Unschooling.com's MidOctober Online Newsletter
Unschooling.com Newsletter by way of Ho
Unschooling.com's MidOctober Online Newsletter
**Perspectives
**Former Hostages File Suit
**RAWA
**Kaleidoscopes
**The Perspective
**Art and Drawing
**Healing and Dying
**Transforming the World
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Perspectives
In August I decided that the theme of the Septemeber issue of this
newsletter would be "perspectives". Life has thrown me a few curve
balls this year, my father has become bedridden, a dear friend has entered
the last phase of living with liver cancer, and three of my children all
became
fluent readers at the same time. Even in my own reading I was finding
different perspectives of old issues, leaving me to rethink things I
already thought I knew.
Then those ill-fated planes flew into the World Trade Center and forever
changed our lives, the lives of our children, and their children's
children. I couldn't find a perspective, much less write with one, as life
was now an ever-changing kaleidoscope of images, feelings and worries.
During the last month I felt twinges of envy for our curriculum using
brothers and sisters. The main battle cry of unschooling is that we use
*real life* as the vehicle for our families learning. Real life was no
longer what I wanted to offer my children. I wanted to offer them the safe
haven of badly written textbooks. Texts so devoid of meaning that their real
questions would be truncated before they could even think of them. I don't
have very many answers to the questions that now face us. How refreshing it
would be to be able to say, this is the *right* answer to the question at
the end of the chapter.
Of course, my children, used to living authentic lives, had no interest in
changing course now. They still wanted their very real lives. I suspect no
one will be surprised when I say they led me to my own safe haven. They
asked questions, offered opinions and they keep tabs on how the work in NY
is progressing, but by and large they are living their normal lives,
reading, playing computer games, going places and of course they continue to
eat me out of house and home.
I watch them as they absorb the actions of the world around them, and then
continue on with the job at hand, which is the simple living of their own
lives. My world is not so simple, and since their father is an Army
Reservist, it's possible that their world won't stay simple forever, but for
now we are breathing deeply and moving ahead. By looking with the
perspective of my children, I am able to one again gain a bit of
perspective, at least enough to bring you this month's unschooling
newsletter.
In this issue you'll find websites and other resources that challenge our
perspectives, from online kaleidoscopes to the very raw drawings of Afghani
children.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Former Hostages File Suit
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,36574,00.html
Strange happenings in this war on terrorism --
The former hostages are suing Iran for monetary damages after their 444-day
captivity, which followed the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in the
capital city of Tehran. They say a law passed in 1996 allows Americans to
sue in civil court countries on the State Department's list of state
sponsors of terrorism.
The Justice Department said this week that the 1996 law does not trump the
accord that freed the hostages in the first place.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
RAWA, Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
www.rawa.org
RAWA has been in existence since 1977. Read that again. 1977 means that
Afghani women have been fighting fundamentalism for 32 years. I give you the
main url in hopes that you will have your perspectives challenged but be
warned this site contains graphic and horrific information. The pages that
were the most compelling to me, as an unschooler, were the drawings by the
children. It gives our phase "learning from life" a whole new twist. For
their pictures visit - http://rawa.fancymarketing.net/kid-pic.htm
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Kaleidoscopes
http://www.physics.orst.edu/~bulatov/vrml/kaleidoscopes/index.html
You know, I always thought of kaleidoscopes as a child's fantasy toy. Never
did I realize the mathematics hidden within those mesmerizing pictures. This
site takes you to some high class 'scopes like these --
Euclidean plane kaleidoscopes
Spherical kaleidoscopes
Hyperbolic kaleidoscopes
And then, if you understand this
Step 1.
#VRML V2.0 utf8
Shape {
geometry IndexedFaceSet{
coord Coordinate{
point [
-1 0 0,
0 0 0,
-0.5 0.866025 0
Your or your children can take the programming code and make your own! Good
Luck!
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Can you guess who would put out an online journal aptly named The
Perspective? Come on guess.
Nope.
The Perspective - http://www.theperspective.org/
The Liberian Democratic Future (LDF) is a group of Liberians from different
ethnic backgrounds, genders, religious beliefs and political persuasions who
are dedicated to pluralistic, democratic Liberia. The Liberian Democratic
Future has great passion for democracy, peace with justice and equal
opportunity for all Liberians, which are not only necessary but in deed
critically imperative if we are to transcend the wounds and deep division of
our civil conflict. In recognition of this national need, LDF has decided to
launch a medium of dialogue - THE PERSPECTIVE.
As a unique upscale newsmagazine, The Perspective is significantly different
from other Liberian publications. Rather than dance around the problems, The
Perspective will confront the issues head on by concentrating on telling the
truth, exposing the root causes, underlining contributing factors and
identifying the class divisions which are the undercurrent of the various
problems in Liberia
Reading through this site makes our own Revolutionary period seem quaint and
almost naive.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Perspective in Art and Drawing
Of course, the newsletter wouldn't be complete without including art and
drawing in our theme of perspective. Hope you enjoy the sites below!
Find it on the Web: Pictures in Perspective
http://mathforum.org/sum95/math_and/perspective/perspect.html
Drawing in One Point Perspective
http://www.olejarz.com/arted/perspective/
What comes to mind when you think of 3-D glasses, holograms, and virtual
images? Ordinary objects coming alive? Looking at things in new, exciting
ways? Just as these modern-day 3-D innovations have caused a sensation in
our time, the use of perspective in art caused a visual/sensual response in
the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. - http://library.thinkquest.org/3257/
Explore the world of art and artists through our interactive timeline and
glossary - This is a megasite with more than anyone needs to know about art.
http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/study/study.html
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Healing and Dying
Below are websites with very different perspectives on healing and dying. As
I watch my father deal with becoming bedridden and what is the last stage of
his life, I find myself longing for a way to both hold on and to let go all
within the same moment. It's hard and frustrating work, hampered by the fact
that we only have a superficial relationship. During this time I also hold
in contrast of my friend living the last stages of liver cancer. Her
strength and joy while facing all that she must leaves me with the same
sense of awe I have when watching a Harvest Moon rise into the night's sky.
How could something be so big and so beautiful and still be so untouchable?
The Art of Healing: A Tibetan Buddhist Perspective
by Bonnie Pasqualoni
http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/tibetan-art-of-healing.htm
I beseech you, Medicine Guru,
whose sky-colored holy body of lapis lazuli
Signifies omniscient wisdom
and compassion as vast as limitless space,
please grant me your blessings.
Tibetans use an ancient form of medicine known as Gso-wa Rig-pa or "The
Knowledge of Healing" whose origins are believed to be based on the
teachings of the historical Buddha. Tibetan medicine is held in high esteem
in Tibet and central Asia.
In the Tibetan medical tradition, the concept of well-being takes into
account the full dynamics of mind, body and spirit to achieve an effective
and comprehensive healing strategy. It is immersed in Buddhist tradition,
which differs from non-Buddhist medicine in that it utilizes three types of
therapeutic intervention: medicinal entities, the power of mantra (a
creative, repetitive sound) and the power of meditative stabilization
(Donden, p. 215). In doing so, the Tibetan healing traditions transport us
into a strange world of interconnectedness between macrocosmic principles
and their microcosmic manifestations; harmony and balance between the cosmic
macrocosm and the human microcosm is believed to be essential for health and
well-being. This is true not only in the sense that balance is required for
health, but also in the somewhat deeper sense that such balance is the
essence of health; balance among the physical, psychological and spiritual
elements of human existence is health.
Share the Care
http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/reviews/coping/books/share.html
Share the Care was born when a group of women, including the authors, got
together to try to help a friend who had been suffering with cancer. Each
author approached the situation from very different perspectives based on
their unique situations and experiences. Sheila describes herself as an
"burnt-out caregiver." As one of the few people that their friend had
already been relying heavily upon as her cancer progressed and she became
increasingly debilitated, she now was struggling as she attempted to balance
the new caregiver demands being placed on her by her ailing mother. She was
skeptical of the group, their willingness and ability to meet the increasing
demands over a sustained period of time.
Despite each author's concerns, the group was formed, and for a period of
three and one half years, provided almost total care to their friend until
her death.
Now, the authors have compiled not only the story of this group and their
experiences, but have turned the trials, tribulations, and the wisdom gained
into a practical guidebook for caregivers of seriously ill persons. Share
the Care gives the reader a step by step directions for creating and
sustaining an "alternate family" to share the practical and emotional
responsibilities of caregiving
Jewish Healing Perspectives
http://web.wt.net/~cbenton/healing/heal.htm
A few years ago I woke up and said, "Dang! I'm getting old, and ugly, and my
body hurts more than it used to!" Consequently, I began to search through
the literature and the traditions of Judaism to see what my ancestors had
written about healing. I quickly realized that more has been said throughout
Judaism's long history than one individual could ever hope to reclaim.
Nevertheless, I did find both general principles and specific advice and
also bits of wisdom that seemed to speak directly to what I needed to know
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Transforming the World - by William Martin
The world inists on achievement and progress
and it is full of enmity and strife.
Can you see all this and still help your children
maintain their trust and hope and peace?
Can you accept the world as it is,
yet live according to a different standard?
Can you let your children see
a way of living
that transforms,
heals
nurtures,
and loves?
If you complain about politics
and gripe about taxes,
and stew about the sorry state of things
your children will learn to whine instead of laugh.
If you can see in every moment
a chance to live,
to accept,
and to appreciate,
your children will transform the world.
Please, may it be so!
That's it for MidOctober. See you next month!
Lisa Bugg, Editor
LisaBugg@...
Mark and Helen Hegener, Publishers
www.home-education-magazine.com
HEM@...
**Perspectives
**Former Hostages File Suit
**RAWA
**Kaleidoscopes
**The Perspective
**Art and Drawing
**Healing and Dying
**Transforming the World
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Perspectives
In August I decided that the theme of the Septemeber issue of this
newsletter would be "perspectives". Life has thrown me a few curve
balls this year, my father has become bedridden, a dear friend has entered
the last phase of living with liver cancer, and three of my children all
became
fluent readers at the same time. Even in my own reading I was finding
different perspectives of old issues, leaving me to rethink things I
already thought I knew.
Then those ill-fated planes flew into the World Trade Center and forever
changed our lives, the lives of our children, and their children's
children. I couldn't find a perspective, much less write with one, as life
was now an ever-changing kaleidoscope of images, feelings and worries.
During the last month I felt twinges of envy for our curriculum using
brothers and sisters. The main battle cry of unschooling is that we use
*real life* as the vehicle for our families learning. Real life was no
longer what I wanted to offer my children. I wanted to offer them the safe
haven of badly written textbooks. Texts so devoid of meaning that their real
questions would be truncated before they could even think of them. I don't
have very many answers to the questions that now face us. How refreshing it
would be to be able to say, this is the *right* answer to the question at
the end of the chapter.
Of course, my children, used to living authentic lives, had no interest in
changing course now. They still wanted their very real lives. I suspect no
one will be surprised when I say they led me to my own safe haven. They
asked questions, offered opinions and they keep tabs on how the work in NY
is progressing, but by and large they are living their normal lives,
reading, playing computer games, going places and of course they continue to
eat me out of house and home.
I watch them as they absorb the actions of the world around them, and then
continue on with the job at hand, which is the simple living of their own
lives. My world is not so simple, and since their father is an Army
Reservist, it's possible that their world won't stay simple forever, but for
now we are breathing deeply and moving ahead. By looking with the
perspective of my children, I am able to one again gain a bit of
perspective, at least enough to bring you this month's unschooling
newsletter.
In this issue you'll find websites and other resources that challenge our
perspectives, from online kaleidoscopes to the very raw drawings of Afghani
children.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Former Hostages File Suit
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,36574,00.html
Strange happenings in this war on terrorism --
The former hostages are suing Iran for monetary damages after their 444-day
captivity, which followed the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in the
capital city of Tehran. They say a law passed in 1996 allows Americans to
sue in civil court countries on the State Department's list of state
sponsors of terrorism.
The Justice Department said this week that the 1996 law does not trump the
accord that freed the hostages in the first place.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
RAWA, Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
www.rawa.org
RAWA has been in existence since 1977. Read that again. 1977 means that
Afghani women have been fighting fundamentalism for 32 years. I give you the
main url in hopes that you will have your perspectives challenged but be
warned this site contains graphic and horrific information. The pages that
were the most compelling to me, as an unschooler, were the drawings by the
children. It gives our phase "learning from life" a whole new twist. For
their pictures visit - http://rawa.fancymarketing.net/kid-pic.htm
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Kaleidoscopes
http://www.physics.orst.edu/~bulatov/vrml/kaleidoscopes/index.html
You know, I always thought of kaleidoscopes as a child's fantasy toy. Never
did I realize the mathematics hidden within those mesmerizing pictures. This
site takes you to some high class 'scopes like these --
Euclidean plane kaleidoscopes
Spherical kaleidoscopes
Hyperbolic kaleidoscopes
And then, if you understand this
Step 1.
#VRML V2.0 utf8
Shape {
geometry IndexedFaceSet{
coord Coordinate{
point [
-1 0 0,
0 0 0,
-0.5 0.866025 0
Your or your children can take the programming code and make your own! Good
Luck!
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Can you guess who would put out an online journal aptly named The
Perspective? Come on guess.
Nope.
The Perspective - http://www.theperspective.org/
The Liberian Democratic Future (LDF) is a group of Liberians from different
ethnic backgrounds, genders, religious beliefs and political persuasions who
are dedicated to pluralistic, democratic Liberia. The Liberian Democratic
Future has great passion for democracy, peace with justice and equal
opportunity for all Liberians, which are not only necessary but in deed
critically imperative if we are to transcend the wounds and deep division of
our civil conflict. In recognition of this national need, LDF has decided to
launch a medium of dialogue - THE PERSPECTIVE.
As a unique upscale newsmagazine, The Perspective is significantly different
from other Liberian publications. Rather than dance around the problems, The
Perspective will confront the issues head on by concentrating on telling the
truth, exposing the root causes, underlining contributing factors and
identifying the class divisions which are the undercurrent of the various
problems in Liberia
Reading through this site makes our own Revolutionary period seem quaint and
almost naive.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Perspective in Art and Drawing
Of course, the newsletter wouldn't be complete without including art and
drawing in our theme of perspective. Hope you enjoy the sites below!
Find it on the Web: Pictures in Perspective
http://mathforum.org/sum95/math_and/perspective/perspect.html
Drawing in One Point Perspective
http://www.olejarz.com/arted/perspective/
What comes to mind when you think of 3-D glasses, holograms, and virtual
images? Ordinary objects coming alive? Looking at things in new, exciting
ways? Just as these modern-day 3-D innovations have caused a sensation in
our time, the use of perspective in art caused a visual/sensual response in
the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. - http://library.thinkquest.org/3257/
Explore the world of art and artists through our interactive timeline and
glossary - This is a megasite with more than anyone needs to know about art.
http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/study/study.html
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Healing and Dying
Below are websites with very different perspectives on healing and dying. As
I watch my father deal with becoming bedridden and what is the last stage of
his life, I find myself longing for a way to both hold on and to let go all
within the same moment. It's hard and frustrating work, hampered by the fact
that we only have a superficial relationship. During this time I also hold
in contrast of my friend living the last stages of liver cancer. Her
strength and joy while facing all that she must leaves me with the same
sense of awe I have when watching a Harvest Moon rise into the night's sky.
How could something be so big and so beautiful and still be so untouchable?
The Art of Healing: A Tibetan Buddhist Perspective
by Bonnie Pasqualoni
http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/tibetan-art-of-healing.htm
I beseech you, Medicine Guru,
whose sky-colored holy body of lapis lazuli
Signifies omniscient wisdom
and compassion as vast as limitless space,
please grant me your blessings.
Tibetans use an ancient form of medicine known as Gso-wa Rig-pa or "The
Knowledge of Healing" whose origins are believed to be based on the
teachings of the historical Buddha. Tibetan medicine is held in high esteem
in Tibet and central Asia.
In the Tibetan medical tradition, the concept of well-being takes into
account the full dynamics of mind, body and spirit to achieve an effective
and comprehensive healing strategy. It is immersed in Buddhist tradition,
which differs from non-Buddhist medicine in that it utilizes three types of
therapeutic intervention: medicinal entities, the power of mantra (a
creative, repetitive sound) and the power of meditative stabilization
(Donden, p. 215). In doing so, the Tibetan healing traditions transport us
into a strange world of interconnectedness between macrocosmic principles
and their microcosmic manifestations; harmony and balance between the cosmic
macrocosm and the human microcosm is believed to be essential for health and
well-being. This is true not only in the sense that balance is required for
health, but also in the somewhat deeper sense that such balance is the
essence of health; balance among the physical, psychological and spiritual
elements of human existence is health.
Share the Care
http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/reviews/coping/books/share.html
Share the Care was born when a group of women, including the authors, got
together to try to help a friend who had been suffering with cancer. Each
author approached the situation from very different perspectives based on
their unique situations and experiences. Sheila describes herself as an
"burnt-out caregiver." As one of the few people that their friend had
already been relying heavily upon as her cancer progressed and she became
increasingly debilitated, she now was struggling as she attempted to balance
the new caregiver demands being placed on her by her ailing mother. She was
skeptical of the group, their willingness and ability to meet the increasing
demands over a sustained period of time.
Despite each author's concerns, the group was formed, and for a period of
three and one half years, provided almost total care to their friend until
her death.
Now, the authors have compiled not only the story of this group and their
experiences, but have turned the trials, tribulations, and the wisdom gained
into a practical guidebook for caregivers of seriously ill persons. Share
the Care gives the reader a step by step directions for creating and
sustaining an "alternate family" to share the practical and emotional
responsibilities of caregiving
Jewish Healing Perspectives
http://web.wt.net/~cbenton/healing/heal.htm
A few years ago I woke up and said, "Dang! I'm getting old, and ugly, and my
body hurts more than it used to!" Consequently, I began to search through
the literature and the traditions of Judaism to see what my ancestors had
written about healing. I quickly realized that more has been said throughout
Judaism's long history than one individual could ever hope to reclaim.
Nevertheless, I did find both general principles and specific advice and
also bits of wisdom that seemed to speak directly to what I needed to know
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>
Transforming the World - by William Martin
The world inists on achievement and progress
and it is full of enmity and strife.
Can you see all this and still help your children
maintain their trust and hope and peace?
Can you accept the world as it is,
yet live according to a different standard?
Can you let your children see
a way of living
that transforms,
heals
nurtures,
and loves?
If you complain about politics
and gripe about taxes,
and stew about the sorry state of things
your children will learn to whine instead of laugh.
If you can see in every moment
a chance to live,
to accept,
and to appreciate,
your children will transform the world.
Please, may it be so!
That's it for MidOctober. See you next month!
Lisa Bugg, Editor
LisaBugg@...
Mark and Helen Hegener, Publishers
www.home-education-magazine.com
HEM@...