[email protected]

In a message dated 4/30/03 2:45:30 PM Central Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:

<< I trust that life will teach her what she needs to know. I hate to see
her love for learning disappear. So I'm thinking some form of
homeschooling or unschooling might be the answer, but I don't want her
to feel isolated from the world and from friends. How do I find other
families in my area who are doing this, too? >>

It's pretty hard to isolate oneself unless one tries!
Real life gives all sorts of opportunities for social interaction, if that is
what she wants.

Do you believe that even if there isn't a single other homeschooling or
unschooling family near you, that the damage she is suffering right now is
somehow justified?
I can't see that it's the better option, even if you're alone in your quest.
As the only homeschoolers, you may feel like the odd one out, but at least
you will have the chance to honor and nurture your dd for who she IS. Let her
have the freedom to learn what she chooses and have the self confidence that
very few public schooled children ever possess.

I highly doubt you are the only ones in your area, but even so, get her OUT
of that system..please.
You can walk away now.
Look into your childs eyes and ask yourself if anything is worth her feeling
less than, compared to others and as though something were wrong with her for
just being HERSELF. Look deep into those eyes. Look at the wisdom there. Look
at the joy she has when doing something she loves. Is there anything worth
stopping that shining spark of joy? Is there a good enough reason to
extinguish that?

Hold her hand, feel where it leads you. That hand will fit into yours for
such a short time...is there anything worth pushing it to do something it
doesn't enjoy doing?
The joy you feel as you grasp her hand and let her take you into her world,
there is nothing better in this life. Grasp that hand, relish the fact that
you can explore the world with that hand grasping yours, hold it gently and
let her show you the way to adventure, learning and a meaningful life.

See her smile when she is happy. Capture that moment and don't let anything
make you think that there is something more you could offer at that moment.
KNOW deep in your soul that truth resonates when you think of trusting her.
OUST those other voices that are trying to squish her into a box that she
does not belong.

Your love is stronger than those voices. Your trust is deeper than some
misguided information. Your relationship with her will prove the "experts"
wrong.
But only if you take the leap.
Believe in natural learning...she's known how all along. The only thing you
can do by continuing on the current course is face regrets one day when your
child's love of learning is all but gone. She will then spend many years
trying to re-gain it.
OR, you could walk away now. Embrace a life of freedom and joy. A life of
your own making, not some institiution that couldn't possibly regard the
individual as more important than the mass.
Walk into a meaningful life. One that embraces your dd for exactly who she is
and what she loves TODAY.

Ren
"They dined on mince, and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible
spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the
moon."
--The Owl and the Pussycat
Edward Lear