Faking Homeschool/life Reality

[WishboneDawn]

A annoymous call to the reporter or comment on her blog are options as well.

 

I'm not sure why that's better. Anonymous allegations (and blog comments are FAR from anonymous. It's not hard to track down an IP address for even a nameless commenter) aren't generally given any weight. They'd probably be put down to a crank who's bitter about the blogger's success or a person with an axe to grind.

 

I'm not sure how an anonymous allegation would be anymore virtuous then deciding then not saying anything.

[mcconnellboys]

I'm sure there's plenty on the worldwide web that is not factual. I'm not sure what you can do about that, other than make comments about it if the subject comes up in personal conversations.... You could probably also post comments online, if you really want to go there.... I would guess that like most things today that come under close scrutiny, all will be revealed sooner or later, so she had better hope she doesn't put forth a pack of lies for public perusal....

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Do you pray? I had a situation with someone who was pretending to be something they were not, pretending to have pure motives when they did not. It was definitely a situation that could cause emotional and financial (probably more than that) harm to others. My husband and I knew the truth but it was a sticky situation for us to jump into. I decided, after the Lord leading me to scripture after scripture, that I would start praying that the truth would come out. It did!! Oh, wow, how the truth came out!! God sees and knows these situation and He hears our prayers. Lies seem to always hurt others, even when they seem small or unimportant. :sad:

[MelanieM]

You can buy many souvenirs in Hawaii that are made elsewhere. ;) We were there in 2007 and had a hard time finding things actually made in Hawaii (in our price range).

 

Sure. But you don't then give them to people and tell them a big story about the guy on the beach that hand-carved it while you waited. ;)

[gardening momma]

Sure. But you don't then give them to people and tell them a big story about the guy on the beach that hand-carved it while you waited. ;)

No, I was just sayin'. :001_smile:

[MelanieM]

No, I was just sayin'. :001_smile:

 

Sorry, I assumed I wasn't clear in my earlier post. :) Yes, I hear what you're saying... it's nearly impossible to find locally made anything these days!

[Amy in NH]

Huh! I also know an unschooling family who just starting living in their RV and are about to take a cross country trip for a year. They, too, have been approached by a magazine to do a story. However, they've been in their community for a few years, and they just started their blog with only one place named so far. I haven't ever known this family to tell falsehoods, but perhaps I've been deluded? How strange!

[Mommamia]

Amy in NH.... don't worry,I doubt it is the same person, but I'm pm'ing you:001_smile:

[LaxMom]

I completely get the skeeve factor. It's one thing to blog the highlights (and/or low places) of your life. The boring minutiae is, well, boring. And, yes, from those snippets, the blogger's life looks much different through a reader's eyes. Good or bad, we all make a picture from the information we have.

 

Creating a work of fiction and pretending it's your real life is dishonest and, if you gain from it, fraudulent. It makes me crazy to see people rewarded for dishonesty.

 

Here's a question: how do you know they've been approached by a magazine? I mean, if the events of the blog are fictional...

[kolamum]

:grouphug: I hear you.. I've seen this happen with another homeschooling Mamma. She means well, but she only writes half truths. I've even known her to plauge other hsers with questions and then write their exact answers down as her own words on her blog. It got to me so badly that I no longer participate in anything this person does.

 

It's not about "your blog is better then mine." It's about "youre being untruthful and hurting people by doing so!" I will not frequent boards or events in which she attends. I'd rather keep my sanity. ;)

 

One minute this person would say how awesome one of her children was at say.. reading or math facts and then she'd be begging people for ideas on helping the child in said area. That to me was more then "adding fluff" to her posts. It was outright lies and wrong. Kwim?

 

I will say the HARDEST part is NOT telling people, "Don't fall for it. It's fake and goes well beyond "added fluff" to make a family look good." It's hard, and I found myself spending more time being rude in speech about her when I'd talk with it with dh. This person has also had articles written by themselves for prominent magazines and I have a REALLY hard time with that, but again.. not my problem. Abstinence works wonders for me in this situation. ;)

[Tap]

If you feel like you need to get involved, then go to the blogger and let her know your feelings. Maybe ask her to consider putting a 'based on true stories' tag line.

 

I don't think it is right to go behind her back and communicate with the magazine. They are a professional magazine, and they know that most of what is read online is edited, fabricated, manipulated, polished and spit shined. They are in the same business and do exactly the same thing! If they want to know the truth, they will fact check. If they don't want to know the truth....they won't. If the magazine contacts you to fact check, then feel free to disclose all that you know, but if you are not asked, I wouldn't start the process.

 

They are looking to sell a magazine. They know what sells and what doesn't. They know what is out of the ordinary. They know, that 'out of the ordinary' sells a lot more copies than tired home school parents true day to day drudgery.

[unsinkable]

Ok, so I'm a bit verklempt right now....sort of going "huh?". In a nutshell, we have friends who unschool and just started living in an rv. The mom writes a blog(a very neat blog), but having spent time with them and privy to their life I know that the blog is not truthful. I just found out that a homeschool magazine wants to write an article about this family (possibly have her write).

The thing that bothers me is that when you read the blog you think how fabulous everything is, but as I said it's not the truth. I read it and go "wow, what a cool life". I even get caught up in it. See what I am saying. I really believe that it's going to make other homeschool moms feel inadequate when it's really not reality:glare: If you knew what I knew you would not think it's as fabulous as it "reads".

 

I know, I need to mind my own business and move on. It's now making me question a lot of what I read on the net.

 

*I don't think I explained myself well. It's not simply a blog with fluff. There are full details that are lies. It's not just adding things to make it seem better, it is not factual...as in things happened so different than reported. Anyway....why am I bothering thinking about this? *smiling and rolling eyes*

 

:grouphug:

 

Lies, exaggerations, half-truths, embellishments are bothersome to me. A pattern of lies, exaggerations, half-truths, embellishments really gets to me.

 

I don't understand the "so what if your friend lying" attitude. How can you know if any part of your relationship is true?

 

There are so many reasons she could be doing this, from mental illness to a character flaw. If the lies are as far-reaching as you have indicated, I'd find it hard to spend time around her.

 

If she is leaving soon in her RV anyway, that might be a natural time for a break in the "friendship."

[Greenmama2]

That's what I don't get. People who know me IRL read my blog...I can't wander too far from reality.

 

Yah. That's what I'm not getting either. I have to admit I'm overcome with curiosity about what "the lie" could be. That said, there are a couple of people who do know me irl but that I haven't spent much time with in the last

7-10 years who probably think my blog is pure fantasy.

[Mommamia]

:grouphug:

 

Lies, exaggerations, half-truths, embellishments are bothersome to me. A pattern of lies, exaggerations, half-truths, embellishments really gets to me.

 

I don't understand the "so what if your friend lying" attitude. How can you know if any part of your relationship is true?

 

There are so many reasons she could be doing this, from mental illness to a character flaw. If the lies are as far-reaching as you have indicated, I'd find it hard to spend time around her.

 

If she is leaving soon in her RV anyway, that might be a natural time for a break in the "friendship."

 

:iagree:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

A annoymous call to the reporter or comment on her blog are options as well.

 

It can be hard to leave an anonymous comment on a blog. With a site counter, I can see the isp of most visitors, including time of visit and often a general location.

 

I would consider sending a note to the magazine to the effect that an article about such and such a blog would be worth a deeper level of research before printing. If you can give examples without giving enough information to identify yourself, great. If not, then just give them the heads up that this is something they need to verify before printing.

 

I am thinking for example of some of the trouble that could have been saved if Three Cups of Tea had been researched more at the beginning. Or if people who came to doubt the story had been more assertive in asking questions (like Jon Krakauer, who doubted enough to stop donating, but didn't want to ask questions publically until recently).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm not sure why that's better. Anonymous allegations (and blog comments are FAR from anonymous. It's not hard to track down an IP address for even a nameless commenter) aren't generally given any weight. They'd probably be put down to a crank who's bitter about the blogger's success or a person with an axe to grind.

 

I'm not sure how an anonymous allegation would be anymore virtuous then deciding then not saying anything.

 

I guess in my mind there is a difference between what I would call an allegation (ex. Jon Krakauer's lengthy piece asserting that minor and major details in Three Cups of Tea were less than true or were whole fabrications) and giving a magazine a suggestion that a certain story is worthy of investigation before printing. One is an assertion that wrongdoing has occured (publishing a lie in multiple books over a long period of years and collecting millions of dollars based on said lie). The other is a warning that a blogger might be less than what they appear on their blog. If the publication chooses not to investigate further, that becomes their choice.

 

Yes, I would like to think that newspapers and magazines still have fact checkers and critical editors. However, my experience watching the media leads me to believe that such positions have often fallen prey to budget cuts. (The recently "unveiled" "gay girl in Damascus" is another example of media outlets latching onto a story because it sounds like a great story, without maintaining even a moderate level of skepticism.)

 

As to why I would send a written note without identifying myself. I might have some small obligation as someone who thinks they know some of the truth of a situation to provide some of that truth. I have a much larger obligation to protect my family.

 

I would not continue to be friends with someone whom I thought were a serial liar unless family relationships required me to maintain a certain closeness.

[Carol in Cal.]

Really? I've always loved that "keeper of the keys" intro. How did you find it was made up?

 

I liked it so much that when Carol Flinders wrote other books I read them all. And in one of them she talked about how that description was a composite one that was made to sound literal. IIRC, in the LK description she had two kids, and IRL she only has one.