Re: Involved Parents
Thomas and Nanci Kuykendall
Villifying our parents and grandparents isn't the way to go here.
I wasn't villifying my family or the system, simply stating that the model
for todays ps isn't one which is in place to teach real life skills. But my
family (as far back as you'd like to go) was never involved in making
decisions about schools.
Lois
I just wanted to add a little story of my own on this subject. My father
is a politically active Deomocrat and a firm believer in the power of John
Q. Public to change the world, at least in OUR political system. I cannot
count the number of times that I heard the story about him being president
of the school board when the oldest 4 kids in our family were in their
primary grades. He is a firm believer in the whole idea of the ps system
and an education for everyone. Equality and the "chicken in every pot"
American dream.
However, by the time I reached the public school system in the 80's (I am
dating myself here) there were a lot more, and serious, problems with ps
besides the flaws inherent in the system that we all see as Unschoolers. I
also grew up in a big city (San Francisco) and frankly ps was dangerous for
me. It wasn't the threat of violence, it was ACTUAL violence, performed on
me, not around me although there was that too. Of course there were LOTS
of other problems too. I was an avid reader and have always been a self
motivated learner, but I just did not do well in the ps.
My father, however, being more of a concearned citizen than a father IMHO,
kept my brother and I in ps NO MATTER WHAT, to satisfy his lofty
principles, to pay homage to the IDEAL at the cost of his own youngest two
children. How is that for a parent SO involved in the education of their
children (or at least in the education "system") that they are not at all
involved with the CHILDREN themselves, or in their lives? To this day we
do not communicate well and he still has no idea who I really am, what I
really know or believe. He is one of those parents that attributes every
intelligent thing that comes out of your mouth to themselves ("I wonder
where you learned that?" wink and nod to friends...")
Nanci K. in Idaho
I wasn't villifying my family or the system, simply stating that the model
for todays ps isn't one which is in place to teach real life skills. But my
family (as far back as you'd like to go) was never involved in making
decisions about schools.
Lois
I just wanted to add a little story of my own on this subject. My father
is a politically active Deomocrat and a firm believer in the power of John
Q. Public to change the world, at least in OUR political system. I cannot
count the number of times that I heard the story about him being president
of the school board when the oldest 4 kids in our family were in their
primary grades. He is a firm believer in the whole idea of the ps system
and an education for everyone. Equality and the "chicken in every pot"
American dream.
However, by the time I reached the public school system in the 80's (I am
dating myself here) there were a lot more, and serious, problems with ps
besides the flaws inherent in the system that we all see as Unschoolers. I
also grew up in a big city (San Francisco) and frankly ps was dangerous for
me. It wasn't the threat of violence, it was ACTUAL violence, performed on
me, not around me although there was that too. Of course there were LOTS
of other problems too. I was an avid reader and have always been a self
motivated learner, but I just did not do well in the ps.
My father, however, being more of a concearned citizen than a father IMHO,
kept my brother and I in ps NO MATTER WHAT, to satisfy his lofty
principles, to pay homage to the IDEAL at the cost of his own youngest two
children. How is that for a parent SO involved in the education of their
children (or at least in the education "system") that they are not at all
involved with the CHILDREN themselves, or in their lives? To this day we
do not communicate well and he still has no idea who I really am, what I
really know or believe. He is one of those parents that attributes every
intelligent thing that comes out of your mouth to themselves ("I wonder
where you learned that?" wink and nod to friends...")
Nanci K. in Idaho