Wildflower Car

Wow, I tried to read all the post on Christian values, there was a lot of
back and forth, I lost track.

Anyway, I think that unschooling basics has a key word, BASICS. And I would
guess that anyone and everyone on this list is effected by their basic
beliefs. If I have a Christian worldview, I might consider the Bible as part
of the basics. Or another religious book might equally effect my unschool if
I have belief in it.

I think this is a basic issue, if you have a belief system, it is probably
the foundation for you in your schooling choice. Or is it? So how do you
share your beliefs with your children and unschool? Or does unschooling
imply that you don't set out to teach your children about your beliefs
unless they desire that knowledge?

I see this come up often on various unschool groups. If your a moderator,
governing the group is expected at some level. Often people unknowingly
assume that unschool equals no rules.

The Summerhill school is part of my recent studies. This school allows
nudity, profanity and cursing at any age, admittance is at about age 6-9.
The entire school is part of the government.

There is almost a sense that an unschool group shouldn't have moderation.

I would be curious to hear some responses to the questions above about
belief.

Much Love,
Wildflower

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Sylvia Toyama

Anyway, I think that unschooling basics has a key word, BASICS. And I would
guess that anyone and everyone on this list is effected by their basic beliefs. If I have a Christian worldview, I might consider the Bible as part of the basics.

****
In this case, it's meant to be the basics of unschooling -- not how to unschool the 'basics' of education. Very different meaning, IMO.

Sylvia


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

Sylvia Toyama

I think this is a basic issue, if you have a belief system, it is probably the foundation for you in your schooling choice. Or is it? So how do you share your beliefs with your children and unschool?

****
We share our beliefs/values by example, sharing info and answering questions as we go along in life with our kids. We''ve had many discussions with our boys about topics from politics to my beliefs about God/dess <g> and spirituality, ethnic relations and differences (kinda hard to avoid in a multi-ethnic home), breastfeeding, vaccines, as well animal cruelty, vegetariansim, animal testing, history, etc.

However, we're not heavily invested in what beliefs the kids embrace themselves. If our boys embrace a different religion from any we've known or practiced ourselves -- Gary is a lapsed Methodist, I'm all over the map, having spent 15 yrs as a Christian -- that's perfectly okay with us. If they grow to be Republicans, that may be a challenge for me. <g> Of if I'm someday dealing with a daughter-in-law who circumcises, vaccinates, bottle-feeds and packs my grandchildren off to daycare at 6 wks, my head might explode <weg>. But, since my guiding principle is that my children live the the path that's right for them, I'd manage to be adult about it all.

*****
Or does unschooling imply that you don't set out to teach your children about your beliefs
unless they desire that knowledge?

*****
I can't imagine how these topics don't come up for regular discussion in a home where parents and children are engaged in living a life together. Of course, they'll hear me say what I think about a particular event or subject -- whether or not they ask -- but what I believe is only my opinion. I encourage my children to form their own opinions, and help them research as needed.

*****
I see this come up often on various unschool groups. If your a moderator, governing the group is expected at some level. Often people unknowingly assume that unschool equals no rules.

******

More a philosophy of guiding principles than rules. Rules are rigid, and as we so often hear 'made to be broken.' I've also found that rules only give way to more rules, and before the rules of a household can start to look like the stuff churned out by Congress.

Principles are powerful enough that only a few are required, and they'll serve a multitude of situations. Be kind and respectful covers everything from conversation, to being careful with others' belongings, to waiting your turn in a game, to fairness. Or treat people the way you want to be treated -- there's not much that won't apply to.

****

The Summerhill school is part of my recent studies. This school allows nudity, profanity and cursing at any age, admittance is at about age 6-9.

*****
How is profanity different from cursing, or did you mean something else? Personally, I have no problem with hearing kids curse (currently, Dan's favorite phrase is "what the hell?" I'm just glad it's not WTF) and I would think nudity -- especially if practiced in the spirit of respect for others -- would be pretty self-policing. Either you wear clothes or you don't, and be kind to those who made the other choice from yours. Not rocket science, IMO.

*****
There is almost a sense that an unschool group shouldn't have moderation.

*****
I think some moderation in any egroup is necessary -- to prevent spamming, slamming or wasted bandwidth.

Sylvia


Gary (dh)
Will (22) Andy (10-1/2) and Dan (6)

A friend is someone who knows your song, and sings it to you when you’ve forgotten it yourself.
~Alan Cohen


http://ourhapahome.blogspot.com









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

chandelle'

If they grow to be Republicans, that may be a challenge for me. <g> Of if
I'm someday dealing with a daughter-in-law who circumcises, vaccinates,
bottle-feeds and packs my grandchildren off to daycare at 6 wks, my head
might explode

LOL! thanks for saying that. those thoughts keep me awake at night -
republican, steak-eating, hateful-religious kids who live in cookie-cutter
houses in suburbia, have their babies under sedation, bottle-feed,
circumcise, mainstream-medical, consumerist lifestyles, public school, never
read a book, drive a hummer, sit in front of the tv during every spare
minute, and favorite pasttime is watching wrestling. you know, the people
that my husband and i used to be, since every generation is a backlash of
the one before. sigh. i try to say that i will be accepting of whatever
path they choose but, let's be honest. don't we really want them to be just
like us? :)

our kids are very young, but our "beliefs," as they are, are instilled very
deeply in our daily life, so as with anything else, we expect our kids to
assimilate it by osmosis because it's not so much what we do as who we are.
by that same token, if i don't relish the thought of my kids doing
something, i don't do it myself. so i eat healthy food and try to watch my
language, because i feel it would hypocritical of me to eat junk but then
get frustrated when they won't eat veggies, or swear at home but expect them
to keep it to themselves. as for nudity, well, we have a clothing-optional
home. :) we're very comfortable with nudity and i hope to maintain that
innocence of enjoying their naked bodies as long as possible.

chandelle'

On 3/27/07, Sylvia Toyama <sylgt04@...> wrote:
>
> I think this is a basic issue, if you have a belief system, it is probably
> the foundation for you in your schooling choice. Or is it? So how do you
> share your beliefs with your children and unschool?
>
> ****
> We share our beliefs/values by example, sharing info and answering
> questions as we go along in life with our kids. We''ve had many discussions
> with our boys about topics from politics to my beliefs about God/dess <g>
> and spirituality, ethnic relations and differences (kinda hard to avoid in a
> multi-ethnic home), breastfeeding, vaccines, as well animal cruelty,
> vegetariansim, animal testing, history, etc.
>
> However, we're not heavily invested in what beliefs the kids embrace
> themselves. If our boys embrace a different religion from any we've known
> or practiced ourselves -- Gary is a lapsed Methodist, I'm all over the map,
> having spent 15 yrs as a Christian -- that's perfectly okay with us. If
> they grow to be Republicans, that may be a challenge for me. <g> Of if I'm
> someday dealing with a daughter-in-law who circumcises, vaccinates,
> bottle-feeds and packs my grandchildren off to daycare at 6 wks, my head
> might explode <weg>. But, since my guiding principle is that my children
> live the the path that's right for them, I'd manage to be adult about it
> all.
>
> *****
> Or does unschooling imply that you don't set out to teach your children
> about your beliefs
> unless they desire that knowledge?
>
> *****
> I can't imagine how these topics don't come up for regular discussion in
> a home where parents and children are engaged in living a life together. Of
> course, they'll hear me say what I think about a particular event or subject
> -- whether or not they ask -- but what I believe is only my opinion. I
> encourage my children to form their own opinions, and help them research as
> needed.
>
> *****
> I see this come up often on various unschool groups. If your a moderator,
> governing the group is expected at some level. Often people unknowingly
> assume that unschool equals no rules.
>
> ******
>
> More a philosophy of guiding principles than rules. Rules are rigid,
> and as we so often hear 'made to be broken.' I've also found that rules
> only give way to more rules, and before the rules of a household can start
> to look like the stuff churned out by Congress.
>
> Principles are powerful enough that only a few are required, and they'll
> serve a multitude of situations. Be kind and respectful covers everything
> from conversation, to being careful with others' belongings, to waiting your
> turn in a game, to fairness. Or treat people the way you want to be treated
> -- there's not much that won't apply to.
>
> ****
>
> The Summerhill school is part of my recent studies. This school allows
> nudity, profanity and cursing at any age, admittance is at about age 6-9.
>
> *****
> How is profanity different from cursing, or did you mean something
> else? Personally, I have no problem with hearing kids curse (currently,
> Dan's favorite phrase is "what the hell?" I'm just glad it's not WTF) and
> I would think nudity -- especially if practiced in the spirit of respect for
> others -- would be pretty self-policing. Either you wear clothes or you
> don't, and be kind to those who made the other choice from yours. Not
> rocket science, IMO.
>
> *****
> There is almost a sense that an unschool group shouldn't have
> moderation.
>
> *****
> I think some moderation in any egroup is necessary -- to prevent
> spamming, slamming or wasted bandwidth.
>
> Sylvia
>
>
> Gary (dh)
> Will (22) Andy (10-1/2) and Dan (6)
>
> A friend is someone who knows your song, and sings it to you when
> you've forgotten it yourself.
> ~Alan Cohen
>
>
> http://ourhapahome.blogspot.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast
> with theYahoo! Search weather shortcut.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without
evidence. Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up
every preconceived notion, or you shall learn nothing.
-Thomas Huxley


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

Ren Allen

~~i try to say that i will be accepting of whatever
path they choose but, let's be honest. don't we really want them to be
just
like us? :)~~

I really hope not.
Because then I'd wonder if they'd ever searched themselves and truly
forged their own path. That's why I try really hard to suspend
judgement over their choices. Like when Trevor decided to start eating
red meat again (the family all eats some turkey/chicken while I
continue as a vegetarian). There are so many,many things I hope they
discover for themselves and question....even the things I've shared
with them.

I truly don't have a vested interest in what they choose...though I
would have a very hard time with some of the options listed in this
discussion too.:)

Ren]
learninginfreedom.com

Debra Rossing

>I would be curious to hear some responses to the questions above about
belief.

Just my two cents but if you are -living- your belief system (whatever
it may be), it should be pretty obvious and mostly be communicated
through discussion and answering questions and day to day choices. And,
they may choose to accept those beliefs, modify them some, go in a
totally different direction, whatever. Just as an omnivorous family may
end up with some meat eaters and some vegetarians or vegans and a
vegetarian family may end up with some omnivores. As the adults and
keepers of the money and car keys, you can readily limit what food items
come into the house. And, you can even to some extent regulate what your
offspring eat when outside the house. But, at some point, your kids will
be making their own choices about what to eat and it may not be what you
would have chosen. We choose to have open communication about our
beliefs and choices, why we prefer to eat organic brown rice instead of
Uncle Ben's boiling bag rice or whatever. Sometimes I think the cashier
at the market must think we're a little 'odd' with a cart full of
organic produce and half a dozen boxes of Pop Tarts and 3 lbs of hot
dogs. lol Just as we trust DS with learning and with food choices, we
have to trust his choices in his beliefs as well - there WILL be a point
when we have zero control of what he does. For now, yes, we could
require it and force it, but in the long run, IMO, it'll work out better
to start NOW giving him the freedom to explore and think and ponder and
question. He may not end up with a choice we would have wanted, but
that's between him and God, we're here to try to help him make that
connection but it's not up to us to decide.

Deb

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Mindy Evans

Thank you for this information!
Blessings
Mindy


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Mindy Evans

Thank you for this information!
Blessings
Mindy


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