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In a message dated 4/17/04 9:08:24 AM, fetteroll@... writes:

<< Better to be safe than sorry? That's not a good enough place to stop on a
discussion list!

<<What people take *away* from the list and *do* is up to them. People are
free to read all the arguments about not controlling our children's values,
participate in the debate, and yet still decide to control at home.

<<Here on this list we discuss and examine what *really* happens in real
unschooling families. *Real* data that's applicable to unschooling families
for people to ponder and turn over to make decisions for their families.>>


I knew when I approved the first batch of Leonor's posts that they were
inflammatory and would not in themselves help anyone to unschool. I trusted that
the responses to her, though, WOULD shed light on some of the depth of trust
that unschoolers have for human nature in general and their own children in
particular.

Someone dropped off the list yesterday (which has 1518 members this morning)
because she came to learn more about how to unschool, not for people to
discuss their politics.

I don't think considerations of how to treat our children are primarily
political. There can be an aspect of that. Conservative Christians make similar
decisions about childrearing sometimes. But we're not discussing the ultimate
outcome as much here as we are the affect various attitudes and behaviors
have on helping create or maintain an unschooling atmosphere.

Not everyone can unschool. Not everyone should try. Some parents just can't
let go of enough control or fear to let life flow. Some are too stiff, too
uncompromising, too humorlous. Not curious.

Those who DO want to try can be benefitted by discussions of why people have
decided and then sometimes changed their decisions, and how that went.

Instructions on unschooling don't work very well. (Not that we all don't
keep trying to write them. <g>)

What works really well is making yourself an unschooler.

Sandra