Okay to be Ordinary

Reflecting on GWS articles about homeschooled children’s success and the guilt some feel when they compare their own children to those in the stories, Deirdre Purdy (WV) writes: “Of course it’s a mistaken attitude to feel lessened by others’ accomplishments, but who has never been guilty of it? … But I want to make my big plea for this: it’s OK to be ordinary, living your days out well and happily without newsworthy accomplishments, just everyday going forward, living and learning.” John Holt replies to Deirdre and explains why GWS publishes stories that show children in a positive light. “We have a very practical reason for printing all the good news we can find about the doings of children. We homeschoolers have to contend with two extremely popular ideas: (1) Children can do nothing good, since they are no good. (2) Children may occasionally do something good, but only if some adult makes them. In every way we can, we will continue to show that these ideas are wrong.”