, you refuse to use them and will not realize what gifts you have received and from whose hand, but you sit mourning and grieving, some of you blinded to the giver himself, and refusing to recognize your benefactor, and some from meanness of spirit turning to reproaches and complaints against God.

Yet I will show you that you have resources and endowment to fit you for a noble and courageous sprit: show me, if you can, what endowments you have for complaining and reproach.

Here’s a shoutout to all you low-self-esteem types, from good ol’ Epictetus:

“If a man could only take to heart this judgement, as he ought, that we are all, before anything else, children of God and that God is the father of gods and men, I think that he will never harbor a mean or ignoble thought about himself.”

Which of the following things should be a cause for alarm?

(feel free to pick more than one)

1. That I spent the afternoon watching Spinal Tap?
2. That I became obsessed over identifying the soccer jersey worn by Harry Shearer in the Airport scene?
3. That I was able to identify said jersey in under 60 seconds on the internets?
4. That I recognized the name of team, even though they play in the 4th division of English soccer?

Personally of course, I find all four perfectly reasonable; I understand that mine may not be the majority opinion among my vast readership.

If you’d like to know more about my soccer sickness, go read Footballs Are Round.

You know, I’ve occasionally thought about being a private home-school teacher; now that it seems like it’s becoming a trend, it may be time to take action. I read this in the NY Times today:

In what is an elite tweak on home schooling — and a throwback to the gilded days of education by governess or tutor — growing numbers of families are choosing the ultimate in private school: hiring teachers to educate their children in their own homes.

The cost for such teachers generally runs $70 to $110 an hour. And depending on how many hours a teacher works, and how many teachers are involved, the price can equal or surpass tuition in the upper echelon of private schools in New York City or Los Angeles, where $30,000 a year is not unheard of.

That would be ideal for me. And, I think, I’d be ideal for it. I’m fairly well-rounded, educationally, and what I couldn’t handle, I could either study-up on, or sub-contract, right?

I wonder if there is a market for private homeschool tutoring in central Okalhoma? What would be the best way to go about finding out? Newspaper advertising seems like it might fit.

Thoughts, anyone?