Education Underground
Luz Shosie and Ned Vare
The Education Underground -- that's us, folks.
I was once a ski instructor, among other things, in Aspen, CO. On Aspen
Mountain was a wonderful, enigmatic character named Ralph Jackson, who ran,
with tenuous permission of the skiing establishment in town, an enterprise
he called, The Underground Ski School. His was a different kind of skiing
from the usual brand of safety-first, correct positions, carefully carved
turns and balance. He was a flamboyant free spirit in a flowing black
fur-trimmed overcoat, top hat, baggy pants, cigarette holder and champagne
glass held high (no poles) -- a kind of chimney sweep circus act on skis --
who would, with his class in tow, swoop down the trails, often skiing
backwards, doing spins and one-legged jumps and turns with the other ski
high in the air. It was an unforgettably sight, an inspiration. Ralph was a
Harvard grad, and for me, he made being "underground" a thing to be admired.
We became friends.
...now for my point, if you have another moment...
In Japan, I'm told, homeschoolers sometimes refer to themselves as
"refusers." In England, the HS umbrella group is called Education Otherwise
(Luz and I get their newsletter). In Germany (remember Fascism)
homeschooling is not allowed -- all the children get government
indoctrination full time. In Venezuela, the president/dictator, Chavez, has
recently ordered that all schools, including all privates, teach a socialist
propaganda course exclusively for two months in the coming school year. As
we learn about how governments work, we see that there is a constant
struggle for citizens to be free, and we come to realize that oppressor is
mostly government and its varied, often diabolical, institutions.
Homeschooling is, and always will be, the enemy of government schooling.
That's because our goals are the exact opposite of the state's. The state
wants obedient, predictable clerks and soldiers and consumers. It's schools
take twelve years out of our lives in order to train us to become dependent
on it -- that's how long it takes to break the human spirit sufficiently to
change persons into "economic units."
In contrast, homeschooling, and especially UNschooling, stands as a
fundamental break in those ranks of believers and supplicants at the trough
of state largesse. We don't buy it, even though we keep paying our share of
taxes that support it. Government indoctrination is not what we want for our
kids. We want them to be independent thinkers, creative individuals,
self-starters and questioners of all kinds of authority -- not part of a
groupthink outer-directed treadmill human resource sink.
That independence for our kids and ourselves comes at a price -- every day.
It costs us our time in helping our children, and in justifying our practice
to the many doubters we encounter -- especially nagging family members. It
costs us money, obviously, since we accept both the expenses for our kids
and the taxes for the schools we wouldn't use even if they were free.
Another cost is the angst that always comes with being a rebel, a renegade,
an iconoclast, a - yes - revolutionary. Even though the path is uphill all
the way, by taking it we gain our dignity and self-confidence.
We are a threat to the establishment. We reveal to them, to their shame,
that they are not necessary, superfluous. Not only that, but that children
can do better without them. We draw a line in the sand for them. Suddenly,
these days, the schools are being forced to question their policies,
methods, qualifications for employees, books, programs, the works. As our
numbers grow, so does the pressure on them to prove their worth.
The problem for the schools is this: They can't prove that they are doing
what they claim. In fact, studies show that they are not only not doing it,
but are getting worse, more dangerous and coercive, and of less education
value all the time. Therefore, their only tactic is to try to make us look
bad. They demand interviews and send out a barrage of news releases that
(often falsely) tell of homeschooling parents who abuse their kids, even
kill them. They talk about the homeschooling experience not being
sufficiently "rounded" or "real worldly" even though it is school that is
the true limiting and synthetic experience for children and is totally
isolated (on purpose) from the "real world."
All the hoopla by the schools is designed to rally the public in their favor
and to intimidate homeschoolers and, with the goals of stopping our
dissenting voices and returning our children -- with the accompanying
funding -- to their buildings or at least their control. They will spend
virtually unlimited resources on those goals even while allowing their
schools to continue to fail their students, thus revealing that the school
system is nothing more than a huge jobs program that dumbs down the
population.
We, homeschoolers feel the effect, like runaways, like escapees, like
naughty children, like risk-takers and "bad influences." We are constantly
in the position of possibly needing to defend ourselves from the "logic" of
the government system. We are told by the establishment that we are
ill-equipped to educate our kids, not "certified," not "trained," without
the "resources" that schools (presumably) have. They will, and do, say just
about anything to make us look inferior to them. They use all the power at
their disposal, even though they are the failure, not we.
Homeschooling groups are ports in that storm, we need them for "support" as
they are for many groups of "victims" today. We are treated like the enemy,
so we need much mutual nourishment, just as slaves needed the underground
railroad with its safehouses.
I don't mean to get paranoid, only to point out that we often feel as though
we are Davids on Goliath's turf. (but remember who won that one...)
Knowing that countries like Germany (now our trusted "friend and ally") can
eliminate such educational freedom as we take for granted (even though it
comes with its own restrictions in most states) makes us realize how
tentative is that freedom, how precious it is, and how far we have to go in
order to make it totally without limits. Courage, friends.
Ned Vare
I was once a ski instructor, among other things, in Aspen, CO. On Aspen
Mountain was a wonderful, enigmatic character named Ralph Jackson, who ran,
with tenuous permission of the skiing establishment in town, an enterprise
he called, The Underground Ski School. His was a different kind of skiing
from the usual brand of safety-first, correct positions, carefully carved
turns and balance. He was a flamboyant free spirit in a flowing black
fur-trimmed overcoat, top hat, baggy pants, cigarette holder and champagne
glass held high (no poles) -- a kind of chimney sweep circus act on skis --
who would, with his class in tow, swoop down the trails, often skiing
backwards, doing spins and one-legged jumps and turns with the other ski
high in the air. It was an unforgettably sight, an inspiration. Ralph was a
Harvard grad, and for me, he made being "underground" a thing to be admired.
We became friends.
...now for my point, if you have another moment...
In Japan, I'm told, homeschoolers sometimes refer to themselves as
"refusers." In England, the HS umbrella group is called Education Otherwise
(Luz and I get their newsletter). In Germany (remember Fascism)
homeschooling is not allowed -- all the children get government
indoctrination full time. In Venezuela, the president/dictator, Chavez, has
recently ordered that all schools, including all privates, teach a socialist
propaganda course exclusively for two months in the coming school year. As
we learn about how governments work, we see that there is a constant
struggle for citizens to be free, and we come to realize that oppressor is
mostly government and its varied, often diabolical, institutions.
Homeschooling is, and always will be, the enemy of government schooling.
That's because our goals are the exact opposite of the state's. The state
wants obedient, predictable clerks and soldiers and consumers. It's schools
take twelve years out of our lives in order to train us to become dependent
on it -- that's how long it takes to break the human spirit sufficiently to
change persons into "economic units."
In contrast, homeschooling, and especially UNschooling, stands as a
fundamental break in those ranks of believers and supplicants at the trough
of state largesse. We don't buy it, even though we keep paying our share of
taxes that support it. Government indoctrination is not what we want for our
kids. We want them to be independent thinkers, creative individuals,
self-starters and questioners of all kinds of authority -- not part of a
groupthink outer-directed treadmill human resource sink.
That independence for our kids and ourselves comes at a price -- every day.
It costs us our time in helping our children, and in justifying our practice
to the many doubters we encounter -- especially nagging family members. It
costs us money, obviously, since we accept both the expenses for our kids
and the taxes for the schools we wouldn't use even if they were free.
Another cost is the angst that always comes with being a rebel, a renegade,
an iconoclast, a - yes - revolutionary. Even though the path is uphill all
the way, by taking it we gain our dignity and self-confidence.
We are a threat to the establishment. We reveal to them, to their shame,
that they are not necessary, superfluous. Not only that, but that children
can do better without them. We draw a line in the sand for them. Suddenly,
these days, the schools are being forced to question their policies,
methods, qualifications for employees, books, programs, the works. As our
numbers grow, so does the pressure on them to prove their worth.
The problem for the schools is this: They can't prove that they are doing
what they claim. In fact, studies show that they are not only not doing it,
but are getting worse, more dangerous and coercive, and of less education
value all the time. Therefore, their only tactic is to try to make us look
bad. They demand interviews and send out a barrage of news releases that
(often falsely) tell of homeschooling parents who abuse their kids, even
kill them. They talk about the homeschooling experience not being
sufficiently "rounded" or "real worldly" even though it is school that is
the true limiting and synthetic experience for children and is totally
isolated (on purpose) from the "real world."
All the hoopla by the schools is designed to rally the public in their favor
and to intimidate homeschoolers and, with the goals of stopping our
dissenting voices and returning our children -- with the accompanying
funding -- to their buildings or at least their control. They will spend
virtually unlimited resources on those goals even while allowing their
schools to continue to fail their students, thus revealing that the school
system is nothing more than a huge jobs program that dumbs down the
population.
We, homeschoolers feel the effect, like runaways, like escapees, like
naughty children, like risk-takers and "bad influences." We are constantly
in the position of possibly needing to defend ourselves from the "logic" of
the government system. We are told by the establishment that we are
ill-equipped to educate our kids, not "certified," not "trained," without
the "resources" that schools (presumably) have. They will, and do, say just
about anything to make us look inferior to them. They use all the power at
their disposal, even though they are the failure, not we.
Homeschooling groups are ports in that storm, we need them for "support" as
they are for many groups of "victims" today. We are treated like the enemy,
so we need much mutual nourishment, just as slaves needed the underground
railroad with its safehouses.
I don't mean to get paranoid, only to point out that we often feel as though
we are Davids on Goliath's turf. (but remember who won that one...)
Knowing that countries like Germany (now our trusted "friend and ally") can
eliminate such educational freedom as we take for granted (even though it
comes with its own restrictions in most states) makes us realize how
tentative is that freedom, how precious it is, and how far we have to go in
order to make it totally without limits. Courage, friends.
Ned Vare
[email protected]
Forgive me for being so chatty these last couple days, I know it's rude to
appear every year or so and just start yapping. But I can't help it!
Mr. Vare, do yourself a favor and keep an eye out on C-SPAN today to see
blowhardism in action. As I was reading your great posts today,
Undersecretary of Education, Gene Hickock, was spewing about as much hot air
that the ozone can handle, to rally his troops at some sort of dinner or
lunch. Incredible. According to him, the whole course of history, nay,
HUMANITY, is at stake, and upon the shoulders of our public school teachers.
It's a big task, he readily admits, but the DOE will be there on the front
lines ensuring our collective salvation. I should remind you that he is a
"big admirer of the Constitution and Bill of Rights." Indeed, just as Soviet
Dictator Andropov claimed to have been a big admirer of John Coltrane.
I'll retire to Bedlam.
Bob Sale
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
appear every year or so and just start yapping. But I can't help it!
Mr. Vare, do yourself a favor and keep an eye out on C-SPAN today to see
blowhardism in action. As I was reading your great posts today,
Undersecretary of Education, Gene Hickock, was spewing about as much hot air
that the ozone can handle, to rally his troops at some sort of dinner or
lunch. Incredible. According to him, the whole course of history, nay,
HUMANITY, is at stake, and upon the shoulders of our public school teachers.
It's a big task, he readily admits, but the DOE will be there on the front
lines ensuring our collective salvation. I should remind you that he is a
"big admirer of the Constitution and Bill of Rights." Indeed, just as Soviet
Dictator Andropov claimed to have been a big admirer of John Coltrane.
I'll retire to Bedlam.
Bob Sale
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/7/02 1:12:36 PM, nedvare@... writes:
<< Homeschooling is, and always will be, the enemy of government schooling.
That's because our goals are the exact opposite of the state's. The state
wants obedient, predictable clerks and soldiers and consumers. >>
This isn't true of the majority of homeschoolers, if you include the
Christian homeschooling movement in the numbers. If they are the enemy of
government schooling it is because they think schools should teach much LESS,
not more, and they believe schools should have corporal punishment and other
strict discipline. So they take their kids home to do it right. They want
obedient, predictable Christians, and they want the boys to go into politics.
<<We want them to be independent thinkers, creative individuals,
self-starters and questioners of all kinds of authority -- not part of a
groupthink outer-directed treadmill human resource sink.>>
The first half does not apply to those Christian homeschoolers.
The second half is more of the same strident anti-school rhetoric.
So was that post just another previously published article? Was it not
actually dialog with this list?
Sandra
Sandra
<< Homeschooling is, and always will be, the enemy of government schooling.
That's because our goals are the exact opposite of the state's. The state
wants obedient, predictable clerks and soldiers and consumers. >>
This isn't true of the majority of homeschoolers, if you include the
Christian homeschooling movement in the numbers. If they are the enemy of
government schooling it is because they think schools should teach much LESS,
not more, and they believe schools should have corporal punishment and other
strict discipline. So they take their kids home to do it right. They want
obedient, predictable Christians, and they want the boys to go into politics.
<<We want them to be independent thinkers, creative individuals,
self-starters and questioners of all kinds of authority -- not part of a
groupthink outer-directed treadmill human resource sink.>>
The first half does not apply to those Christian homeschoolers.
The second half is more of the same strident anti-school rhetoric.
So was that post just another previously published article? Was it not
actually dialog with this list?
Sandra
Sandra
Fetteroll
on 8/7/02 3:13 PM, Luz Shosie and Ned Vare at nedvare@... wrote:
enemy who seeks to control or destroy us. But it doesn't line up with
reality in every state. Unless the people in the states where the state
isn't interfering with homeschooling *want* to believe they're being
attacked because they'd rather believe some plot by the evil government made
them buy into the idea of public schooling as the be all and end all of
education rather than their own foolish selves. If they want to pass off the
blame that badly, they'll see boogy men all over the place. (And HSLDA is
really good at pointing out the boogy men!)
It's very comforting to be able to say "I knew I wasn't at fault. It was
that evil entity that's out to control or destroy me. That's why this
happened." Hitler used the same tactic very effectively by pointing the
finger of blame at Jews and homosexuals and gypsies and other outsiders.
(His tactic was of course more effective by choosing a physical enemy rather
than a vague enemy.)
Whether the control we see is caused by evil government or the collective
pull of a basic human nature that needs to control things (in varying
degrees in all of us) can't be proved either way. But personally I find it
more empowering to take responsibility for the choices I've made rather than
blame it on some plot by powerful government forces. To examine why those
choices made sense at the time. To examine why they don't make sense any
more. (Or why they do make sense -- for different reasons -- for other
people.)
Believing if we could get rid of evil government controlling us we'd all be
happy and free is sort of like believing if we get rid of alcohol we'll all
be happy and free. Yes, that worked really well.
Those of us who know/believe it's basic human nature to want to control know
that the "enemy" we fight is ourselves and human nature and we won't be
surprised when social control pops up anywhere anytime. It's human nature
and can only be battled one person at a time. (And only, of course, if that
person wants to battle it.)
Painting government workers and those who support them with a broad brush of
evil may rally the troops against them but it won't make any inroads into
that group. It just turns the world into two camps: us good guys and those
bad guys.
The other real "enemy" is fear of the unknown. I think it a far better (and
gentler) tactic to help people see that people are exploring and creating
pathways into the schoolless off-the-career-path territory. That way people
won't feel such a great need to huddle in masses (and make rules and
regulations!) to guard against the unknown.
Joyce
> We are constantlyThis makes for an effective rallying cry to gather the troops against the
> in the position of possibly needing to defend ourselves from the "logic" of
> the government system. We are told by the establishment that we are
> ill-equipped to educate our kids, not "certified," not "trained," without
> the "resources" that schools (presumably) have. They will, and do, say just
> about anything to make us look inferior to them. They use all the power at
> their disposal, even though they are the failure, not we.
enemy who seeks to control or destroy us. But it doesn't line up with
reality in every state. Unless the people in the states where the state
isn't interfering with homeschooling *want* to believe they're being
attacked because they'd rather believe some plot by the evil government made
them buy into the idea of public schooling as the be all and end all of
education rather than their own foolish selves. If they want to pass off the
blame that badly, they'll see boogy men all over the place. (And HSLDA is
really good at pointing out the boogy men!)
It's very comforting to be able to say "I knew I wasn't at fault. It was
that evil entity that's out to control or destroy me. That's why this
happened." Hitler used the same tactic very effectively by pointing the
finger of blame at Jews and homosexuals and gypsies and other outsiders.
(His tactic was of course more effective by choosing a physical enemy rather
than a vague enemy.)
Whether the control we see is caused by evil government or the collective
pull of a basic human nature that needs to control things (in varying
degrees in all of us) can't be proved either way. But personally I find it
more empowering to take responsibility for the choices I've made rather than
blame it on some plot by powerful government forces. To examine why those
choices made sense at the time. To examine why they don't make sense any
more. (Or why they do make sense -- for different reasons -- for other
people.)
Believing if we could get rid of evil government controlling us we'd all be
happy and free is sort of like believing if we get rid of alcohol we'll all
be happy and free. Yes, that worked really well.
Those of us who know/believe it's basic human nature to want to control know
that the "enemy" we fight is ourselves and human nature and we won't be
surprised when social control pops up anywhere anytime. It's human nature
and can only be battled one person at a time. (And only, of course, if that
person wants to battle it.)
Painting government workers and those who support them with a broad brush of
evil may rally the troops against them but it won't make any inroads into
that group. It just turns the world into two camps: us good guys and those
bad guys.
The other real "enemy" is fear of the unknown. I think it a far better (and
gentler) tactic to help people see that people are exploring and creating
pathways into the schoolless off-the-career-path territory. That way people
won't feel such a great need to huddle in masses (and make rules and
regulations!) to guard against the unknown.
Joyce