Jennifer <[email protected]>

I just wanted all the NY homeschool parents out there to be aware of
a recent post made to the BrooklynBaby yahoo group. For reference
please go check it out for yourselves at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brooklynbaby/

I was totally offended and completely disgusted:


Message: 4
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 22:56:24 -0500
From: "Urban Monster"
Subject: Re: Re:Home schooling
Here's my 2 cents.
1. Fundamentalist parenting is scary. Deciding you believe in one
methodology
or book, and only following that, from what I see, spells disaster.
It's ok not
to follow the book, in fact, it's a good idea not to follow the book
all the
time, or you would be crazy. I doubt Sear's, Waldorf, or any of them
can
actually totally practice what they preach, and my friends who only
follow one
dogma or another have problems with their kids just like everyone
else.
2. Home Schooled Children and Parents are Horrible People who have NO
regard
for anyone but themselves.
How could I make such a sweeping statement?
When I opened Urban Monster, I made a pact to be a community
resource, open to
all, and make my space available to ANYONE who needed it for relevant
purpose,
etc... Now, this remains true to all, but the NY Home Schooling
Association and
their kind or whatever they are called. I offered up my space for
a "invitation
only" story telling event private to the NY Home Schooling
Association. They
came in droves, destroyed my place, yelled at me, destroyed
merchandise, the
parents were even worse behaved than the little heathens they called
their
spawn.
There were other things I had committed to, but of course, after the
story
telling nightmare, how could we go on. Various members would call me
asking me
all sorts of questions about my space, have I tested for lead? what
is my
insurance policy? poking around my basement and storeroom. No one was
the
leader of this group? The leader of the group claimed she wasn't
responsible
for these subcommittees driving me bonkers on my phone, in meetings
in my space.
I get A LOT of kids in here. No group of children are worse behaved
than home
schooled heathens, who grab things, stick them in their mouths, seven
year olds
jumping in my strollers, knocking things over and leaving them there.
When I
ask the parents, "could you ask your child to pick that up?" they
actually throw
me shade as though I'm ruining little baby's personality. Heck, the
little nut
is ruining my place, and it's pretty hard to trash my place, really.
The parents are even worse. Snobby politically correct wind bags,
whom none
seem to have real jobs that I can see.
They are politically correct righteous wannabe anarchists who don't
care about
anyone but themselves. Heck, I'm a non-conformist F$%&*CK BUSH kind
of gal,
but I would never leave my child without discipline or an
understanding of what
it means to behave in a group.
Trust me this is not an option you want to jump head first into, just
cause the
book is cool.
I can spot a home school group from a mile a way. That is about the
only
terrorist disaster I see using my duct tape for. Yikes.
Phshew.
xoxo,
Elissa Jane

mom@...

Urban Monster
396 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-855-6400

This is a BUSINESS owner making this sweeping statement!! I am
thinking this woman needs some sort of a response. Even if you DON'T
live in NY. Either in writing to her email address, store address or
in giving her store a call. But I hope that all of us will think
twice before actually BUYING stuff from her... Jennifer