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["Tracy J" <tracy9j AT frontiernet.net>]

Attention, Holiday Shoppers: We Have Fisticuffs in Aisle 2 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/business/25shop.html

Tracy Julian
in East North-Central Minnesota
>From mmcharry AT gmail.com  Sat Nov 25 12:53:20 2006
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Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2006 11:53:18 -0600
From: "Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>
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Subject: Re: [Homestead] Schools
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On 11/23/06, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com <Clansgian AT wmconnect.com> wrote:
>
> Well, try as one might, there are some people who are never going to get it.
> It's not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with the premise, it's whether
> one understands it to begin with.  It would be more frustrating if it 
> weren't
> so amusing the number of times one hears, "I went to PS and  it did me no
> harm" and yet the indoctrination is so deep and permeating that they still 
> can't
> get past the notion that any critique of the idea of government schools is
> saying that they are broken down, deteriorated, in need of repair.

Using public school to explain the numerous failures of the society at
large strikes me as a dogmatic position, nearly religious in its
intensity. Much as it pains many of us, we have the system we have. I
suppose that it's satisfying in some way to say that anyone who
disagrees with the total unschooling of America to say that anyone who
sees that some good can come from schooling is brainwashed -- and
their opinions that therefore be discounted -- but it doesn't get
anyone very far down the road of figuring out if there are any
possible reforms.

Outlawing standardized tests of all kinds would be a good start....

I have the feeling that the unschoolers -- and I personally have a
great deal of sympathy for them until they begin to wax messianic --
don't give a damn about all the kids . It's important to save your own
kids, but if you don't speak up for all kids, your efforts may not
amount to much.

Marie