This is an expanded version of what I told Barbara.

Dear Barbara Walters,

After watching part of your interview with the self-proclaimed “pregnant man” Thomas Beatie, I felt compelled to write you. While I am a firm believer in making your own destiny and finding your own happiness, I cannot sit back and watch this man make a mockery of the transgendered community. I cannot sit back and watch him exploit his children for money. I cannot sit back while my transgendered friends and myself have to endure ridicule and face misunderstanding because the general populace is lumping all transgendered people together with him.

I am 27 years old. I came out at age 16, thinking I had to be gay. Though the word lesbian didn’t seem to fit me, it’s the only word I knew to explain my attraction to girls. At age 22, I watched a documentary that changed my life, Southern Comfort. This was a documentary about a transgendered man named Robert, who died of cancer because the hospitals wouldn’t treat a transgendered man. For the first time, I had a word to describe all of those feelings I’d felt for so many years. I realized I was transgendered. For the first time, I felt complete and at peace.

It was then that I took the name Dominick. It was a name I’d used online for a year or so and it meant something to me (I’m pretty sure I used it in a past life). I sat down with my girlfriend, Ashtyn and explained I was transgendered. Coming out to her and finding her unwaveringly supportive meant the world to me. This moment, discovering I was transgendered, changed my life for the better.

You see, Barbara, I’m not just transgendered. I’m in a wheelchair. Being disabled masked many of my feelings about my gender, until I was old enough to comprehend them. Looking back, I can see signs of my desire to be a boy (male) dating back to my early childhood. Even as a baby, people always said I was the most beautiful baby boy they’d ever seen…much to the chagrin of my mother.

I’ve been in a wheelchair full time since I was 16. I have a muscle disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Ten days before my 16th birthday, I had Spinal Fusion surgery and almost died. It saved my life, but since then, I’ve been incapable of walking. Now, I can no longer stand either. Nevertheless, I’m a fighter and I fought to survive only to come out a few months later, facing more adversity, especially at the hands of my dysfunctional family.

That’s not all though Barbara. I was raised in a dysfunctional, abusive household. My family had major problems and my parents, mostly my mother, did unthinkable things to me that I’d not wish on my worst enemy. At one point, these problems and the abuse, which escalated after I came out, made me consider suicide. At one point, I thought I’d never be able to escape or get out, but I had to bide my time and eventually, I did escape. I did save my own life. I finally found happiness and I did all of it with only the help of my beautiful girlfriend, Ashtyn.

Today, I live in Michigan with Ashtyn, her mom, and our 14 year old, autistic son. We don’t have the best house. I’ve had to face a lot of adversity when trying to find adaptive equipment to help me become more independent, but I do make enough to work from home, for myself and enjoy what I do as a blogger, reviewer, and critic. I’m on my way to living the American dream. Though there is more to my story, this is the condensed version.

So, why am I writing this Barbara? I’m sure you’re wondering what my point is. I’m writing this because I want to make it clear that not all transgendered people are doing things for negative reasons. Many of us are just trying to survive. Many of us have exceptional stories to tell. We have survived adversity. Many of us have parents, siblings, and extended family who won’t talk to us or respect our transition. Transgendered people don’t all want to seek the kind of attention Thomas Beatie seeks. We just want to be accepted. We want to be treated the same way as all other human beings…with dignity, respect and humility. We just want to live fair, equal, loving lives without worrying if our children are legally protected or if our marriage is legal in the eyes of the law.

So PLEASE, Barbara, can you try focusing on all the positive things transgendered people are doing? Can you focus on those of us who have fought to be who we are without wanting to make money off of it, or exploit our lives? I know that there is always room for diversity, so why not balance out the negativity of Thomas’ story with the positive spin on the life of someone like me, who has truly fought to be who they are and doesn’t want anything but equal treatment and compassion for who I have become.

Thank you for reading this.

Dominick Matthaios Antony Evans

P.S. To all my readers, I’ll have more on this topic a little later this week.

Technorati Tags: Dominick Evans, Barbara Walters, Dominick Evans, letter, Thomas Beatie, pregnant man, male pregnancy

I know many people get depressed about being in a wheelchair, but I’m not one of them. I mean, sure it sucks, but its like my late father, David Lawniczak used to say. There is no use in crying over spilt milk. I guess I can see how being in a wheelchair can be depressive to some people and frustrating when you want to move, but can’t do it without help. Still this is one of the few things I’ve actually accepted about my life. So, it’s one of the few things I don’t complain about.

What I do complain about is pain. I hate pain. I am pretty sure most people with SMA experience pain a lot different than the average person. I can just bump into something and have it feel like I’m being stabbed. I admit it. I’m a baby about it. Well, pain is why I’m writing this blog. If there is just ONE thing that I could mention that sucks about being in a wheelchair it is experiencing pain.

I’m on a regular regime of pain medication. Tylenol 4 with codeine is my friend. It takes away the pain in my back and my legs most of the time, but rarely touches pain in my hip. If I could trade being in a wheelchair forever for not having pain ever, I’d stay in the wheelchair. It’s not so bad if there is no pain, but when it hurts I just want to cry.

Do you know that the only time I cry is when I’m in pain? It’s true. I’m not the emotional type, but slam my foot into a wall and I’ll cry like a baby. I’m so sick of pain I’m considering utilizing the new law for medicinal marijuana in my state.

Marijuana isn’t physically addictive. I don’t have an addictive personality so I’m not likely to become chemically addicted and I’m managing to take highly addictive, chemically manufactured pain pills (with no dependency). My thought is that weed is natural and Tylenol is not. Natural pain relief seems better than manufactured or none at all.

So, I guess what became a rant about being in pain (my legs have been hurting lately and man the pain sucks!) is turning into a blog question for all you blog readers out there.

Do you think I should try and get medicinal marijuana so I can better function with less pain? Do you think that medical marijuana should be legalized everywhere? What’s your opinion on the whole debate?

I look forward to your responses.

Technorati Tags: wheelchair, blogger, medical marijuana, mary jane, drugs, pain relief, tylenol 4, codeine, Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Thomas Beatie is someone who has taken the steps to legally change their name, physiological body characteristics and nearly everything but their female reproductive organs and vagina to reflect the fact that this person is, in their words, male. Thomas Beattie is said to be transgendered, identifying as male. Essentially, Thomas Beatie is supposed to be just like me (born bio female, but taking/took steps to legally become and live as male). However, Thomas Beatie isn’t like me. Thomas Beatie has reversed the “becoming a male” process, in order to utilize his female reproductive organs and have not one, but two children.

I know this sounds confusing because it is. It’s confusing to many of us who are transgendered, too. First, let me explain that some people believe they are between genders. Some people don’t believe in the gender binary system. These people aren’t trying to make a spectacle, nor are they claiming to be something they aren’t. That’s one of the reasons why I have such a problem with Thomas Beatie. If he wants to look like a guy, with a beard, but still have kids, that’s fine, but don’t say you’re a male, because men don’t have kids through their own bodies. They just don’t. Those of us who are FTM (and identify as either transgendered or male) and are legally becoming male nearly all agree on this point. Many of us also agree that Thomas Beatie has the potential to do IRREPARABLE harm to our community and the potential for acceptance and equality.

See, this is what it boils down to. People are entitled to be happy and live their lives the way they see fit and/or be who they are as long as that doesn’t affect others negatively. The transgendered community has long made strides towards acceptance and equality. Slowly but surely, we’ve been getting there. People have been learning to accept us. It’s a slow and grueling, painstaking process. People are able to get the concept of what being transgendered is and means, but Thomas Beatie has bounced back and forth between the process, to the point where the average person simply cannot comprehend who or what he/she is.

I don’t have to tell you that acceptance is the first step and equality comes thereafter. Without acceptance there can be no equality. I want to be treated equally. I want the same equal rights and protections as other Americans, but the possibility of such equality and such protections is tipping in the balance thanks to Beatie and his confusing decisions. I don’t want this to tip in the wrong direction, because that truly means we’re taking strides back…not forward.

In a split second, the media circus surrounding Thomas Beatie could destroy years of hard work and building bridges between the transgendered minority and the majority. The fact that he seems to be doing this for publicity’s sake is even more painful for those of us, who are truly transgendered, to watch. Seriously, look at what the fundamentalist right has done to gays and lesbians. Can you imagine their reaction to this? I cringe to think of all of the possible, destructive messages they will be spreading about the transgendered community, all thanks to Thomas Beatie.

My question is, why? Is it worth it to break down an entire community Thomas? I know you got paid by Getty for images of you while pregnant and with your daughter. I know you got paid for interviews, to be in a documentary and you’ll be making profits from the new book you’re set to release next week. I guess all this must be worth it. All this must be worth destroying and affecting the lives of millions of Americans not asking for notoriety or money…just asking to live normal, healthy, equal, and accepted lives. I guess it must be worth it to destroy all the hard work of transgendered advocates, by confusing everyone, with your twisted logic of what it means to be male, what it means to be transgendered, and what it means to be a father.

Advocates on Beatie’s side claim being a parent is a human need. I agree. I have one son. I want more children. I, however, will NEVER be having a child through my body. I’m a man. Why would I want to have a child? If my girlfriend couldn’t have children we would do what other couples who cannot have children do. We’d adopt. Biological connection does NOT make a parent, especially with millions of children in foster homes and orphanages around the world. It’s plain selfishness, in my opinion, but Thomas Beattie doesn’t care what this is doing to others…or what this will do to his own children once they become old enough to understand the controversy. All he cares about is what he can gain from this and gain he has.

People can eventually understand that transgendered people feel like the opposite gender from the gender they are born. So, a person born a female feels male and thus doesn’t want to be seen or treated as female. That makes sense. It makes sense to me and it might not be understood completely by others, but it is not as complicated to “get” as many make it out to be.

What most people don’t get is someone taking the steps to be a man only to back track to be a woman by coming off hormones, having kids, then going back to being a man again. It confuses them and all of us who aren’t confusing (us transgendered folk unlike Beattie) become confusing to them. I don’t want people to keep telling me, I’ll probably just want to go back to female to pop out a few kids, because that isn’t me. That isn’t me. I don’t want that. BUT…because of Thomas Beatie people think transgendered people are all CONFUSED, and most of us aren’t.

I can’t say much more than I have. It makes me mad to think about all of the money Thomas Beattie is making off the suffering of others. So, please, don’t judge those of us who are transgendered by him. Judge us by who we are. Most of us aren’t like him and most of us agree that he truly is not a part of a community that just wants one thing…equality.

Technorati Tags: Thomas Beattie, Thomas Beatie, male mother, transgendered, pregnancy, kids, parent, birth

Step #1 - Link to the person who tagged you. I already linked to Leah and her blog in the first sentence I wrote, but I’ll happily do it again, right here.

Step #2 - Write Five Fun/Interesting Facts about yourself. This gives fellow bloggers (and your readership) a chance to actually get to know you better.

Step #3 - Tag Six Other People and link to their blogs. Then let them know you’ve tagged them by twittering them or leaving a comment on their blog.

The process repeats and people get links and forge new friendships, all while learning about one another!

Sounds pretty easy right?

Five Fun Facts about Dominick Evans

1. When Changing My Name, I had a hard time settling on Middle Names: The only thing about my birth name that I kept the same was the fact that I had two middle names. Getting the exact and right combination for my two “new” middle names was hard. I tried several versions of the two names, before I finally settled on Matthaios Antony.

2. I have crooked pinkies. A genetic mutation in my family that skips certain generations gave me crooked pinkies. Mine stick out almost at a 45 degree angle mid-pinky. My maternal grandmother has crooked pinkies, too, but mine are by far the most crooked and distinctive in our family. People has “assumed” this was caused by my muscle disease, but this actually has nothing to do with my SMA at all. I believe it might just be a recessive trait.

3. My dream college is the University of Michigan. I always wanted to go to the U of M. I even visited the campus when I was in high school. However, coming from a relatively poor household and knowing the state of Ohio would only pay for me to go to college in my home state (since Ohio has a wheelchair accessible school - Wright State), I had to push that dream out of my mind. Well, now that I live in Michigan, I might just get to finish up my degree at my dream school.

4. I’m obsessed with fast wheelchairs. I get really upset at the prospect of having to get a slow wheelchair. I admit I have a bit of a speed problem when it comes to choosing a wheelchair. When nobody is around me, I like to let loose and fly with the wind. I might just be a biker if I could walk, after all. Seriously though. I love to go fast and can’t stand the fact that insurance usually likes to pay for slow chairs. Luckily, my wheelchair guy knows I’m a speed-a-holic and hooks me up!

5. My dad’s grandparents were born in Poland. My dad was a second generation American with 100% Polish heritage (makes me half Polish). He grew up in Toledo’s old Polish village. He spoke both Polish and Latin fluently (attended Polish mass and Polish was spoken at his school) and could sing in both languages. While most of my extended family spoke/speaks Polish, my dad’s kids (myself included) were never taught. I know very limited Polish from what little I used to hear him speak.

By contrast, my other grandfather’s last name is Ryan (making him quite a bit Irish and a little Swiss). The maternal side of my family had been in the U.S. since colonial days and before with famous colonial names in my family including McKean and Ogle.

*FYI - My birth last name is very Polish and nine letters long. Ever wonder why I chose the last name Evans? This frequent mispronunciation and hard to spell name is why!

Now on to the fun part.

Here are the six people I’m tagging!

1. Ashtyn Evans (http://www.ashtynevans.com)
2. Keith Burtis (http://magicwoodworks.com/blog/)
3. Kara Sheridan (http://karasheridan.com/)
4. Chris Brogan (http://www.chrisbrogan.com)
5. Bob Rodkin (http://bobrodkin.blogspot.com/)
6. Guy Kawasaki (http://www.alltop.com) - I know its not a blog but you still have to check Guy and All Top out!

Can’t wait to see what those I’ve tagged have to share!

Technorati Tags: Tagged, Blog, Blog Experiment, Fun Facts, Other Bloggers, Website, Link

In Arkansas, all unmarried couples (especially GLBT couples) were henceforth banned from adopting children or becoming foster parents. With over 3% of the millions of foster children in the United States living in same sex households, you have to imagine some kids just lost what they believed might become their forever homes.

In the saddest, and most depressing loss of the night, California passed Proposition 8. This is the first time in history, a group of people have had a right given to them by the courts only to have it taken away. If anything is truly unconstitutional, it’s this, because this is the first time people have truly lost a right they once retained. First, we all need to agree that marriage truly is a right. I’ll get into why I believe it is a right a little later in this post.

Many people think that the courts have no right determining what is unconstitutional and what isn’t, but that is exactly why the courts are there. The judicial branch of the government was established because certain minority groups would be denied certain rights by the majority. The minority had to have some protection. In years past, we’ve seen many minority groups be served up similar “unconstitutional” bans on freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The only protection these groups had was through the judicial system who overturned such unconstitutional laws and made it so these groups were given the same rights.

The best example of this has to be the issue of bi-racial marriage. Virginia constitutionally banned bi-racial marriage in 1661. It was a punishable offense back then. Oddly enough, those who passed this law into effect believed it was “God’s Will” and that they were denying bi-racial couples the right to marry because they believed it was against what God wanted. This sounds erriely familiar doesn’t it? Oh yes! This is the same argument now being used to deny GLBT individuals the right to marry.

In 1967, it was the Supreme Court who deemed this law to be unconstitutional. Had the people been given the right to vote on the issue, it most likely would not have passed. Thanks to Loving vs. The Commonwealth of Virginia, the Supreme Court was able to decriminalize the right to marry who you wanted regardless of race. It was through the courts that the minority was protected, not through states voting on the issue.

This is because the majority vastly outweighed the majority and would most likely not have had the minority’s interests at heart. So, why is the majority able to squelch the rights of the GLBT minority group? It’s because the people seem to want more say in government and more say in what they believe is right…not what truly is right.

You should check out my post on answering all of the arguments against gay marriage. It explains how all of the arguments against it have no validity or reasoning behind them. That being said, I should now explain why I believe marriage is a right and not a religious institution. Marriage has become a religious institution though it doesn’t have to be. In fact, by law, it has nothing to do with religion.

Marriage is a right, civil liberty or whatever else you want to call it because those who marry get government benefits. Marriage is, in its purest form, a legal binding of two individuals. Religion has nothing to do with legal matters or the courts. In fact, marriage is one of the most heavily rewarded, legally binding contracts. There are over 1400 benefits (both state and federal) afforded to married couples. When a state, nation, or community denies a GLBT couple the right to marry, the couple is being denied 1400 benefits. This isn’t just one or two. No, it’s nearly 2000 benefits. That is the disgusting reality and part of what makes these bans unconstitutional.

The 9th amendment also makes this unconstitutional. Basically, this amendment, which is in the Bill of Rights, acknowledges that there are rights not specifically in the constitution (such as the right to marry) and it guarantees protection to these rights, especially against any other amendments that are placed in said constitution. Essentially, by putting a constitutional amendment in the constitution, which bans GLBT individuals from marrying, the ninth amendment is being squelched. It’s not being upheld.

In conclusion, we have a long way to go until this country will be just and fair to GLBT individuals. I was proud to make history by helping to elect Barack Obama as my next president, but that excitement couldn’t help but be marred by the several steps taken back that limit the rights of GLBT individuals thanks to votes by people who don’t even understand what being GLBT is.

Technorati Tags: GLBT rights, gay rights, gay marriage, unconstitutional, steps back, constitutional amendment, protections, deny, courts

The group of people at the live blog event were amazing folks. I’m truly glad I had the chance to meet them. We celebrated Obama’s victory, listened to McCain speak, and heard Obama’s message of hope and change, together. I had never thought I could feel so speechless concerning a presidential victory, but the election of Obama was surreal. I was not initially for Obama (Clinton supporter here), but I came to respect him and feel like I’ve been a part of something big. I’ve been a part of a historic event that my children’s children can only imagine as they read about this momentous victory in the history books.

This is what I shared with this group, and afterward, I was posed with a question by Keith. It was more of a challenge, and I’m taking it head on.

Keith asked some of us who were at the live blogging event to, ‘write on why we should look at life as one, rather than life as fragments scattered across the universe.‘

That’s what Obama spoke of when he mentioned people of all colors, all abilities, differing sexual orientations and his speech truly was all inclusive. As a transgendered man in a wheelchair, I’ve never felt so included in a political speech. I’ve never felt like a politician was truly talking to me, truly reaching out to me to ask for my assistance in building a new and better world.

So, to Keith and everyone out there, I would like to say that unity is the key to true equality and freedom. Unity is the key to building a better world. In our lives, we have so many labels. They label us by gender and biological sex. They label us by color. They label us by who we fall in love with, our religion, our political affiliation, our economic status, our ethnicity, our age, our experience, and everything else you can think of. We all have to fit in “neat little classification boxes” that describe who we are and what our assumed purpose is in life.

Well I’m here to tell you, my boxes may describe me, but they don’t define me. You can say, I’m a man with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in a wheelchair, but that chair doesn’t make me who I am. I’m white, but my skin color doesn’t dictate how I act. I’m transgendered, but that doesn’t determine who I talk to or incorporate with on a daily basis. All of these things may make me different on the outside, but inside, my heart beats, my lungs breathe, my blood flows, just like all of you.

Now is the time to remove ourselves from our collective boxes. Now is the time to stand up and label ourselves in only one way…American. We are all Americans. We are all hoping for some change and we have to be the ones to look past those blurring lines, created by those boxes to build a better nation. Let us join hands together in this endeavor…black and white, poor and rich, Christian, Jewish, Polytheist, Muslim, Atheist or otherwise, gay or straight, man, woman, or transgendered, from any ethnic background and with any ability or lack thereof.

We have the opportunity to join our President Elect in making a better world. Everyone deserves equal treatment. Everyone deserves a fair shake. By oppressing groups, we’re distracting ourselves from upward progress as a nation. We need to look past it all to the real problems and the real issues.

I don’t know about you but I think we should focus on getting our troops out of the war in Iraq as opposed to worrying about a man loving and wishing to marry another man. We need to worry about sending our children to better schools as opposed to worrying about upholding income limits in order to keep Healthcare for those in wheelchairs. We need to worry about getting the economy in a stable, easier to live in state, as opposed to worrying about taking foster children away from GLBT parents who love them. We need to make sure children and those in need are insured medically, as opposed to caring if a man has taken the steps to become a woman legally.

Our priorities need to be in the right place. We need to be as one. Otherwise, we could lose our country and our very livelihood. People living in their own little universe only care about what happens to them and not to anyone else. Their beliefs trump the lives of others and they don’t care who they hurt or how. This has got to end. Otherwise, we will never restore the United States back to the prestige and glory it deserves as one of the best nations in the world.

Change is on the horizon and only we can see it through…together…as one.

Technorati Tags: unity, Barack Obama, together, change, belief, true issues, politics, president elect, election, Yes but No but Yes, challenge

I said to him, “Yes, CT. It ended about three hours ago.”

To which he replied, “I meant for me. Forever. Trick or treating is over for me forever.”

He was so forlorn, so I told him being older meant he might get to go to fun Halloween parties and when he’s older he still might dress up. This made him feel better.

I can’t believe I spent nearly two days completely offline. I feel out of it and sluggish towards getting back into the groove of things. CT watched horror movies for the first time. He always thought he’d be afraid (his mom is a huge horror buff), but he thought they were fun when he finally sat down and watched some of them with us.

We watched Pet Semetary, Pet Semetary II, Halloween 4, Halloween 5, Child’s Play, and then we watched some movies we had to review, Tinker Bell and Get Smart. Of course, it wasn’t Halloween without watching It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I’m pretty sure CT knows the whole movie by heart.

We happened to receive two boxes full of board games to review for our website, LI Kids. I’m not a huge fan of board games, but I muddled through a game of Monopoly World Edition and our own version of Trivial Pursuit. Then, on Saturday, Ash and I played against one another at Don’t Forget the Lyrics. She won, but not by much. The Rhythm and Blues and Country categories held me back!

CT and his Nana made black (chocolate) cupcakes with dark frosting and we decorated them. He iced his first cupcakes and Ash helped me ice some, too. I also decorated mine with minimal sprinkles (while CT doused his). He ate more than one of them, too. With his 14th birthday on Wednesday, he said he wants more of these cupcakes. We already bought him his birthday presents. They include a funky, high-tech transforming robot, some new pjs and some other cool stuff he’s going to really like.

I drew a funky face on our pumpkin. Ash had to draw the mouth, but I told her how to do it. We gave our pumpkin fangs. He’s a vampire pumpkin. Ash carved him all up, then CT (wearing gloves) touched his first batch of pumpkin goop! I actually convinced him to take off the rubber gloves long enough to touch it, which was surprisingly not as gross as he thought it’d be.

So, all in all, Halloween was a success. What did you do for Halloween and how did you and your family celebrate?

Technorati Tags: Happy Halloween, holiday, celebrate, pumpkin, jack-o-latern, board game, movies, horror, film, family

I’ve found that many parents who are doing secular homeschooling have limited resources, so I thought I’d share what we use to homeschool CT (Cool Teen - his online moniker). Here is a list of the classes he’s taking and the books he’s using this year.

For reference, CT turns 14 on November 5. He’s in 8th Grade.

History/Social Studies - American History
Book Used: The Americans - McDougal Littell
The Americans Workbook - Used Sporadically
The Presidential Elections Handbook
Online - The Americans Book Activities @ Classzone

Movies: The Adams Chronicles
Gods and Generals
Schoolhouse Rock: Election Edition
Gettysburg
Hilter: The Last Ten Days

Science - Life Science
Middle School Life Science - McDougal Littell
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, Workbook Grade 8
Standard Test Practice Workbook Grade 8
Online - Life Science Book Activities @ Classzone

Movies: Evolution: Darwin’s Dangerous Idea
Wolves (Blu-Ray)
Bears (Blu-Ray)
Planet Earth
The Blue Planet

Math - Algebra
Algebra I - McDougal Littell
Algebra I Workbook
Benchmark Tests for Algebra I
Algebra Manipulative Kit
Online - Algebra I Book Activities @ Classzone

English - Language Arts
Language Network Grade 8 - McDougal Littell
Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Workbook
Vocabulary & Spelling Workbook
Online - Language Activities @ Classzone

Health & Sex Education Add On Unit
Pearson/Prentice Hall Health
Pearson/Prentice Hall Health & Human Sexuality Unit - Extended Unit for Teens (Stresses Abstinence)
Teen Talk Video Series (Excellent!)
Online - Health Activities @ Pearson/Prentice Hall

Reading & Literature
Flowers for Algernon
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
Where the Red Fern Grows
Anne of Avonlea
The Call of the Wild & White Fang
Dicey’s Song
The Miracle Worker
Peter Pan
The Neverending Story
Jason and the Golden Fleece
My Brother Sam Is Dead
The Princess Bride

Reading Worksheets, Projects, & Tests - Hand Designed to accompany each book. He also watches the movie version of the book if it’s available (after reading, of course)!

CT has to do one major paper per quarter. His first paper was for Science. It discussed genetic diseases. He decided to do his paper on Spinal Muscular Atrophy (his choice!). He also has a paper in History (pick a Famous Civil War Figure), Health (Research a Particular Drug), and Language/Literature (Choose your favorite Literary Period you’ve studied - Compare/Contrast Literature from that Period).

So, that’s pretty much what we use. He also has a Graphing Calculator for Graphing Calculator activities in his Algebra book. There are several activities and investigations that he does for each subject. We buy craft products needed for these on an as-needed basis.

CT has four subjects a day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. We handle any appointments and group activities/field trips/etc. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which are his days off.

So, do you homeschool? What’s your homeschool schedule like?

Technorati Tags: Homeschool, Algebra I, Life Science, American History, Language Arts, Middle School, Curriculum, Reading, Literature, Health

This year, MDP United will be listing between 5-10 families on their website in the coming weeks. Volunteers can adopt a family to help provide the family with presents. Each child in the family will have a wish list, of what they want for the winter holiday they celebrate this year. With the cost of living so high for everyone, families with disabled children are truly struggling and assistance during the holiday season is especially important.

While the child with the disability is the only required adoptee, siblings will also have their wish lists posted. MDP United would love for multiple volunteers to adopt one family, so that each child in the family gets the wish they truly want this year. Additionally, parents will be given the option of listing 2-3 stores where they would like gift cards, to help purchase more presents or necessities for themselves and their children this holiday season.

If you would like to volunteer and adopt a family, please email Dominick. Also, you can check back regularly to find a list of our wish children, who you can adopt this year. As always, you can donate money to MDP United through Paypal and the organization can purchase the presents for you. A list of volunteers will be displayed on our main homepage, in thanks for their donations.

About MDP United:
Muscular Dystrophy Patients United (MDP United) was founded by Dominick Evans who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. As a former ambassador for another MD organization and a patient dealing with every day disability issues, Dominick understands exactly what individuals with Muscular Dystrophy go through on a daily basis. The other organizations, while they are able to help in their own way, do not provide all of the services those with Muscular Dystrophy need to live healthy, happy, and productive lives.

The main goal of MDP United is to provide support, services, education, and information about Muscular Dystrophy and all of the diseases that fall within its boundaries that are not available anywhere else. In the United States, resources are limited, and yet equipment, specialty medical services, and other necessary programs simply are not available. Through MDP fundraisers, awareness of these diseases can and will be established and money can be made for services.

Every day, people who need wheelchairs go without them. They go without much needed equipment like Hoyer lifts, van lifts, hospital beds, and wheelchair ramps. They may fall through a loophole and be denied the funding they need by government agencies. That is where MDP United one day hopes to step in. If a medical need has been established for the equipment, other funding sources have been exhausted, and the patient has one of the 40+ neuromuscular diseases covered under the umbrella term, Muscular Dystrophy, then he or she will qualify for MDP United services.

The goal of MDP United is to bring back the dignity, respect, and hope for those that are living their lives with a neuromuscular disease. It is our hope that we will soon have the funds to serve the entire United States so that the goal of MDP United and our wonderful resources can be spread throughout the nation.

For more information, please check out the MDP United Website.

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I plan to podcast on both politics and religion. I had considered podcasting on sports, but I feel that I’m more passionate about the topics of politics and religion in a broader sense. Besides…I might make a few people mad if all I do is podcast about how much I love the U of M Wolverines!

When it comes to politics, I plan to express my thoughts as an educated individual with a plethora of political science knowledge under my belt. I minored in Political Science my first go around at college, prior to having to drop out my senior year, due to a tibial fracture. I have the knowledge and debates led by Profs. December Green, Liam Anderson, and Laura Luehrmann to thank for all of my political knowledge.

Prof. Green taught me a lot about international politics, especially those in relation to human rights throughout Africa and the world. I highly recommend taking a class with her if you ever go to school in Dayton. Prof. Anderson also taught about International Politics and he taught me about the horrors of genocide and what role politics play in policing the world. Then there is Professor Luehrmann, who was an incredibly hard, but fair teacher. Her Modern Political Ideologies class taught me about socialism, Marxist thought, fascism and many other concepts I often discuss with others.

Through my political podcasts I’d like to explain the different ideological standpoints. There has been a lot of confusion about what socialism, fascism, and communism are, especially with the upcoming election knocking on our doors. I’d also like to share my thoughts on politics in the United States and the beliefs of our Forefathers when they were molding this great nation.

When it comes to religion, I don’t plan to preach. I merely plan to explain about my religious beliefs, so that people can understand what I believe and why. I am a Hellenic Reconstructionist. For the first time in my life, I’ve felt passionate about my religion. I want people to know about why I’m so passionate. My religion does not believe in converting others towards my way of thinking. It is more philosophical and works towards explaining more about how the world works.

I would like people to know that Hellenic Reconstructionism is a real, living religion and let my readers/listeners understand why people like me believe in it. I believe everyone is entitled to follow their own religious path and believe in their own religious beliefs. That’s what’s so wonderful about the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of Religion should truly and irrevocably be upheld.

So, I invite you to tune in soon and listen. I don’t care if I have a higher pitched voice. That’s just who I am. I hope you enjoy my podcasts and learning about all of the things I’m anxious to share.

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