firemedic219

Hi,
I want to thank you for your post. I discovered this group about 2
weeks ago and have been going back and forth about leaving it for
about a week and a half. It's not so much the bickering that makes me
want to leave. One problem is that I don't have the time to sift
through the bickering posts to get to the "meat" of the information
on unschooling. The other reason is that I am trying very hard not to
be turned off to unschooling overall. This is my first exposure to
unschoolers and so far I haven't liked what I've seen. I am intrigued-
no, enthralled-at the whole USing concept and am coming to understand
that it appears to be the right direction to go with my children.
However I am left wondering if the preponderence of USers are like
those on this list. I would like to meet other USers IRL but if this
is what they will be like then maybe I should stick with "standard"
homeschooling. I like a good debate as much as anyone else but not at
the expense of exposure to all the negative energy. I am not a
Pollyanna who thinks the world is all rosy. To the contrary. I am
very much a realist and know that difference of opinion can lead to
bickering. I just really don't need to be constantly exposed to it
and would never stick around in a real life USing support group if
this was all I ever heard when we got together. So, in a roundabout
way, what I am trying to tell you is that your post really spoke to
me. It helped me to remember why I am in this group in the first
place. It helped to remember that I CAN pull out the good information
and disregard the rest. I'll try to stick it out a little longer and
I credit you with helping me make that decision. Thanks a bunch!
Lisa

joanna514

One problem is that I don't have the time to sift
> through the bickering posts to get to the "meat" of the information
> on unschooling. >>

It's easier to find the "meat" at the message boards.
Lots of different topics. Reading the archives can help in answering
questions without having to post questions because many have already
been asked and answered.
Though *I* found that posting and getting involved in discussions was
a big help for me in my progress of letting go.
Here's the link http://www.unschooling.com/discus/messages/board-
topics.html
Joanna

rumpleteasermom

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "firemedic219" <firemedic219@h...>
wrote:

> However I am left wondering if the preponderence of USers are like
> those on this list. I would like to meet other USers IRL but if this
> is what they will be like then maybe I should stick with "standard"
> homeschooling. I like a good debate as much as anyone else but not
at
> the expense of exposure to all the negative energy.

The UNschooler I know IRL are not like this at all. A few of them are
here on this list. Several have given up and left this list.

Bridget

Camille Bauer

I would like to meet other USers IRL but if this
is what they will be like then maybe I should stick with "standard"
homeschooling.>>

I have been lucky enough to meet & know a WONDERFUL group of women in my area, whom are all unschoolers. I love these women, and some of them are my best friends.

Unschoolers that I meet IRL never come across the way they do on the net. It's a *hard* place to meet because there are no body expressions. I'm trying to learn to read the posts as if they were from a best friend. When you read them that way, it doesn't seem hostile..

CamilleGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com


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

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/22/2002 8:00:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
rumpleteasermom@... writes:


> > However I am left wondering if the preponderence of USers are like
> > those on this list. I would like to meet other USers IRL but if this
> > is what they will be like then maybe I should stick with "standard"
> > homeschooling. I like a good debate as much as anyone else but not
> at
> > the expense of exposure to all the negative energy.

I know hundreds of unschoolers - that I've met in real life (having been a
conference junkie for a while). They are generally filled with tremendous
POSITIVE energy. Email is difficult - people come across different AND people
can't seem to let things just slide by, always want to comment on HOW other
people come across. In real life people just stop listening to someone if
they don't like the way they express themselves - but on email lists they
feel compelled to comment on it and that leads to long contentious negative
threads which are about the people on the list instead of about the subject
matter.

But - the unschooling conferences are so WONDERFUL.... the warm energy
between the kids and their parents supports it and the joy of having several
hundred or a thousand or more unschoolish people all in one place at the same
time is so relaxing and energizing at the same time. Lots and lots and lots
of smiling and laughing and good humor!!! The speakers can challenge our
thinking and offer information and ideas - it is different than an email list
where they are sort of restricted to writing in fairly short email-length
spurts. It is really a joy!!!

---pamS


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

Fetteroll

on 4/22/02 12:05 PM, Camille Bauer at goddessofwisdom2@... wrote:

> Unschoolers that I meet IRL never come across the way they do on the net.

And the unschoolers I've met IRL that I've known from the net are much
friendlier and warmer than they sometimes come across in email. Without the
subtleties of body language and voice inflection and eye contact, so much is
lost when all you have are the words. So it's helpful, as Camille said, to
read as though your best friend were talking.

Joyce