Larla Dey

hi! belated reply to stuff from a month ago or so- thanks to the folks that
gave positive feedback about me writing here, i'm never sure whether to jump
in especially in a discussion among parents, which i'm not yet... someone
asked me what it was like coming to college after unschooling... it was like
everyone was getting used to an unstructured life while i had to deal with
more structure, i felt a little backwards of everyone, and there is a matter
of cultural history that i don't share to the same degree, when people bond
about middle or high school experiences, i used to feel left out some, and
shy about bringing up homeschooling, because while they can banter equally
about school back and forth, bringing up homeschooling turns the
conversation over to me answering questions a lot of the time... in a
receptive group that can be very rewarding though... and it is interesting
to listen to others' culture, its just as when someone is talking about
people you don't know or tv shows you haven't seen or if someone comes here
from a different country without knowing the pop icons and such... i can ask
questions, to stay in the conversation, and learn more about other's point
of view.
academically i came to a school where there are no required courses and you
do independent work for each of your classes, so you make your own
curriculum, perfect for me... though i must say i am very bad at sticking to
deadlines, because i have a 'time is in our mind' philosophy that whatever
doesn't get done today, can be done tomorrow or the next day... from
homeschooling, where this is true, it is hard to come to school where things
are run on a clock and calendar and if you don't get it done by x date you
don't get credit... i show up late for things and get extensions on
assignments, maybe more my personality but i think homeschooling let me see
time in an unclocked light and i'll always prefer it that way.
its good to keep reading this list, i've been stuck in the book that i'm
trying to write about homeschooling, its hard to write about myself and to
show how my journey t unschooling was natural and much better for me than
the huge institution of school- also i got a real mean letter from a teacher
threatening to take away credit if i don't write more, i think i want to put
that in the book, as an example of a school tactic that's counterproductive-
he made me too upset to write much at all! :-)
i am rememering lately the homeschooling ideas that helped me: keeping a log
of what i actually did in a day, rather than what i planned on doing... felt
a lot more productive that way... also, remembering to deschool every once
in a while, is very necessary... this college thing goes on too long, i
sometimes wish i'd kept unschooling all the way, tho its been great to meet
teachers and lovers of learning and to get a whole new vocabulary in liberal
arts college, i wouldn't trade that.... its expanded my ideas politically
emotionally spiritually physically, put my energy into a broader context of
what the world is doing... how i can be of service to the world...
unschooling was sometimes too me-focused, i needed to learn how to network,
collaborate, and accept criticism: this is hardest, because for the past 12
years i've been the authority on my own work...
ay well i tend to ramble just wanted to say thanks for your feedback and i'm
still listening... are there any unschoolers on this list near portland,
oregon? i may be moving there come summer. i've been in ny for far too long.
;-)
love and light,
larla dey :-)
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