Helen Hegener

At 4:13 PM +0000 10/29/03, [email protected] wrote:
> From: SandraDodd@...
>I would like to discuss unschooling on an unschooling list and let
>fundamentalist political activists discuss their stuff on their lists.

The discussion will undoubtedly have moved on by the time I get this
reply posted, because I'm on digest mode and replying offline and I'm
in the farthest western time zone. <g>

But nevertheless, I thought it important to take this opportunity -
with apologies to Sandra - to note that this "stuff" doesn't only
concern political activists - it concerns everyone who homeschools -
or unschools - their kids. It's important to discuss the hows and
whys and wherefores of unschooling, but it is likewise important to
be aware of the very real forces that would put unnecessary legal
restrictions, restraints and controls on what parents and their
children do in the privacy of their own home. Unschoolers should
inform themselves about what's happening in the state and national
political arenas (especially with HSLDA pushing for federal
legislation), what the national media is fussing about (with all
these recent child abuse articles), and how those dynamics will
affect the freedoms of homeschoolers down the road.

For what it's worth, we at HEM have tracked the political atmosphere
of homeschooling for over 20 years, and we're seeing more reasons for
concern right now than at any time in the past. Because this is no
longer my list I'll respect Sandra's wishes not to discuss it here
(at least not any more than with this post), but if anyone does want
to discuss what's going on I recommend these resources:

Homeschooling News & Commentary from Home Education Magazine
A weekly report on what's happening in the world of homeschooling
Compiled and edited by Ann Lahrson Fisher
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com/whts_nw.html
This week's edition focuses on homeschooling as "scapegoat-o'-the-day
for society's ills."

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Hope this helps,
Helen