Family "freakin out"
my3sonsinva
So, I guess it's very strange to have an eight year old that doesn't
write, even his name! Usually my family has been very supportive of
homeschooling. BUT I guess that's because they assumed the boys
were "ahead" probably due to the fact they are tournament chess
players. My youngest doesn't want to write and I don't believe in
making him. Well, family thinks he should be reading too but the fact
he "CAN'T" write his name has caused quite the uproar and even has my
husband upset.
I guess this is more of a vent but it seems like I have not one ounce
of support right now. : ( If didn't have my older two that have
turned out "just fine" I might be worried. My oldest is 14 and the
shinning example of a teen. EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE compliments how well
behaved and smart he is.
Barb in VA
write, even his name! Usually my family has been very supportive of
homeschooling. BUT I guess that's because they assumed the boys
were "ahead" probably due to the fact they are tournament chess
players. My youngest doesn't want to write and I don't believe in
making him. Well, family thinks he should be reading too but the fact
he "CAN'T" write his name has caused quite the uproar and even has my
husband upset.
I guess this is more of a vent but it seems like I have not one ounce
of support right now. : ( If didn't have my older two that have
turned out "just fine" I might be worried. My oldest is 14 and the
shinning example of a teen. EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE compliments how well
behaved and smart he is.
Barb in VA
Deb
--- In [email protected], "my3sonsinva"
<my3sonsinva@...> wrote:
seen a need to bother with it. There's a big jump from "doesn't"
to "can't" that they seem to not be getting. My DS can go weeks and
weeks without picking up a book or magazine to read. Just because he
chooses not to read, he doesn't read for a while, does not mean he
can't. Hmm pondering 'aloud' - is there something that someone in
the family "can" do but doesn't do? For instance, maybe riding a
bicycle? Something that you could use as an example when your DH
starts getting nervous (everyone else can go fly a kite but since
he's right there it helps to have him on board).
Good luck
--Deb
<my3sonsinva@...> wrote:
>I would wonder whether he -can't- or whether he simply has not yet
> So, I guess it's very strange to have an eight year old that
>doesn't
> write, even his name! ...
>but the fact
> he "CAN'T" write his name has
> Barb in VA
>
seen a need to bother with it. There's a big jump from "doesn't"
to "can't" that they seem to not be getting. My DS can go weeks and
weeks without picking up a book or magazine to read. Just because he
chooses not to read, he doesn't read for a while, does not mean he
can't. Hmm pondering 'aloud' - is there something that someone in
the family "can" do but doesn't do? For instance, maybe riding a
bicycle? Something that you could use as an example when your DH
starts getting nervous (everyone else can go fly a kite but since
he's right there it helps to have him on board).
Good luck
--Deb
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 2, 2006, at 6:07 AM, my3sonsinva wrote:
longest time, and was 11 when she read, but she would copy words
others would write down long before she tried to make them up on her
own, and LONG before she could read them back. Maybe he'd be
interested in that.
It doesn't have to be pencil, you might mess with letters with a
stick in the sand (or a finger in flour or sugar or pudding) or a
chalkboard or something impermanent.
Kirby only got a signature lately. All the kids and I signed "assent
to participate in research" forms for someone's master's thesis, and
Kirby signed and walked out, and the rest of us looked amazed at a
nice-looking signature. Kirby's 19. Last fall at the conference in
Boston he signed a copy of Moving a Puddle and didn't have a nice-
looking signature at all. So I said "Kirby has a signature!" Marty
said, "That's because he has to write at work, and I'll have big
thighs!" (Kirby works at a pizza restaurant that takes LOTS of phone
orders, and did that for the first several weeks he was there. Marty
is working at a grocery store and does LOTS of pushing and retrieving
of grocery carts in a big parking lot.)
If the freaking out of the family is worse than the pain of the name
writing, maybe just ask your son to practice his name. If that
freaking out is worse than the stress of asking the family to back
off, then don't press him. That's my best, but imperfect,
suggestion. I'd go with the impermanent materials which might lessen
his stress.
Can he enter his name with a videogame remote control or a keyboard?
There are adults who can't. The world is changing. Handwriting
isn't as crucial as it once was.
Sandra
> So, I guess it's very strange to have an eight year old that doesn'tCan he copy it if you write it down? Holly didn't write for the
> write, even his name! Usually my family has been very supportive of
> homeschooling. BUT I guess that's because they assumed the boys
> were "ahead" probably due to the fact they are tournament chess
> players. My youngest doesn't want to write and I don't believe in
> making him. Well, family thinks he should be reading too but the fact
> he "CAN'T" write his name has caused quite the uproar and even has my
> husband upset.
longest time, and was 11 when she read, but she would copy words
others would write down long before she tried to make them up on her
own, and LONG before she could read them back. Maybe he'd be
interested in that.
It doesn't have to be pencil, you might mess with letters with a
stick in the sand (or a finger in flour or sugar or pudding) or a
chalkboard or something impermanent.
Kirby only got a signature lately. All the kids and I signed "assent
to participate in research" forms for someone's master's thesis, and
Kirby signed and walked out, and the rest of us looked amazed at a
nice-looking signature. Kirby's 19. Last fall at the conference in
Boston he signed a copy of Moving a Puddle and didn't have a nice-
looking signature at all. So I said "Kirby has a signature!" Marty
said, "That's because he has to write at work, and I'll have big
thighs!" (Kirby works at a pizza restaurant that takes LOTS of phone
orders, and did that for the first several weeks he was there. Marty
is working at a grocery store and does LOTS of pushing and retrieving
of grocery carts in a big parking lot.)
If the freaking out of the family is worse than the pain of the name
writing, maybe just ask your son to practice his name. If that
freaking out is worse than the stress of asking the family to back
off, then don't press him. That's my best, but imperfect,
suggestion. I'd go with the impermanent materials which might lessen
his stress.
Can he enter his name with a videogame remote control or a keyboard?
There are adults who can't. The world is changing. Handwriting
isn't as crucial as it once was.
Sandra
April Morris
I think this that Sandra said is really important.
<<<Can he enter his name with a videogame remote control or a keyboard?
There are adults who can't. The world is changing. Handwriting
isn't as crucial as it once was.>>>
When Kate was young and we weren't yet unschooling, she was really
struggling with writing. The physical act of writing was almost painful for
her. She could read well (finally, she read late, but when she did, she took
off), we were using curriculum and she could do all the work orally. She
could articulate and verbalize wonderful stories, but she could not get them
down on paper. I was concerned as she was about 10 and consulted a few
"experts". I was actually told by the experts to not worry. Since she could
type, they said let her go with that. They felt that with the world the way
it is, that the 'need to write' did not exist and wasn't worth the stress. I
was pretty surprised by this at the time. There was some kind of name for
not being able to write.....then, the following year I learned that my
father-in-law never wrote and still doesn't. He is 70 years old, has
multiple master degrees and has owned his own successful business for 30
some years. And he does not and will not write anything beyond signing his
name. Never has. He hires someone to do his writing if it's needed. He
managed very well even before the days electronic communication. That helped
me a great deal in relaxing and getting perspective. Once I relaxed and
stopped "making" Kate write, she stopped all of it. Didn't write, type or
anything for a while. Then suddenly at about 12 or 13 she started typing her
ideas and stories....volumes of them. At about 14 she picked up a pencil
again. She writes all the time. She still prefers typing to writing (as do
I). So much of what people worry about just doesn't really matter in the
long run of life. And rarely so their worst case scenarios come true.
~April
Mom to Kate-19, Lisa-17, Karl-14, & Ben-10.
*REACH Homeschool Grp, an inclusive group in Oakland County
http://www.reachhomeschool.com
* Michigan Unschoolers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michigan_unschoolers/
*Check out Chuck's art www.artkunst23.com
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Gandalf the Grey
<<<Can he enter his name with a videogame remote control or a keyboard?
There are adults who can't. The world is changing. Handwriting
isn't as crucial as it once was.>>>
When Kate was young and we weren't yet unschooling, she was really
struggling with writing. The physical act of writing was almost painful for
her. She could read well (finally, she read late, but when she did, she took
off), we were using curriculum and she could do all the work orally. She
could articulate and verbalize wonderful stories, but she could not get them
down on paper. I was concerned as she was about 10 and consulted a few
"experts". I was actually told by the experts to not worry. Since she could
type, they said let her go with that. They felt that with the world the way
it is, that the 'need to write' did not exist and wasn't worth the stress. I
was pretty surprised by this at the time. There was some kind of name for
not being able to write.....then, the following year I learned that my
father-in-law never wrote and still doesn't. He is 70 years old, has
multiple master degrees and has owned his own successful business for 30
some years. And he does not and will not write anything beyond signing his
name. Never has. He hires someone to do his writing if it's needed. He
managed very well even before the days electronic communication. That helped
me a great deal in relaxing and getting perspective. Once I relaxed and
stopped "making" Kate write, she stopped all of it. Didn't write, type or
anything for a while. Then suddenly at about 12 or 13 she started typing her
ideas and stories....volumes of them. At about 14 she picked up a pencil
again. She writes all the time. She still prefers typing to writing (as do
I). So much of what people worry about just doesn't really matter in the
long run of life. And rarely so their worst case scenarios come true.
~April
Mom to Kate-19, Lisa-17, Karl-14, & Ben-10.
*REACH Homeschool Grp, an inclusive group in Oakland County
http://www.reachhomeschool.com
* Michigan Unschoolers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michigan_unschoolers/
*Check out Chuck's art www.artkunst23.com
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Gandalf the Grey
On 3/2/06, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
>
> On Mar 2, 2006, at 6:07 AM, my3sonsinva wrote:
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
marji
>I failed to make the Honor Society in high schoolI, on the other hand, did make the NHS, but my father insisted that I
>not for grade average, but for... conduct. <g>
>
>I wouldn't have changed it. They rewarded dullness and
>conformity. They honored meekness.
go straight to the principal's office the day after we got the
congratulations letter and inform him that there must have been some
mistake! It was pretty humiliating.
I have no idea how on earth I ever managed to be nominated for
induction, let alone passed muster for induction! I did not recall
ever applying for the NHS (if that's what you do). (I wondered if I
might have been stoned or something and applied as a goof.) But, in
retrospect I think perhaps a beloved English teacher or art teacher
of mine must have nominated me. I mean, I cut so many classes in
high school that there were teachers whose classes I was *supposed*
to be in who didn't even know who I was! There were classes I just
never attended. There were whole days I totally blew off (lots of them).
To tell the truth, my induction into the NHS really diminished the
stature of that organization in my eyes!! I figured they just
weren't being very careful about who got admitted, and maybe they
didn't like to admit that they had made a mistake (which, I believed
they had - I believed that I had somehow slipped in there by some gross error).
In my book, high school attendance was optional, but that doesn't
mean I felt good about my choices at that time. I was certainly
shamed enough about my incorrigible class-cutting and wild behavior
by people whose opinions were important to me (namely, Mom &
Dad). Nevertheless, I just couldn't make myself endure that hell for
the sake of their acceptance. In retrospect, I do feel good now
about the choices I made, but at the time, I was a "bad" girl in
everyone's eyes, including my own.
So, there it is: a gold NHS sticker on my high school diploma, and I
gotta say, the whole thing has proven to be worthless really. Except
that I have a pretty nutty-looking, conflicted high school transcript!
~Marji, not missin' those days at all (except that I did get a *lot*
of time to practice the guitar!!)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Laura Endres
> I have no idea how on earth I ever managed to be nominated forI had the exact same experience, except for IL State Scholar. I got called to the office one day and my first thoughts were, "Uh oh, what am I in trouble for" and they told me I was being awarded as a State Scholar. It was all very surreal, and I still don't know how I qualified or applied or whatever. I might look that up right now. Back then, I just saw through all that stuff and thought, "Oh - ok, cool. Won't *I* look special at graduation!"
> induction, let alone passed muster for induction! I did not recall
> ever applying for the NHS (if that's what you do). (I wondered if I
> might have been stoned or something and applied as a goof.)
Laura, still in IL
*~*~*~*~*~*
"out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." ~Rumi
*~*~*~*~*~*
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 2, 2006, at 8:15 AM, marji wrote:
I was blackballed by a single teacher, I heard later, because I hung
out with dope smokers. My cousin, a B student to my A, was big into
sex and drugs, but she was also sneaky, and she got in. It was the
first and only time, I think, that she bested me in an academic way.
And it wasn't that she was living cleanly, it's that she was good at
the wide-eyed innocent face. <bwg>
Those memories of the realities of school make me appreciate
unschooling all the more.
Sandra
> I have no idea how on earth I ever managed to be nominated forProbably teachers liked you because you're smart and honest.
> induction, let alone passed muster for induction! I did not recall
> ever applying for the NHS (if that's what you do).
I was blackballed by a single teacher, I heard later, because I hung
out with dope smokers. My cousin, a B student to my A, was big into
sex and drugs, but she was also sneaky, and she got in. It was the
first and only time, I think, that she bested me in an academic way.
And it wasn't that she was living cleanly, it's that she was good at
the wide-eyed innocent face. <bwg>
Those memories of the realities of school make me appreciate
unschooling all the more.
Sandra
marji
>Those memories of the realities of school make me appreciateI couldn't agree more!! There probably isn't a day that goes by that
>unschooling all the more.
I don't appreciate unschooling (if not consciously then certainly on
some level), but I'm especially grateful that I won't have to be
reliving the absurdities of that phoney-baloney institution through my son.
~Marji, watching the snow fall
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
my3sonsinva
Thanks for the replys. He does have some writing issues. On his
own he has copied words from books around the house fine. He wanted
to learn how to write his name but couldn't (he can copy rather
clearly) so I told him just to write his initials. RJ which he
usually writes JR with the r backwards. I worked in a pharamacy (we
often couldn't read the dr.'s handwriting)and in an office full of
engineers where 90% wrote on about a 3rd grade level so I'm not very
worried. It's just dealing with others opinions and concerns that
is hard.
I don't play chess myself. I guess that would be the perfect
example that children can learn and succeed on their own. I'm proud
of the fact that they do an outreach program and all 3 teach kids
chess. They have taught HUNDREDS of children how to play. I also
don't behave very well so I'm amazed my kids do at just the right
time like at family weddings and get togethers. I think they like
adults and get along with them and that is why people think they are
well behaved. They also do all the normal kid stuff. Their
favorite show is the Simpsons, lol.
Thanks for the advice,
Barb in VA
own he has copied words from books around the house fine. He wanted
to learn how to write his name but couldn't (he can copy rather
clearly) so I told him just to write his initials. RJ which he
usually writes JR with the r backwards. I worked in a pharamacy (we
often couldn't read the dr.'s handwriting)and in an office full of
engineers where 90% wrote on about a 3rd grade level so I'm not very
worried. It's just dealing with others opinions and concerns that
is hard.
I don't play chess myself. I guess that would be the perfect
example that children can learn and succeed on their own. I'm proud
of the fact that they do an outreach program and all 3 teach kids
chess. They have taught HUNDREDS of children how to play. I also
don't behave very well so I'm amazed my kids do at just the right
time like at family weddings and get togethers. I think they like
adults and get along with them and that is why people think they are
well behaved. They also do all the normal kid stuff. Their
favorite show is the Simpsons, lol.
Thanks for the advice,
Barb in VA
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 2, 2006, at 9:54 AM, my3sonsinva wrote:
It will make a difference if you can undo those thoughts and phrases,
even if it seems like it wouldn't matter now.
Sandra
> I worked in a pharamacy (weTry to avoid thinking of things in terms like "3rd grade level."
> often couldn't read the dr.'s handwriting)and in an office full of
> engineers where 90% wrote on about a 3rd grade level so I'm not very
> worried.
It will make a difference if you can undo those thoughts and phrases,
even if it seems like it wouldn't matter now.
Sandra
Su Penn
Our school posted the list of who got into NHS on a bulletin board,
after giving it a big build up for weeks in advance, so we all had to
go stand around and look at the bulletin board in public to see
whether we got in or not. People were crying if they didn't get in,
it had been made such a big deal. And, they posted the list by grade
point average, so everyone could see that, for instance, I was the
person with the lowest gpa to be admitted, which made me an object of
ridicule both among the 47 or so people with higher gpas than mine
and, weirdly, among the people with lower gpas who hadn't been admitted.
And, after all that drama, it turns out that it makes no difference
in life at all whether you were in NHS or not, as far as I can tell.
I am always amazed when friends of mine can't understand why anyone
would homeschool. I always want to say, "Don't you _remember_ school?
Were you so stoned the whole time that you can't remember any of it?
Or have you watched Mr. Holland's Opus so many times that all your
real memories have been replaced with Hollywood reconstructions?"
One of my friends actually cried after I told her we were going to
homeschool. She has this big liberal commitment to public schools,
which isn't very well thought out but is definitely deeply emotional
for her. When I reminded her of some things she had told me about her
high school experience, she said, "Oh, it wasn't all that bad." I
said, "Sorry, but 'not all that bad' isn't good enough for my kids."
Su
after giving it a big build up for weeks in advance, so we all had to
go stand around and look at the bulletin board in public to see
whether we got in or not. People were crying if they didn't get in,
it had been made such a big deal. And, they posted the list by grade
point average, so everyone could see that, for instance, I was the
person with the lowest gpa to be admitted, which made me an object of
ridicule both among the 47 or so people with higher gpas than mine
and, weirdly, among the people with lower gpas who hadn't been admitted.
And, after all that drama, it turns out that it makes no difference
in life at all whether you were in NHS or not, as far as I can tell.
I am always amazed when friends of mine can't understand why anyone
would homeschool. I always want to say, "Don't you _remember_ school?
Were you so stoned the whole time that you can't remember any of it?
Or have you watched Mr. Holland's Opus so many times that all your
real memories have been replaced with Hollywood reconstructions?"
One of my friends actually cried after I told her we were going to
homeschool. She has this big liberal commitment to public schools,
which isn't very well thought out but is definitely deeply emotional
for her. When I reminded her of some things she had told me about her
high school experience, she said, "Oh, it wasn't all that bad." I
said, "Sorry, but 'not all that bad' isn't good enough for my kids."
Su
On Mar 2, 2006, at 10:56 AM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
> Those memories of the realities of school make me appreciate
> unschooling all the more.
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 2, 2006, at 1:37 PM, Su Penn wrote:
tapping ceremony in the gym is avoided. Sheeeeesh... And it had
never occurred to me until just now that as bad as that might be for
those picked or nearly picked, how TOTALLY worthless it must've been
for those who knew they didn't have a snowball's chance at sea level
on the equator of being picked, yet they had to sit through the
sadistic tapping out, and the lame speeches.
My kids will never really know how lucky they are. For years
(lifetimes, I suppose, one apiece) others will likely try to make
them feel they missed out on something great, deep, meaningful and
enriching. Guys who have been in the military longer than they were
having fun, or in prison, do the same thing to those who never have
been. They glorify the most menial irritating parts of what they
endured and tell others "you'll never know."
Sandra
> Our school posted the list of who got into NHS on a bulletin board,Kinda harsh, but at least the dramatic dragging out of the public
> after giving it a big build up for weeks in advance, so we all had to
> go stand around and look at the bulletin board in public to see
> whether we got in or not.
tapping ceremony in the gym is avoided. Sheeeeesh... And it had
never occurred to me until just now that as bad as that might be for
those picked or nearly picked, how TOTALLY worthless it must've been
for those who knew they didn't have a snowball's chance at sea level
on the equator of being picked, yet they had to sit through the
sadistic tapping out, and the lame speeches.
My kids will never really know how lucky they are. For years
(lifetimes, I suppose, one apiece) others will likely try to make
them feel they missed out on something great, deep, meaningful and
enriching. Guys who have been in the military longer than they were
having fun, or in prison, do the same thing to those who never have
been. They glorify the most menial irritating parts of what they
endured and tell others "you'll never know."
Sandra
Sandra Dodd
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/03/02/homeschool.growth.reut/
index.html?section=cnn_latest
HEY! A kinda decent article on homeschooling, which mentions
unschooling without sounding ridiculous. I've quoted a little block
of it. Laura Derrick used to be very active in the AOL days:
========================================
Some parents follow an educational philosophy known as "unschooling,"
where the children are encouraged to follow their own interests
rather than adhering to a fixed curriculum.
Laura Derrick, president of the National Home Education Network, has
followed this philosophy with her 14-year-old son and 12-year-old
daughter.
"My son learned to read before he was 3 and I realized then we were
working better than any school program ever designed," she said.
"Children are born wanting to learn."
Lisa Dean, who was a lawyer before she became a mother, said
homeschooling her children was tremendously rewarding but also very
exhausting.
=========================
I left that last paragraph because I figure CNN will get maybe 1200 e-
mails from female lawyers who will figure they're the first and only
to say "I was a lawyer even AFTER I became a mother!"
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
index.html?section=cnn_latest
HEY! A kinda decent article on homeschooling, which mentions
unschooling without sounding ridiculous. I've quoted a little block
of it. Laura Derrick used to be very active in the AOL days:
========================================
Some parents follow an educational philosophy known as "unschooling,"
where the children are encouraged to follow their own interests
rather than adhering to a fixed curriculum.
Laura Derrick, president of the National Home Education Network, has
followed this philosophy with her 14-year-old son and 12-year-old
daughter.
"My son learned to read before he was 3 and I realized then we were
working better than any school program ever designed," she said.
"Children are born wanting to learn."
Lisa Dean, who was a lawyer before she became a mother, said
homeschooling her children was tremendously rewarding but also very
exhausting.
=========================
I left that last paragraph because I figure CNN will get maybe 1200 e-
mails from female lawyers who will figure they're the first and only
to say "I was a lawyer even AFTER I became a mother!"
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
I saw another site's posting of that Reuter's article and it had one
more paragraph at the end which CNN left off. I think CNN's cool,
then. <g>
-=-Back in science class, the children were satisfied that heavy and
light objects both fall to earth at the same speed, just as Galileo
observed, even if neither they nor their mothers seemed to know why.
And then it was time for lunch.-=-
I have this to say about that:
If no one before or during the time of Galileo except Galileo knew
it, there's no reason to think ALL the people alive since "know
it." Some physics formula on a piece of paper doesn't explain it
anyway, not in English, and not in a way that really matters.
And I wonder if the webmaster or editor who decided to include that
paragraph and the reporter who wrote it have seen the scene in
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead where they drop a feather
and... what was it? A wooden ball or something. <g>
Oh well... doesn't matter. There are some things that don't fall as
quickly as others, and those get OTHER scribbled-on-paper proofs. <g>
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
more paragraph at the end which CNN left off. I think CNN's cool,
then. <g>
-=-Back in science class, the children were satisfied that heavy and
light objects both fall to earth at the same speed, just as Galileo
observed, even if neither they nor their mothers seemed to know why.
And then it was time for lunch.-=-
I have this to say about that:
If no one before or during the time of Galileo except Galileo knew
it, there's no reason to think ALL the people alive since "know
it." Some physics formula on a piece of paper doesn't explain it
anyway, not in English, and not in a way that really matters.
And I wonder if the webmaster or editor who decided to include that
paragraph and the reporter who wrote it have seen the scene in
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead where they drop a feather
and... what was it? A wooden ball or something. <g>
Oh well... doesn't matter. There are some things that don't fall as
quickly as others, and those get OTHER scribbled-on-paper proofs. <g>
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
mother_bhaer
>Just be careful about thinking he has "issues" because he writes some
> Thanks for the replys. He does have some writing issues. On his
> own he has copied words from books around the house fine. He wanted
> to learn how to write his name but couldn't (he can copy rather
> clearly) so I told him just to write his initials. RJ which he
> usually writes JR with the r backwards. > Barb in VA
>
letters in a different order and some backwards. That is completely
normal. Many children I taught that were in the second grade were
still writing that way. Others in third were also.
Remember, he has a lot of things to consider when he is learning how
to write. He has to do so many things that we take for granted. He
has to make the letters that he hasn't had a lot of experience with,
he has to do it in some accepted order and all this with little hands
that aren't so used to holding a pencil. Little ones like your ds
shouldn't feel pressure to learn things no matter how easy they seem
to us. I'm thinking that he might be feeling that pressure even
though you don't intend for him to.
Terri
Pamela Sorooshian
On Mar 2, 2006, at 3:27 PM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
contact for the National Home Education Network.
And, Laura's family is here, visiting Southern California, right now.
Guess why?
Her husband has been nominated for an academy award - for
"Achievement in Sound Mixing" for the movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha."
Laura and her dh, John Pritchett, and their two always-unschooled
kids, will all be attending the Academy Awards program - so we'll be
watching for them on TV this Sunday and crossing our fingers for John!
-pam
> Laura Derrick used to be very active in the AOL days:Laura is very active in talking to reporters, as the primary media
contact for the National Home Education Network.
And, Laura's family is here, visiting Southern California, right now.
Guess why?
Her husband has been nominated for an academy award - for
"Achievement in Sound Mixing" for the movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha."
Laura and her dh, John Pritchett, and their two always-unschooled
kids, will all be attending the Academy Awards program - so we'll be
watching for them on TV this Sunday and crossing our fingers for John!
-pam
Sandra Dodd
His second nomination! Cool.
-=-Laura and her dh, John Pritchett, and their two always-unschooled
kids, will all be attending the Academy Awards program - so we'll be
watching for them on TV this Sunday and crossing our fingers for
John!-=-
The kids get to go too?
Sandra
-=-Laura and her dh, John Pritchett, and their two always-unschooled
kids, will all be attending the Academy Awards program - so we'll be
watching for them on TV this Sunday and crossing our fingers for
John!-=-
The kids get to go too?
Sandra
On Mar 3, 2006, at 4:56 PM, Pamela Sorooshian wrote:
> Her husband has been nominated for an academy award - for
> "Achievement in Sound Mixing" for the movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha."
Nisha
--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd
<Sandra@...> wrote:
Guys who have been in the military longer than they were
they endured and tell others "you'll never know."
years as active duty army) He has made the remark several times that
he wishes I had been in the military for at least one enlistment,
THEN I"D UNDERSTAND, because I just don't get it.
I've been married to the military for almost 16 years. I understand
enough, thanks. I am just ready for us to be DONE. At least he
realizes he is institutionalized and that things are going to be a
major adjustment for all of us when he gets out.
Nisha
<Sandra@...> wrote:
Guys who have been in the military longer than they were
> having fun, or in prison, do the same thing to those who neverhave been. They glorify the most menial irritating parts of what
they endured and tell others "you'll never know."
>My husband says something similar to me. (In june he will have 21
> Sandra
>
years as active duty army) He has made the remark several times that
he wishes I had been in the military for at least one enlistment,
THEN I"D UNDERSTAND, because I just don't get it.
I've been married to the military for almost 16 years. I understand
enough, thanks. I am just ready for us to be DONE. At least he
realizes he is institutionalized and that things are going to be a
major adjustment for all of us when he gets out.
Nisha
Pamela Sorooshian
On Mar 3, 2006, at 4:49 PM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
ESPECIALLY since John Stewart is hosting.
-pam
Unschooling shirts, cups, bumper stickers, bags...
Live Love Learn
UNSCHOOL!
<http://www.cafepress.com/livelovelearn>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> His second nomination! Cool.Yep. They'll be WAY up in the balcony - but thrilled to be there
>
> -=-Laura and her dh, John Pritchett, and their two always-unschooled
> kids, will all be attending the Academy Awards program - so we'll be
> watching for them on TV this Sunday and crossing our fingers for
> John!-=-
>
> The kids get to go too?
ESPECIALLY since John Stewart is hosting.
-pam
Unschooling shirts, cups, bumper stickers, bags...
Live Love Learn
UNSCHOOL!
<http://www.cafepress.com/livelovelearn>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joanna Wilkinson
My daughter went to high school last year. I told her from the
beginning, "you better not make the honor roll, cause I'm not
sticking that damn bumper sticker on my car" Well she made the
honor roll.
The first thing she said to her friends was "man, my mom's gonna be
mad at me." She brought home the bumper sticker and was teasing me
about sneaking it on my car. I did tell her I would put it on if
she really wanted me to, but I had a real conflict with it. She was
a die hard unschooler until she decided to check out high school, so
she really didn't want me to put it on. We went to the honor roll
banquet where they called up everyone and gave them a certificate.
I couldn't believe the who-ha they made of it all. Also, they
divided them up into "regular" honor roll and "exceptional" honor
roll. :-p
The dinner took about 4 hours! When we were leaving I said to
her, "you better not make the honor roll next year, cause I'm not
coming to this damn banquet again."
She is having such a different high school experience than I did,
and different from all of the kids she's in school with. It's
really been a facinating "social science" experiment for both of us.
If it weren't for French and Drama and loving her French teacher and
going to Paris and Barcelona this Spring with the French club, we
both wonder if she would still be there. Those huge positives
outweigh the vast amount of little negatives at this point.
Joanna
beginning, "you better not make the honor roll, cause I'm not
sticking that damn bumper sticker on my car" Well she made the
honor roll.
The first thing she said to her friends was "man, my mom's gonna be
mad at me." She brought home the bumper sticker and was teasing me
about sneaking it on my car. I did tell her I would put it on if
she really wanted me to, but I had a real conflict with it. She was
a die hard unschooler until she decided to check out high school, so
she really didn't want me to put it on. We went to the honor roll
banquet where they called up everyone and gave them a certificate.
I couldn't believe the who-ha they made of it all. Also, they
divided them up into "regular" honor roll and "exceptional" honor
roll. :-p
The dinner took about 4 hours! When we were leaving I said to
her, "you better not make the honor roll next year, cause I'm not
coming to this damn banquet again."
She is having such a different high school experience than I did,
and different from all of the kids she's in school with. It's
really been a facinating "social science" experiment for both of us.
If it weren't for French and Drama and loving her French teacher and
going to Paris and Barcelona this Spring with the French club, we
both wonder if she would still be there. Those huge positives
outweigh the vast amount of little negatives at this point.
Joanna
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 5, 2006, at 9:14 AM, Joanna Wilkinson wrote:
Four hours.... sheesh.
For honor roll. It does sound painful and overblown.
Could they possibly have spent that money better? (Or did they make
the parents pay for it? <g>)
-=-She is having such a different high school experience than I did,
and different from all of the kids she's in school with. It's
really been a facinating "social science" experiment for both of us.-=-
I've seen that so much with kids who voluntarily go to school, or
kids who are still in school but whose parents would rather they come
home. It makes SUCH a big difference that nearly every statement and
assumption about school seems to need revision. It's not "school
causes X," or "School is like X," but "Being forced to attend school
involuntarily causes X" and "A school full of reluctant, resistent
children without choices is like X."
Sandra
http://sandradodd.com/schoolchoice
an old article about kids now grown
> The dinner took about 4 hours! When we were leaving I said toJoanna, you're not a very good mom, are you? <bwg>
> her, "you better not make the honor roll next year, cause I'm not
> coming to this damn banquet again."
Four hours.... sheesh.
For honor roll. It does sound painful and overblown.
Could they possibly have spent that money better? (Or did they make
the parents pay for it? <g>)
-=-She is having such a different high school experience than I did,
and different from all of the kids she's in school with. It's
really been a facinating "social science" experiment for both of us.-=-
I've seen that so much with kids who voluntarily go to school, or
kids who are still in school but whose parents would rather they come
home. It makes SUCH a big difference that nearly every statement and
assumption about school seems to need revision. It's not "school
causes X," or "School is like X," but "Being forced to attend school
involuntarily causes X" and "A school full of reluctant, resistent
children without choices is like X."
Sandra
http://sandradodd.com/schoolchoice
an old article about kids now grown
Joanna Wilkinson
>I was always a crappy "school mom". ;-)
>
> Joanna, you're not a very good mom, are you? <bwg>
>make
> Four hours.... sheesh.
> For honor roll. It does sound painful and overblown.
> Could they possibly have spent that money better? (Or did they
> the parents pay for it? <g>)Yes, we paid for ourselves. The kids got a free meal.
>It makes SUCH a big difference that nearly every statement and
>
> assumption about school seems to need revision. It's not "schoolschool
> causes X," or "School is like X," but "Being forced to attend
> involuntarily causes X" and "A school full of reluctant,resistent
> children without choices is like X."She came down the other morning really puffy eyed. She had stayed
up too late, then went to bed and cried herself to sleep. It was
right before her period and she was thinking about a lot of sad
things and it was all coming out. Her eyes were really bad, and she
was still weepy the next morning and I was saying to her, "just stay
home". We were in the car, on the way to school before she finally
relented to skipping it. She was really mad at herself for caring
about school so much. She couldn't figure out why she cared about
being there, when so many of her friends skip or stay home as much
as possible. All I could think of was, it's her choice to be there
so maybe in some way, she feels like she is letting herself down, or
maybe if she lets herself feel like, "I don't have to go", she might
stop going a lot and eventually not at all.
I don't know. But her feelings about it are perplexing to both of
us.
Joanna