Now I agree that if homeschoolers did everything that there was available out there for us we would NOT be at home ever! But what I don't understand is those Homeschool Mom's who do just that. They schedule something for their children to do every day of the week...and some weekends too!
Is it their need to be on the go constantly themselves? Or do they think they are enriching their kids lives by always being on the go? I really don't know the reasons behind their thinking.
I was once close friends with a Mom like that. You know the Type A kind of Mom that was always on the go and always scheduling every minute of every day for her children. And one day the kids told me that they just wish they could stay at home at least one day and not eat out so much. They actually told my daughter she was lucky she got to eat at home with her family and not eat take out all the time.
That Mom was so busy all the time that we eventually lost touch with one another because she was to busy. She was even to busy for friends. That was the saddest part to me. That she couldn't find time to be friends or even make new ones.
That was 15 years ago. I wonder to this day if she ever slowed down.
Frustrated With Homeschoolers
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
NEWSFLASH!!!!
Most Homeschoolers are INCONSIDERATE and most of them think they are above simple kindness and courtesy. I am constantly reading articles of how much smarter homeschool children are over public school kids. AND I agree that most are ... but what they fail to mention and talk about is the parents of homeschoolers. Most homeschool parents that I meet in everyday life think the sun rises and sets on their children (and themselves) and simple common everyday kindness, you can tell, is NOT taught in their household.
The public schools teach kids NOT to bully and to have compassion towards their fellow students. That is one thing in their favor. I wish there was a CLASS for homeschool parents to take and a pledge they would have to sign before they decide to homeschool their kids that they would also teach kindness and compassion to their children, and to practice what they teach!!!
Most Homeschoolers are INCONSIDERATE and most of them think they are above simple kindness and courtesy. I am constantly reading articles of how much smarter homeschool children are over public school kids. AND I agree that most are ... but what they fail to mention and talk about is the parents of homeschoolers. Most homeschool parents that I meet in everyday life think the sun rises and sets on their children (and themselves) and simple common everyday kindness, you can tell, is NOT taught in their household.
The public schools teach kids NOT to bully and to have compassion towards their fellow students. That is one thing in their favor. I wish there was a CLASS for homeschool parents to take and a pledge they would have to sign before they decide to homeschool their kids that they would also teach kindness and compassion to their children, and to practice what they teach!!!
Favorite Authors
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Of course like most writers I love to read. I mostly love the Supernatural/Horror/Thriller Genre. But I will always read anything that is put in front of me. My biggest fear in life is to loose my eyesight. Listening to books on tape would not be the same for me as holding a book in my hand and being able to turn the pages. I am not even fond of reading books electronically. I have to feel the book and I love the smell of the paper.
I am also a book collector. I have almost every V.C. Andrews book written. I was really sad when she passed away but her family did a good job in keeping her writing going.
My favorite author is Dean Koontz. His books and movies have inspired me to look outside the box. I also like to read Stephen King, Michael McDowell, Peter Straub, and John Saul.
Some of my earlier influences were Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe.
I am also a book collector. I have almost every V.C. Andrews book written. I was really sad when she passed away but her family did a good job in keeping her writing going.
My favorite author is Dean Koontz. His books and movies have inspired me to look outside the box. I also like to read Stephen King, Michael McDowell, Peter Straub, and John Saul.
Some of my earlier influences were Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe.
My Author Bio
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Hello Reader,
I am
a storyteller. But then again aren’t all authors. I remember being a story
teller as far back as 10 years old. I used to make up stories for my cousins
when we had sleepovers.
The Telescope
Files is my first published novel. I had the story of a haunted telescope
inside of my head for a few years and finally it’s out of my head.
A lot of my
friends have asked why I waited so long to publish anything. I did (sort of)
publish some of my poetry before. I used to create web pages and I took that
opportunity to direct my creativity into those, and I put some of my poetry on
my website.
I have been
writing Poetry, Plays, and Short Stories for years. I can’t even remember how
old I was when I first started writing creatively. It seems as though I have
been writing my whole life. But the
first time I was approached to actually publish some of my work I was in the 10th
grade. My English teacher read a short story I wrote and approached me and
asked if she could send it in to a magazine. At that time I refused. I wasn’t confident
enough of my writing at that time to take the plunge.
Now that I am
over 50 I am at that point of my life where I am confident enough to share my
work with the rest of the world. Good or bad. If you read any of my work and
think it was good (or bad) I would really love to hear from you.
Thank you,
Donna Cline
My Unschooling Journey (Longest Post Ever)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I guess you could say that I have been homeschooling since 1982 when my first child was born. From the day our children are born we teach them to talk, walk, eat, etc. Then for some strange reason when they turn 5 or 6, society decides that we are not capable of teaching our children anymore. They tell us to send them to school so that strangers can teach them how to live and be around other strangers the rest of their lives. Supposedly they are also suppose to teach them Math, Science, English, etc. But then when they reach that all important day of Graduation we find out that they don’t know how to write, don’t know how to add, and some don’t even know how to speak correctly.
I was a public school kid. So when my daughter turned 5, I followed tradition and she went to school also. But she, unlike my son, thrived. She was smart and loved the public school atmosphere. My son who was a year younger than her, did not do well in PS. He was diagnosed, by the school, as Learning Disabled. So we started on that path with him going to counselors,doctors, and psychologists. The medical doctors could find NOTHING wrong with him. He was in perfect health. Every year he saw new counselors, and new psychologists.We put him in different schools and none of them could ever pin-point what was actually wrong with him. My son started being arrested in school for fighting, and he was becoming depressed. Finally in the year 1996, I was fed up. I started to do my own research into Learning Disabilities.
I started with the libraries (back then the internet wasn’t even known). I checked out every book, in every library, in my county on Learning Disabilities. By the time my son was entering the 8th grade I was becoming almost an expert on Learning Disabilities myself. I went to the counselors and tried to get them to teach my son a different way, but was told that they had to follow the schools Curriculum. I had read about homeschooling in the books I was reading, so I talked with my husband about it and we decided to try it. Our motto back then was we couldn’t do any worse than the school had done.
From just what I had read and learned for myself about how to teach him, my son started to thrive. He was no longer depressed and he actually started learning. When he turned 16 he asked me if he could go back to school. He would still be in Learning Disable classes but he wanted to take auto mechanic courses (and also I think it was to meet the girls). So we agreed. He went for a year and did okay, but before the next year was out he had already went back into his old ways and actually quit school to go to work. I had just had my 3rd baby boy and at that time I think I was too easily persuaded, and too overwhelmed with the new baby to argue.
Now to my second son who was born in 93. We discussed whether or not to send him to PS. Our plan was to try it and see what happened. So far we had a 50/50 shot going (my daughter was going to college and was still doing good). He did very well in Kindergarten and 1st grade. In his 2nd grade we thought he was doing great also. He was coming home with VS’s and student of the month and classroom awards. Little did we know at the time that his teacher was not teaching him at all. We didn’t find out how bad it all was till he entered the 3rd grade. For 3 weeks I was getting phone calls from his teacher about how far behind he was in class, that he couldn't read, or do simple math. I knew he could do all of those things but instead of arguing with the teacher I just pulled him out and started homeschooling him. It took us almost a year to deschool him.
Now when I started home schooling this time around, I didn’t even know about Home school groups. It is only when I went online to look up educational websites to teach him from, that I found a listing of homeschool groups. Even then I did not want to join one until my son and I worked on a few things dealing with HS’ing. I wanted to do wait till he was deschooled before we ventured out and joined a group.
When I thought the time was right, I then looked up some local groups. I found one where that the Group Leader lived close by and she also had boys my son's age. I talked with her on the phone then visited her at her house. She was very nice and our boys seemed to get along real well. Well I thought, “Ok, this will work out because for one they lived close by so the boys could get together and play, and two, the outline of the group in general seemed nice.” I wasn’t joining the group to make new friends for me. I have plenty of friends. But I was joining for my son who was now 9 (and my 3 y.o.) and to let them develop friendships and interaction with other kids their age.
After getting into the group and going to play days, everything was working out just fine. I made a few suggestions about some events and gave my two cents worth but none of them ever panned out. Now the other group members were not rude about it but they didn’t take any of my ideas at all. At first I just thought it was because I was new. So I decided to just go with the flow and maybe on down the line sometime maybe they would like something I said. Then I noticed a little bit of anti-socialization because I did not attend their church. I am Christian; I do not go to church on Sunday but instead choose to worship in my own way. Even then I did not make an issue out of anything because my kids were having fun and getting along well with the other children. And that was my purpose of joining to begin with.
But then one day the group leader sent out an email about some bunk beds she wanted to give away. I called her and went to pick them up. I was shocked to see how great condition the beds were and asked her why she was just giving them away. She said they were getting new beds for her boys. Ok but why give away almost brand new mattresses? We were glad to take them off her hands. Well we found out barely a week later, that they were infested with lice. After the pain and anguish we went through, and still had to have the mattresses hauled off and go buy new ones, my husband forbade me to have anything else to do with that group. Now I am not usually one to follow an order, from anyone, but this time I agreed, so I dropped out of that homeschool group.
I went back online and found another local group. I called and talked with the co-leader of this group. We talked on the phone almost everyday for about a month. We meet twice and developed a friendship between ourselves. Now our kids were of opposite sex and different ages but there were a lot of kids my son’s ages in the group, so I decided to join after about a month. I actually had to pay dues with this group so I did check it out very carefully.
I attended many events and got along nicely with all the moms and my kids had fun. There was still that attitude about me not going to church but I dealt with it. Then one day I sent out a email with a link on it with a educational website. I then got an email from the other co-leader of the group. This email stated that I was not to send out any emails to the group unless I first had it approved by her, the group leader. Now I am over 40 and have been online since 1997. I am not an expert on the computer but I do know my way around a little. So when I got this email, I noticed it had an attachment. So I opened it. It was the group leader and the co-leader (my so-called friend) having an email discussion about me sending out emails without their approval and who in the hell did I think I was. Well for one, the email I sent out to the group was an educational site where kids could learn to read fairy tales in other languages, which I thought was pretty dang neat and wanted to share with others. And two, I am over 40 and have never had anyone tell me what I could or could not send in email. I really didn’t think I did anything so wrong as to warrant such written attacks and abuse. So I emailed them both and told them so. Of course I was blunt and to the point about seeing their correspondence, which I still do not know if they meant for me to see it or not, and told them if they felt that way then I was just going to drop out of the group. I was also a little hurt that the co-leader who I thought was a friend would do such a thing behind my back. The next day the group leader sent out an email to the entire group stating that no emails will be sent out without her approval because she had a member sending out porn. Well after that I got many nasty emails from other group members. I think most were planned out if not instigated by the group leader. I think she was just that embarrassed at getting caught talking behind someone’s back. And yes I still have all those emails.
Well after that you can imagine I was fed up and discouraged by home school groups. I even swore them off. For awhile. I did pursue other venues though. I joined a home school registry that let you connect with other homeschoolers on a one to one basis. From this registry, I was contacted by a girl who lived near by. She wanted to enlist others to form a homeschool group of a different kind. Well dumb me agreed to meet and talk with the others. Because of my own websites that I created, they asked me to make one for the group. I was dumb again and agreed. The leader of this group I guess was under the impression that I was some computer genius. Now before I continue, my family and I were planning a day trip to the fair. The group leader knew this. She knew what time I was leaving, what day, etc. That morning she called me in a panic. She said her comp was frozen because of an email a new member sent. She claimed the new member sent her a virus. Now I know HTML but viruses and such, I have no clue. I told her I would run a virus scan from my comp on the email (which I had also received) and see what my comp said. Well I emailed her co-leader (who was doing the go between for her by phone and also trying to help her) after I was done with the virus scan and told her (and I still have all those emails) I could not find a virus but when I returned home from the fair and could look deeper and I would see if I could help some more. Well when I returned home I had the nastiest email from the leader (yes her comp was fixed). She claimed I was in cohorts with the new member to conspire against her and crash her computer. For one I had never meet the new member, never emailed her, and didn’t have a clue as to who she was. Well after I emailed her this info and not so nicely I might mention, the next day she sent out an email and disbanded the group. I then found out a few days later it was so she could start it back up without me and the other new member being involved. It then became a invitation only group.
In short, I was stupid enough to try another group after that and needless to say it turned out disastrous also, so I have not officially joined a homeschool group since.
Now, as far as the 'homeschooling process' went, it was all experimental. Since my son did not have a learning disability I had to learn the best way to teach him. From all the books I had read earlier with my other son, I had an idea about how to start. First I had to figure out his style of learning. Did my son do well with books, tests, or videos? We found out he loved documentaries and he learned better by watching a DVD than opening a book. He also loved the computer and playing educational games on it. So there is where our learning began. But as we joined groups after groups, they constantly had me questioning our process. They were always asking what curriculum's we were using and what tests and classes were we taking. And when I told them I wasn't using a curriculum or taking any classes, I was looked upon as if I was an Ogre.When I got around other homeschoolers, I then either avoided the curriculum issue or made up some books I was using.
Then in 2005 I found a unschoolers group on yahoo. I joined it not knowing what it was about. As I watched the post and learned more about unschooling, it dawned on me, that was what we were...unschoolers. I started learning more and more about their ideas and I liked their attitude towards homeschooling and life in general. So I came out of the closet I guess and officially became an unschooler. Now I do not dodge the curriculum issue.
Now anyone at all who know me or my family knows that we do not judge people on their income, race, religion, or even if they keep a neat or messy house. We could care less how you make or spend your money, if you drink or smoke, or if you live in a big house or a small apartment. But I have noticed there is a LOT of people out there who do care about these things. And I have met a lot of homeschoolers that do a lot of judging of other people. But on the good side there are those folks who are like us and don’t judge others and they are the best friends I do have in life. I still want my sons to have friends and develop relationships with other kids their age. BUT, I am now being more picky and trying to help them to find true friends, like I have in life.
I do not push my values on others and I respect their values. In return I try to only socialize with those who in return respect my values also.
I was a public school kid. So when my daughter turned 5, I followed tradition and she went to school also. But she, unlike my son, thrived. She was smart and loved the public school atmosphere. My son who was a year younger than her, did not do well in PS. He was diagnosed, by the school, as Learning Disabled. So we started on that path with him going to counselors,doctors, and psychologists. The medical doctors could find NOTHING wrong with him. He was in perfect health. Every year he saw new counselors, and new psychologists.We put him in different schools and none of them could ever pin-point what was actually wrong with him. My son started being arrested in school for fighting, and he was becoming depressed. Finally in the year 1996, I was fed up. I started to do my own research into Learning Disabilities.
I started with the libraries (back then the internet wasn’t even known). I checked out every book, in every library, in my county on Learning Disabilities. By the time my son was entering the 8th grade I was becoming almost an expert on Learning Disabilities myself. I went to the counselors and tried to get them to teach my son a different way, but was told that they had to follow the schools Curriculum. I had read about homeschooling in the books I was reading, so I talked with my husband about it and we decided to try it. Our motto back then was we couldn’t do any worse than the school had done.
From just what I had read and learned for myself about how to teach him, my son started to thrive. He was no longer depressed and he actually started learning. When he turned 16 he asked me if he could go back to school. He would still be in Learning Disable classes but he wanted to take auto mechanic courses (and also I think it was to meet the girls). So we agreed. He went for a year and did okay, but before the next year was out he had already went back into his old ways and actually quit school to go to work. I had just had my 3rd baby boy and at that time I think I was too easily persuaded, and too overwhelmed with the new baby to argue.
Now to my second son who was born in 93. We discussed whether or not to send him to PS. Our plan was to try it and see what happened. So far we had a 50/50 shot going (my daughter was going to college and was still doing good). He did very well in Kindergarten and 1st grade. In his 2nd grade we thought he was doing great also. He was coming home with VS’s and student of the month and classroom awards. Little did we know at the time that his teacher was not teaching him at all. We didn’t find out how bad it all was till he entered the 3rd grade. For 3 weeks I was getting phone calls from his teacher about how far behind he was in class, that he couldn't read, or do simple math. I knew he could do all of those things but instead of arguing with the teacher I just pulled him out and started homeschooling him. It took us almost a year to deschool him.
Now when I started home schooling this time around, I didn’t even know about Home school groups. It is only when I went online to look up educational websites to teach him from, that I found a listing of homeschool groups. Even then I did not want to join one until my son and I worked on a few things dealing with HS’ing. I wanted to do wait till he was deschooled before we ventured out and joined a group.
When I thought the time was right, I then looked up some local groups. I found one where that the Group Leader lived close by and she also had boys my son's age. I talked with her on the phone then visited her at her house. She was very nice and our boys seemed to get along real well. Well I thought, “Ok, this will work out because for one they lived close by so the boys could get together and play, and two, the outline of the group in general seemed nice.” I wasn’t joining the group to make new friends for me. I have plenty of friends. But I was joining for my son who was now 9 (and my 3 y.o.) and to let them develop friendships and interaction with other kids their age.
After getting into the group and going to play days, everything was working out just fine. I made a few suggestions about some events and gave my two cents worth but none of them ever panned out. Now the other group members were not rude about it but they didn’t take any of my ideas at all. At first I just thought it was because I was new. So I decided to just go with the flow and maybe on down the line sometime maybe they would like something I said. Then I noticed a little bit of anti-socialization because I did not attend their church. I am Christian; I do not go to church on Sunday but instead choose to worship in my own way. Even then I did not make an issue out of anything because my kids were having fun and getting along well with the other children. And that was my purpose of joining to begin with.
But then one day the group leader sent out an email about some bunk beds she wanted to give away. I called her and went to pick them up. I was shocked to see how great condition the beds were and asked her why she was just giving them away. She said they were getting new beds for her boys. Ok but why give away almost brand new mattresses? We were glad to take them off her hands. Well we found out barely a week later, that they were infested with lice. After the pain and anguish we went through, and still had to have the mattresses hauled off and go buy new ones, my husband forbade me to have anything else to do with that group. Now I am not usually one to follow an order, from anyone, but this time I agreed, so I dropped out of that homeschool group.
I went back online and found another local group. I called and talked with the co-leader of this group. We talked on the phone almost everyday for about a month. We meet twice and developed a friendship between ourselves. Now our kids were of opposite sex and different ages but there were a lot of kids my son’s ages in the group, so I decided to join after about a month. I actually had to pay dues with this group so I did check it out very carefully.
I attended many events and got along nicely with all the moms and my kids had fun. There was still that attitude about me not going to church but I dealt with it. Then one day I sent out a email with a link on it with a educational website. I then got an email from the other co-leader of the group. This email stated that I was not to send out any emails to the group unless I first had it approved by her, the group leader. Now I am over 40 and have been online since 1997. I am not an expert on the computer but I do know my way around a little. So when I got this email, I noticed it had an attachment. So I opened it. It was the group leader and the co-leader (my so-called friend) having an email discussion about me sending out emails without their approval and who in the hell did I think I was. Well for one, the email I sent out to the group was an educational site where kids could learn to read fairy tales in other languages, which I thought was pretty dang neat and wanted to share with others. And two, I am over 40 and have never had anyone tell me what I could or could not send in email. I really didn’t think I did anything so wrong as to warrant such written attacks and abuse. So I emailed them both and told them so. Of course I was blunt and to the point about seeing their correspondence, which I still do not know if they meant for me to see it or not, and told them if they felt that way then I was just going to drop out of the group. I was also a little hurt that the co-leader who I thought was a friend would do such a thing behind my back. The next day the group leader sent out an email to the entire group stating that no emails will be sent out without her approval because she had a member sending out porn. Well after that I got many nasty emails from other group members. I think most were planned out if not instigated by the group leader. I think she was just that embarrassed at getting caught talking behind someone’s back. And yes I still have all those emails.
Well after that you can imagine I was fed up and discouraged by home school groups. I even swore them off. For awhile. I did pursue other venues though. I joined a home school registry that let you connect with other homeschoolers on a one to one basis. From this registry, I was contacted by a girl who lived near by. She wanted to enlist others to form a homeschool group of a different kind. Well dumb me agreed to meet and talk with the others. Because of my own websites that I created, they asked me to make one for the group. I was dumb again and agreed. The leader of this group I guess was under the impression that I was some computer genius. Now before I continue, my family and I were planning a day trip to the fair. The group leader knew this. She knew what time I was leaving, what day, etc. That morning she called me in a panic. She said her comp was frozen because of an email a new member sent. She claimed the new member sent her a virus. Now I know HTML but viruses and such, I have no clue. I told her I would run a virus scan from my comp on the email (which I had also received) and see what my comp said. Well I emailed her co-leader (who was doing the go between for her by phone and also trying to help her) after I was done with the virus scan and told her (and I still have all those emails) I could not find a virus but when I returned home from the fair and could look deeper and I would see if I could help some more. Well when I returned home I had the nastiest email from the leader (yes her comp was fixed). She claimed I was in cohorts with the new member to conspire against her and crash her computer. For one I had never meet the new member, never emailed her, and didn’t have a clue as to who she was. Well after I emailed her this info and not so nicely I might mention, the next day she sent out an email and disbanded the group. I then found out a few days later it was so she could start it back up without me and the other new member being involved. It then became a invitation only group.
In short, I was stupid enough to try another group after that and needless to say it turned out disastrous also, so I have not officially joined a homeschool group since.
Now, as far as the 'homeschooling process' went, it was all experimental. Since my son did not have a learning disability I had to learn the best way to teach him. From all the books I had read earlier with my other son, I had an idea about how to start. First I had to figure out his style of learning. Did my son do well with books, tests, or videos? We found out he loved documentaries and he learned better by watching a DVD than opening a book. He also loved the computer and playing educational games on it. So there is where our learning began. But as we joined groups after groups, they constantly had me questioning our process. They were always asking what curriculum's we were using and what tests and classes were we taking. And when I told them I wasn't using a curriculum or taking any classes, I was looked upon as if I was an Ogre.When I got around other homeschoolers, I then either avoided the curriculum issue or made up some books I was using.
Then in 2005 I found a unschoolers group on yahoo. I joined it not knowing what it was about. As I watched the post and learned more about unschooling, it dawned on me, that was what we were...unschoolers. I started learning more and more about their ideas and I liked their attitude towards homeschooling and life in general. So I came out of the closet I guess and officially became an unschooler. Now I do not dodge the curriculum issue.
Now anyone at all who know me or my family knows that we do not judge people on their income, race, religion, or even if they keep a neat or messy house. We could care less how you make or spend your money, if you drink or smoke, or if you live in a big house or a small apartment. But I have noticed there is a LOT of people out there who do care about these things. And I have met a lot of homeschoolers that do a lot of judging of other people. But on the good side there are those folks who are like us and don’t judge others and they are the best friends I do have in life. I still want my sons to have friends and develop relationships with other kids their age. BUT, I am now being more picky and trying to help them to find true friends, like I have in life.
I do not push my values on others and I respect their values. In return I try to only socialize with those who in return respect my values also.
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