How did you being your speaking career?
Jennifer
I feel a sort of ... calling ... now and then to
speak or write to other mothers (particularly in the
Christian community) about respectful parenting and
possibly unschooling, depending on the audience.
I'm thinking about local, simple things, like talking
to a MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) group, or a
women's seminar at a church, or a local homeschooling
group, that kind of thing.
I realize that the idea of addressing the Christian
community may be asking for trouble, but I tend to
believe there are women out there, like myself, who
would respond to it like a breath of fresh air.
I also realize that since my oldest child is not quite
seven, some people may not impressed by anything I
have to say, and I may have to wait a few years yet
before I have any credibility.
Anyway ... for Sandra and anyone else with experience
in this area:
1) When, where, and how did you start publicly
speaking about parenting and unschooling? Did someone
approach you to speak, or did you prepare a speech and
tell people about it?
2) When did you feel like you had enough experience to
be able to help others (or just to get people to
listen to you?)
3) What's a good way to develop an outline/topic/etc?
What usually sparked an idea?
4) Any advice for someone like me, who feels like I
might have something to offer someone, even if it's
years down the road?
Thanks so much
Jenny
Visit me and my family at my blog!
http://beanmommyandthethreebeans.blogspot.com/
____________________________________________________________________________________
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speak or write to other mothers (particularly in the
Christian community) about respectful parenting and
possibly unschooling, depending on the audience.
I'm thinking about local, simple things, like talking
to a MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) group, or a
women's seminar at a church, or a local homeschooling
group, that kind of thing.
I realize that the idea of addressing the Christian
community may be asking for trouble, but I tend to
believe there are women out there, like myself, who
would respond to it like a breath of fresh air.
I also realize that since my oldest child is not quite
seven, some people may not impressed by anything I
have to say, and I may have to wait a few years yet
before I have any credibility.
Anyway ... for Sandra and anyone else with experience
in this area:
1) When, where, and how did you start publicly
speaking about parenting and unschooling? Did someone
approach you to speak, or did you prepare a speech and
tell people about it?
2) When did you feel like you had enough experience to
be able to help others (or just to get people to
listen to you?)
3) What's a good way to develop an outline/topic/etc?
What usually sparked an idea?
4) Any advice for someone like me, who feels like I
might have something to offer someone, even if it's
years down the road?
Thanks so much
Jenny
Visit me and my family at my blog!
http://beanmommyandthethreebeans.blogspot.com/
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
Sandra Dodd
-=-1) When, where, and how did you start publicly
speaking about parenting and unschooling? Did someone
approach you to speak, or did you prepare a speech and
tell people about it?-=-
People invited me after I wrote online for a long time.
If there's a local group you're part of that puts on a conference,
the people there who know you might accept an offer for you to speak,
or you could ask them.
Sometimes local groups have monthly get-togethers or intros for new
homeschoolers, and that's a possibility.
-=-I also realize that since my oldest child is not quite seven, some
people may not impressed by anything I have to say, and I may have to
wait a few years yet before I have any credibility.-=-
I would wait.
Kirby was nine.
-=-4) Any advice for someone like me, who feels like I
might have something to offer someone, even if it's
years down the road?-=-
Write lots on lists.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
speaking about parenting and unschooling? Did someone
approach you to speak, or did you prepare a speech and
tell people about it?-=-
People invited me after I wrote online for a long time.
If there's a local group you're part of that puts on a conference,
the people there who know you might accept an offer for you to speak,
or you could ask them.
Sometimes local groups have monthly get-togethers or intros for new
homeschoolers, and that's a possibility.
-=-I also realize that since my oldest child is not quite seven, some
people may not impressed by anything I have to say, and I may have to
wait a few years yet before I have any credibility.-=-
I would wait.
Kirby was nine.
-=-4) Any advice for someone like me, who feels like I
might have something to offer someone, even if it's
years down the road?-=-
Write lots on lists.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pamela Sorooshian
On Feb 27, 2008, at 12:52 PM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
enough yet."
Of course, now some probably say, "Oh yeah? She doesn't remember what
it was like to have young children."
I haven't forgotten, and I know Sandra hasn't either. We were so
focused on what we were doing, paid attention, talked and wrote about
it so much - we remember it very clearly.
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> I would wait.And even then there were people saying, "Oh yeah? Her kid isn't old
>
> Kirby was nine.
enough yet."
Of course, now some probably say, "Oh yeah? She doesn't remember what
it was like to have young children."
I haven't forgotten, and I know Sandra hasn't either. We were so
focused on what we were doing, paid attention, talked and wrote about
it so much - we remember it very clearly.
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
On Feb 27, 2008, at 3:52 PM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
Rather than taking your message to people you think might want to
hear it, take your message to where people are already asking to hear
it.
You make your goal a whole lot harder to reach by trying to change
people who may not be ready to change. It's an exercise in frustration!
Talk to people who already want to hear what you're talking about and
it will give you a lot more confidence to speak to people who are
willing to listen but not sure they want to change yet.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> -=-4) Any advice for someone like me, who feels like IThis is a good idea.
> might have something to offer someone, even if it's
> years down the road?-=-
>
> Write lots on lists.
Rather than taking your message to people you think might want to
hear it, take your message to where people are already asking to hear
it.
You make your goal a whole lot harder to reach by trying to change
people who may not be ready to change. It's an exercise in frustration!
Talk to people who already want to hear what you're talking about and
it will give you a lot more confidence to speak to people who are
willing to listen but not sure they want to change yet.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-I feel a sort of ... calling ... now and then to
speak or write to other mothers (particularly in the
Christian community) about respectful parenting and
possibly unschooling, depending on the audience.-=-
I had another idea about this.
You could have a blog dedicated to the things you're feeling drawn to
share. Write there, and participate in as many Christian discussions
as you can find and when a topic comes up that you've already blogged
about, you could send them a link to that one blog post. That would
get them to your blog to read other things, and it would keep you
from feeling you were disrupting a more conventional, conservative
flow by bringing the whole counter-argument there.
The way to become a voice in the unschooling community is to BE a
voice. I've seen some people try to self-promote when other
unschoolers are saying "Who?" (or "oh, no..."). It's better to
become a known, regular voice than to be quiet for years and then
apply to conferences for the opportunity to speak.
Putting ideas out in public is like putting rocks in a rock
polisher. They roll around and the rough edges are smoothed off.
If there's anyone here who's never been around a rock polisher, I
should add that it's noisy and takes a long time. Weeks. A month
sometimes, if you want something very smooth.
Ideas that haven't been out in public and turned over and run through
lots of other people's ideas aren't good ideas for presenting in
talks. Or when I do throw out an untried, new idea I make it as
clear as I can that it's just something I've been thinking about
lately, or something I'm planning to try, so it doesn't get mixed in
with the things that I've been polishing for 17 years.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
speak or write to other mothers (particularly in the
Christian community) about respectful parenting and
possibly unschooling, depending on the audience.-=-
I had another idea about this.
You could have a blog dedicated to the things you're feeling drawn to
share. Write there, and participate in as many Christian discussions
as you can find and when a topic comes up that you've already blogged
about, you could send them a link to that one blog post. That would
get them to your blog to read other things, and it would keep you
from feeling you were disrupting a more conventional, conservative
flow by bringing the whole counter-argument there.
The way to become a voice in the unschooling community is to BE a
voice. I've seen some people try to self-promote when other
unschoolers are saying "Who?" (or "oh, no..."). It's better to
become a known, regular voice than to be quiet for years and then
apply to conferences for the opportunity to speak.
Putting ideas out in public is like putting rocks in a rock
polisher. They roll around and the rough edges are smoothed off.
If there's anyone here who's never been around a rock polisher, I
should add that it's noisy and takes a long time. Weeks. A month
sometimes, if you want something very smooth.
Ideas that haven't been out in public and turned over and run through
lots of other people's ideas aren't good ideas for presenting in
talks. Or when I do throw out an untried, new idea I make it as
clear as I can that it's just something I've been thinking about
lately, or something I'm planning to try, so it doesn't get mixed in
with the things that I've been polishing for 17 years.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]