[email protected]

> -=-you are way more interested in proving a point than in having a
>

I would hope that discussions about unschooling would be heavily involved
with point making. I really think discussions of people with opinions they
can back up are more valuable than just idle chit chat with no intent to
inform or influence others in the discussion.

I think some people are more comfortable with "discussions" that go this way:

Have you seen the news of Aghanistan?
A bird is in the yard!
Yes, the sun just came out.
My son hates to read.
We love our new church.
When I was little we lived near a church.
The bird is splashing in the water.

No disagreements.
Also no information, and no learning.

And I think there are people who would love for online discussions to all be
this way:

"I keep my child from wearing red because it disturbs me and I'm sure it
would eventually disturb him, and if I let him wear red, I know he would wear
nothing but red every day for the rest of his life."
"You're such a good mom!"
"Nobody knows your son like you do."
"Maybe I'll stop letting my son wear red too."
"What about daughters?"
"How old was he when you realized wearing red was the source of all his
learning problems?"
"What about pink? Maroon?"
"Your son is so lucky to have you as a mom!"
"I wish I had kept my son from wearing red."
"Red is the color of Satan, so you're intuitively a good mom and your child
will live forever."
"Red sets up a vibration of agitation, but there is an aromatherapy antidote."
"Oh, thank you!"
"I'm so glad I came here to discuss this!"
"Yes, I love these deep, heartfelt discussions."

I think when a person goes so far as to take children out of school AND they
reject the nicely packaged curriculum and traditional schedule and behaviors
AND they have found unschooling.com (which I realize some on this list still
have not, but it's there, nevertheless, and I hope it's listed on the
yahoogroups main page for this list), they are probably ready to REALLY
honestly discuss things of importance to their children's futures. And lots
of people here and on the forum are unhappy and scared and on the verge of
giving up unschooling so they can't get it.

We can be la-la supportive of bad ideas along with the good. We can send
them elsewhere for real information. Or we can discuss issues and compare
results and offer alternatives and options and we can brainstorm. Learning
doesn't take place as well in a still, quiet, near-sleep state as it does in
a more active, aroused, alert state.

If a person has NO new thoughts to think, no new phases for their children to
pass through, no questions whatsoever about hobbies or resources or
unschooling practicalities, then they don't need the opinions they can find
here. Maybe they just came to chat. If by chat they mean "be totally
supported and never questioned," they just came to the wrong list.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

Great analogy, Sandra.
I, for one, appreciate reading your thoughts and opinions on various
topics, unschooling or not.
(Is anything NOT related in some way to unschooling?)
My 2 cents.

Karin



--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> > -=-you are way more interested in proving a point than in having
a
> >
>
> I would hope that discussions about unschooling would be heavily
involved
> with point making. I really think discussions of people with
opinions they
> can back up are more valuable than just idle chit chat with no
intent to
> inform or influence others in the discussion.
>
> I think some people are more comfortable with "discussions" that go
this way:
>
> Have you seen the news of Aghanistan?
> A bird is in the yard!
> Yes, the sun just came out.
> My son hates to read.
> We love our new church.
> When I was little we lived near a church.
> The bird is splashing in the water.
>
> No disagreements.
> Also no information, and no learning.
>
> And I think there are people who would love for online discussions
to all be
> this way:
>
> "I keep my child from wearing red because it disturbs me and I'm
sure it
> would eventually disturb him, and if I let him wear red, I know he
would wear
> nothing but red every day for the rest of his life."
> "You're such a good mom!"
> "Nobody knows your son like you do."
> "Maybe I'll stop letting my son wear red too."
> "What about daughters?"
> "How old was he when you realized wearing red was the source of all
his
> learning problems?"
> "What about pink? Maroon?"
> "Your son is so lucky to have you as a mom!"
> "I wish I had kept my son from wearing red."
> "Red is the color of Satan, so you're intuitively a good mom and
your child
> will live forever."
> "Red sets up a vibration of agitation, but there is an aromatherapy
antidote."
> "Oh, thank you!"
> "I'm so glad I came here to discuss this!"
> "Yes, I love these deep, heartfelt discussions."
>
> I think when a person goes so far as to take children out of
school AND they
> reject the nicely packaged curriculum and traditional schedule and
behaviors
> AND they have found unschooling.com (which I realize some on this
list still
> have not, but it's there, nevertheless, and I hope it's listed on
the
> yahoogroups main page for this list), they are probably ready to
REALLY
> honestly discuss things of importance to their children's futures.
And lots
> of people here and on the forum are unhappy and scared and on the
verge of
> giving up unschooling so they can't get it.
>
> We can be la-la supportive of bad ideas along with the good. We
can send
> them elsewhere for real information. Or we can discuss issues and
compare
> results and offer alternatives and options and we can brainstorm.
Learning
> doesn't take place as well in a still, quiet, near-sleep state as
it does in
> a more active, aroused, alert state.
>
> If a person has NO new thoughts to think, no new phases for their
children to
> pass through, no questions whatsoever about hobbies or resources or
> unschooling practicalities, then they don't need the opinions they
can find
> here. Maybe they just came to chat. If by chat they mean "be
totally
> supported and never questioned," they just came to the wrong list.
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tia Leschke

At 11:51 PM 11/16/01 +0000, you wrote:
>Great analogy, Sandra.
>I, for one, appreciate reading your thoughts and opinions on various
>topics, unschooling or not.

So do I. And if I *sometimes* find your way of putting things abrasive, I
can choose not to read them. So far it hasn't bothered me enough to stop.

I also enjoy reading Lynda's posts. Lots to chew on there.

I also enjoy reading most of Bridget's posts. She often gives me something
new to think about.

What I'm really tired of reading is the bickering. I remember my mother's
fave thing to say when me sister and I were bickering. "I'm going to knock
your heads together." Sometimes I'd like to do a cyber head-knocking
around here. <g>
Tia

Tia Leschke leschke@...
On Vancouver Island
**************************************************************************
It is the answers which separate us, the questions which unite us. - Janice
Levy

Elizabeth Hill

SandraDodd@... wrote:

>
> And I think there are people who would love for online discussions to all be
> this way:
>
> "I keep my child from wearing red because it disturbs me and I'm sure it
> would eventually disturb him, and if I let him wear red, I know he would wear
> nothing but red every day for the rest of his life."
> "You're such a good mom!"
> "Nobody knows your son like you do."
> "Maybe I'll stop letting my son wear red too."
> "What about daughters?"
> "How old was he when you realized wearing red was the source of all his
> learning problems?"
> "What about pink? Maroon?"
> "Your son is so lucky to have you as a mom!"
> "I wish I had kept my son from wearing red."
> "Red is the color of Satan, so you're intuitively a good mom and your child
> will live forever."
> "Red sets up a vibration of agitation, but there is an aromatherapy antidote."
> "Oh, thank you!"
> "I'm so glad I came here to discuss this!"

Yeah, but do you really think that moms who report signs of crabbiness and
unhappiness from kids who are getting a lot of screen time are being as silly as
moms who don't want their kids to wear red?

Maybe there really is a bad vibe that some people can feel coming from cathode
ray tubes. **Are you 100% prepared to dismiss as goofy the observations of
parents who find TV viewing time influences their child's behavior?

I realize there is a big brainwashing in our culture about TV being evil, but the
fact that some propaganda exists does not in itself prove that no criticism of
television is true and that television viewing is always benign.

Betsy

** or maybe I've seen too many episodes of the X-files?

Elizabeth Hill

SandraDodd@... wrote:

> << ** or maybe I've seen too many episodes of the X-files? >>
>
> There y'go. Evil TV made you unreasonably afraid of TV.
>
> Kids should never sit as close to TVs as moms are sitting next to computer
> screens right this second.
>
> Sandra

One of the reasons for my "evil screen" theory is that my husband's computer
screen has a sickening flicker. After just a few minutes it drives me to
distraction AND makes me feel terrible. (But... I self regulate by not using
his computer.)

Betsy