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Lechacal, have you been drinking my KoolAid? That post was a long and rambling as mine usually are.
Long story short, I disagree with their basic assumptions. They obviously have never read the Koran, either, which is also highly Judeo-Christian based, probably more so than the book of Mormon, for what that’s worth.
I just looked at it rf. My first impression is that in the wrong hands (wrong people), this could be dangerous. Hope the Brooklyn one is okay. Yes, I think the free schools are patterned after Summerhill.
I see on the Blogwrap that the Brooklyn Tea Party is not exactly selling out. Please read the article and then tell me they aren’t the usual xenophobes wrapped in the flag.”
MM, I read the article. This particular group claims to seek the promotion of judeo-christian values, to the exclusion of other values, presumably on a historical basis (ie that’s how the country was built so that’s how we should keep it). There is some other stuff thrown in there too, like a generalized dislike for government, but that just seems to float out there without an obvious connection to the culture issue, so let’s just stick with the culture issue for now.
To answer your challenge, well, suppose they are “the usual xenophobes wrapped in a flag.” So what? That sort of thing is not wrong in the sense that you can be wrong about a mathematical solution. Theirs is a premise you can either agree or disagree with depending on how you want the world to look. Just throwing around insults like “xenophobes wrapped in the flag” is trite and ineffective, even if I can agree with you, and I do, that they appear to be xenophobes and seem to engage in flag wrapping. If you want to really change someone’s mind about something, if you want to be a truly skilled polemicist, you have to deconstruct and challenge their most basic assumptions: in this case, the assumption that a society in which judeo-christian values are promoted at the expense of other values is better than a more inclusive society. So, how about it? Surely it can’t be hard to articulate why you believe cultural inclusion is better than exclusion.
Cuomo is actually scarier looking than Paladino. I suspect as the race tightens, he’ll be found out to have pulled some dirty tricks. My gut feeling is that I don’t trust Cuomo.
prezanon, the Brooklyn Free School has a similar philosophy.
MISSION STATEMENT…
The Brooklyn Free School (BFS) places the highest emphasis on the personal development of each student and seeks to minimize, or if possible eliminate completely, undue influence, pressure and stress that accrue from expectations on students to acquire the accepted wisdom of present day society or meet arbitrary standards, so that each child can become an independent learner and thinker.
BFS is a true democratic school for children of all ages. Each child and staff member will have an equal voice in major decisions (and minor ones) affecting the day-to-day running of the school.
quote: I was being pretty tongue-in-cheek prez as I’m sure you know.
Hi, I just got back. lechacal, yes i know that was tongue-in- cheek and it was funny (!), about Rousseau the big hippie! A.S. Neill may have been a big hippie, though, only w/o drugs. Here, I just revisited “Summerhill”. It is still going! Still controversial.
Lechacal, have you been drinking my KoolAid? That post was a long and rambling as mine usually are.
Long story short, I disagree with their basic assumptions. They obviously have never read the Koran, either, which is also highly Judeo-Christian based, probably more so than the book of Mormon, for what that’s worth.
I just looked at it rf. My first impression is that in the wrong hands (wrong people), this could be dangerous. Hope the Brooklyn one is okay. Yes, I think the free schools are patterned after Summerhill.
Remember seeing a documentary about Summerhill once. It seemed hellish. Lord of the Flies come to life.
“By Montrose Morris on September 27, 2010 4:57 PM
I see on the Blogwrap that the Brooklyn Tea Party is not exactly selling out. Please read the article and then tell me they aren’t the usual xenophobes wrapped in the flag.”
MM, I read the article. This particular group claims to seek the promotion of judeo-christian values, to the exclusion of other values, presumably on a historical basis (ie that’s how the country was built so that’s how we should keep it). There is some other stuff thrown in there too, like a generalized dislike for government, but that just seems to float out there without an obvious connection to the culture issue, so let’s just stick with the culture issue for now.
To answer your challenge, well, suppose they are “the usual xenophobes wrapped in a flag.” So what? That sort of thing is not wrong in the sense that you can be wrong about a mathematical solution. Theirs is a premise you can either agree or disagree with depending on how you want the world to look. Just throwing around insults like “xenophobes wrapped in the flag” is trite and ineffective, even if I can agree with you, and I do, that they appear to be xenophobes and seem to engage in flag wrapping. If you want to really change someone’s mind about something, if you want to be a truly skilled polemicist, you have to deconstruct and challenge their most basic assumptions: in this case, the assumption that a society in which judeo-christian values are promoted at the expense of other values is better than a more inclusive society. So, how about it? Surely it can’t be hard to articulate why you believe cultural inclusion is better than exclusion.
Cuomo is actually scarier looking than Paladino. I suspect as the race tightens, he’ll be found out to have pulled some dirty tricks. My gut feeling is that I don’t trust Cuomo.
prezanon, the Brooklyn Free School has a similar philosophy.
MISSION STATEMENT…
The Brooklyn Free School (BFS) places the highest emphasis on the personal development of each student and seeks to minimize, or if possible eliminate completely, undue influence, pressure and stress that accrue from expectations on students to acquire the accepted wisdom of present day society or meet arbitrary standards, so that each child can become an independent learner and thinker.
BFS is a true democratic school for children of all ages. Each child and staff member will have an equal voice in major decisions (and minor ones) affecting the day-to-day running of the school.
etc.
http://brooklynfreeschool.org/mission/index.html
What DeLepp said.
quote: I was being pretty tongue-in-cheek prez as I’m sure you know.
Hi, I just got back. lechacal, yes i know that was tongue-in- cheek and it was funny (!), about Rousseau the big hippie! A.S. Neill may have been a big hippie, though, only w/o drugs. Here, I just revisited “Summerhill”. It is still going! Still controversial.
http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/
I don’t tweet, twit or twat and neither anyone I know.