tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post8020616091655549279..comments2023-12-17T05:54:56.396-05:00Comments on I'm Unschooled. Yes, I Can Write.: In Praise of The Unexceptional: Because Unschooling Doesn't Have to Be ImpressiveIdzie Desmaraishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782266545123946006noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-23234704304624216532018-01-29T22:02:29.164-05:002018-01-29T22:02:29.164-05:00Thank you for writing this. I'm going to be sh...Thank you for writing this. I'm going to be sharing this as a starting point for our own discussions about unschooling, which--I wholeheartedly agree--should not be co-opted as an alternate model to maximize achievement. Fifteenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01657638872260475726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-86993363002211917142015-02-05T17:19:09.357-05:002015-02-05T17:19:09.357-05:00Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Thanks for pointing o...Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Thanks for pointing out something very important.Willow Rosenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03164629050372191828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-51084014096597182912015-02-05T17:09:37.087-05:002015-02-05T17:09:37.087-05:00That's a wonderful quote that I'm going to...That's a wonderful quote that I'm going to use from now on! :) Thanks!Willow Rosenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03164629050372191828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-63165177174841923292014-07-11T23:41:11.726-04:002014-07-11T23:41:11.726-04:00Thanks for sharing this! Thanks for sharing this! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05189497787253167124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-80415898623667150492014-07-11T22:24:00.958-04:002014-07-11T22:24:00.958-04:00Much needed. Thanks. Much needed. Thanks. Bernie Folanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16485736987206601516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-62773691978228349632014-07-11T04:19:36.054-04:002014-07-11T04:19:36.054-04:00Here here, just shared with ny little family, impo...Here here, just shared with ny little family, important ti hold on to this , thanksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08556608390462880721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-32497589653275370052014-05-12T18:31:38.684-04:002014-05-12T18:31:38.684-04:00Excellent post. Sharing with my unschooled teen. T...Excellent post. Sharing with my unschooled teen. Thanks. Jax Blunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09415759029231313958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-84055373878516536532014-05-08T20:16:03.152-04:002014-05-08T20:16:03.152-04:00Very refreshing, thank you!Very refreshing, thank you!Sopheliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09891110033136610235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-52839606842775291682014-05-07T17:03:26.193-04:002014-05-07T17:03:26.193-04:00thank youthank youmartinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-31591948520459802612014-05-07T10:57:46.867-04:002014-05-07T10:57:46.867-04:00One of the ongoing challenges I face is learning (...One of the ongoing challenges I face is learning (at my age! still!) how to turn off the voice of a culture that tells me that Significant Achievement is what matters most, when what I really like to do is scribble a few lines of poetry now and then and make nice things for dinner. I love what Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "We're here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different."ps pirrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787099732002534042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-62154255164810358082014-05-07T06:40:57.694-04:002014-05-07T06:40:57.694-04:00(Sorry, I deleted my first try at this comment. :)...(Sorry, I deleted my first try at this comment. :) )<br /><br />Idzie, reading your post, I began to examine what points you made are true for our family and what may not be. My kids are 27, 21 and 20 now, and, though I think having unschooled is part of how they grew up, they don't think of themselves as "unschoolers". I'd have to ask them, but I've never heard them call themselves that. I think -- and I hesitate to speak for them, so I'm emphasizing *I think* -- each might describe him or her self by their interests and what they're doing now, not by one of the paths that we followed. "I'm a mother and an artist and a writer" I might hear my daughter say if I asked her. "I'm a runner" is what my eldest son would lead with, I'm pretty sure. "I'm a writer", or "I'm interested in Cosplay and Science Fiction and reading and gaming . . . " geez, I don't know where to stop with my younger son -- or any of them, really. (After reading your post and thinking about it, I must ask each of them and see what they say.)<br /><br />I think that they don't feel that they have something to prove "as unschoolers". It seems to me that they are each comfortable following the paths they choose without worrying about the expectations of "the mainstream" (or about proving something about unschooling by doing Big Important Things), because that's what they've been doing all along. Finding one's own path without worrying about what others think, letting go of expectations and being true to oneself, was something I never learned to do, but it's the way they've grown up. Like your mom, I hesitate to use the phrase "I'm proud of them". What I really am is in awe of them. They each amaze me and watching their lives unfold brings me joy. This is what I feel when I read your blog or see that you've created a Zine or baked something wonderful. You *all* are amazing, exceptional people. Unschooling is part of what allowed you all to become who you are, but it doesn't define who you are.Laura/CenterDownHomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11429332908819366130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-12507026258995707822014-05-06T23:16:51.859-04:002014-05-06T23:16:51.859-04:00Thanks Idzie. Very refreshing. I think it is a cha...Thanks Idzie. Very refreshing. I think it is a challenge for all of us to live in a way that is true to ourselves rather than by the narrow standards that mainstream society dictates. Being an unschooling parent is not considered as impressive by many people either. The joy for me lies in the warm and intimate relationship I have with my children and the individual learning journeys that we are on. I have no idea how it is all going to turn out. To spend time worrying about how my children will turn out would suck all the joy from our days. We will just get on with our quiet things. I really appreciate your writing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-52564046683510546562014-05-06T21:38:25.193-04:002014-05-06T21:38:25.193-04:00Brilliantly written. Thanks. Brilliantly written. Thanks. Joliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862905848025657627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-3364135727929506972014-05-06T21:19:49.931-04:002014-05-06T21:19:49.931-04:00Thank you! This was wonderful! :) Thank you! This was wonderful! :) Nance Conferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449544898208422998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805323468407241809.post-74481625423165390002014-05-06T19:56:19.664-04:002014-05-06T19:56:19.664-04:00Thank you for this. Thank you for this. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17674087671577699395noreply@blogger.com