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-----Original Message-----
From: John Lee Clark <johnlee.clark@...>

Jennifer:

You asked a question I can answer from my experience from the child's
standpoint. You asked if parents are dishonoring their whole child if
they
have the child get glasses because of so-called vision loss. They are.
If
the child doesn't want glasses, doesn't regard himself or herself as
having
a need for glasses or whatever, and if the child is, as far as she or
he is
concerned before being taught otherwise, happy with the body she or he
was
born with, the parents are not honoring the whole child.

I apologize if you didn't ask for help, and all of this discussion is
very
much unwanted help. I haven't read your first message on this, and I am
still working my way toward that in my inbox after returning from a
business
trip to find over a thousand messages. But this discusson did happen,
and I
felt I needed to share some thoughts.

-=-=-=-=-=-

I think it's REALLY important for Jennifer and others to understand a
HUGE point of the list and how it works.

It's NOT about Jennifer. It's not about Jennifer's kids.

It's about the idea that we think we, as parents, know better.

Jennifer---and Jennifer's children---may be perfectly happy with the
decisions that have been made. No one's trying to get her to change.
She may. She may not. That's not the point.

BUT...there may be seven---or 70 or 700!---other people on this list
who have benefitted from the discussion. It may make a difference to
another family who is struggling with a similar issue...now or in the
future. The goal is to throw an idea or problem out there, toss it
around a bit, and come up with different strategies--especially ones
that honor the children's wishes. No one here can *make* another do
something or choose something. But sometimes we get a different
perspective from all the discussion.


~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org