Sandra Dodd

Someone who manages a smaller list wrote to ask me some questions
about Always Learning. Here are some of my responses:

-=-How/why you think of new topics and discussions for the group.-=-

When something is rolling around in my head, I put it on the list.
It's not like there's a checklist or an agenda.

[I had said I would stir a topic back up and my correspondent said
she didn't know what that meant.]

I just meant I would add a response so it would come back up in the
current mail and up higher on the list (for those who read it on the
web) so it could get more attention.

If the list seems to be going dark and sad, I'm more likely to add
something cheery. If there hasn't been anything for a while (which
hasn't happened lately) I sometimes add something kind of perky and
open-ended, just to keep people glad they're on the list.

If it's super busy (like last month) I'm less likely to encourage or
participate in something like a discussion of Alan Rickman. "On
topic" is more important when people are getting cranky or there are
over 100 posts a day.

Sandra

=============================================

This doesn't touch on the approval of posts, or how to decide to let
someone off moderations or leave them on (or put them back on), but
that's not what she was asking about.



The Alan Rickman mention referred to something a few years back when
we got on an Alan Rickman discussion of which movies are great of his
and what's so good about him anyway ("Truly, Madly, Deeply," "Sense
and Sensibility" and "Galaxy Quest," and if you don't love him after
those, just never mind) Oh. Harry Potter, too.) Someone got kind
of angry because I had sent something back for not being on topic
because it was about curriculum or workbooks or something, and she
was trying to shame me and call me a cheat because I didn't
immediately stop the Alan Rickman discussion.



Here's the deal, though. Learning to be analytical about moviemaking
and acting and casting and the skillful use of a great voice is a
bull's eye for unschooling, honestly. It wasn't like we stopped
talking about how people learn and how to create a learning
environment by going on an Alan Rickman "explore."

If anyone who has read this far wonders what I'm talking about, maybe
buy some Thinking Sticks or go to the Thinking Sticks blog. They're
unrelated in one way and exactly the same thing in another way.

http://sandradodd.com/thinkingsticks

http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com

Those are strewing for adults, to practice unschooling on a level
that doesn't necessarily involve kids.

Here's something more for kids, but if you can't see the value in it
for yourself, it won't be as easy to see it for your kids.

http://sandradodd.com/strewing



Sandra

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