Léo’s Blog 2013-2014 Academic Year – Page 4

Preying on Fear

Part of the series Mostly Honest… Isn’t True
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-03-24.

Some of our parents have expressed a desire to better be able to identify the tricks being used to convince them to believe things that may not actually be true. This series will provide applicable examples of such.

We often refrain from being honest because we do not wish to offend those who need to hear the truth. Opinions expressed in this blog are intended to offend those who would advance anything, other than the truth, in order to benefit themselves.

Bible Reference: 1 John 4:18

Continuing with our exposure of questionable practices and offerings, let us focus on what is the biggest motivator for parents while, at the same time, the most effective tool of abusers, fear. We all fear what we don’t understand, especially when we engage in a new venture and most certainly when it comes to our children’s future. Anybody knowing how manipulation works will know the power of preying on fears. A lot of advertisers and marketers use fear as their primary instrument.

As previously mentioned, most parents are trying to train their children at home after having been trained at school. It should be obvious that most parents will want to do the best job possible in training their children but have mostly secular experiences from which to draw. Good marketing demands the perpetuation of fears, so rather than take the chance at losing a potential customer, providers offer parents what they want rather than what they need. Beware of manipulators!

The biggest fear parents have regarding their children’s training is that they may be disqualified from some post-secondary options. This can be a real money maker! Besides the questionable tactics used by one provider as outlined in the last blog, preying on this fear not only assures registration, but the potential of the elevation of grants received. Rather than tell people the truth about the overwhelming success of post-secondary bound home educated students, they actually handicap them by trying to deliver a program intended for school at home which comes with the unfortunate consequence of reducing marks and subsequently the chances of being accepted in college. Furthermore, a lot of this blended programming fails to meet with clearly mandated procedures, making parents complicit in the potential fraudulent billing of programming not delivered as prescribed. This is so lucrative that a “Christian” online provider from out of province has set up shop in Alberta to take advantage of the ill-informed and fearful, not to mention, the funding. Beware of blended programs as they ultimately benefit the providers more than the students.

If parents have only been exposed to government programming, it is normal for them to think that only the government can possibly know what your child needs to know at any given age. This belief works well for providers who take advantage of this fear by offering school-like replacement programming to alleviate the fears while offering no solutions. Programs designed to fix broken children are secular. Christianized secular programs remain secular even if they appease the fears of parents. God created each child individually so we should be wary of whatever or whoever makes any statement about where any child should be at any time. Beware of those who would assimilate your child to conformity rather than celebrate the diversity God has created.

Preying on Ignorance

Part of the series Mostly Honest… Isn’t True
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-03-31.

Bible Reference: Romans 12:2

Truth always comes with a cost. The prophets of old certainly understood this as they were being killed for delivering the truth to unreceptive ears! Today, those who dare to tell the truth are not generally killed physically, but can indeed be “dispatched” in other, less obvious ways. Truth does not sell well. It is far more effective to avoid telling the truth or to tell a “variant” of the truth, if other, nefarious objectives are in place. Most providers know this, so they continue school-like programs, processes and procedures which have the effect of making people feel comfortable with doing the same thing as school. As stated before, to take something that is wrong and to try to do it better is not to make it right, but rather a better wrong, if there is such a thing.

One of the techniques used to keep us from knowing the truth, is to provide ample scientific evidence to support home education practices and accomplishments. This, in and of itself, is not evil, however to demonstrate a greater faith in science than the bible is a common error in our “enlightened” world. I have a favorite example of how good marketing and the use of scientism can mislead even the best of people. The magazine had a young girl with a big tear in her eye. The caption indicated that she was crying because she could not read and she could not read because she was dyslexic. The article went on to indicate that this was a problem that could be fixed and they had the science and the professionals to do this. Really? As a dyslexic myself, I saw this article as a blatant insult. Who really put that tear on that girl’s eye, her or the people that indicated that she was less than a perfect example of humanity? The article did not reference the Bible at all, nor was God mentioned. This girl was simply a result of evolutionary dysfunction that could only be fixed by professionals through science, not to mention the associated fee! There you have it, a fee. Worth more than truth. No dyslexic was consulted for the article, just fallacious information to take advantage of those ignorant of the fact, and that, by an organization that claims a “Christian” foundation. God does not make mistakes and he does not make junk. That poor girl simply needed someone to assure her she was special in God’s eyes and did not need fixing. As a matter of fact, she is probably more intelligent than the authors of that article and the professional willing to cash in the parents, combined! The world needs more dyslexics so they can expose the antics of fraudulent “believers”.

Unfortunately, many organizations claiming a biblical perspective actually present a secular worldview. The normalization of error is common in the Western Church as many of these institutions seem to represent government more than God. These can and do take advantage of the misinformed to advance their own cause and, unfortunately, many actually believe they are correct and doing you a favor. The only antidote to this situation is to not be ignorant, to not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine, but to be wise in our understanding of the truth as seen through the Bible. Man’s wisdom is complicated and riddled with seemingly simple solutions. God’s wisdom is simple enough that a child and common sense can separate it from man’s wisdom, which is not wisdom at all.

Preying On Greed

Part of the series Mostly Honest… Isn’t True
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-04-07.

Bible Reference: 1 Tim 6:10

Hard to believe how many “traditional” home education providers either come from schools that offer public programming or that have come to know the direct or indirect personal benefits of government curriculum and accreditation. The old adage of “if you can’t beat them, join them” has certainly found its way to the home education community, such that, I believe, the majority of children being taught at home are now doing a variation of what is being taught at school. The reason? Money! Let’s call those influenced by money, “mercenaries”.

Mercenary parents shop around to find the board that will give them the most money. No consideration given to what the registering board will provide towards the home education program. Mercenaries end up “selling” their children to the highest bidder. Ethics need not be considered.

Mercenary parents are easily purchased with their own money. These folks will leave one board and go to another because the other will buy questionable “home education supplies” such as table saws, materials for the kitchen renovation project or noodle makers. They search for the provider that will give them the best “prize” for signing on.

Mercenary parents will do public programming, if it means more money. No consideration given to the fact that this programming is not only secular, but unbiblical, if not anti-Christian. No big deal to someone who values money more than anything, even children.

But, it is not only parents who can be mercenary. Home education providers and associations can also be motivated by the love of money.

Mercenary organization will say, do or promise whatever it takes to get people to sign with them. No lie is too big. No offering too outrageous. No promise too ridiculous. Just sign here, please!

Mercenary organization do not have an issue with reimbursing parents for questionable home education expenses. They know the government is not likely to find them out and God doesn’t matter. They are convinced they will be forgiven for their avarice when the time comes. After all, didn’t Jesus die for their sins? Just sign here!

Mercenary organizations will do whatever is required to stay alive and be in control. They will go where they have to to be the boss, even if it means compromising on nearly every thing they purported to be true, not that long ago. If we need to offer blended programs to survive, let’s offer blended programs. Parents want credits? Lets not confuse them with the facts. Give them their credits, even if it means not actually doing what is required. Ethics? What’s that? Just sign here!

Mercenary organizations will be whatever they have to be to get the client. If the parents want a Christian board, then they are a Christian board. Parents want a secular board, they can do that too. Hate government intrusion? So do they! Don’t like post-secondary institutions? Neither do they. Biblical? Of course! Simply “spiritual” and not religious? Why not? They can be all things to all men. Just sign here, please!

Mercenary organizations keep parents perpetually dependent on them by offering worldly wisdom. Advanced as a fan club, these organizations provide all sorts of things that pass as help, but do little to equip parents to take responsibility for the training of their children. Perpetual dependency means perpetual adherence to the group. Continue to sign here, please.

Ouch!

True Colors

Part of the series Mostly Honest… Isn’t True
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-04-14.

Truth is the first casualty of compromise? What part of James 4:4 do we not understand?

Bible Reference: 2 Peter 2:18-22

When Faye & I attended our first home education convention in 1988, there may not have been more than fifty people in attendance, but no one would have even considered following the public school curriculum, as it was the very thing we had determined to escape. We all knew that a government intent on removing every vestige of Christian faith from all of its programs, would not direct our children to God or His Word. As a veteran high school biology teacher, my Christian sensitivities were constantly assaulted by the overt attempt to make all things related to the real God of creation, superfluous superstitions, denounced by scientific facts and data. I had pulled my children from that influence, so it made absolutely no sense to bring that garbage home and to continue the secular assault on them. Not everybody agreed with my determination to reclaim the responsibility for the training of my children, but I had their respect. Then it happened! As the realization that the new Alberta School Act’s directives for home education began to be understood, resourceful school boards discovered that expanding boundaries could also yield increasing income. Boards starting enticing people to register their children with them with promises of varying amounts of cash. Money had entered in as a consideration in determining which board to register with, ushering in the age of buying and selling children under the guise of education. Home education started a long and painful descent back to the vomit from which it had escaped not that long before. Today, to the best of my knowledge, there remains only one home education provider that does not and will not encourage or provide state programming and accreditation and it is associated with one of only four accredited-funded private school that does not, in like fashion, provide government programming. What’s worse, is that many private Christian schools and home education providers advance the use of Godless, secular, state programming as reason to send children to their institution. How does that feel?

While taking a walk one day, Faye & I noticed a rather odd thing. The Schubert Cherry starts out with green leaves, like every other tree, but eventually, it’s leaves turns purple, making it a much desired ornamental tree. What made this particular tree outstanding was that both of us saw the one branch that had not turned purple, as odd. Considering that green would normally be the expected color of a tree, why would we perceive the only branch that had remained true to its original color as the weird one? Then it hit us. The only uncompromising green branch in a world of compromising purple branches would indeed be peculiar, much like the believer who resists compromising with the world. Like that one branch, we can risk ridicule by uncompromisingly standing up for what is true and eternal, or we can simply join the majority in unquestioningly compromising towards temporal gain.

Today, our provincial organization is far too preoccupied to notice that the majority of home education providers have slowly, but determinedly, turned purple by compromising with the world. Motivated primarily by the increased funding associated with increased amounts of state programming or the desire to keep or extend personal kingdoms, nearly every home education provider, including private Christian schools have adopted and normalized state programming as not only acceptable, but even as desirable, while they prey with impunity within the walls of what should be a safe haven. The principled determination of the province’s home educating pioneers to avoid the use of the increasingly secular state programming was easier before the advent of provincial funding, when all the the leaves stayed green. Today, those who have resisted the temptation to compromise and turn purple, find themselves in the minority, one that may indeed be the first to be pruned off by the secular provincial gardener who has normalized and christianized a program specifically designed to turn people away from God. This a not an academic issue, but a spiritual issue, a heart issue that is not destined to serve the Christian home education community well.

Yesterday’s Decisions Lived Today

Part of the series Friendship With The World
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-04-21.

Once engaged, compromise has a sinister way in taking us further and further from the truth, until it is no longer recognized as true.

Bible Reference: 2 Cor. 2:17

Isn’t it amazing how seeming innocent decisions can bring about such lasting negative changes? I have two examples of how commitments from years ago eventually led to disappointment. Proverbs 29:18 states that “where there is no vision, the people perish”. Failing to consider the future when making decisions is bound to create problems. Seeing the future through man’s limited vision rather than God’s eyes will lead to bad decisions, guaranteeing failure. In both instances, the decisions appeared to gain initial positive results, even though the path taken could be considered a compromise, from a Christian perspective. In both cases, money rather than wisdom was at the forefront and in both cases, it eventually led to disaster or impending disaster in the Christian community. Both involve money and education.

Many years ago, I stood against accepting government funding for home education. I clearly saw how short term gain would eventually lead to long term pain, but I was vilified by those of short term vision who thought that a little bit of money would only help home educators. Nobody seemed to understand that money meant the introduction of competition between potential providers and that this competition would eventually divide the home education community along sectarian lines in keeping with whom the parents would be associated. Nobody foresaw the sinister introduction of blended programming and the confusion that would introduce in the home educating community. Most certainly, nobody understood that eventually, increased levels of funding would be associated with increased levels of state programming that would result in the normalization of programming initially shunned as antagonistic to biblical directives. Between the lust for more money and/or more power as well as the perpetuation of ignorance on behalf of both providers and parents, this simple little decision to get a little help has resulted in nearly every home education provider unashamedly offering some version of state programming as “choice” in direct opposition to biblical directives.

Today, there is little difference between those who claim a Christian faith and those who would advance a more secular approach in home education. I believe it is safe to say that those in the secular crowd are not the ones who moved into the Christian camp. The Christians have compromised their faith. The future of traditional, Christian home education in this province looks bleak, not because of government threats, or impending regulations, but because of the home educating community’s willingness to be friends with the world, even when we have been warned that doing so would put us at enmity with God (James 4:4). I do not so much blame the parents as I do the providers claiming a Christian faith while violating biblical principles in the pursuit of money, power or private kingdom building. Unlike what one provider told me last week at the home education conference, I do not believe this is an issue that is up for interpretation. Compromising biblical directives has never been an option, if following God’s will is our desire. Doing so, if not immediately, will ultimately result in negative consequences. The present state of the provincial home education association has demonstrated what a compromise here and compromise there will do. Initially created to escape state programming, it eventually started defending that little bit of money. Today, every “choice” is presented as legitimate or simply ignored without considering how this will erode the very things it should be defending. Without vision, who is taking care of the sheep?

Next week, my second sad example of money and education.

Trusting The Devil To Tell The Truth!

Part of the series Friendship With The World
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-04-28.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is the way of death.

Bible Reference: Prov. 14:12

Last week I provided an example in keeping with Proverbs 29:18 where it states that “when there is no vision, the people perish”. Initial good causes devolved into greater and greater compromises resulting in an undesirable end, that would have prevented the decision from being made, had there been some initial vision. The second example I want to give involves the slow but deliberate dissolving of private schools. Although this story involves my recollection of what took place with a few private Christian schools, it is probably safe to imagine that this has occurred across the entire spectrum of private schools.

Following the secular revolution of the seventies, private Christian schools began to appear across the province. Some grew to be quite large, even having multiple campuses. In the early eighties, an incident that occurred in a public school led to the formation of a Committee On Tolerance and Understanding which resulted in private schools being accused of being intolerant and not understanding of secular values, since the values being taught were, supposedly, biblical. At this juncture in time, Christian schools should have opted out of public funding in exchange for greater autonomy in decision making, but as they had become accustomed to having financial help from the state, most determined to exchange the Christian curriculum they were using for the secular state programming. The beginning of the end had started. Once the state programming was being used, a question was asked as to why private schools were accepting significantly less money than their public counterparts if they were using the same programming. I believe private schools in Edmonton were the first to form alliances as alternative schools within the public system. This provided the same funding as the public schools which had promised to respect the faith and autonomy of the private schools. Perhaps a good move that saved private schools, but at what cost?

Today, private schools are being vilified as anti Human Rights and Charter of Rights, as they still have references to certain behavior as sinful. Faced with a choice between maintaining their Christian integrity or continuing with the funding associated with any other state educational institution, private “Christian” schools are easily choosing to forsake the way of the Lord in favor of the way of funding. Very few Christian schools remain true to their faith in this province today. Most are using, even advancing secular state programming as virtuous while at the same time purporting to be preparing students in a “Christ-Centered” environment for the “Kingdom of God”. Somebody must have forgotten to read the part of the Bible that states that friendship with the world is enmity with God!

Two thoughts come to my mind, here. Firstly, one has to question the intelligence of those who would make a pact with the devil and then be surprised that he did not tell the truth! Secondly, as most parents have no idea how antithetical the secular programming is to biblical values, one would have to question who is taking care of the sheep, when the wolves are on full time staff?

The Problem is…

Part of the series Friendship With The World
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-05-05.

God’s will, God’s way should be the desire of professing believers, but sometimes money, power or ignorance, leads us to make questionable decisions.

Bible Reference: Psalm 127:1

Over the last two weeks, I gave two examples of how a little compromise here and a little bad decision there accumulates over time, resulting in our arriving to where we would not have desired or predicted in the first place. Both examples involve how funding directed education. It should not come as a surprise, that he who pays the piper, calls the tune! None of us would pay to have something we disagree with advanced on our dime. Similarly, the state that pays the schools to deliver educational programming is fully within it’s right to demand the delivery of that programming, on its terms. The issue, therefore, is not whether the state can or cannot make demands of those it pays, as much as what will the citizens do with the options provided? Yes, there are options available. Do we acknowledge the claims, made by the state, that the authority for the training of children belongs to them, or will we acknowledge that God has perpetually given that authority to parents, fathers in particular? If we choose to follow God’s directives it follows that the state’s Godless, secular humanistic, anti-Christian programming, that is largely antithetical to biblical authority, has no place in the education of Christians’ children. And, if the state programming has no place, then the secular philosophies, assumptions, methodology, pedagogy, applications, standards and evaluations should also have no place in their education. Either we advance what is acceptable by God’s standard or we don’t. Either we employ things that are for God or they are working against Him. This is what we should know, but most of us don’t.

Public state programming works completely opposite to biblical directives in most, if not, all things. There are many who would advance the program as neutral, harmless or fixable, but can it serve both God and man? A rudimentary understanding of scripture should direct us otherwise so why do private Christian schools and home education providers advance it? Three possibilities: money, power and ignorance or any combination thereof.

We need not talk about the money as we have dealt with that many times in the past. Leaders focussed on money are simply mercenaries that don’t care about how the outcome of their decisions will affect others.

Leaders willing to sacrifice the welfare of their people to maintain their position in leadership are corrupted by a need to be in control. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it. If a leader is only interested in maintaining leadership at any cost, anything can or will be advanced as acceptable, even so far as to normalize or “Christianize” secular philosophies.

What about ignorance? It is shameful that people in leadership positions should be ignorant, but it happens. Three groups of people come to mind when discussing ignorance. Traditional home educators, in varying degrees of understanding, are generally not ignorant of the dangers of public programming and avoid it. Others are truly ignorant and see nothing wrong with the use of public programming. Then, there are those who choose to be ignorant, knowing that the state programming is not acceptable by biblical standards, yet choose to advance it anyway. Purposefully leading those who are unaware of the dangers of state programming to follow them in their folly demonstrates a lack of understanding, a short term vision or even, perhaps, a diabolical agenda.

Unwitting Advancement of Secularism

Part of the series Friendship With The World
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-05-12.

The bottom line in the believer’s credo should be, “is this God’s will?”. No need to add “for me” as He is the same God for you as for me. This simplifies our faith as there are only two options, for Him or against Him.

Bible Reference: James 3:14-16

“Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law”, the officer told me, after pulling me over for pulling a u-turn at a lighted intersection, over thirty years ago. He made a real impression on me. If he, the representative of the government, could scare me out of my wits, what excuse could I present to the Creator of the universe when that time came? Sorry God, I didn’t know lying was bad? I’m afraid I was not aware of exchanging your truth for a lie? How about, gee whiz, I trusted my councilors to give me good advice since I did not have time to read the Bible for myself? Not likely!

If there was one pivotal experience that caused me to grow up in a hurry and to reevaluate all that I had come to believe to be true, it was when I held my newborn baby daughter in my arms for the first time. Where would I lead her? What would I tell her? How would I direct her? I clearly understood this much. She was no other’s responsibility but my own and I alone would stand before God someday and answer for the job I had done in raising her. Although I had a rudimentary faith in God, I did not understand who I was in His eyes, nor did I comprehend the depth of His love for me as demonstrated through His Son, Jesus Christ. But I did believe there would be no “yeah buts” or negotiation when the inevitable time came. I began to diligently search for the truth that I would use to raise my children and I found it as I read the bible over and over again. I came to clearly understand that truth was truth, that if it wasn’t true, it was a lie and that there was no room for compromise. I also eventually came to believe that most of what I thought was true, was in fact not true at all. Truth was not what I invented. It was not something that was democratically determined or agreed upon through consensus. It was because God said so. End of discussion!

If it is not true then it is not true. Secular humanism makes man to be his own god, but he isn’t, no matter what he thinks. His religion is to make every other religion, wrong. Christianity should boldly state the truth. Let the chips fall where they may. Giving birth to children has never been duplicated by any other means, than that ordained by God. We gave them life and we need to raise them in keeping with where this life comes from. Man’s explanations are ludicrous at best. They try to make God as god and god as God. There is but one God and there are simply no other gods, at all.

To advance man as god is secular humanism. It is the enemy of truth and should have absolutely no part of anything claiming the be advancing the Christian faith. How we have come to a point of normalizing this false faith within the Christian home education community is no mystery. A greater faith in man than God, mixed with the wonderful opportunity to make money and a belief that God will forgive us our indiscretions, has made parts of this community a painful example of unbridled compromise. It is time true believers take back the reigns from the mercenary organizations and do our part to help the fearful, ignorant, greedy, along with the compromisers, to enable them to see that God is an exacting yet merciful God who simply wants to bless us within His Eternal Kingdom. This Kingdom existed before us and will continue to exist long after we have left this world. This is what we are to teach our children.

We Don’t Need Credits

Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-05-19.

Greater faith in man than in God will lead us in lots of directions, but probably not the best one.

Bible Reference: Galatians 3:3

It is simply amazing how parents can throw away everything they have done to properly prepare their children for their future, as soon as post-secondary options are considered. Students go to an institution and, without making any reference to having been home educated, ask what is required to gain admission. They are shocked when they are told that they need government accreditation! What did they expect? When 95% of the students making application to the post-secondary institutions are coming from public schools (including separate, alternative, charter, online, private, home school providers, etc.), where they get government accredited programming, it should not surprise us if the expectation is government accreditation! Home education is not about having someone else take responsibility for the education of the children, but an opportunity to to take control of that education. Students and parents would do well to at least inform the admissions people of the fact that they have been home educated and then to help them understand that they do have an excellent foundation from which to advance to the post-secondary level. Instead, students leave disappointed and discouraged, often blaming their parents for having directed them to failure! Parents are tempted or simply forsake home education and go where credits are offered. There are no shortage of places willing to help the parents get those credits as this process does result in extra cash to the provider. Besides, can we not be as foolish as the Galatians who, having begun by the Spirit, were seeking perfection by the flesh!

God does not need accreditation and neither do his children. Secular thinking, that assumes all children are the same evolutionary product, will program children and accredit them. Institutions have long taken accreditation for granted as they normalize the process. Faith in God means working hard while trusting Him to direct us in our lives. If He wants us in college, we will get there. But, if we put our faith in man, don’t be surprised if at the end of the day, you find that you have made a mistake. No problem! God will still be there and still be directing you, after you discover that you decided to go backwards in order to advance.

Graduation?

Written by Léo & Faye Gaumont, published on 2014-05-26.

Graduation from what? Have we stopped learning? Time to rethink what we are celebrating.

Bible Reference: 1 Cor. 9:24

How quickly and easily do we accept things as normal. All that has to happen is for something to have occurred once and it can quickly become an unquestioned habit. Take graduation as an example. School graduation is a celebration, when a piece of paper of questionable value is given to students as a reward for having completed or endured the prescribed 12 years of programming. I attended over twenty such celebrations but I never really saw a celebration of accomplishments as much as an implication that the learning program was now over. Usually, the graduation took on more of a celebration of having been paroled! I cannot say with confidence that teachers and parents, who must have been questioning what, exactly, their children had learned in school, really liked these events, but girls generally liked it because they could get dressed up in nice gowns and be the center of attention for a day and guys generally liked it because the girls were attractive. I believe most of them were looking forward to the follow up graduation party at which time they could demonstrate the level of maturity they had reached after twelve years of preparation for the “real” world!

So why do home educators think they need to have a graduation? Did something come to an end? Certainly not learning, I hope. Since we are doing our own thing, why do we need to have the same conclusion as the world we left? Maybe it is something like Halloween. Instead of exposing it for what it is, we create a “Christian” version, which is then normalized because we celebrated with candy and gifts in the church rather than by going door to door. We do not have to do the same thing as the world! If we are doing something different, like home educating, lets do something different to mark the transition from learning at home to learning away from home. If it is necessary, why not simply have a family celebration when the child turns sixteen, at which time most home educated students have completed curricular work, are old enough to drive and go to work. Home educated students are better educated, more mature and adept at getting along in a real world, so if we are to celebrate, why not celebrate a coming of age? Something that includes the fact that God is part of every child’s future, even if they don’t know it. Something that celebrates life, independence and faithfulness, not just something stating the program is over and that you will now have to learn how to get along in world you were not really prepared for. There is only one graduation that counts and that is the day we graduate from this world into God’s world, unless, of course, there is no cause for celebration. Most of us kept our children home so could celebrate, in the end.