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To everyone who joined these forums at some point, and got discouraged by the negativity and left after a while (or even got literally scared off): I'm sorry.

I wasn't good enough at encouraging people to be kinder, and removing people who refuse to be kind. Encouraging people is hard, and removing people creates conflict, and I hate conflict... so that's why I wasn't better at it.

I was a very, very sensitive teen. The atmosphere of this forum as it is now, if it had existed in 1996, would probably have upset me far more than it would have helped.

I can handle quite a lot of negativity and even abuse now, but that isn't the point. I want to help people. I want to help the people who need it the most, and I want to help people like the 1996 version of me.

I'm still figuring out the best way to do that, but as it is now, these forums are doing more harm than good, and I can't keep running them.

Thank you to the few people who have tried to understand my point of view so far. I really, really appreciate you guys. You are beautiful people.

Everyone else: If after everything I've said so far, you still don't understand my motivations, I think it's unlikely that you will. We're just too different. Maybe someday in the future it might make sense, but until then, there's no point in arguing about it. I don't have the time or the energy for arguing anymore. I will focus my time and energy on people who support me, and those who need help.

-SoulRiser

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The School Survival Movement: Abolish Compulsory Schooling
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xcriteria Offline
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Post: #98
The School Survival Movement: Abolish Compulsory Schooling

I agree, "If you're going to act like a troll or behave like an antagonistic hoohah" -- that's not what we need here.

That said, I think sometimes people can and do learn a different way to interact. If those who want to engage in constructive, mature, dialogue do more of it, and confront excessive name-calling and hostile attitudes with questions like "why?" a lot can come from it.

I think the atmosphere we need to cultivate to get out of the hostility/randomness focus is one of actually doing things to help support and transform people's situations -- not just the relative handful who are active on the forums, but the many more young people out there and stuck in school.

In general, the stuff I post doesn't get replies and prompt discussion... or it does, but only in other contexts (adults on FB and G+ who agree, etc.) I think the whole thing that led to the emergency of "edginess" on the forums was a sense of hopelessness and no way out in past years. But so much is changing... so many people realize the way school-as-usual works needs to change... or they are capable of realizing it with some explanation and quality stories from people stuck in it.

What can we do to focus on building things, connecting with people, and the like? Same question to the people who are derailing.

One of the big questions in education and society in general is, how can "immature, angsty, student bullies many school-adverse people" perhaps learn and grow and find a better way to be in the world?

That's why designing new learning environments, and finding better ways to facilitate meaningful learning experiences, including for people who don't like school-as-usual, is just as important as helping people make it out of forced school-as-usual.

Thoughts? Why is it so hard to get momentum going on that effort?

Peter Gray & allies launching the Alliance for Self-directed Education

ASDE Newsletters: #1 Announcement | #2 History of ASDE | #6 Education Liberation


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10-30-2014 01:44 AM
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The School Survival Movement: Abolish Compulsory Schooling - xcriteria - 10-30-2014 01:44 AM

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