“The world’s homeschooling moment,” six years on.

This is evolution in progress and the outcomes are generally excellent.  Not least it ends what has been make work baby sitting long past any student interest. none of which enhances actual learning.

independent learning by students needs to be encouraged and supported.  the resources have always been there.  Overcoming their challenges needs to be suppoorted.  Not least teacher familiarity needs to also happen.

A clueless teacher is no help at all.

“The world’s homeschooling moment,” six years on

https://fee.org/articles/schools-introduce-hybrid-options-as-homeschoolings-popularity-persists/

On the day the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, I wrote in this space about “the world’s homeschooling moment,” projecting a spike in the number of families who would choose homeschooling and other alternative education options in the wake of school closures. I predicted that while most children would return to their conventional classrooms post-pandemic, some families “may start to wonder if homeschooling or other schooling alternatives could be a longer-term option.” Six years later, it’s clear that many families wondered this.

Data reveal that homeschooling numbers remain well above pre-pandemic levels in many parts of the US, and homeschooling grew nationally at an average rate of 4.9% during the 2024/2025 academic year. “This is nearly three times the pre-pandemic homeschooling growth rate of around 2%,” reported Professor Angela Watson, director of the Johns Hopkins University Homeschool Research Lab, who analyzed the data. “Notably, 36% of reporting states recorded their highest homeschool enrollment numbers ever—exceeding even the peaks reached during the pandemic.”

One of the states with particularly robust homeschooling growth is North Dakota. According to the Johns Hopkins analysis, it joins just three other states—South Dakota, South Carolina and Louisiana—in seeing ongoing increases in homeschooling rates and avoiding the post-2020 dip that other states saw in the immediate aftermath of school reopenings.

Ashtyn Kasch is one of these new North Dakota homeschooling parents. She began homeschooling her daughter Quinn last August, after Quinn completed kindergarten at a local public school. While Quinn loved her teacher, Kasch felt that the large classroom and long school day were wearing on her daughter. “I also felt like her childhood was slipping away, and I never got to see her anymore. Additionally, we love to travel and see the world, and that just wasn’t compatible with the public school system and their strict attendance rules,” said Kasch.

As they began their homeschooling journey, Kasch reached out to The Innovation School, a private K-8 school in Bismarck where Quinn attended a pre-kindergarten program, to see if the school offered any hybrid homeschooling options. Kasch adored the school’s child-centered focus rooted in the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, and wanted to see if Quinn could attend the school part-time as a homeschooler. This arrangement would enable Kasch to continue working as a physician assistant and complement Quinn’s at-home core curriculum and additional homeschooling activities.

While The Innovation School occasionally offered one-off classes for homeschoolers, it didn’t have an established hybrid homeschool option until this academic year. Now, the school plans to expand the program going forward to accommodate the growing number of homeschooling families in the area. “Interest in innovative education is growing because families are recognizing that learning isn’t one-size-fits-all,” said Kelsy Achtenberg, director of The Innovation School. She sees growing demand from parents for different types of educational models and methods. “They’re seeking environments where learning isn’t standardized, their children are truly known, curiosity is valued and where learning feels meaningful and connected to real life,” said Achtenberg.

The school’s new hybrid offering is one way to meet this rising demand, with a variety of enrollment options now available to homeschoolers. Quinn attends The Innovation School two days a week at an annual tuition of $4,500, or half the cost of full-time enrollment. She is also able to participate in school field trips and enrichment activities, such as theatre and music. “I love the idea of her being able to homeschool, but also interact with her peers and classmates of different ages a few times a week,” said Kasch.

Hybrid homeschooling programs, along with other creative schooling options, are expanding across the US. These models often provide more curriculum freedom, scheduling flexibility and individualization than traditional schools—public and private. They are particularly appealing to families new to homeschooling and those who want to blend the personalization of homeschooling with the structure and community of conventional schooling. Nationally, an estimated 8% of homeschooled students are learning in a hybrid school environment.

The pandemic may have prompted many families to wonder about homeschooling, but its ongoing popularity points to parents’ sustained interest in alternatives to conventional schooling. Established private schools that introduce new hybrid homeschooling offerings, as well as emerging schooling models that embrace homeschooling’s flexibility, will likely find local families increasingly receptive to innovative ways of approaching teaching and learning.

 

Al Gore Shifts On Global Warming: Time To Watch Out For A New Ice Age?

Doea anyone listen to him at all.  He shilled for a bad idea that he obviously bought into fully.  Now we go again on the gulf stream.

for the record, climate change reflects recovery  from the little Ice Age which was lilely brought about by an unseen major volcanic event which is not even uncommon.  I have zero evidence that the gulf Strem ever did a nasty. It existed before the Pleistocene Nonconformity which upgraded its power. to end the Great Ice Age.

There is zero chance that that event was ever accidental.  A little ice age is always possible and nasty.  Yest we can survive that today.  Not so true in 1159BC when the European Bronze Age ended..

Al Gore Shifts On Global Warming: Time To Watch Out For A New Ice Age?

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2026 - 10:10 AM

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/al-gore-shifts-global-warming-time-watch-out-new-ice-age

The rhetoric and predictions behind climate change "science" change so haphazardly, it's a sure sign that the entire field of study is fraudulent. If the manufactured hysteria is not enough to clue people in, the failed predictions of Al Gore should do the trick.

Former Vice President Al Gore warned a Hollywood audience this week that a "Gulf Stream collapse" could occur within 25 years, leading to an abrupt and devastating new Ice Age.

Mr. Gore, now 78, appeared at the inaugural Sustainability in Entertainment Honors event, co-hosted by The Hollywood Reporter and the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance at Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. He participated in a keynote conversation with actor Bradley Whitford of “The West Wing,” timed to the 20th anniversary of “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Gore invoked the scenario depicted in the 2004 disaster film “The Day After Tomorrow”, saying a shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, commonly called the Gulf Stream, is “a very real threat within the next 25 years.”

“That movie that I mentioned, ‘The Day After’ about the Gulf Stream shutting down, well, this morning in one of the English newspapers is a whole big article summarizing the recent dire warnings of the scientists who found yet more confirmatory information..."

The claim is related to Gore's assertion that ice cap melt will disrupt global oceans volumes and salinity, leading to a a change in the gulf stream and the distribution of heat to higher latitudes. However, Gore's predictions (and the predictions of the scientists he cites) on ice melt have been widely debunked.

In a 2009 speech at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, Mr. Gore cited researchers who he said projected a 75% chance the Arctic could be nearly ice-free during some summer months within five to seven years — a forecast that did not materialize. The researcher he cited, Naval Postgraduate School professor Wieslaw Maslowski, said afterward that he did not know how the 75% figure had been arrived at.

In reality, the kind of ice melt Al Gore warns about is projected to take centuries or even thousands of years, causing millimeters per year of ocean rise which is barely noticeable and not catastrophic. It is interesting, though, that Gore has jumped on the idea of a new Ice Age, given the numerous doomsday prediction by climate scientists over the decades are now proving frivolous.

The truth is, the Earth has been far warmer (and rarely colder) than temperatures are today. Global warming science relies on a rigged data window: The temperature history that "experts" use only goes back to the 1880s. This is a tiny sliver of the Earths atmospheric history that is completely inadequate to understanding climate change, which is a natural process, not man-made.

There is also no concrete evidence supporting the claim of correlation or causation of carbon emissions to global warming. The data over millions of years simply does not match.

The climate change grift is a creation of the Club of Rome from the 1970s to the 1990s. It was a UN associated group of prominent elites which sought to fabricate a rationale for global governance. What they came up with was "global environmental disaster" as a way to motivate the populace to accept more centralized control of industry, trade and energy.

Al Gore is a long time member of the Club of Rome, according to the groups own documentation. He often cites the Club of Rome's 1972 report "Limits Of Growth" as a basis for his ideological beliefs.

"6–12 Months For Construction Permits" - The Nuclear Regulation Overhaul

We are fnally ending regulatory road blocks after almost seventy years to bassically catch up with the rest of the world.

nuclear power provides a steady state heat engine that then drive steam power generation.  There are clear fuel handling risks that have caused real problems.  these need to be obviated as well as possible.  Yet we now have experience even there and wreaked reactors to prove it.

The safest tech approach is still the Candu.  The moderator is heavy water whose shut down is easy by simple drainage.  Better yet will be Thorium reactors which can be used to consume spent uranium byproducts  as well.

Better tech is emerging, but it is natuarally slow.

"6–12 Months For Construction Permits" - The Nuclear Regulation Overhaul

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2026 - 09:30 AM

As we have been detailing for months, the Trump administration is pushing the deployment of nuclear energy in ways never before seen in modern times. Among the dozens of major regulatory changes, award programs, and high-speed development initiatives, the administration seems to be clearing a new roadblock every week, yet in reality it is greatly lagging global rollout of NPPs, and especially China which is currently building at least 39 nuclear reactors.

Forbes recently detailed one of the most significant regulatory changes to date with the publishing of a new reactor licensing path, referred to as Part 57, by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Microreactor developer Nano Nuclear released a statement highlighting the benefits of the new licensing option and how their reactor designs stand to benefit...

Until now, reactor developers have had to choose between two licensing paths, either Part 50 or Part 52.

Part 50 is the legacy path tailored to large, water-cooled reactors like the Westinghouse AP1000 models that were built at the Vogtle site in Georgia.

Part 52 was later introduced to streamline the steps of Part 50 to avoid regulatory delays, especially lawfare from NIMBY activists. Part 52, though, is still tailored to large, water-cooled reactors.

Just this year, Part 53 was finally published. Part 53 allows advanced reactor developers to skip over the requirements of Parts 50 and 52 that are not required or not applicable, and streamline the path to operations even further.

This brings us to the latest regulation released in draft form just last week, Part 57.

Part 57 is explicitly tailored towards microreactors and is formatted to allow for approval of fleets of these smaller modules as opposed to individual licensing of one reactor at a time.

The new licensing path also includes authorizations for unique modes of operation, simplified environmental reviews, and the possibility of early construction to further speed up reactor deployment.

One of the most notable takeaways from the newest licensing path from the NRC is the regulator's estimation of savings coming in at almost $4 billion dollars on the low end from reduction in exemption requests and streamlining reviews. The regulator also claims permits could be issued on timelines as short as 6-12 months, compared to previous timelines which stretched to several years.

Forbes also touched on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility. We have covered developments at the INL DOME multiple times, with the anticipation that Radiant Nuclear will be taking their Kaleidos pilot design critical by July 4th of this year.

Iran Announces Fuel Rationing As Brent Sets New War Highs, After Trump Rejects Tehran's Latest Offer

I am beginning to think that the whole operational plan is to block all possible movement of iranian oil and gas.  That can be done without boots on the ground.  shut in production cannot feed the government of Iran.

In that case we have a waiting game until the Iranian government capitulates, if ever,

In the meantime the srait can be actively cleared and shipping renewed for other suppiiers.  It will still be a war zone but a defensive one.

Can a popular uprising remove the current regime?  They are still crazy.

Iran Announces Fuel Rationing As Brent Sets New War Highs, After Trump Rejects Tehran's Latest Offer

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/brent-nears-iran-war-highs-after-trump-orders-extended-blockade-threatens-no-more-mr

Brent crude reaches $120/barrel - new Iran war high, and highest since June 2022. Simultanously, Iran's currency has collapsed to a record low, plunging to 1.8 million rial per dollar - also amid mass layoffs in various Iranian sectors.

CENTCOM reportedly preparing for "short wave of strikes" on Iran in order to potentially break the Hormuz impasse & force Tehran back to the negotiating table. Trump rejects Iran proposal as it won't give up nuclear program.

Trump recently met this week with oil and gas executives at the White House to address energy fallout, and as oil pushes higher: Axios.

Trump warns Iran to "get their act together" and to "get smart" - and for the second time writes "no more Mr. Nice Guy".

Fresh White House statement indicates communication still open with Tehran, but still says "Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon."Will the U.S. invade Iran before 2027?

* * *

Iran Currency Plunges To Record Low

Iran's currency has collapsed to a record low, plunging to 1.8 million rial per dollar amid the prolonged US-Israel war and uneasy ceasefire, also as surging global energy prices hit the economy.

The rial began sliding sharply two days ago after weeks of artificial stability. In the early phase of the war that kicked off on February 28, the currency held steady due to a near-total halt in imports and limited market activity.

The renewed freefall reflects runaway inflation driven by sanctions but also economic mismanagement, intensifying pressure on households also amid mass layoffs especially in Iranian industries like textiles. In some cases whole major steel factories have been obliterated, for example. Currently, the US is maintaining three aircraft carriers in the region and is sending additional troops and equipment, while Israel signals readiness to resume fighting. The Israelis have a stated goal of government overthrow or else total societal collapse. WSJ meanwhile writes:

To contain the economic fallout, the Iranian government has raised wages, subsidized basic goods and handed out cash to the poor. But authorities are confronting a level of hardship not seen in decades, according to residents.

“It is an authoritarian regime, and it can claim that resisting economic pressure is a question of national pride,” said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow and Iran expert at the Middle East Institute. At the same time, “as the money dries up because of the blockade, we may find that more and more folks have no choice but to mobilize politically,” he said.

Such suffering is being intentionally engineered by Washington, as Bessent and others have previously boasted.

Brent War Highs, Iran Announces Fuel Rationing

Brent crude oil prices have briefly reached their highest level of the Iran War, at $119.50/barrel $120, which is also the highest since 2022. Iran is meanwhile starting to ration fuel, according to state sources, with the country's oil minister newly announcing the following:

IRAN OIL MINISTER: JUSTIFIES RATIONING FUEL CONSUMPTION BY "WAR CONDITIONS"

IRAN OIL MINISTER: NO INTERNAL CONCERNS REGARDING THE SECURING AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUEL

Brent crude oil futures rose above $110 soon after Trump's earlier morning threat and warning to Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures also trading well above $100 a barrel.

Trump Rejects Iran Offer, Prepares 'Short Wave' Strikes

When in doubt, escalate higher? US Central Command is reportedly preparing for a "short wave of strikes" on Iran in order to potentially break the Hormuz impasse and force Tehran back to the negotiating table, where the US wants it to hand over its enriched uranium and finally abandon its nuclear program. We're in the "just one more thing will do it" in the escalation ladder, which was all easily predictable.

"Trump told Axios the U.S. will maintain a naval blockade on Iran until a nuclear deal is reached, rejecting Tehran’s plan to ease restrictions before talks," per Barak Ravid. "He said the blockade is more effective than bombing and will continue as key leverage, insisting Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon."

So there are more plans at least 'on the table' for possible 'limited strikes' as diplomacy has clearly been faltering; however, Iran is saying it is prepared to fight back hard in the scenario that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continues. Meanwhile this is doing nothing to help soaring oil prices, and prices at the pump for Americans and people globally. Congress is getting nervous, and they should be after rejecting several War Powers initiatives. Brent inches toward hitting Iran war highs:

And more: Trump told Axios he saw the blockade as "somewhat more effective than the bombing," and the sources said he had yet to order any kinetic action as of Tuesday night.

Unnamed GOP Senator tells Semafor as Iran War set to hit 60-days on Friday: "People cross some sort of threshold and start to be very uncomfortable with it. I am sensing restlessness among many of my colleagues."

Trump Huddles with Oil Execs: Axios

President Trump recently met this week with oil and gas executives at the White House to address the energy fallout from the Iran war, per fresh Axios reporting, as supply disruptions push prices higher and create both opportunity and risk for the industry. Among those attending were Mike Wirth of Chevron, along with senior officials including Susie Wiles, Scott Bessent, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner.

A White House official said, "The president meets with energy executives frequently to get their feedback on domestic and international energy markets," with discussions covering domestic production, Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas, and shipping. It should be noted that while Trump "huddles" with oil CEOs, Republicans in Congress are still too scared to so much as pass a simple War Powers Resolution, or to have real robust debate over the merits of the Iran War.

The Middle East supply shock is obviously driving up global crude and US gasoline prices, which sets up for huge implications for Republicans come next fall's midterms. Oil prices have extended their multi-day rally, surpassing $116 a barrel:

Brent crude futures for June rose $4.24, or 3.81%, to $115.50 a barrel by 1255 GMT, climbing for an eighth day to the highest level since March 31. The June contract expires on Thursday and the more active July contract was up 3.86% at $108.43.

Oil Pushing Toward Iran War Highs

Earlier in the morning, Brent crude oil has neared $115 per barrel, driven by the ongoing Hormuz Strait blockade and standoff, and war fears - in a seventh straight session of gains.

This latest move higher follows Tuesday night's WSJ report that the US plans to extend its blockade of Iranian ports, intensifying fears of prolonged disruption through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

As a reminder, the president has told aides and his staff that he's prepared to implement an extended blockade:

President Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, U.S. officials said, targeting the regime’s coffers in a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation Tehran has long refused.

In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said.

4am Truth Social

This isn't exactly a 'new' threat, as it's something he said on April 19 as well, but President Trump in a 4am Truth Social post warned Iran to "get smart soon" as the White House reviews military options for the Strait of Hormuz.

"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!" Trump wrote early Wednesday, alongside an image showing him with a weapon and the message "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!"

Members of Trump's national security team presented multiple options during a Situation Room meeting this week, including whether to increase or reduce the US military presence in the strait and whether to adopt a more aggressive operational posture, NBC News reported, citing an unnamed US official and a person familiar with the discussions. According to the WSJ Tuesday evening, the president has told aides and his staff that he's prepared to implement an extended blockade.

WH still Communicating With Tehran

And yet, the White House says negotiators are still in communication with the Iranians, who are "struggling to sort out their leadership situation" amid the war. Trump on Tuesday claimed Tehran officials told him the country is in a "State of Collapse" - though obviously it's highly dubious they would communicate that to him.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told media that Trump would only enter into an agreement with Iran that "puts US national security first" and that "He has been clear that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon." However, the Iranians themselves have made it clear they would never just transfer their enriched uranium out of the country. Their latest proposal has centered on lifting the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz first, and then leaving the nuclear issues for future negotiation after the war is resolved.