A few thoughts...

In light of last week's events a lot of people are airing their opinions on guns. What about the cause of what makes someone go on a killing spree. Clearly this person was mentally ill . I believe a lot of these shootings could be avoided. I do not have a lot of knowledge on the situation but the question I have is, Why does this keep happening? Why are people snapping and shooting in schools and malls and any public place they feel like it?

I do not believe that gun control is the issue. No matter what the laws are if someone wants to get a gun, they can get a gun, it's not that hard to obtain one illegally. All more laws will do is punish the law abiding citizens.

Then take school, why shoot up kids? Aren't they supposed to be safe at school? I think not, even though schools are prison like and some have more security than others, it is not a safe place for children. You know I have never sent my kids to school, I did not have kids to send them away. I'm not saying you did but I don't think very many people give it a second thought. Many just believe it's part of life, you go to school. Well I believe the opposite, it is an unnecessary part of so many lives. I have nothing good to say about school.

More importantly our children are only young once, every milestone they reach I want to be there, I don't want to hear about it second hand. Schools cause division in the family. I have written about this so many times I feel like a broken record.

I don't have the answers, I wish more of these troubled kids got the help they needed. There is so much turmoil in their lives, bullying, cutting, suicide...

Why?

Preparing for what?

Why is there so much emphasis on taking specific classes in high school and passing certain tests? I'm talking about public school and traditional homeschooler's that do the same thing as schools.What is done in high school doesn't have much bearing on college or one's future. Who cares what classes you took as a teenager? If/when you go to college you take their entrance exam and then you take their classes.

I don't see the correlation of high school preparing one for college or better yet, real life. I think time would be much better spent following one's interests and learning about what is really important to them. Time should be spent thinking and exploring. Time spent alone or with others. Time spent working and earning their own money. Time spent to really figure out what they want to do with their life.

Nothing magic happens at 18 that suddenly makes you know what you want to do. What does happen at 18 is that society deems you an adult, period.

Some know what they want to do with their life from an early age and they pursue it. Many kids don't know, they are forced to pick a major and follow a career path. I did it, I had focused goals, but guess what? People change, plans change, life happens as you live it. What I had planned on way back when I was 18, never happened, my life took a complete turn in another direction.

So have some goals, make some loose plans because nothing is written in stone.

Why spend years taking classes when you won't remember most of it anyway? I do believe it's all just busywork to keep kids occupied until they are adults and the school system doesn't have to worry about them anymore.

They need to be doing real things in real life, not busywork in an artificial environment that will never be replicated in life.

Kids don't have to go to school

Did you know that? I mean have you ever even given it a thought?

If kids knew they didn't have to go to school that would sure ignite a fire under their parents.

Everyday there are numerous articles about schools. Failing students, shootings, bullying, poor test scores, no funding etc...

You can't fix this broken, outdated system with tests and money.

It's the kids with no voice, no choice, that are being harmed every day.

School is out today in observance of MLK Jr.'s birthday. I have 3 extra kids here today. Why are they here?

Because this is the house they want to be at. A place where they can be themselves and not be ruled, judged or disrespected.

My house is a safe haven, it always has been and always will be better than any school ever could be.

There are options and people need to look into them instead of settle for the status quo because today's youth are being damaged because of it.

Anti-School

I've been seeing it around the web lately that we shouldn't be anti-school. We shouldn't be out talking against school.

I am anti-school, I will not apologize for that. I know why schools were started and they are outdated and useless, IMO.

Schools are not necessary for learning. They are a place to herd children while parents work or a place for those few neglected children to get a hot meal and safety from their abusive parents.

I do not see value in school, never have, I went to school from preschool through 2 years of college.

If homeschoolers want to get their panties in a wad because I don't like school, oh well.

I promote partnership parenting and unschooling. If I happen to diss the system that is my prerogative.

My main goal when sharing on here or facebook or wherever is to show what the purpose of school is and to show there are alternatives to school. Many people have never even given a thought to NOT sending their kids. It's automatic, it's normal, it's what society expects one to do. When more people wake up and opt out and make different choices then maybe we can actually change the system.


I'm not against having a place for kids to go because I know that most people won't home educate. The compulsory institution just isn't it.

Fantasy...or reality?

I'm starting to think I live in a fantasy world where school doesn't exist and children are free to live and learn and be and do and think and grow and create...


Actually that is reality at my house. I wish everyone could experience life with their children not complicated by school. School is an outdated institution, it is unnecessary to life and learning. We do not need to sit in a classroom all day being told what to know and think and be tested and graded.... It makes no sense to me...at all...

Schools as we know them need to be wiped out and started over. I think privatizing schools would create so much good. Little learning centers would start popping up all over the place offering different things. People who wanted or needed a school situation would have so many choices....

I know fantasy right? The only way anything will change is for people to wake up and realize the failed system can't be saved and needs a complete overhaul...But chaos would surely ensue as the sheeple wouldn't know what to do without being told.... Harsh? maybe....but true, yes I believe it is.... Except for those  that escaped the dumbing down and would do something with this new found freedom...

Alas....Until then I'll live in my real world fantasy with my children.

Why would you choose this?

The older my kids get the more I realize how little time we really have with them. I have always been home with my kids, I didn't have kids to send them away. This was a very important decision to me. I was career oriented, I was in college. I believe that you can't have both successfully, one will suffer and usually it's the children.

I changed my mind, I dropped out of college and had babies. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I just wish that people actually thought before they had children. Pregnancy is preventable....

Children are not convenient and are not something to fit into your life, you need to fit into their life.

We never planned on sending them to school... I can't imagine being apart for 6-8 hours a day/5days a week for 12 years. What kind of family life and relationship do you really have?

It's coming up to that time every year that lots of parents can't wait for school to start. You see it everywhere you go, parents really can't stand to be with their children. It is a sad state to be in. I don't understand why people have kids if they don't want to be with them.

I've had more people than I care to remember say to me about homeschooling...*Oh I could never do that*  They can't stay home and be with their kids, watch them grow and learn and be their partner in life.

I believe that a big part of what is wrong in this country is the public school system and the government getting involved in the family. So many parents turn over the care of their children to the system. I don't even know if it's a conscious decision or they just do it because it's what society preaches. Little kids are groomed that one day they will go to school, adults always ask kids questions that pertain to school. What grade are you in? Do you like your teacher? What did you learn in school today? On and on...

How about we ask kids what they enjoy doing?

It's just a big beef of mine. You can say live and let live.... I try to but I can't NOT say something when it is so clear to me that there is a better way to life than school. I'm advocating for all of those kids with no choice, no respect, no time to be free and think their own thoughts.  So many kids are being stressed beyond belief to pass the test, make the grade etc....

All for what? To join the rat race of mediocrity?

There is so much more to life than school, school is unnecessary.

Why have kids and send them away for someone else to raise? Government schools are the worst place for children to grow up. They need love, nurture, respect, partnership, trust and freedom to grow up healthy, happy and whole people.

Why? I just don't get it!

I honestly don't get why the majority of people send their kids to school.

It is an artificial environment set up based on age segregation. Kids are locked away for 9 or more months of the year then let out on break only to be shuffled away to something else.   Summer school, summer camp, vacation bible school etc....

Kids don't get much time to just be kids, relax, think, reflect, choose their own path....Every waking moment is scheduled so after 12 years of in the box indoctrination they graduate into the real world.

Many can't read well, articulate a thought or do real math... Why do people believe that school is where they go to get an education? Many parents think school is teaching their kids what they need to know and don't supplement their learning by real life application.   I know there are involved parents that send their kids to school and I don't know why they bother.

Who wants that kind of education anyway?

School is nothing more than government babysitting. I'm sorry for those that are neglected at home and school is also a free meal and a place to get away from home. Those instances are rare though, at least I hope they aren't the norm.

I just stand here in awe and watch people send their kids away each year for what I don't know...

Now it's graduation time or what I affectionately call * I survived indoctrination and all I got was this lousy piece of paper*

Until people wake up to the purpose of government education our society will keep spiraling downward into the depths of sheeplehood.

I leave you with this quote:


"School is the advertising agency that makes you believe you need society as it is."

Ivan Illich

My view

I will not apologize for being anti-school, which also means anti- teaching, as in the way schools teach.

So many people are engrained with school that they can't see past it. Some say they respect home schooling, private school, charter schools etc...while still advocating public school.

I do not want people to defend their choice of mainstream government schooling to me...I don't care...Nothing anyone could say would make me think that public school is a good idea.

I truly believe that schooling is unnecessary, it is a waste of time and resources...

It is a place to send your kids while you work, it is a place to be bullied and ridiculed and forced to do things you may or may not want to do.

It is government control...Tests and standards are not set with the child in mind but with results for bureaucrats.

I really feel bad for all of those people...

Many do not choose to go, many people don't even make the choice to send their kids, they just do it...How can compulsion be a choice?

Well you can opt out of the system completely, you do have a choice....

Honestly I wish there was no such thing as schools as we know them, I don't believe teaching should be a profession....There I said it, yes my family has several teachers in it and probably wouldn't understand why I would say such a thing.

Schools are not necessary for learning and usually inhibit the natural process.

You don't have to believe me or agree with me...just read the news, schools speak for themselves.

Adolescence

Noun:
the period in human development that occurs between the beginning of puberty and adulthood

I believe that our society has made adolescence into  a stuck period of time. High school is basically age 14 - 18. At a time when young people are growing and maturing we lock them up with others the same age.

It's a hormone fest for one thing. It's full of Cliques, peer pressure, bullying, grades, tests, stress, trying to be yourself or someone you're not, following the rules, breaking the rules, following the crowd, not thinking for yourself...

High School is a collossal waste of time and of youth.

I believe that teens can and should be following their interests and learning what they need when they need it. I believe that for every child.

Teens can be doing meaningful work, real work, getting paid.

I just don't see the point of high school. It is not to prepare you for the real world. What in the real world resembles school?

Nothing! Nothing at all!

School is an artificial environment set up to control the masses. It is very simple.

It is an escape for teens to get away from their controlling parents. While the school officials attempt to control, it's really the home environment that controls.

Instead of being controlled they need to be thinking and doing.

People need to be free to learn and grow and think for themselves.

They do not need to be stuck in a classroom all day being fed bullshit and regurgitating it on command.

“Your teacher cannot bridge the gap between what you know and what you want to know. For his words to ‘educate’ you, you must welcome them, think about them, find somewhere for your mind to organize them, and remember them.Your learning is your job, not your teacher’s job. And all you need to start with is desire. You don’t need a schoolteacher to get knowledge – you can get it from looking at the world, from watching films, from conversations, from reading, from asking questions, from experience.”


“Real learning requires meaning. Meaningless information can be memorized and repeated, but it’s not learning.


Grace Llewellyn

Today

Well technically it's yesterday because it's after midnight. My day starts and ends when I sleep and wake and has little to do with the time or calendar...Oh the life I live :)

So I just had wine and a hot bath, I'm temporarily warm, it's 13 degrees out, nuff said.

School has been cancelled this week, I know that in states where it's usually cold and snowy they don't get out of school but here in middle TN they do.

My daughter went to her friend's house today and when I talked with the mom she said she hopes they go back to school tomorrow.

She said *I don't know how you do it* They eat all day etc... How do I do IT? I know them and I guarantee they are driving her crazy and she only has 2 kids.

She isn't the first person to say that to me in the last 15 years. I choose to do it, that is HOW I do IT!

So I've been away from this for awhile now because my kids needed me... Makes it hard to remember what the hell I was saying...

I choose to be with my kids, it's that simple. I want to be with my kids, I want to be here, they want to be here. School was never an option and still isn't, school doesn't exist in our lives.

I can't imagine being the parent who can't wait for school to start, it's sad and wrong and sad...

I had more but it will wait until next time.

HodgePodge

So It's like a freakin blizzard here in TN!

Cold, 15 degrees, 3 inches of snow, wind blowin,freezin my ass off!

I am not an eskimo, I didn't move here to freeze!

Prisons are closed tomorrow, that's good for the kids. My son's friend stayed the night last night and he wanted it to  snow so bad so school would be closed. Well he got his wish!

On a good note, I don't have to go out in it and my kids don't have to wish for it so they don't have to go to school.

My kids went out and played in it, 15 damn degrees because  they wanted to.

My kids have never been to school so don't long to have a day off.

They are free everyday!

That my friends is a BEAUTIFUL thing!

Why?

Why do I focus so much energy on dissing the public school system?

Many of my posts here and on facebook are about the downfalls of school.

Why don't I just post happy unschooling stuff? Well I do but I am trying to plant seeds. So many people have never even questioned the institution. They just blindly and willingly send their kids there.

Of course I don't know if anyone reads here who isn't already homeschooling.

The system is broken, I don't think it's fixable. Sure we could improve it, I wrote about that recently.

I am just very passionate about unschooling and very passionately against compulsary schooling.

I just want to share my views and the realities speak for themselves. There is so much in the media about failing public schools.

It's a huge political agenda, politicians are clueless. They just think more money and more testing will fix it.

Getting rid of testing would be a huge step in the right direction.

I don't think it's a waste of my breath or that it takes away from unschooling.

Heck I just have to tell someone! ha ha!

Some people just don't get it

I'm not going to name names but sheesh! I guess the indoctrinated really don't know that they are indoctrinated.

The system sure works in that regard, it gets many to where they can't see learning or education without schooling.

To me school does not equal education. Schooling does more harm than good.

I am against compulsary schooling, the very nature of it's existence and it's purpose.

I realize I am in the minority, I have never been with the crowd. Always a non-conformist rebel.

It's how I roll.

Ask me anything, my answer may surprise you.

I don't apologize for being against school.

As a matter of fact, I think the world would be better off without it.

Things would be so different if parents actually raised their children and not the school system.

They would have to be resourceful and responsible

I had my kids on purpose, I don't believe that children are mistakes. I believe that people are irresponsible and having unprotected sex doesn't warrant you to be a parent.

Well that got off my  original thought but it's how I feel.

school, bullies,choice

Today on facebook, a friend mentioned how she hated sending her child to school when she felt like she was walking into a lion's den.

I would not send my child to school ever but under these circumstances wouldn't you reconsider things?

Especially with all of the media coverage about bullying and suicides.

I just don't understand how you can set your child up for abuse. School is bad enough but add in bullies and the stress can be unbearable.

I know that everyone won't homeschool, can't for whatever reason, but many people can and choose not to.

I feel so bad for all of these kids being treated less than human, being abused, ridiculed and picked on.

For what?

Surly not an education. School has nothing to do with education. School is an outdated, obsolete institution that's sole purpose is to control the masses and babysit kids while their parents work or worse have *me time*

So yes, it's their choice to send their kids to school and it's my choice not to.

Do I agree?   Hell no.

Do I respect people who send their kids away?

What do you think?

Ridiculous (to me) statements

These statements were made in a conversation about my homeschooled children with someone in the system, very in the system.

*The world is changing and they won't be prepared for the future*

*They need to go to highschool to get scholarships for college*

*They are missing out on experiences that their counterparts are experiencing*

*I would hate to see them living at home when they are 30*

Yes, I need to let it go but it is so absurd that I had to tell someone!

Just to be clear I did not mention Unschooling, this person thinks what they think about homeschooling.

OY!

I can only be so hopeful for change and then talk to someone who would never change. Some people will never shift, they like their box, they like the school model and live by it accordingly.

It is frustrating for me as I am speaking of my own father. I can't figure out why he thinks my kids won't be prepared for the future, the world is changing and school is the best preparation?

What?

My kids have an advantage because they are free to learn as they wish. I think they will be more ready for the world because they live in it. They aren't holed up in some little box all day being carroted around.

I think I made a new word...hee hee, I was referring to the carrot and stick...

I don't usually get into these discussions with people I know are unwavering. It happended though because my dad and I have a very strained relationship, it's more so now that I spoke up.

The truth is I'm glad we are not nearby so he can't constantly critique my children. I know that seems harsh but it's how I feel.

I usually let things he says roll, but I have to speak up now and again to defend myself.

I am not a complete idiot and I'm pretty confident that my kids are fine and will continue to grow and learn at their pace.

Changing the system

My husband asked me how would I start to implement change in the school system because in reality you can't just close schools.

Unfortunately not everyone will homeschool...

I think that first I would lift the compulsary attendance law or at the very least raise the age. People shouldn't be forced to send their child away to an institution at a young age. Children should be with their parents for as long as they can.

I would do away with grades. When people are learning, they shouldn't be graded on their process. When you learn it for real, you know it, you retain it. Real learning is an individual process and is disrupted by schooling, teaching, grading and testing.

I would also do away with standardized tests or any tests for that matter for the reason stated above.

If school was more interesting and less rigid about pushing grades and tests more kids would learn and more would enjoy being there.

My ideal if you will... is schools being  run more like libraries or community learning centers.

They will be there for people who can't or won't homeschool.

Not compulsary, if it's so great people will choose to attend.

Facilitators who love what they know and want to share their knowledge could host *classes*

People of all ages could pick and choose what they wanted.

I disagree with age segregation. Age has nothing to do with knowledge. Everyone is individual and should be able to learn at their pace.

The whole system is outdated and obsolete as a way of learning.

If our tax dollars are going to be spent on *education* we should make it productive and useful and even enjoyable.

All the lawmakers are doing is throwing money at those with high test scores and doing nothing to improve the quality of life for these kids.

I don't expect to see much *change* in the near future. Many people write daily on the woes of public schooling but nothing is being done to change it.

I believe that too many are ingrained that school is the way and it's hard to get them to shift their paradigm's.

Sure it's nice to think of ways that the kids who have to be there could be nourished and not depleted but I don't know how to go about that.

Just putting some thoughts down, wish I could remember everything I said to my husband. He was playing devil's advocate and asking me lots of questions.

Keeps me on my toes :)

When did this become the *Norm*

I think about things a lot and sometimes I actually verbalize them or write about it.

Soon after birth we(as a society) send our kids away for at least 12 years. If we do daycare and preschool then it's much longer than that.

Then in the high school years we push them about getting into college, then we send them away for another 2, 4, 6 or 8 years depending on how long they stay in college.

How does this promote families?

How is this a good thing?

 How is this considered the thing to do?

How can you have a real relationship with them?

Do you even know them?


I did not have kids to send them away. It never even crossed my mind to send them to school.

We planned on homeschooling before we had kids.

I left college to be a mother.

Being a mother is the best decision I have ever made.  We have 4 awesome people to share our lives with, why would I send them away for somone else to raise?

Why send them to government daycare ,aka prison, aka school?

I just can't understand how sending our kids away during their young years is a good thing.

Well it's not a good thing at all.

School? No way...

Everyday I see more news about how schools are banning this and forcing that. The latest was about the little plastic bracelets that kids wear. They are distracting them from learning.
Pay attention!

Schools are constantly taking away anything that promotes individuality, creativity or just plain free time play.

So many have cut recess to just a few minutes, no talking at lunch, no talking in the bathroom...

I don't know about you but I sure can't sit there and pay attention to dribble that I have no interest in...

They wonder how homeschool kids will socialize? Remember being told repeatedly that we weren't there to socialize?

It's ironic... really... and sad, oh so sad.

Kids are holed up in prison and expected to perform, pay  attention and regurgitate on command. With no regards to individual learning style or personality,

We must all conform, we must all be vanilla...

I really do not hold high hopes for reform. I truly believe the whole system is corrupt and the only way to fix it is to break it down and  rebuild it.

Get rid of all the boards, I'm so sick of people thinking they know what your child NEEDS to know!

Get over yourself you do not know  what my kid needs or any other kid for that matter!

I'll tell you what kids need...

Love, security, freedom to learn, grow, play and choose...  Opportunity, choice, freedom...

They do not need curriculum or scopes and sequences to be compared to other kids.

Kids are people, they are individuals and should be respected and treated as such!

No school?

I've often thought of what it would be like if there were no school. What would people do with their kids? Would they actually make different choices? Better choices? Be more responsible?

Makes me wonder...

Society has been ingrained with the indoctrination of the public school system. The main point of the system is to control the masses. We can't have free thinking people out and about all day deciding what to to with their time.

The system is government daycare at best. People can't wait to unload their kid so they don't have to be responsible for them.

If this sounds harsh, tough, it's how I feel, what I think from years of observing parents.

Yes, there are some great involved parents who still send their kids to school. Why? I have no idea.

Having to work is no excuse. There are many single parent homeschoolers and many dual working parents. Be creative, find a way to work so your kids don't have to be put in school.

I actually don't think teaching should be a profession. Look at what it is today. Teachers have to follow the school boards orders. Now they are pushing more and more  testing and teachers being compensated by student test scores.

That is absolutely ridiculous!

Tests are meaningless, degrading and harmful. They have no measure of true knowledge, some people are great test takers and can bullshit through even though they don't know the answers.

The system is seriously flawed and politicians think more money and more standards are the answer.
Well it isn't the answer. It doesn't work! The system is broken and has been for as long as I can remember, it's just getting worse.

More and more people are homeschooling these days but so many never will.

Schools as we know them should be banned. They should be some sort of cooperative learning center where people can choose what they want to learn, how and when. Of course this would mean being responsible and trusting people. There needs to be some sort of option for those that would never homeschool.

This will not happen anytime soon because people are used to being controlled, coerced, punished and rewarded.

I believe that too many people just don't think about the fact that the school system owns their kids. Kids deserve to grow and learn and be free to choose and be respected as people.

Kids do not belong in school wasting away their precious youth and being forcefed useless facts to regurgitate on demand.

Learning is natural and not something that needs to be forced. We don't need to be taught how to read and write, we can and do learn without instruction.

In this age of the internet, information is a click away, we can find out anything we want, we can learn about anything we want. School is an outdated institution.

Schooling takes away the natural ability, it makes learning a chore and something that has to be taught by a master.

School is damaging our youth, look around you.

I wish people would wake up!

I wish parents were responsible and respectful.