conuly | Wow.

:: hugs ::

Some people just need to learn to chill out.

Jeebus.

This is why I don't take the internet seriously. Too many people who insist on taking things personally when it wasn't about them in the first damn place.

Oh, no. The comment that prompted the comment(s) that prompted this post was about the poster. I think she's an idiot, more so now that she's spammed my journal.

It's a not very interesting story, but basically, she posted in the guise of asking about "unschooling" - but in a way that makes it clear her mind is already set, using a lot of prejudicial words about it.

Somebody gave a good, concise definition of the philosophy behind it, and the person goes "well sure they could learn to garden but can unschooling teach them about photosynthesis?" with the implication being no, it can't.

(The truth is that 1. if the kid wants to learn about photosynthesis, nothing is stopping them from learning about it on their own and 2. very few people who "learn" that in school remember it once the test is over, because they aren't interested in it.)

And all her posts and comments were uncapitalized, with massive punctuation errors, and some odd misusages of words (intelligent is not a synonym for educated). So I commented asking if she knew how photosynthesis works, and additionally, if she knew how to use the English language (because I'm sure not seeing any evidence of that).

Honestly, if she's the result of this newfangled "education" concept, I'm glad I didn't really have any of that until high school. I mean, I attended and all, but I only learned what I read on my own.

A lot of the things I know and really use I learned informally. For example, I recently had a craving for sweets. Not just a desire for sweets, but an actual craving where my body said GIVE ME SWEETS. This confused me, since it's not as if the body generally needs sugar. A craving for eggs or fruits or leafy greens makes sense, but why crave sweets? So, I looked up some info online, searched around, and found reasons why the body might crave sweets and how to react in a healthy way. I have a lot of knowledge acquired this way with similar motivations or just curiosity. Which means, I have a fair bit of practical knowledge I can actually use. Certainly more than I learned in my health classes.

I don't think I'd want to use unschooling myself, but I think people underestimate how much of what people learn and use is learned informally.

And that's fair. I'm not really interested in defending or attacking any educational model (though I am a fan of the democratic schools method in general), I just... really hate it when people act open-minded when they're not, and are hypocritically stupid besides.

"And then I can't teach my daughter anything!"

Well, if you were unschooling, you would be waiting for her to be willing to learn, now wouldn't you? Which kinda explains why the way you've been trying the method doesn't work for you, because you're not doing that.

Oh yes, hypocrisy is often annoying. I just was going off on a tangent as I thought the subject was interesting and I'm bored. Really, I shouldn't be reading online at all... but it's just so boring not using vision or doing anything that involves much movement or anything that requires lifting anything or bending... So, I'm just searching for cheap, easy entertainment. :)

What does that leave, having little old ladies read to you? Listening to music, and making other people change the CDs?

Housemates, not little old ladies. It also leaves listening to music on the computer. Listening to the text-to-speech reader read stuff to me. And I can lift trivial things. I'm using about 3 pounds as my cutoff weight. If I couldn't lift anything, it'd totally suck because it'd be a problem for even brushing my hair and teeth. Usually the cutoff is 10 to 15 pounds, but mine is decreased for general weakness and muscle fatigue. It's exertion that is a problem. Even exertion so minor it doesn't feel like exertion.

Mainly, I'm listening to DVDs of stuff I've seen before, sleeping, and being bored. Being very bored. And now my computer has been reset and is no longer customized for my use. So, I'm going to have to go offline and be more bored. But at least it's temporary.

Oh, but I got to hear a concert last night. :) And the weekend is coming up, when my housemates are actually home, so it might get less boring for a bit.

I found it ludicrous that obviously since she "can't teach her daughter anything" and that her daughter "loves school" and "loves to socialize at school", that obviously any other child just CAN'T learn anything.

Obviously, not everyone's cut out to teach children, and they can send their kids wherever they want. But, they shouldn't assume then that NO ONE can teach their own children, only experts with a planned curriculum can, and anyone else doing so is obviously neglecting and retarding their educaiton.

I love the fact that since she's having trouble teaching her four-year-old to do something she (the daughter) is clearly not interested in learning, this is proof that unschooling doesn't work.

Methinks she missed the point.

Yes, because children ask "why" all of the time just to annoy you. :p

And, that's just the thing, too. She was trying to "teach" her child, rather than help her child learn. It's not the same thing.

Even I get that, and I know precious little about education - of course, so do most people there, but that's not a qualifying factor in whether or not you can post. Apparently.

On a side note, thanks for mentioning the LJ Abuse thing, but I wouldn't bother them about this. That really *would* be pathetic. I can deal with sillies like that easily.

thanks for mentioning the LJ Abuse thing
It's was more a STFU type thing. :p She seemed the type to run if someone was going to "tell" on her. :p It was really juvenile of her.

She had already left. Because I am "stupid" and it is "stupid" of me to be so "stupid" (and bitchy). Yes, she used the word stupid three times, at least. I know it's a favorite of mine, but I try not to use it more than once in a single comment.

And hugs back. I alternate between taking the internet seriously, and taking nothing seriously, internet included. Right now I'm on a serious swing, so I'm far more upset than usual (I've got the hiccups). In a couple of days, I'll almost be laughing at the news again.

hey, if somethign is someone else's problem, it's their problem. no point trying to feel sympathy - they're just yanking your chain for their own benefit.

there is not 'rule' that says you have to say nice thigns. hasn't been for decades. again, that's just an emotional power-play. these n00bs choose to read your journal, they have to deal with it. it's your journal - not their whinge and whine forum ... "oh woe is me, i'm so insecure and immature that i can't cope with something someone else has written".

it's particularly pathetic when they don't even know you ...

the anna thing is a very normal kid thing. my 5 yo does much the same. they love the rush from the fear. and it's pretty good fun squirting daddy! especially if you get chased afterwards (it could be the chase that she's after :)

"I find it hard to dredge up much sympathy for somebody who reads my disclaimer, starts off saying "I know you might not have meant to offend", and then ends up yelling at me and telling me that tired old (and stupid!) rule about only saying nice things. While yelling at me, and thus breaking that rule."

Quoth the parent in the mall to her four year old boy:

Parent: Do (SMACK!) Not (SMACK!) Hit (Smack!) Your (SMACK!) Brother!!!! (SMACK!)

Talk about mixed messages!

Like I said before if you had read the rest of my comments, you would see that I recieved more information on the subject. After I recieved said information I changed my tune quite a bit. If I was going to call them stupid, or their ideas or children stupid I would have said just that. Instead what I said was: "It doesn't SOUND good to me." and insulting my typing and puctuation is just a low blow to make yourself feel better. Did you ever think that I know how to type and punctuate correctly mabye I just don't care to put that much effort into it. and in one of your nasty posts back to me you spelled punctuate as puntuate so I guess that makes you just as stupid as I am according to your school of thought.

oh yea and take me the fuck off of your mocking section titled "I think you should read this already. I don't my journal to be associated with yours.

Oh yea, only miserable and lonely people feel the need to give themselves such a self inflated title. You must really have no life.

So says the woman who is so concerned about what one person online thinks about her that she is spamming my journal. Brilliant plan.

No, you said it was absurd, and that it would make their children less intelligent.

One typo, my friend, is nowhere near as weighty as your profound disrespect for the conventions of written language.

As for my "mocking section" - no. If I cared what you thought, I would have never made that post in the first place. One would really have thought that was obvious.

And you get a free point! Another winner in Connie's "who doesn't have a sense of humor regarding my user info" contest! Congratulations! You idiot! *plunks a sticker on your head*

I don't care what you say. I think you are stupid. I just wish your head wasn't so far up your ass to realize that my opinion changed after I recieved person accounts and information from someone who actually does unschooling.

I don't consider it spamming since you wrote the post about me. It is a response. It would be spamming if I was not involved in your comment at all.

Three times isn't a response. It's spam. And your original comment in my journal was completely unsolicited.

Yes, but she wrote the reply to you IN THE PARENTING COMMUNITY. You wrote your reply IN HER PERSONAL JOURNAL. One is a response in the appropriate place; one is trolling, spam, and can potentially get the people at LJ Abuse to delete your journal.

There's absolutely no sense in prolonging this any further- the only one who will possibly be hurt is you.

See, it doesn't matter if you changed your mind or not. At the time that I originally commented, you hadn't. And everything that follows from that has to do with your behaviour towards me. You may think I'm rude, and for sure that's true some of the time - but your behaviour so far is, if anything, worse. Especially when you consider that our basic views are different. Your stated belief is that "if you don't have anything to say, you shouldn't say anything at all", but you have repeatedly violated this rule.

I don't believe in that idea. I think it's silly, at best, and damaging at worst. I prefer honesty. You originally said something that I considered offensive, and to act as though I weren't offended would be to lie. I hate lying. I'm not very good at it. So I have acted at least partially in accordance with my views - I have been honest in my dealings with you.

Can you say the same? Because if so, I must be missing a big piece here.

I have been honest. Honestly I think you are a stupid bitch who was overly critical and mean to me for no good reason.

Instead of attacking my grammar and punctuation you could have offered some type of insight or examples about unschooling. By attacking my grammar you were just being a bitch.

And how would you describe your behaviour now?

I didn't say you weren't honest. I said you weren't nice. Why don't you go and think, really think about that rule you hold dear, the one about not saying things when they aren't nice?

you are too stupid for me to argue with any more. I have better things to do than argue with you anymore. The comment about my grammar was unnecessary and just not nice and it was a personal attack on me because you are too stupid to think of anything else to say. So why don't you take your self inflated ego and jump in front of the subway train. Better yet don't comment on parenting if you don't even have kids.

1. Do you have any other insults? Try for creativity sometimes.
2. I didn't comment about your grammar. I commented about your punctuation and capitalization errors. Which I'll note you still haven't corrected.
3. I can comment wherever I please. I often go to that community to get advice on my young niece - and my nephew, when I get to see him. Oh, that's right. Some of us care about our families!
4. Inflated ego? Not so much. Unless by "inflated ego" you mean "ability to type". The ignorant often presume to insult the knowledge of the better educated.

Incidentally, you have failed to explain how any of your comments up until this point have been nice. You seem to think that your stated rule about "not saying anything when you don't have anything nice to say" only applies to everybody else, not to you. This is hypocritical.

You know, this is considered abuse by LJ standards, I believe. Just drop it.

How? She's posting a reply to an entry pretty much entirely directed at her. Since when is that "abuse"?

For what it's worth, if anything, I think you totally overreacted and were the first one to say anything rude. Her initial post wasn't "OMG UNSCHOOLING IS STUPID AND YOU ARE STUPID AND ARRRG", it was "hey, I know nothing about this - it sounds really weird, but I'm curious, can you fill me in?". Calling something absurd is hardly calling it stupid.

And anyway, I don't think it's totally necessary to correct a person's grammar. Of course, it's not bad to do so either. But saying "do you have a grasp of the English language" is just an unnecessary, rude personal attack.

Sorry that I don't agree with you on this, but I felt it important to say so.... Please don't get pissed with me.

Yes, it is calling it stupid - and then continuing saying that your kids won't be "intellectually comprable" is also insulting.