At the suggestion of my tech-savvy brother, I’m now Twittering. Sign up and search for my user name (SusanWiseBauer) if you’d like to add me–or just use this link. On work days, I’ll be posting brief updates as I write; on the days when I’m parent in charge, I’ll let you know how the whole home-school/farming enterprise is progressing.

Showing 12 comments
  • Miriam

    This is IT. Now I simply *have* to twitter 🙂

    Seriously, after finishing the History of the World, could you please write a book on time management for moms/homeschoolers? Please? I’m continually amazed at how much you accomplish.

  • Nathan

    Susan,

    Wow, but what about how Twitter is destroying us? : )

    http://searchengineland.com/jon-stewart-explains-twitter-16774

    -Nathan

  • Lorna

    I read and reread ‘your day in the life of’. It is at once amusing and inspiring. I am looking forward to catching up on your twitters from time to time.

  • Christina

    I’m so tempted to do that. You know, even your twitter writing is great. You are so funny. I still want to know how you do what you do…I can’t even manage to finish a grammar lesson with one child these days (five year old goes to kindergarten at our church school, 1 year old is in the middle of EVERYTHING). Very unmotivated. Anyway, you are inspiring. Awe-inspiring. I think it would take a stick of dynamite to actually get me moving…

  • Steven

    A quick note to let you know that your book has turned me on to History and I can hardly wait for the next volume to be released! Everything about the first volume is top notch. Keep up the awesome work!

  • Angela Reed

    I agree with Miriam. I would love to know how you manage to do it all. I’m homeschooling only two children, but I always feel as though I don’t have enough time for things like cleaning house, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

  • Nate

    Susan,

    Seriously, have you thought much about what Twittering means? Do you think its worth contemplating much – what it might mean?

    Here’s what one skeptic thinks:

    http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2009/03/real_time_is_re.php

    Brilliant little piece, I think.

    Seriously Susan – I wonder if tweeting is antithetical to your whole project to instill thoughtfulness, calmness, serious reflection. I’m doing your history of the world volume 1 with my son right now and am having him summarize things he thought were interesting or important in complete sentences.

    What kind of example is your twittering setting? 🙂

    Again seriously – I cut and pasted some of your tweets and brought them home from work yesterday (don’t have internet access at home) and read them to my wife at home. She was, quite frankdly, horrified (we are both in our mid-thirties, by the way). To us, it seemed so unbecoming, so grandiose, so naricistic. Maybe we need to “get with it” and “grow up”, but I can’t escape the feeling that Carr is right.

    Did you watch the Stewart thing? “Grunter” was hilarious, I think.

    Regards,
    Nate Rinne
    Minneapolis, MN.

  • Susan

    I disagree, strongly.

    I see this as a way of overcoming the isolation that our society tends towards, using technology (for once) to open connections rather than allowing technology to seal us into our individual boxes with our private entertainment.

    And as far as narcissism goes: how so? No one has to follow me unless they want to. (You clearly don’t; that is your right.) Further, this is not a one-way street, with all the attention focused on me; I follow my friends and relatives. It’s an exchange. And frankly I wouldn’t be nearly as inclined to join the tweeting crowd, if I didn’t get so many emails from home schooling moms asking me to please share with them what my daily life looks like. I wouldn’t have assumed that my daily schedule is of interest…unless others had asked.

    “Horror” seems a wee bit of an overreaction to me. But if that’s your instinctive reaction, I’d think you would be better off to avoid Twitter. (Printing out the tweets also seems like a poor idea.)

  • Nate

    Susan,

    To clarify, I copied your tweets, put them on a Word document, and saved them to my $15.00 MP3 player. : )

    I understand what you are saying about technologies ability to connect us. Email was a good start, and now I know many persons blog about their lives, paste pictures, photos online.

    Even that seems a bit much for me, I admit (and what’s too much for my wife?: impersonal Christmas letters that go on and on about what one’s family has done and accomplished – but its not even signed with a personal signature). It’s not that I don’t think that persons – including relatives – aren’t interested in our day to day lives, but blogging just seems too much: like, hey, look at me, look at what we are doing, its important enough to be telling everyone about, you know… Maybe that’s just wrong.

    Could it be that this really just reveals stg disturbing about me – that I don’t really care about my own family and close friends, given that we don’t feel a need or desire to follow the minute by minute details of their lives? Maybe…

    On the other hand, even if this is a good thing – to follow someone’s moment by moment thoughts as they act in realtime, that is – is it sustainable? How much time does it take to tweet and be tweeted so much? : )

    Maybe I should just get started. : )

    In any case, certainly your situation is unique.

    Anyway, here is some Twitter advice I found:

    http://www.librarystuff.net/2008/04/21/twitter-thoughts/

    You might like this too:

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2342503,00.asp

    I’d love to hear a response to this, but you are busy I know!

    Thanks,
    Nate

  • Nate

    Susan,

    I know posting a string of multiple comments on a blog is bad etiquette, but I don’t know your email address and it is related to Twitter (and very interesting), so here goes:

    http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=556&doc_id=173831&

    The comments are interesting to.

    Loved your post on indexing.

    ~Nate

  • edie

    Hi Susan,
    I’m a once-physician turned homeschooler because of your fabulous books and philosophy. As we finish our first year, I’m a little weary and can’t wait to hear you speak in Cincinnati at the HS conference. I also started a bookclub this year based on your book, The Well-Educated Mind, and it has been a lifesaver and a much need liberal arts education for me. Thank you so much for the tremendous resource of SOTW. Even if I wanted to give up homeschooling, I can’t because I’m learning so much fun history with my girls.

    You are a blessing to many. And I can’t wait to follow you on Twitter!

    Blessings to you and your family,
    Edie Wadsworth

  • Nate

    I promise – unless I hear from you again asking me to do otherwise, this will be my last post here on this topic:

    http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/2009/03/twouble-with-twitters.html

    Best,
    Nathan

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