Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Have You Read This?

(The pants Emmy is wearing were made by Liz of The Sitting Tree - from an upcycled merino sweater.) 

If you haven't read this article by Ben Hewitt, check it out.   What do you think?

I have told Mike more than once that when I run for President, I will eliminate public K - 12 education (eliminate all involvement - both mandates and financially - on the federal level and turn it over to local communities) and make higher education highly competitive and free.   No chance, I know.  
Haven't worked out the details yet either.

7 comments:

  1. Yes, Tonya...it is indeed a fabulous article! I'm not sure what is better, all he wrote or the fact it is printed in a mainstream magazine like "Outside"...(well, mainstream in our neck of the woods). I love that this article will reach many people who don't know too much about un/home-schooling. The only criticism I have is that he mentions the amount of school-aged children with "diabetes" and I wish he'd differentiate between "Type 2 diabetes" because it misleads people to assuming anyone with "diabetes" is due to lack of exercise and poor lifestyle habits. My two year old at the time was hardly a candidate. But, as you know, that is a thing close to my heart!
    xo Jules

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  2. Thanks for sharing Jules - that is a good point and I can understand 100% how generalizing about diabetes like that must make you feel. Thinking of you during this busy harvest season. Love, Tonya

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  3. Yes, my husband and I just read this article. I read it through and then saw that it was written by him - I am familiar with his writing through Taproot magazine. Interesting article that I know will spark a lot of chatter.

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  4. Tonya, thanks for this link. My husband and I both read the article with great interest. Our teenage daughter has missed three years of school (and schooling) due to severe ME/CFS, and is beginning to attend school this year on a part-time basis. Her time at home was mostly spent in bed, so she has missed out on a lot of life, but she has also developed a critical acuity and freedom of thought that I think might not have been there if she hadn't fallen off the educational treadmill. She has become very aware of social injustices, and is now choosing to spend some of her time helping a couple of causes and people. I also wonder whether this instinct to give to others would have been as strong if she had been at school. A family acquaintance recently remarked that you would never know she'd been out of school for so long "because she seems so switched on". I've come to believe that we vastly underestimate our children's natural abilities. I also agree that the more we trust our children, the more trustworthy they become.

    Thanks again!

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  5. I really enjoy your blog. After reading John Holt and John Gatto, I couldn't agree with this more.

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  6. Have you considered New Hampshire? There is no mandated public education, and there are a lot of cool things going on with the Free State project.

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