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It's interesting...I shouldn't be surprised, but I am.

My kid is growing up as the son of lesbians with an active dad, unschooled,
etc.... and it still surprises me I see how different his life is. He was at
church youth group, and there was much discussion of movies that his also
teenage friends' parents wouldn't let them see. Julian can see anything he
really wants to. A big bone of contention was the movie Pleasantville, which
didn't seem that risque to me. Then I remembered that color came to people's
world often when they discovered sexuality. Oooo....yeah...we wouldn't want
to give teens the idea that sex is a GOOD thing!

There are people who call themselves unschoolers here, but few of them really
are. (Totally apart from the censorship issue)

Is growing up very different from other kids warping my kid's life? He says
he actually likes it, and he seems to like us, which is very nice. Should I
be putting money aside for counselling for him later?

And what are we going to do when this kid grows up and moves on with his
life? Damn...will I have to break down and get a real job? (Will he? I kind
of hope not)

Just some bizarre unschooling rambling....
Kathryn


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Nancy Wooton

on 3/11/03 7:44 AM, KathrynJB@... at KathrynJB@... wrote:

> A big bone of contention was the movie Pleasantville, which
> didn't seem that risque to me. Then I remembered that color came to people's
> world often when they discovered sexuality. Oooo....yeah...we wouldn't want
> to give teens the idea that sex is a GOOD thing!

I watched that again last week, with my kids, who like the film. It isn't
merely sex that changes them: it's the release of whatever part the person
is repressing. The Reese Witherspoon character is one of the last to
change, and she wonders why, since she's more active than any of them and
has been for awhile; what changes her is reading and discovering the
intellectual side of herself. I think what torqued people was the mom
masturbating in the tub, obviously with some success ;-) People don't like
their little secrets getting out...

Nancy

P.S. my dh hates that movie!

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/11/2003 9:46:58 AM Central Standard Time,
KathrynJB@... writes:

> Is growing up very different from other kids warping my kid's life?

No worse than if he was growing up with lesbian parents and going to school
and not able to watch the movies he wants. Probably a LOT better than that.


It's all a crapshoot, anyway.

Tuck


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/11/2003 10:46:57 AM Eastern Standard Time,
KathrynJB@... writes:

> Is growing up very different from other kids warping my kid's life? He says
> he actually likes it, and he seems to like us, which is very nice. Should I
>
> be putting money aside for counselling for him later?

I have two lesbian friends that adopted a darling girl from China. We've
talked about Lizzie and unschooling a lot. Cynthia's adamant that, though she
sees the benefits, this child is 1) adopted, 2) Chinese (looks different),
and 3) has two moms. She thinks that it's in Lizzie's best interest to have
"everything else" as *normal* as possible because she's going to seem like an
outsider enough already. She's in private school at $10,000/year.

In our own little world, Cameron LIKES being different, too. In a way, his
friends are terribly envious of his lifestyle, although they'd never really
WANT to leave their miserable school life because it's NORMAL. The friends
hate their parents for being so strict or mean. Cam's SOOO happy we're his
parents---we hear him say that all the time. Several of the friends call me
Mama Lovejoy, because I'm the mom they wish they HAD.

Given the choice of a rather "wacky" childhood followed by a happy adulthood
or a "normal" childhood followed by despair, give me WACKY and weird and
ab-i-normal any day! And a happy right now will prepare him best for a happy
tomorrow. I'm glad he's happy!

One of my (many) bumper stickers reads, "Why be Normal?"

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Barb Eaton

Kelly,
That reminds me. What does the conference bumper sticker say? I couldn't
find it anywhere and the message board was down just then. TIA!

Barb E
"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it
is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the
excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to
the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last
analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is
grace."

- Frederick Buechner, Author, in "Now and Then"




on 3/11/03 1:10 PM, kbcdlovejo@... at kbcdlovejo@... wrote:
>
> One of my (many) bumper stickers reads, "Why be Normal?"
>
> ~Kelly
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/11/2003 4:56:45 PM Eastern Standard Time,
homemama@... writes:


> Kelly,
> That reminds me. What does the conference bumper sticker say? I
> couldn't
> find it anywhere and the message board was down just then. TIA!
>
>

Unschoolers Live & Learn
www.SchoolsOutSupport.org

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 13:10:36 EST kbcdlovejo@... writes:

> Given the choice of a rather "wacky" childhood followed by a happy
> adulthood
> or a "normal" childhood followed by despair, give me WACKY and weird
> and
> ab-i-normal any day! And a happy right now will prepare him best for
> a happy
> tomorrow. I'm glad he's happy!

Yes! Rain is quite comfortable being "weird" (her word), and she's quite
happy with her life right now. I was thinking recently that she's doing
just exactly what she wants to do about 99% of the time, and comparing
that to me life when I was 10... mostly what I remember is being bored at
school all... day... long.
>
> One of my (many) bumper stickers reads, "Why be Normal?"

We have the coffee mug...

Dar