Episode 34: The Value of Online Community

The Virtual Kitchen Table now includes a COMMUNITY as well as a podcast. 😃 We’d love for you to read on … Some time ago Hayley had the idea of discussing online community as an episode topic and at first we wondered if it might be part of a Community conversation, but we had far too much to talk about relating to in-person community so we’ve recorded not one, but two (next one coming soon) conversations about virtual connections and how they can begin to develop into relationships and community. In this episode, Ashley and I discuss how much value there is in online connection and community AND introduce and describe the new Virtual Kitchen Table Community. We discuss:The practical ins and outs of virtual connectionsDepth of conversationDiscernment of who we interact withPersonal online responsibility to both others and ourselvesChallenging ourselves to find value in people that are different from us even when it’s much easier to connect only with people like us OR not doing that depending on our online purposeThe courage and risk of sharing and opening ourselves upBuilding a culture of safety and respect The distinction between social media and private forumsHow there are different online communities that work for different people or even different aspects of people’s needs, personalities and interests How tapping into different communities is a healthy way to engage in different parts of ourselves without placing all the expectation on one group Community as learning and sharing, receiving and givingVirtual Kitchen Table Community: Our community has evolved from the Unschooling Together community which evolved from the Stories of an Unschooling Family community, founded by Sue Elvis. During our time in Unschooling Together, it’s become clear that although we want to continue to highlight discussion about unschooling, we want to move beyond focusing solely on that term, and rather broaden to include people who don’t necessarily use the term or those who do things more eclectically. We already have had people in the community identifying differently as far as how they live and learn so we’ve seen that it can work wonderfully. What we have solidly in common is a strong interest in thoughtful and respectful parenting, education and community. If you only want to hear about the community, you can skip ahead to the 1 hour, 16 minute mark. We would love to see you in the community. 🙂Resources:Virtual Kitchen Table CommunityPsychology Today – Peter GrayTaking a Kinder Path Stories of an Unschooling Family Virtual Kitchen Table Episode 27: What is Strewing? Peeling Back the Layers of Intention, Connection and Practice A few other groups:Living Joyfully Network 90 Minute School Day – DITL Community Confident Homeschool Mom CollectiveFeel free to add others you know of in the Comments.