Welcome to the new members..
Ren Allen
I told you all about the "links" section and forgot about the "photos"
section. A few families (including mine) have uploaded pics to
share...anyone is welcome to add their photos, it's nice to have a
face with the posts.
I just added a few from the conference (and the tattoo that I got with
Rue's Jon) and noticed a couple pics I hadn't seen before. It's still
pretty empty though! So share some photos of your sweet children (and
yourself).
Ren
http://radicalunschooling.blogspot.com/
section. A few families (including mine) have uploaded pics to
share...anyone is welcome to add their photos, it's nice to have a
face with the posts.
I just added a few from the conference (and the tattoo that I got with
Rue's Jon) and noticed a couple pics I hadn't seen before. It's still
pretty empty though! So share some photos of your sweet children (and
yourself).
Ren
http://radicalunschooling.blogspot.com/
beanmommy2
--- In [email protected], "Ren Allen"
<starsuncloud@c...> wrote:
the conference and really enjoyed the pics of all those Sorooshians
to connect with the voices and stories.
And Ren, for years I had such a distinct picture in my mind of what
you looked like ... reddish-brown hair, long and sort of
curly/frizzy and wild, and always dressed in bohemian-type long,
swirly skirtsskirts. It was such a distinct picture that I sometimes
forgot I didn't really know what you did look like. HA! Was I off!
Jenny
<starsuncloud@c...> wrote:
>the "photos"
> I told you all about the "links" section and forgot about
> section. A few families (including mine) have uploaded pics toThanks so much for posting this! I've been listening to tapes from
> share...anyone is welcome to add their photos, it's nice to have a
> face with the posts.
the conference and really enjoyed the pics of all those Sorooshians
to connect with the voices and stories.
And Ren, for years I had such a distinct picture in my mind of what
you looked like ... reddish-brown hair, long and sort of
curly/frizzy and wild, and always dressed in bohemian-type long,
swirly skirtsskirts. It was such a distinct picture that I sometimes
forgot I didn't really know what you did look like. HA! Was I off!
Jenny
Su Penn
I teach college English on-line, and I always have a mental picture
of my students. When I happen to meet one, I am always way off! Last
semester, I met with a student that I had been assuming was straight
out of high school. A good writer, but something about her name and
things she had said made me think she was very young. Was I surprised
when a 45-year-old woman showed up to our meeting!
This semester, I had an excellent student, a forceful and eloquent
writer. I teach argumentative writing, and she had no trouble taking
a stand. One of my few students who has earned a pure 4.0 on the
basis of her writing. She dropped by my office to pick up her final
portfolio, and she was this slender wisp of a thing--98 pounds
dripping wet--with a voice that sounded like she'd been inhaling
helium. I commented on what a good writer she was, and she said, "oh,
um, huh, do you really think so <giggle>, I guess so." Never met my
eyes.
Su
p.s. The community college students I teach every semester are reason
number 1427 why we homeschool. I see the product of the public
schools every day! Also, the way the occasional homeschooled student
stands out. I have rarely had a weak writer among homeschooled
students, though I have had a couple who seemed to lack a broad
perspective, like the one who wrote an argument about homeschooling
that assumed homeschooling meant following a curriculum, mailing work
off to a teacher who graded it and sent it back, and so on. But the
public school students also tend to have huge gaps, and combine them
with very weak skills as well. I had a publicly-schooled student once
who had never heard of the Civil War. I thought she was putting me on
("Wait," she said. "There was a war here?") but she wasn't.
It's always interesting to get an argument about homeschooling. One
of my students wrote an argument this semester about Michigan needing
tighter regulation of homeschoolers (we live in Michigan). When they
write about something I know a lot about and have a strong opinion
about, I have to carefully step back not to rip their argument to
shreds but to judge it by the standards of a freshman writing class.
Am I off-topic enough yet? Or should I try harder <smile>?
I taught a face-to-face class this semester for the first time in
years. I had forgotten how passively they sit there, how little
effort they make to meet me halfway, how completely they expect to be
entertained and educated with little or no effort on their part. It
can be like doing a comedy routine to a hostile audience; very
draining. And the younger ones don't realize they are making a choice
to be in college, so they continue to behave like they're under
compulsion. They won't do any assignment that is worth less than 10%
of their final grade because they think it won't matter. I can't tell
you how many times this semester I showed up to teach a 4-hour course
(a once-a-week evening class) to find that maybe 2 of them had done
the prep work I requested, so that we weren't able to do what I had
planned and I had to improvise for four hours! If I ask them to do in-
class work, they dash off something inadequate in five minutes so
they can go home.
I like my students as people. As students, not so much. And I tend to
think the problem is created by being put into the role of "student."
But I'm preaching to the choir here, and will shut up.
of my students. When I happen to meet one, I am always way off! Last
semester, I met with a student that I had been assuming was straight
out of high school. A good writer, but something about her name and
things she had said made me think she was very young. Was I surprised
when a 45-year-old woman showed up to our meeting!
This semester, I had an excellent student, a forceful and eloquent
writer. I teach argumentative writing, and she had no trouble taking
a stand. One of my few students who has earned a pure 4.0 on the
basis of her writing. She dropped by my office to pick up her final
portfolio, and she was this slender wisp of a thing--98 pounds
dripping wet--with a voice that sounded like she'd been inhaling
helium. I commented on what a good writer she was, and she said, "oh,
um, huh, do you really think so <giggle>, I guess so." Never met my
eyes.
Su
p.s. The community college students I teach every semester are reason
number 1427 why we homeschool. I see the product of the public
schools every day! Also, the way the occasional homeschooled student
stands out. I have rarely had a weak writer among homeschooled
students, though I have had a couple who seemed to lack a broad
perspective, like the one who wrote an argument about homeschooling
that assumed homeschooling meant following a curriculum, mailing work
off to a teacher who graded it and sent it back, and so on. But the
public school students also tend to have huge gaps, and combine them
with very weak skills as well. I had a publicly-schooled student once
who had never heard of the Civil War. I thought she was putting me on
("Wait," she said. "There was a war here?") but she wasn't.
It's always interesting to get an argument about homeschooling. One
of my students wrote an argument this semester about Michigan needing
tighter regulation of homeschoolers (we live in Michigan). When they
write about something I know a lot about and have a strong opinion
about, I have to carefully step back not to rip their argument to
shreds but to judge it by the standards of a freshman writing class.
Am I off-topic enough yet? Or should I try harder <smile>?
I taught a face-to-face class this semester for the first time in
years. I had forgotten how passively they sit there, how little
effort they make to meet me halfway, how completely they expect to be
entertained and educated with little or no effort on their part. It
can be like doing a comedy routine to a hostile audience; very
draining. And the younger ones don't realize they are making a choice
to be in college, so they continue to behave like they're under
compulsion. They won't do any assignment that is worth less than 10%
of their final grade because they think it won't matter. I can't tell
you how many times this semester I showed up to teach a 4-hour course
(a once-a-week evening class) to find that maybe 2 of them had done
the prep work I requested, so that we weren't able to do what I had
planned and I had to improvise for four hours! If I ask them to do in-
class work, they dash off something inadequate in five minutes so
they can go home.
I like my students as people. As students, not so much. And I tend to
think the problem is created by being put into the role of "student."
But I'm preaching to the choir here, and will shut up.
On Dec 22, 2005, at 10:19 AM, beanmommy2 wrote:
> And Ren, for years I had such a distinct picture in my mind of what
> you looked like ... reddish-brown hair, long and sort of
> curly/frizzy and wild, and always dressed in bohemian-type long,
> swirly skirtsskirts. It was such a distinct picture that I sometimes
> forgot I didn't really know what you did look like. HA! Was I off!
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/22/2005 11:32:49 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
pennsu@... writes:
I like my students as people. As students, not so much. And I tend to
think the problem is created by being put into the role of "student."
But I'm preaching to the choir here, and will shut up.
*************
I'm glad you wrote it all out! I copied it and sent it to my DH.
People challenge us continually of why we homeschool, I love hearing from
someone who is out there meeting "properly" graduated teens and knowing it is
far below what we imagine it to be. The opposite of a success story, I
suppose.
Thanks, Su!
Leslie in SC
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pennsu@... writes:
I like my students as people. As students, not so much. And I tend to
think the problem is created by being put into the role of "student."
But I'm preaching to the choir here, and will shut up.
*************
I'm glad you wrote it all out! I copied it and sent it to my DH.
People challenge us continually of why we homeschool, I love hearing from
someone who is out there meeting "properly" graduated teens and knowing it is
far below what we imagine it to be. The opposite of a success story, I
suppose.
Thanks, Su!
Leslie in SC
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pamela Sorooshian
Nice to hear somebody else singing my song, Su! <G>
I feel lucky to have one or two "live" students each semester.
-pam
I feel lucky to have one or two "live" students each semester.
-pam
On Dec 22, 2005, at 8:32 AM, Su Penn wrote:
>
> I like my students as people. As students, not so much. And I tend to
> think the problem is created by being put into the role of "student."
> But I'm preaching to the choir here, and will shut up.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Su Penn
I didn't realize there were other teachers on the list! I am always
sort of secretly amused that I am not only a teacher but a member of
the National Education Organization and all its state and local
affiliates (required for my job), but I'm an unschooling mom.
Su
sort of secretly amused that I am not only a teacher but a member of
the National Education Organization and all its state and local
affiliates (required for my job), but I'm an unschooling mom.
Su
On Dec 23, 2005, at 4:11 AM, Pamela Sorooshian wrote:
> Nice to hear somebody else singing my song, Su! <G>
>
> I feel lucky to have one or two "live" students each semester.
>
> -pam
April
No teachers here, but dh is the technical manager of a highly acclaimed
charter school.
Always makes for interesting discussions....in and out of school.
~April
Mom to Kate-19, Lisa-16, Karl-14, & Ben-10.
*REACH Homeschool Grp, an inclusive group in Oakland County
<http://www.reachhomeschool.com> www.reachhomeschool.com
* Michigan Unschoolers
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michigan_unschoolers/>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michigan_unschoolers/
*Check out Chuck's art <http://www.artkunst23.com> www.artkunst23.com
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Gandalf the Grey
_____
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Su Penn
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 9:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] picturing people was Welcome to the new
members..
I didn't realize there were other teachers on the list! I am always
sort of secretly amused that I am not only a teacher but a member of
the National Education Organization and all its state and local
affiliates (required for my job), but I'm an unschooling mom.
Su
charter school.
Always makes for interesting discussions....in and out of school.
~April
Mom to Kate-19, Lisa-16, Karl-14, & Ben-10.
*REACH Homeschool Grp, an inclusive group in Oakland County
<http://www.reachhomeschool.com> www.reachhomeschool.com
* Michigan Unschoolers
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michigan_unschoolers/>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michigan_unschoolers/
*Check out Chuck's art <http://www.artkunst23.com> www.artkunst23.com
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Gandalf the Grey
_____
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Su Penn
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 9:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] picturing people was Welcome to the new
members..
I didn't realize there were other teachers on the list! I am always
sort of secretly amused that I am not only a teacher but a member of
the National Education Organization and all its state and local
affiliates (required for my job), but I'm an unschooling mom.
Su
On Dec 23, 2005, at 4:11 AM, Pamela Sorooshian wrote:
> Nice to hear somebody else singing my song, Su! <G>
>
> I feel lucky to have one or two "live" students each semester.
>
> -pam
_____
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_____
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
mkesinding
--- In [email protected], Su Penn <pennsu@m...> wrote:
kid life.
Maria -- waving from Alberta, Canada
>Hello, from another unschooling mom who was a schoolteacher in her pre-
> I didn't realize there were other teachers on the list!
kid life.
Maria -- waving from Alberta, Canada
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/23/2005 3:05:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mkeasinding@... writes:
I didn't realize there were other teachers on the list!
Hello, from another unschooling mom who was a schoolteacher in her pre-
kid life.
lol... does it count being an "almost" teacher?? I dropped out of the
teaching program a year before I would've finished it, and graduated that spring
instead. The state decided to make this new test that students now HAVE to pass
to graduate, and I just opposed it to no end and refused to teach under those
circumstances.
Jenny
Unschooling in Greenfield, MA
Danny (12-1-99), Kelsey (11-1-01) and Evelyn (5-19-04)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as
that every child should be given the wish to learn. ~John Lubbock
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
mkeasinding@... writes:
I didn't realize there were other teachers on the list!
Hello, from another unschooling mom who was a schoolteacher in her pre-
kid life.
lol... does it count being an "almost" teacher?? I dropped out of the
teaching program a year before I would've finished it, and graduated that spring
instead. The state decided to make this new test that students now HAVE to pass
to graduate, and I just opposed it to no end and refused to teach under those
circumstances.
Jenny
Unschooling in Greenfield, MA
Danny (12-1-99), Kelsey (11-1-01) and Evelyn (5-19-04)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as
that every child should be given the wish to learn. ~John Lubbock
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]