“Curious” wrote with the following questions from the Sentinel Middle School Outreach Story:
Now that the Free Keene set, has taken it apon themeselves to do the neighborly thing and creepily now approach our children, I have a few imortant questions Id like to pose at Sam and Ian specificlly. Please answer them directly, no hyperbole or philisophical preamble please. I think everyone reading deserves some straight talk.
Thanks for reaching out “Curious”, sharing ideas is the core of my activism. I along with most others are happy to engage in rational discussion exploring our perspective. Feel feel free to talk with us or ask us questions at these events. We’re friendly and interested in exchanging ideas.
1. are you advocating 12 and 13 year olds drop out of school and self educate?
I’m encouraging the community to engage in a critical thinking exercise by taking an honest look at the way various aspects of society function today. I’m asking them to consider how the same issues could be addressed without resorting to the threat of violence or actual violence in order to solve the problem.
On the specifics for evolving the current education paradigm, I’m no expert, and that’s the reason we are holding the School Sucks Project signs. Listen to Brett, a former middle school teacher, who studied the history of the government’s education system, and you may be surprised at what you learn. The earlier link has a great audio introduction to his podcast. This is what we are inviting your kids to learn and consider, please listen for yourself as well. You could even sit down with your kids and listen to it together, and then have a rational discussion, that might teach you a lot about your kids.
2, If freedom of life choices and self ownership is the foundation of your ideology when does a person start to make these choices for themeselve?
Doesn’t a baby make choices continually? What changes over time is the amount of thought, experience, perspective, and understanding we posses as individuals. I believe life is about growing our perspective enabling each of us to make increasingly complex and self directing choices.
3. What do you believe the age of sexual consent should be legaly?(Ian please)
I’m a Voluntaryist, which means that I believe all interactions should be voluntary and consensual in nature. In that case there wouldn’t be a “legal” age. There would be acceptable standards that vary between communities, which would ostracize people who stray outside those standards to varying degrees based on the situation.
(Ian can edit this to add his answer as well)
4. Are you video taping these children and putting it on the web as is per your custom with most of your other actions?
We are in a public place, the camera is clearly visible, and yes the kids may be recorded in the videos. If you have a strong objection to having your kids filmed, this is what’s called the tragedy of the commons. You may want to use public property exclusively for your kids to leave the school and go home, which would prevent me from filming. If it were privately owned, one or likely both of us would be able to get what we want. Unfortunately in the government paradigm, I have just as much right to be there as you do.
A private school in the true free market I advocate, might offer the ability to pickup your kids out of sight. Then you could shield your children from the world and control all of the ideas that enter the experience of life you allow them. Although fortunately, I think most educational organizations would learn to inspire curiosity and courage in students empowering them to build a more encompassing world view within each individual.
5. Do you consider it “harming” some one if you approach their child without thier consent to influnce them counter to how their family values are structured?
Thanks. “
We share ideas through discussion which doesn’t involve physical contact, so by “harming” I can only assume that you mean sharing ideas that differ from your own with your children? Offering someone the opportunity to grow as a person is not what I would consider harm. What about books in the library that present these same ideas? Would you prevent your child from learning about this? Perhaps these bad books should be rounded up and burned at large public demonstrations?
Take a look at the spelling and grammar of your questions, is this the education system that worked so well for you? I struggle with spelling, grammar, and pronunciation of new words as well, and I was an A and B student in a “Blue Ribbon” School. Thanks for the questions Curious, it helped me solidify my thoughts on some of these issues.
