Pam Hartley

> I attended school on days when I felt like it, and stayed home when I felt
> like it, except when the school would send home notices or call my parents
> and tell them that I would fail my grade and be left back. At those times
> my mother would encourage me (but not insist) to go, even if I would rather
> stay home; she didn't know there were other options in the 60's. Grades
> were unimportant to them. I watched as much tv as I wanted, in fact, I was
> one of the only kids I knew who had unlimited access to television,
> including a television in my room -- and I watched a lot of tv! I went to
> bed when I wanted, I ate what I wanted, etc... My parents trusted my
> judgments, and let me make my own decisions. I was unconditionally loved,
> and I was supported in my decisions, to the best of may parent's abilities.

Attending school but being truant a lot isn't unschooling. It does sound
like you had a very permissive childhood (I don't mean permissive in a bad
way, maybe that's the wrong word).

I skipped school when I wanted to, too, with my parents support. That
doesn't mean I was unschooled. Perhaps "sometimes to often non-schooled".

> As adults, my sister and I have real problems with organization,
> persistence in difficult or unpleasant but necessary tasks - oh this
> clearly requires more time to explain, and I do not have the time - but the
> results are disorganized homes; difficulty finishing projects begun;
> unclaimed medical reimbursements due to loss of paperwork, or lapse of
> time; procrastination; this list goes on...

I am still very unclear on why you blame these "failings" on unschooling?
(Leaving aside for the moment that you weren't unschooled). Do you not know
that thousands if not millions of schooled adults have those same "faults"?
That thousands if not millions of children (schooled & homeschooled) who
are, today, being told and instructed and reminded and structured and
moderated will nonetheless grow up to have real problems with organization?

How is such a thing the fault of unschooling?

> What I would like to strive for with my own children are the good aspects
> of the life we led, while gently guiding them away from the stumbling
> blocks. Oh this is all falling on so many deaf ears, so I don't know why I
> bothered

Informed skepticism does not make me deaf.

Pam

Pam Sorooshian

Interesting. My mom didn't care if I skipped as much as I wanted...I
didn't even live at home my senior year - lived on my own. In fact, I
skipped so much high school that they had the problem of figuring out
what to do with someone who had a 3.9 gpa but not enough days of
attendance to be allowed to graduate. (It was the 60's - school was
easy - there were a lot of other things to do and the beach was only a
few minutes away.)

pam

On Friday, February 14, 2003, at 03:17 PM, Pam Hartley wrote:

> I skipped school when I wanted to, too, with my parents support. That
> doesn't mean I was unschooled. Perhaps "sometimes to often
> non-schooled".
Pam Sorooshian
The National Home Education Network
~The World is Our Classroom~
www.NHEN.org