Comments on Diary of a Mad Editor: I'm still not Nellie Bly.

I was so fired up about this article, too. Here...

2009-06-07T05:56:43.199-07:00

I was so fired up about this article, too. Here's my reply to his inaccurate case against homeschooling:
http://learningsphere.blogspot.com/2009/05/case-against-public-schooling.html

Hey, Tina -- This is about the recent posting to...

2009-06-06T20:39:18.808-07:00

Hey, Tina --

This is about the recent posting to a site called "Teacher, Revised." They posted a piece called "The Case Against Homeschooling":

http://teacherrevised.org/2009/05/30/the-case-against-homeschooling/#comments

I was in correspondence with the author, because he invited people to write to him directly. I told him in each and every email exactly who I was and what my magazine was called, and linked him to the Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List. There will be more details in the article I'm writing for the next issue, but the guy is shocked and appalled that I could decide to write an article about our conversation.

He trash-talks homeschooling without knowing a dam* thing about it, responds gleefully to angry emails about said trash-talk (believe me, there was glee), and then decides that it's "unethical" and "indirect" for someone who identified herself as a reporter right from the start to report on her experiences.

I've agreed to paraphrase his responses, since apparently he thinks that will be much more flattering and objective than reporting exactly what he said. (Like I'm not going to mention his spelling, grammar, and attitude problems?)

Okay, I'll give away this much from the upcoming article: the man who proudly tells us about the degrees (plural) he has in English (which is what makes him more qualified to teach our children than we are) told me in so many words that "paraphrasing is still quoting."

Great googly-moogly. What ARE they teaching in schools these days?

oh my gosh i'm out of the loop i think...now y...

2009-06-06T19:50:36.301-07:00

oh my gosh i'm out of the loop i think...now y'all have me totally curious as to what happened??? what did i miss? someone send me a link so i can be in the know too! :)

Jean -- Yes, I found this strange, too! I mention...

2009-06-06T11:19:04.801-07:00

Jean -- Yes, I found this strange, too! I mentioned repeatedly that I was a writer and what the name of my journal was. We went back and forth several times, many of his emails sounding practically flirtatious. He didn't bother responding to an email I wrote in which I asked him some questions about what he wrote. So I told him I was pulling together my article, and was there anything he wanted to add. Boy, he got back to me quickly that time! It wasn't just that he was shocked that I was writing about him; he asked me what journal I wrote for! The guy is so enamored of his own words, he obviously hadn't bothered noticing any of mine. He then accused me of being very "indirect," because I hadn't mentioned the possibility of an article before. Like I pulled a Mata Hari on him or something. Sheesh...

Wendy: Thank you!

SHM is not just a "how to". It's jo...

2009-06-06T10:03:00.894-07:00

SHM is not just a "how to". It's journalistic. I think THAT is why I enjoy it. You keep me connected to what is going on out there, so that I know who to yell at, and who to thank.

So, thanks. :)

I think it's really strange that the guy would...

2009-06-06T07:44:05.575-07:00

I think it's really strange that the guy would be *indignant* at the prospect of being written up in SHM. Once he put his words out there, he was fair game. How is this a surprise? I gather he didn't expect such a huge reaction, but by now he ought to have figured out that homeschoolers are a vocal lot.

Did you see his invitation to become a fellow writer on the blog? I'm not sure how one would go about doing that.