Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 1561
Dan Conine
Hi,
I'm new to the group. Been reading for a few days. Mostly very intelligent conversation about useful topics. More than I have been able to say about anyone for a while.
I just wanted to throw in some noise and see what falls out.
First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of, small-scale home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships (machining, electronics, farming, woodworking, etc.)?
My little rant: Yes, you can reduce a bureaucracy, by making them unnecessary. The unschoolers set an example of this by scaring the hell out of ps's. The more local a task can be accomplished, the less bureaucracy (can I abbrev as bcy?) is needed, and it eventually will dry up due to lack of perceived need and funding. Another example would be roads and bridges. If local governments take care of broken bridges without fed funding (adhering to safe practices, of course), then you don't have to send money to someone to make a decision to send money back.
Being in Wisconsin, (a negative balance fed dollars state) we are very aware that the only net product we receive from the fed government is promises and regulations.
There are hardly ever simple answers, but real solutions are almost always reducible to simple tasks. In this case, it is "Buy local, buy only what you need."
Dan C
(4yo DS and 7yo DD, utilizing tax dollars to transport, parochial babysitters and socializers, then trying to unschool eve's and weekends. trying to decide to un or homeschool)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I'm new to the group. Been reading for a few days. Mostly very intelligent conversation about useful topics. More than I have been able to say about anyone for a while.
I just wanted to throw in some noise and see what falls out.
First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of, small-scale home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships (machining, electronics, farming, woodworking, etc.)?
My little rant: Yes, you can reduce a bureaucracy, by making them unnecessary. The unschoolers set an example of this by scaring the hell out of ps's. The more local a task can be accomplished, the less bureaucracy (can I abbrev as bcy?) is needed, and it eventually will dry up due to lack of perceived need and funding. Another example would be roads and bridges. If local governments take care of broken bridges without fed funding (adhering to safe practices, of course), then you don't have to send money to someone to make a decision to send money back.
Being in Wisconsin, (a negative balance fed dollars state) we are very aware that the only net product we receive from the fed government is promises and regulations.
There are hardly ever simple answers, but real solutions are almost always reducible to simple tasks. In this case, it is "Buy local, buy only what you need."
Dan C
(4yo DS and 7yo DD, utilizing tax dollars to transport, parochial babysitters and socializers, then trying to unschool eve's and weekends. trying to decide to un or homeschool)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
> First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of,I don't know of an organization that might match you up, but if you're
> small-scale home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships
> (machining, electronics, farming, woodworking, etc.)?
creative you might find something on your own.
When my friend's daughter expressed an interest in becoming a vet, she
found a vet in their area willing to have her come in and learn while
helping out. She was fourteen at the time and has now been there two
years.
I found geologic field work for my nine year old on a hobby shop bulletin
board. The local rock hounding club meeting schedule was posted there.
Several members of the club were geologists and one helped my son get a
job monitoring a seismic site. He collects soil, water and vegetation
samples and writes reports about once every three months.
I also called a university in another town to ask about field work and
found cut worm population monitoring available in the spring. He will
have a territory of approximately a hundred miles ( I'll do the driving )
and he will have to set and monitor cut worm traps and write reports.
I would just start asking everyone, everywhere. Lumber mills, cabinet
makers, machine shops, news stations, hobby shops, museums, whatever.
Ask librarians, they know everyone. Call the universities, talk to
program directors. Sorry I don't have better advice, maybe someone else
will think of something.
> trying to decide to un or homeschool)Oh, definitely UN.
Deb L
pete
Hey Dan, Pete Jones, Neenah, WI, here. Where you at? (Stay home dad of 2, 1 and 4, soon 3)
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Conine <dconine@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, November 04, 2001 8:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 1561
Hi,
I'm new to the group. Been reading for a few days. Mostly very intelligent conversation about useful topics. More than I have been able to say about anyone for a while.
I just wanted to throw in some noise and see what falls out.
First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of, small-scale home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships (machining, electronics, farming, woodworking, etc.)?
My little rant: Yes, you can reduce a bureaucracy, by making them unnecessary. The unschoolers set an example of this by scaring the hell out of ps's. The more local a task can be accomplished, the less bureaucracy (can I abbrev as bcy?) is needed, and it eventually will dry up due to lack of perceived need and funding. Another example would be roads and bridges. If local governments take care of broken bridges without fed funding (adhering to safe practices, of course), then you don't have to send money to someone to make a decision to send money back.
Being in Wisconsin, (a negative balance fed dollars state) we are very aware that the only net product we receive from the fed government is promises and regulations.
There are hardly ever simple answers, but real solutions are almost always reducible to simple tasks. In this case, it is "Buy local, buy only what you need."
Dan C
(4yo DS and 7yo DD, utilizing tax dollars to transport, parochial babysitters and socializers, then trying to unschool eve's and weekends. trying to decide to un or homeschool)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Conine <dconine@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, November 04, 2001 8:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 1561
Hi,
I'm new to the group. Been reading for a few days. Mostly very intelligent conversation about useful topics. More than I have been able to say about anyone for a while.
I just wanted to throw in some noise and see what falls out.
First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of, small-scale home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships (machining, electronics, farming, woodworking, etc.)?
My little rant: Yes, you can reduce a bureaucracy, by making them unnecessary. The unschoolers set an example of this by scaring the hell out of ps's. The more local a task can be accomplished, the less bureaucracy (can I abbrev as bcy?) is needed, and it eventually will dry up due to lack of perceived need and funding. Another example would be roads and bridges. If local governments take care of broken bridges without fed funding (adhering to safe practices, of course), then you don't have to send money to someone to make a decision to send money back.
Being in Wisconsin, (a negative balance fed dollars state) we are very aware that the only net product we receive from the fed government is promises and regulations.
There are hardly ever simple answers, but real solutions are almost always reducible to simple tasks. In this case, it is "Buy local, buy only what you need."
Dan C
(4yo DS and 7yo DD, utilizing tax dollars to transport, parochial babysitters and socializers, then trying to unschool eve's and weekends. trying to decide to un or homeschool)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Elsa Haas
-----Original Message-----
From: pete [mailto:plj@...]
First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of, small-scale
home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships (machining, electronics,
farming, woodworking, etc.)?
Pete- I dont know what the original title for this was because it came to
me as Digest Number something-or-other. Some starting points (some of these
are schools, but they arent huge institutions and theyre outside of the
mainstream):
When I was 16 (19 years ago) I did a farm apprenticeship on a small family
farm through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).
Dont know whether this still exists.
In college (about 15 years ago) I did an internship in draft animals (mostly
oxen) and early American farm machinery at the Tillers Small Farm Program,
Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Visitors came to see - some of
them were Africans looking to introduce these methods to areas in Africa
where draft animals are not yet used. Another intern built a log cabin
single-handedly, with hand tools, while I was there.
You can make a working solar oven, capable of cooking full meals, out of
cardboard, aluminum foil and glass. Ive taught workshops in State and City
Parks using info from the online Solar Cooking Archives at
http://solarcooking.org
Habitat for Humanity might be a good place to learn building skills. They
build houses in partnership with low-income people in the U.S. and abroad.
(They need other kinds of help more than swinging a hammer, though all the
volunteers want to do that! Also, theyre mostly Christian and when I
volunteered briefly for them years ago in Americus, Georgia, they would send
you abroad only if you were religious any religion, but it had to be a
religion. You could volunteer in the U.S. without professing any faith.)
Shelter Institute and the Yestermorrow School are examples of owner/builder
schools. Pop that into a search engine, or see a Department of Energy
listing at http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/t311.html. These
places focus on energy-efficient, easy-to-build structures.
The voluntary simplicity movement (try this in a search engine) might be a
good place to find people versed in the truly basic skills (not all of
them rural, but having to do with intelligently using your money and other
resources).
Real Goods, in Hopland, California, is a company that sells alternative
energy supplies and that is connected to a non-profit organization that
teaches workshops on how to build straw-bale houses (dont give me the joke
about the big, bad wolf some straw-bale houses have been standing for over
a hundred years), use solar and wind energy, do permaculture gardening, etc.
Other things to try in a search engine are Intermediate Technology
Publications (inspired by Schumacher, who wrote Small Is Beautiful and
Small is Possible), the Electric Shoe Company (which is developing a shoe
that recharges a special kind of battery using the pressure exerted on the
sole in walking), and the book Understanding Pedal Power (you can rig up a
stationary bike to power a radio, TV, etc.) Dont have the time to get the
links right now. If anybody else does, please post.
Agricultural extension services like the 4-H might be worth a look. Hmm,
wooden boatbuilding schools are another category.
Ill add more ideas if I think of them. The range is endless and the time is
now. (Why are we bombing Afghanistan? Doesnt it have something to do with
oil? What if we harnessed the energy of youth not to mention our own - to
the task of finding ways to overcome our dependence on oil? Wouldnt that
free us to work on the problem of peace?)
By the way, my husband is looking to work in something like this. Right now
hes the manager of a consumer electronics store in Manhattan belonging to a
major corporation that shall remain nameless. We want out. If anybody has
any job leads for us (Im mostly busy with our two-year-old and writing a
book on attachment parenting, but I could maybe work part-time, too), please
email me privately. My husbands got a degree in psychology, for what its
worth, and experience in computers and Greek diners as well as the
electronics store. Ive mostly done translating and interpreting, writing,
editing, proofreading, teaching English to adults in Spain, environmental
ed, and alternative therapy for kids under stress.
Elsa Haas
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
From: pete [mailto:plj@...]
First a question: Does anyone have interest in, or know of, small-scale
home (or un-) school vocational apprenticeships (machining, electronics,
farming, woodworking, etc.)?
Pete- I dont know what the original title for this was because it came to
me as Digest Number something-or-other. Some starting points (some of these
are schools, but they arent huge institutions and theyre outside of the
mainstream):
When I was 16 (19 years ago) I did a farm apprenticeship on a small family
farm through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).
Dont know whether this still exists.
In college (about 15 years ago) I did an internship in draft animals (mostly
oxen) and early American farm machinery at the Tillers Small Farm Program,
Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Visitors came to see - some of
them were Africans looking to introduce these methods to areas in Africa
where draft animals are not yet used. Another intern built a log cabin
single-handedly, with hand tools, while I was there.
You can make a working solar oven, capable of cooking full meals, out of
cardboard, aluminum foil and glass. Ive taught workshops in State and City
Parks using info from the online Solar Cooking Archives at
http://solarcooking.org
Habitat for Humanity might be a good place to learn building skills. They
build houses in partnership with low-income people in the U.S. and abroad.
(They need other kinds of help more than swinging a hammer, though all the
volunteers want to do that! Also, theyre mostly Christian and when I
volunteered briefly for them years ago in Americus, Georgia, they would send
you abroad only if you were religious any religion, but it had to be a
religion. You could volunteer in the U.S. without professing any faith.)
Shelter Institute and the Yestermorrow School are examples of owner/builder
schools. Pop that into a search engine, or see a Department of Energy
listing at http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/t311.html. These
places focus on energy-efficient, easy-to-build structures.
The voluntary simplicity movement (try this in a search engine) might be a
good place to find people versed in the truly basic skills (not all of
them rural, but having to do with intelligently using your money and other
resources).
Real Goods, in Hopland, California, is a company that sells alternative
energy supplies and that is connected to a non-profit organization that
teaches workshops on how to build straw-bale houses (dont give me the joke
about the big, bad wolf some straw-bale houses have been standing for over
a hundred years), use solar and wind energy, do permaculture gardening, etc.
Other things to try in a search engine are Intermediate Technology
Publications (inspired by Schumacher, who wrote Small Is Beautiful and
Small is Possible), the Electric Shoe Company (which is developing a shoe
that recharges a special kind of battery using the pressure exerted on the
sole in walking), and the book Understanding Pedal Power (you can rig up a
stationary bike to power a radio, TV, etc.) Dont have the time to get the
links right now. If anybody else does, please post.
Agricultural extension services like the 4-H might be worth a look. Hmm,
wooden boatbuilding schools are another category.
Ill add more ideas if I think of them. The range is endless and the time is
now. (Why are we bombing Afghanistan? Doesnt it have something to do with
oil? What if we harnessed the energy of youth not to mention our own - to
the task of finding ways to overcome our dependence on oil? Wouldnt that
free us to work on the problem of peace?)
By the way, my husband is looking to work in something like this. Right now
hes the manager of a consumer electronics store in Manhattan belonging to a
major corporation that shall remain nameless. We want out. If anybody has
any job leads for us (Im mostly busy with our two-year-old and writing a
book on attachment parenting, but I could maybe work part-time, too), please
email me privately. My husbands got a degree in psychology, for what its
worth, and experience in computers and Greek diners as well as the
electronics store. Ive mostly done translating and interpreting, writing,
editing, proofreading, teaching English to adults in Spain, environmental
ed, and alternative therapy for kids under stress.
Elsa Haas
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]