Cammie Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 From reading the boards for a little while it is clear that homeschooling/afterschooling parents have many, many different beliefs and backgrounds. It is always interesting to see what can bring people from widely divergent viewpoints together! I would love to hear what it is you think you all have in common? - Cammie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Our children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 For the most part? Intelligence! I know I can come here, talk to other parents who have at least some connection to homeschooling, and read a variety of generally intelligent, well-thought out positions. I have been on other homeschooling boards where the prevalent idea is that girls won't go to college because they are just going to be wives and mothers, where "well-educated" doesn't mean the same thing I think it does, and the majority are all of the same religious and political bent. Sometimes things around here get heated and there are at times some really crazy threads, but overall there is nowhere else in the homeschooling internet world I would rather be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Perhaps an obsessive passion for parenting, for our kids? We share a fairly academic approach to homeschooling, for the most part. Many/most of us love to learn/read/study ourselves and love to learn with our kids (rather than hand them over to a set curriculum while we do the housework ). And it seems that many of us are introverts who really enjoy this particular means of communication and community. And, a lot of intelligent conversations happen here. Also, from my perspective as an AUstralian, this is a fairly international forum and i have learned a lot about other people and the way they think and believe, here. I enjoy that a lot. I also feel that the way these boards are moderated is just so excellent for the most part, and our host SWB is a woman of such grace and maturity, that somehow the boards hold together in a way that we can have very deep conversations, and extremely different opinions about things, and somehow it doesnt just all fall apart into overall hostility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I agree it starts with the kids and their parents who want to be involved in a meaningful way in their educations. I think most people start out with some type of thought process that they are not willing to let an outside source determine what is the best education for their children. It may be that they choose to send their kids to public or private school rather than homeschool, but it's a conscious decision and not a default position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Perhaps an obsessive passion for parenting, for our kids? We share a fairly academic approach to homeschooling, for the most part. Many/most of us love to learn/read/study ourselves and love to learn with our kids (rather than hand them over to a set curriculum while we do the housework ). And it seems that many of us are introverts who really enjoy this particular means of communication and community. And, a lot of intelligent conversations happen here. Also, from my perspective as an AUstralian, this is a fairly international forum and i have learned a lot about other people and the way they think and believe, here. I enjoy that a lot. I also feel that the way these boards are moderated is just so excellent for the most part, and our host SWB is a woman of such grace and maturity, that somehow the boards hold together in a way that we can have very deep conversations, and extremely different opinions about things, and somehow it doesnt just all fall apart into overall hostility. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 We are all radicals. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Terror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Terror :lol::lol::lol: Yeah, there's that, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Terror. :laugh: Yeah, that's part of it! I guess I'd say that we're bound by a common dedication to giving our kids the best education we can, and that we have a more academic bent than a lot of homeschoolers. Not everyone here is devoted to the classical education model as the way to do that, but we're mostly somewhere around there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Support for our choices. I think it can be difficult to go against the grain. When I began homeschooling, I didn't know anyone who was doing it and neither did my family. My parenting skills were immediately called into question by family, acquaintances, and strangers. My ex and his wife, both teachers, used it against me anytime they had a chance to discuss why my oldest dd should be living with them where she could go to school and get a real education. Besides, it's really nice to be in such a large diverse group. Bottom line: 1. Some of my thoughts/beliefs are shared by others which makes me feel good. 2. Some of my thoughts/beliefs are not shared which makes me look closely to see if I should change my stance, and that has happened many times. I like to grow in wisdom. 3. And sometimes my thoughts/beliefs are attacked causing me to not even be interested in further exchange. I learned to see key words that tell when to stay FAR away from a thread. At one point, I had several people on ignore. It was really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 lots of 'time' to peruse the boards, LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 What everyone else has said! The following statements certainly are not true of all families with children in traditional classrooms, but are merely used to amplify the us factor of TWTM boards. Many people outside the homeschool community don't know what books their children are using in school and simply don't understand curriculum shopping- sadly they often don't even know exactly what their children are studying. We, homeschoolers/ afterschoolers, can come here and share curriculum joys/ searches/ difficulties. They don't spend the time with their children that homeschoolers do and some actually think that we are harming our children by having such a close relationship with them. We can share things that we are doing with or that our children have done that relate to homeschooling or homeschooling family experiences (and even things that are not related to homeschooling, but related to living outside the mainstream) that families who don't have this experience may not understand. When their kids hit the teen years, the parents buy into the us and them mentality and then they are astounded when their children don't listen to them. When our children hit the teen years and the number of homeschoolers their age drops dramatically we can still come here and find a wealth of information to help our families navigate through this period. If you are familiar with boat people, TWTM forum group is similar to being on the lake. When out on the lake in a boat, everyone is a boat person. If you run out of gas or have trouble on the lake, another boat person will always come by and help. :)Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Love for our children, and passion for their education. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I come here for the animosity-induced-honesty that I find uncommon in real life. I like diverse answers. I like to hear points of view, especially those that I don't agree with, defended with intelligent conversation. I like to hear about peoples lives, people's triumphs, and how they make it through the sorrows. I like it when people share why they have a particular point of view. And most importantly, how a lifetime of different experiences, has led such a variety of people, to one moment in time, of tandem thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 We are minions to SWB.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Um... homeschooling? (Did I misunderstand the question? :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscopterdoc Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 ...that we think no one can educate [and care for] our children better than us..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apiphobic Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I think homeschooling is what drew me here the first time. I'd just started and wanted to learn more about this method. The advice and curriculum suggestions are what kept me returning here. I gained so much from reading and listening to all the great tips and experiences shared here. Then the support and familiarity with similar problems and issues provided me with more reason to keep coming back. Now, I think more than anything, the laughter is giving me the best medicine. I can just hear "I Love to Laugh" from Mary Poppins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 From reading the boards for a little while it is clear that homeschooling/afterschooling parents have many, many different beliefs and backgrounds. It is always interesting to see what can bring people from widely divergent viewpoints together! I would love to hear what it is you think you all have in common? - Cammie No coffee this morning. Took this to mean "What holds me together?" First thought: wine.:tongue_smilie: It was our first week of school. Clarity is just not happening here. Off to make that pot of coffee. Oh yeah, what do we have in common? Scintillating wit, insanity, and a deep and abiding love for our children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Computer keyboards and abundant spare time. :D A hope to locate people with whom to brainstorm about issues. From reading the boards for a little while it is clear that homeschooling/afterschooling parents have many, many different beliefs and backgrounds. It is always interesting to see what can bring people from widely divergent viewpoints together! I would love to hear what it is you think you all have in common? - Cammie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I visited the WTM boards sporadically for a while after I first joined but have been coming here regularly for several months. The level of intelligence here impresses me, and I appreciate the variety of perspectives expressed. The discussions tend to get more heated here than on other boards I've participated in, but I prefer the lighter moderation and more vigorous debate here over "nice" forums in which moderators shut down discussions that are even remotely controversial. In the majority of online and real-life homeschooling groups I've been in, I usually feel like almost everyone is more conservative than I am, but that's not the case here at all, and I like that it represents a broader spectrum of homeschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teragram Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Um... homeschooling? (Did I misunderstand the question? :D) This was my first thought too. But I truely enjoy the diversity of conversation mixed with the openess and trust to post thoughts and questions about our most important job of raising our children. I just find it refreshing to pop over here from time to time...mostly when I start feeling too much like a square peg in a round world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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