slamboard

Famundo provides free online calenders to families and organizations. The service is really more than just a calender.

I like the marketing strategy that this company is using. The free version is completely functional and it may well be all you would ever need. The version that you can purchase is basically the same thing except without ads and with some more space and a few little perks.

I am not going to explain the product at length because they have a great demo presented by the CEO of Famundo.

If you have a big, busy family, Famundo may be just the thing to make your life easier. The problem that I have with many scheduling tools is that I forget to look at them often enough. If you were to make use of all the functions of Famundo and you made it a fun and interactive place for your family or organization, you wouldn’t have that problem. Actually, the best strategy might be to designate your Famundo page as your browser homepage. Each member of your family can be given specific permissions with regard to editing the family calender. You don’t want your 11 year old to have the ability to delete dentist appointments, do you?

Here is a link to a page that lists Democratic Schools.

Here is a link to a page that lists Democratic Countries.

Freedom House is an NGO that monitors the legitimacy of democracies. If countries could be listed as democratic simply by describing themselves as such, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic would be on the list.

I am aware of some Democratic schools that are about as democratic as the afore mentioned countries.

Democracy stops at home. In a typical democratic school, all important decisions are ostensibly put to a vote in which all students and all staff have one vote each. If too many of the staff members are also parents of attending students there is an almost irresistable temptation to subvert democracy. You would think that parents who want to take part in a democratic school would hold the institution of democracy with higher regard. To my mind, even exerting pressure for children to attend meetings and vote freely is a subversion of democracy.

Many schools that are democratic also subscribe to the notion of academic freedom. In principle these schools allow children to use any resources allowable by the laws of the land for their chosen endeavors. This is the issue that is the catalyst for the subversion of democracy. Parents wish to envoke censorship and the only way for them to do so is through the democratic process.

I have observed the degradation of democracy first hand, and in some ways, I am grateful for the experience. On the off chance that some kids at a free school happen upon this post I would urge them to be responsible and vigilant with regards to their democracy. The same goes for everyone who lives in a democratic country, even moreso.