Bridget E Coffman

I found another quote at unschooling.com that pretty much sums up our
philosophy well. I was laughing out loud when I read who wrote it!

For us, unschooling *is* life. Our lives are a balance of
needs and desires, hopes and fears, love and tears, peace
and upheaval - you name it, and it's there. Learning is a part
of all of it, not separate from it.

And this one from later on the same page:

I respect their needs, feelings and desires. I believe that
young children's needs include being shielded from the
responsibility of making decisions they do not yet have the
knowledge and experience to make - things for which they
should not have to bear the consequences - and this is my
job as a parent. It is a tricky to job to balance our children's
needs with their desires, especially when they can't yet see
that they are sometimes different, or when they are
diametrically opposed. I don't see it as coercion or
conditional freedom, but rather as a real-life lesson in
making decisions, guidance, parenting. From the time that
they are able to understand the choices, they are part of the
process.

Man - I just love it when someone condemns me for saying the exact same
thing they do, only differently. And then can't even see what they have
done.

Bridget


~~~~If electricity comes from electrons...does that mean that morality
comes from morons?~~~~
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell;
And by and by my Soul returned to me,
And answered, "I Myself am Heaven and Hell." -- The Rubaiyat

Tami Labig-Duquette

Bridget,
Whether I agree with your unschooling or not is irrelevent, I doubt anyone
would agree with mine and thats ok because I/We live for us in that respect
:) I do admire your perseverence (sp?) in that you have stayed and not get
nasty and then leave :) Also, I think you have brought up a great
discussion, I have enjoyed reading this thread.
Indiana Tami

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"
~Ghandi

Try out this fun site!
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>From: Bridget E Coffman <rumpleteasermom@...>
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Another Quote
>Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2001 13:31:02 -0400
>
>I found another quote at unschooling.com that pretty much sums up our
>philosophy well. I was laughing out loud when I read who wrote it!
>
> For us, unschooling *is* life. Our lives are a balance of
> needs and desires, hopes and fears, love and tears, peace
> and upheaval - you name it, and it's there. Learning is a part
> of all of it, not separate from it.
>
>And this one from later on the same page:
>
> I respect their needs, feelings and desires. I believe that
> young children's needs include being shielded from the
> responsibility of making decisions they do not yet have the
> knowledge and experience to make - things for which they
> should not have to bear the consequences - and this is my
> job as a parent. It is a tricky to job to balance our children's
> needs with their desires, especially when they can't yet see
> that they are sometimes different, or when they are
> diametrically opposed. I don't see it as coercion or
> conditional freedom, but rather as a real-life lesson in
> making decisions, guidance, parenting. From the time that
> they are able to understand the choices, they are part of the
> process.
>
>Man - I just love it when someone condemns me for saying the exact same
>thing they do, only differently. And then can't even see what they have
>done.
>
>Bridget
>
>
>~~~~If electricity comes from electrons...does that mean that morality
>comes from morons?~~~~
>I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
> Some letter of that After-life to spell;
>And by and by my Soul returned to me,
> And answered, "I Myself am Heaven and Hell." -- The Rubaiyat


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[email protected]

In a message dated 9/9/01 12:21:58 PM, rumpleteasermom@... writes:

<< Man - I just love it when someone condemns me >>

It certainl seems so.

I'm glad you're reading other things.

Now maybe for your next assignment (because you DO really want you to
practice what you preach, and a certain amount of work should be done each
week, right?) you could try reading some of unschooling.com for a purpose
OTHER than to find quotes to justify yourself.

Holding your breath and waiting for the world to make you right is WAY more
work than letting that breath out, taking a deep, cleansing breath and seeing
if any sweetness and new ideas can flow in.

Someday you'll probably want to change the way you're being with your kids.
If you're too adamant now, it will be harder when that time comes. The more
you defend yourself about questionable choices, the harder it will be for you
to consider whether they're good or bad. The more open you are to learning,
the better example you'll set for your totally unschooled children.






Sandra

"Everything counts."
http://expage.com/SandraDoddArticles
http://expage.com/SandraDodd

Sharon Rudd

Brigette....Are you running on adrenalin just now?
Your posts are getting a little frantic, as if you are
producing ketones. The substances that your body makes
when stressed can alter the way information is
perceived.

If I may ask, what is the serious health problem you
suffer from that you have referred to? Fatigue can't
be good for you. It IS possible to get so tired you
can't rest.

Sharon


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Bridget E Coffman

Thank you

Bridget

On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 14:37:24 -0400 "Tami Labig-Duquette"
<labigduquette@...> writes:
> Bridget,
> Whether I agree with your unschooling or not is irrelevent, I doubt
> anyone
> would agree with mine and thats ok because I/We live for us in that
> respect
> :) I do admire your perseverence (sp?) in that you have stayed and
> not get
> nasty and then leave :) Also, I think you have brought up a great
> discussion, I have enjoyed reading this thread.
> Indiana Tami
>

~~~~If electricity comes from electrons...does that mean that morality
comes from morons?~~~~
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell;
And by and by my Soul returned to me,
And answered, "I Myself am Heaven and Hell." -- The Rubaiyat

Bridget E Coffman

On Sun, 9 Sep 2001 11:47:46 -0700 (PDT) Sharon Rudd
<bearspawprint@...> writes:
> Brigette....Are you running on adrenalin just now?
> Your posts are getting a little frantic, as if you are
> producing ketones.

Nope, that's how I sound when I am writing while distracted. Of course,
I live with three teen-agers, a 9 year old and 2 other adults, I'm
distracted a lot!.


> If I may ask, what is the serious health problem you
> suffer from that you have referred to? Fatigue can't
> be good for you. It IS possible to get so tired you
> can't rest.
>

I've gotten plenty of sleep this week, thanks. My medical history is
extensive.
In 1996 I had a bout of Guillaun-Barre. I was down for about 6 months.
It was a very mild case, I never needed an iron lung or anything but it
was sever enough to keep me bedridden for better than three months,
unable to lift a jug of milk for more than 6 months and just plain week
for a year. That was during our first full year of homeschooling.
Rachel was 11, Jenni was 9 and Wyndham was 4. The girls learned a lot
that year, like cooking and cleaning and caring for me! Which was good
practice for 1998. In November of 1998 I was take by ambulance to the
hospital where they diagnosed an acute asthma attack. Unfortunately what
they should have diagnosed was a pulmonary embolism. Had they done that
they may have prevented the heart attack I jad two days later when I was
coming out of the coma. Several months later, my cardiologist tried to
withdraw my blood thinners. I developed arterial clots in my legs within
weeks. So now I am on blood thinners for life. It took a long time to
recover from the heart attack and I still have diminished fumction in my
lower left ventrical and probably always will. It is very unlikely to
recover more function this late after the event, or so they tell me.
Meanwhile, I worked myself into a major depression last year and now am
not working because I need to be home for a while. I understand the
effects of stress and despite how you think I sound, I am not stressing
over this conversation. In fact, it has added a new joke to the Coffman
repertoire. Now any time we see anyone being a parent - anything from
stopping a toddler from running out into the road to telling a child he
has to leave the park and go home now - we say - oops, they can't be
unschoolers! Goes right along with our other joke - anyone showing a
belly button in public must be a slut.
So if nothing else, thanks for the new joke!

Bridget




~~~~If electricity comes from electrons...does that mean that morality
comes from morons?~~~~
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell;
And by and by my Soul returned to me,
And answered, "I Myself am Heaven and Hell." -- The Rubaiyat

Bridget E Coffman

On Sun, 9 Sep 2001 14:47:35 EDT SandraDodd@... writes:
> Now maybe for your next assignment (because you DO really want you to
> practice what you preach, and a certain amount of work should be done
each
> week, right?) you could try reading some of unschooling.com for a
purpose
> OTHER than to find quotes to justify yourself.
>

I've already read most of the sight. I haven't check into the message
boards but I've read the FAQ and the other pages.

> Holding your breath and waiting for the world to make you right is WAY
more
> work than letting that breath out, taking a deep, cleansing breath and
seeing
> if any sweetness and new ideas can flow in.
>

I'm not holding my breath. I know that you have made up your mind about
me and nothing I say is going to change it. My opinion of you is not
quite as set in stone. I truly believe you could just be having a busy
week and just don't have time to really look at what I have said.


> Someday you'll probably want to change the way you're being with your
kids.
> If you're too adamant now, it will be harder when that time comes. The
more
> you defend yourself about questionable choices, the harder it will be
for you
> to consider whether they're good or bad. The more open you are to
learning,
> the better example you'll set for your totally unschooled children.
>

Why would I want to change how I am with my kids? The only way to go
from here is more strict. Well, I suppose I could leave the house
entirely. My role in this household is as the organizer. I am the one
who knows where things are and when we are supposed to do things. I take
care of the household so others can do their things freely. My children
have very few rules other than that they are not allowed to pursue
destructive behavior. That means something different for each child.
Jenni can hole up in her room for a week at a time and do whatever and
that is fine. It is not fine if Rachel does it. They are different
children with different needs and problems. The fact that I recognize
that allows the family to run smoothly. The fact that you can't
recognize the fact that different children may need different things in
order to unschool successfully is only going to push more people away
from it, not draw us toward it. Especially when the first thing they
hear when they come here amounts to "go away."

Bridget



~~~~If electricity comes from electrons...does that mean that morality
comes from morons?~~~~
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell;
And by and by my Soul returned to me,
And answered, "I Myself am Heaven and Hell." -- The Rubaiyat