DaBreeze21

Hi,

I had some more questions come to mind as I come to grasp unschooling
and try to imagine how it fits in with the rest of my life.

First I was thinking about how it fits in with a religious lifestlye.
I guess my question mostly is for people who consider themselves
radical unschoolers and who may be religious also. I'm guessing that
you apply the same principles to your religion that you would to
learning in other areas -- make it accessible to your children but
not mandatory? I am Catholic and actually converted from
Protestantism. I am also thinking about my wedding vows and how my
husband and I made a promise to raise our kids in the Catholic
church. Personally, I am really drawn to the ideas of unschooling
because they make so much sense to me. I mean just because someone is
forced to go to church or mass every week and go through all the
rituals does not mean that they will truly embrace the religion. If
any of you have any input from experience, I would really appreciate
it. (I notice that I am kind of answering my own questions as I go
often, but it is nice to work these ideas out. And I like hearing
different perspectives/stories).

Second, I have been thinking about how unschooling works with the
whole idea of working Mothers. I have been home with my DD since she
was born and don't intend to return to work (ironically I am a
teacher by training!) any time soon. However, one question that
definitely comes to my mind is how "women's rights"/mother's needs
fit into unschooling. I know that sometimes the Dad is home with the
kids, but am under the impression that many time it is Mom. How do
you all balance your own interests with unschooling your children? I
imagine that with unschooling you have much more freedom than people
who homeschool and try to follow a curriculum... anyways, I'm not
sure that I'm clearly putting my thoughts into words. I would love to
hear from people how they balance their own work/hobbies etc. And
also I'm curious how many of you feel philisophically that it IS best
if one parent is able to be home with their children (as opposed to 2
working parent homes.)

Susan

alohabun

--- In [email protected], "DaBreeze21" <susanmay15@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I had some more questions come to mind as I come to grasp
unschooling
> and try to imagine how it fits in with the rest of my life.
>
> First I was thinking about how it fits in with a religious
lifestlye.
> I guess my question mostly is for people who consider themselves
> radical unschoolers and who may be religious also. I'm guessing
that
> you apply the same principles to your religion that you would to
> learning in other areas -- make it accessible to your children but
> not mandatory? I am Catholic and actually converted from
> Protestantism. I am also thinking about my wedding vows and how my
> husband and I made a promise to raise our kids in the Catholic
> church. Personally, I am really drawn to the ideas of unschooling
> because they make so much sense to me. I mean just because someone
is
> forced to go to church or mass every week and go through all the
> rituals does not mean that they will truly embrace the religion.
If
> any of you have any input from experience, I would really
appreciate
> it. (I notice that I am kind of answering my own questions as I go
> often, but it is nice to work these ideas out. And I like hearing
> different perspectives/stories).
> snip


Susan - This is a little off topic, but I watched this great movie
called A Love Divided (see details below). Perhaps it would be
interesting to you. I thought it was great!! Laurie


A love divided [videorecording] / a Parallel Films production ; a
film by Sydney Macartney ; directed by Sydney Macartney ; produced
by Alan Moloney, Tim Palmer & Gerry Gregg ; written by Stuart
Hepburn. Publisher New York, NY : New Yorker Video, [2002]

Originally released as a motion picture in 1999.
Peter Caffrey, Liam Cunningham, Orla Brady, Tony Doyle.
Unrated.

Based on a true incident in County Wexford, Ireland, this film tells
how one family's problem in dealing with a religious decision swept
up first a town, and then a country. Sean and Sheila Cloney (played
by Liam Cunningham and Orla Brady) are Catholic and Protestant. In
order to marry in the Catholic church in Ireland, Sheila signs the
required Ne Temere pledge that she will raise any children from the
marriage as Catholics. She honors this pledge for a long time as her
little girls part to go to Mass with their father on Sundays while
she goes to services with her father and sister. However, she draws
the line when the local parish priest, Father Stafford (Tony Doyle),
insists on her oldest daughter going to the Catholic school without
any regard for the idea that the parents have the right to make this
dicision.
Special features: Original theatrical trailer ; scene selections;
interview with actress Orla Brady ; historical photo gallery.

Nicole Willoughby

The religion question is something Im struggling with just a bit.

Dh and I were both drug to catholic church our childhood lives and have both chosen not to be catholic. After not stepping foot in a church of any kind in years he decided to start having the missionaries come over. It started out as " Im curious about the mormon church and think i want to learn more about it " and has turned into I think maybe i like these mormon people.

So tomorrow we are going to visit their church. My oldest is 8 so they cannot stay home by themselves. I talked with them a bit about going tomorrow and what it might be like. Im bringing my little laptop with ear phones. My 8 year old can choose to sit outside and play on the laptop or come in the sacrament meeting with us.most likely a little of both. My 4 year old wants to bring her bear and color and coloring books and Im packing a few quiet toy for my son and a few snacks.

I expect at least one to get antsy and want to go out . Well go walking, maybe out to the van and eat a snack.

It can be frustrating to not get to hear most of the service but i think thats part of having kids. Mom and dad can trade off taking kids out. A wednesday service or religious study may be a possibility . There are also chat rooms, forums, etc on the net for religious discussion.

Nicole


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Kim King

Hi Susan,

I'll share my experiences. I was at one time a single
parent working upwards of 80 hours per week as a
pediatric resident, and I unschooled. The main issue
to overcome for me was how to keep my kid out of an
institution while I worked. I did this by lucking out
really and finding a wonderful live-in nanny who cared
for my son while I worked. She did everything from tag
along with him to the library, get him to bed and up
when necessary, supervised playdates, pretty much
everything I wasn't there to do. I have always been
flexible with sleep, etc, so having my kid stay up
late and sleep in was no big deal, which enhanced the
amount of time we spent together. It wasn't easy, and
honestly wasn't even my ideal, but it worked out for
us.

If I'd had my wish, I would have had a supportive
partner at the time or extended family to help out.
That wasn't the case then, so I had to get creative
and stay flexible.

Now, I'm the working mom and my partner is the stay at
home mom. We both really want one of us to always be
with our kids, and we share educaional philosphy, so
this makes life pretty ideal for us in this regard. I
do feel like I miss out on quite a bit while I'm at
work, even though I limit my hours; but I absolutely
love my work. It's more of a mission for me. Heck
even some of our vacations are spent in places where I
do my job on a volunteer basis.

As for what is best philosphically speaking...I can
say that it would certainly be ideal if a family
could survive in this age as a family unit without one
or both parents having to separate themselves from the
family to work. Heck, even most of the family farmers
back where I grew up have to work off the farm to
survive! It's just sad that so many folks don't have
the choice. For many people working or staying home is
not a choice they get to make. That's a socio-economic
class issue, and a political one. For those of us with
the opportunity to choose, we may in fact be faced
with a larger dilemma because it *is* a choice. Is one
'right or wrong' to choose to spend time doing work or
a hobby which fulfills one's interests outside of
parenting or family life? I think that's a question
that each individual has to answer for him- or
herself.

Great questions,
Kim
--- DaBreeze21 <susanmay15@...> wrote:


> Second, I have been thinking about how unschooling
> works with the
> whole idea of working Mothers. I have been home with
> my DD since she
> was born and don't intend to return to work
> (ironically I am a
> teacher by training!) any time soon. However, one
> question that
> definitely comes to my mind is how "women's
> rights"/mother's needs
> fit into unschooling. I know that sometimes the Dad
> is home with the
> kids, but am under the impression that many time it
> is Mom. How do
> you all balance your own interests with unschooling
> your children? I
> imagine that with unschooling you have much more
> freedom than people
> who homeschool and try to follow a curriculum...
> anyways, I'm not
> sure that I'm clearly putting my thoughts into
> words. I would love to
> hear from people how they balance their own
> work/hobbies etc. And
> also I'm curious how many of you feel
> philisophically that it IS best
> if one parent is able to be home with their children
> (as opposed to 2
> working parent homes.)
>
> Susan
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> mailto:[email protected]
>
>
>