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Hey all,
Jacli here :) Helen I have one thing to say to you.
AMEN.

But honestly I have been concerned about the indicators you
mentioned
for a while. Every time I hear of another government
program directed for
homeschoolers I cringe. The other day I watched the debate
for governor in New Jersey. Yeah, I know I don't live in
NJ. I just like to watch this stuff occasionally. I'm
odd. Anyway, a man got up and said something like "We're
homeschoolers. Why do we have to pay for public schools?"
Another one asked why doesn't the state do something to
help out private schoolers and homeschoolers. My daughter
thought it was really cool to hear homeschoolers speaking
out. She also thought they all had a point.
She wanted to know why I haven't spoken up like that. She
wanted to know why I cringed with each statement.

I told her quite simply, I don't want any help from the
government. I don't want any of their strings or their
attention. I don't want to give them a chance to get their
foot in the door. Basically I want Uncle Sam to leave me
alone (on that score anyway).

And yet. When I heard of the demise of GWS I couldn't
help the shiver of vulnerability (fear?) that ran down my
spine. Although I personally have always preferred reading
HEM to GWS the fact is that I liked having both magazines
around. I liked knowing that John Holts legacy was one of
our most respected supporters. Now I feel like my guard
has been let down and one of my protectors is gone.

Fortunately I have rediscovered the Unschooling list. This
list is my connection to the unschooling community at
large. It is an open forum that encourages and provokes
thinking and re-thinking. Friendships are made, networking
and sounding off is done and on the way a whole lot of
unexpected learning. Just my idea of what unschooling/home
education should be.

Don't lose heart Helen, politicians come and go but we're
here for each other *and for HEM.

Take care, Jacli
Helen Hegener wrote:

>
> I'll be honest: I'm concerned about many indicators. I'm
concerned
> about the rapid growth of public school "outreach"
programs
> masquerading as some perversion of homeschooling (there's
even one
> right here in our hometown of Tonasket, run by a
long-time family
> friend - and no, I don't want to go into details...). I'm
concerned
> about the proliferation of cyberschools and programs like
Bennett's
> K-12;



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

Helen Hegener

At 11:26 AM -0500 11/17/01, cleopatra@... wrote:
>And yet. When I heard of the demise of GWS I couldn't
>help the shiver of vulnerability (fear?) that ran down my
>spine. Although I personally have always preferred reading
>HEM to GWS the fact is that I liked having both magazines
>around. I liked knowing that John Holts legacy was one of
>our most respected supporters. Now I feel like my guard
>has been let down and one of my protectors is gone.

The fact is I liked having both magazines around too, Jacli. There's
a certain comfort in numbers, and Patrick (GWS publisher) was - still
is - a good friend. We're working together on a Holt/GWS tribute of
some sort for an upcoming issue of HEM.

We're studying the situation, trying to figure out what - if
anything - we should do to strengthen our position as a publication
offering a different way of thinking about children and learning.
There are no easy answers - discussions on several state lists right
now are focusing on the relentless drive of public school programs to
reingage homeschooling families. I fear homeschooling as we now know
it will be a thing of the past before too many more years.

>Fortunately I have rediscovered the Unschooling list. This
>list is my connection to the unschooling community at
>large. It is an open forum that encourages and provokes
>thinking and re-thinking. Friendships are made, networking
>and sounding off is done and on the way a whole lot of
>unexpected learning. Just my idea of what unschooling/home
>education should be.

Good to know that, 'cuz as every message footer notes, this is:

>Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!

<bwg>

Helen