The Passing of Ned Vare
Erika Davis-Pitre
Hello Everyone,
I heard the sad news that Ned Vare has died. He
and his wife are so committed to sharing the joy of unschooling that
long after their son was off on his own, they still opened up their
home to fellow unschoolers as a gathering space/place. Going to their
home was like attending a mini conference every other month! I have
such gratitude for having had known him.
While I will need a little
time to express my sadness more fully in his passing, I am passing
along the kind words that were written by someone who knew him well.
My sincerest condolences go out to his family.
Take Care,
Erika
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail..."
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."-MLK
"I am learning all the time, the tombstone will be my diploma"- Eartha Kitt
In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that we inform our supporters that a great friend
and homeschool freedom champion, Ned Vare, has died. Ned was a fearless
fighter for educational freedom. I first met him in 1990 when he was in the
forefront of the effort to defeat government regulation of homeschooling in
Connecticut. He was wise to all the background, history, and rationale
behind public schooling and homeschooling. Over the years, he not only
educated me on the ways of the educational world, but educated untold
others. He and his soulmate, Luz Shosie, met in 1973 at Ned's ranch in
Silt, Colorado. Together they raised their son, Cassidy, without schooling,
with what is now called Unschooling. In essence, they wisely guided Cassidy
in educating himself, an experiment, they say,
that surpassed all of their
expectations. Ned and Luz were inspired by the writings of John Holt, and
together, they started a support group for unschoolers and operated the
Unschoolers Unlimited <http://borntoexplore.org/unschool/> Newsletter for
many years. More recently Ned penned a blog entitled, "School Is Hell
<http://school-is-hell.blogspot.com/> ". Ned could always be seen supporting
the right to educate in freedom at every gathering across the state, from
his hometown in Guilford to Hartford and beyond. Ned was never afraid to
confront any government official whom he believed was acting in any way to
deny parents their rights. Ned was tireless in his ability to engage
legislators in quiet, polite, but persistent conversation educating them as
to the
rights of parents and why they should support educational freedom.
Ned was extremely successful at this endeavor and was instrumental in
persuading many key legislators to support the rights of parents in
Connecticut. We are also fortunate that Ned, with Luz, wrote his thoughts
about educational freedom in a book that I proudly keep in a most prominent
place in my home. It's called "Smarting Us Up, the Un Dumbing of America".
Ned was a true inspiration, who had a keen wit, a most engaging personality,
and always the nicest smile. I was proud to call Ned my friend, and he will
be sorely missed. A memorial service is planned for him at a date to be
announced in the fall.
- Deborah Stevenson - Exec. Dir., National Home Education Legal
Defense
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I heard the sad news that Ned Vare has died. He
and his wife are so committed to sharing the joy of unschooling that
long after their son was off on his own, they still opened up their
home to fellow unschoolers as a gathering space/place. Going to their
home was like attending a mini conference every other month! I have
such gratitude for having had known him.
While I will need a little
time to express my sadness more fully in his passing, I am passing
along the kind words that were written by someone who knew him well.
My sincerest condolences go out to his family.
Take Care,
Erika
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail..."
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."-MLK
"I am learning all the time, the tombstone will be my diploma"- Eartha Kitt
In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that we inform our supporters that a great friend
and homeschool freedom champion, Ned Vare, has died. Ned was a fearless
fighter for educational freedom. I first met him in 1990 when he was in the
forefront of the effort to defeat government regulation of homeschooling in
Connecticut. He was wise to all the background, history, and rationale
behind public schooling and homeschooling. Over the years, he not only
educated me on the ways of the educational world, but educated untold
others. He and his soulmate, Luz Shosie, met in 1973 at Ned's ranch in
Silt, Colorado. Together they raised their son, Cassidy, without schooling,
with what is now called Unschooling. In essence, they wisely guided Cassidy
in educating himself, an experiment, they say,
that surpassed all of their
expectations. Ned and Luz were inspired by the writings of John Holt, and
together, they started a support group for unschoolers and operated the
Unschoolers Unlimited <http://borntoexplore.org/unschool/> Newsletter for
many years. More recently Ned penned a blog entitled, "School Is Hell
<http://school-is-hell.blogspot.com/> ". Ned could always be seen supporting
the right to educate in freedom at every gathering across the state, from
his hometown in Guilford to Hartford and beyond. Ned was never afraid to
confront any government official whom he believed was acting in any way to
deny parents their rights. Ned was tireless in his ability to engage
legislators in quiet, polite, but persistent conversation educating them as
to the
rights of parents and why they should support educational freedom.
Ned was extremely successful at this endeavor and was instrumental in
persuading many key legislators to support the rights of parents in
Connecticut. We are also fortunate that Ned, with Luz, wrote his thoughts
about educational freedom in a book that I proudly keep in a most prominent
place in my home. It's called "Smarting Us Up, the Un Dumbing of America".
Ned was a true inspiration, who had a keen wit, a most engaging personality,
and always the nicest smile. I was proud to call Ned my friend, and he will
be sorely missed. A memorial service is planned for him at a date to be
announced in the fall.
- Deborah Stevenson - Exec. Dir., National Home Education Legal
Defense
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]