I’m delighted to report on the creation of a new mailing list on OList.com: OGrownups. Here’s the basic list description:

OGrownups is an informal mailing list for Objectivists interested in raising and educating children well. Its basic purpose is to facilitate discussion amongst Objectivists about child development, discipline techniques, education methods, parenting resources, and more.

Any Objectivist interested in polite and practical discussion about raising and educating children rationally may join OGrownups — parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, caregivers, and friends. Anyone considering parenthood is also welcome.

OGrownups is managed by Jenn Casey, author of the blog Rational Jenn. She can be reached at [email protected].

Here’s what Jenn says in her announcement of the list:

The original name of the list was “OParents” but we thought that name was a little too restrictive. We want to encourage any Objectivist who wants to participate in discussions about “raising and educating children rationally” to join. I know that I would have loved to participate in such a list back when we were contemplating parenthood.

The “Grownups” part refers to the end result of childraising–that they will become grownups, hopefully rational ones. The primary parenting question is, what’s the best way to get them there (without losing our minds)?

Actually, my thought was that the “Grownups” part refers to us — the list members — because we’re the grownups in relation to the kids we interact with. However, either meaning will do!

The criteria for membership are similar to that of the other OList e-mail lists:

To join the OGrownups mailing list, you must meet two criteria:

• You must be an Objectivist, meaning that you agree with and live by the principles of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism as best you understand them. Newcomers to Objectivism are just as welcome as old-timers. Please do not subscribe if you consider yourself to be a libertarian (or associate with the Libertarian Party), advocate revising Objectivism (like David Kelley’s “open system”), or associate with the dishonest pseudo-advocates of Objectivism (most notably David Kelley, Nathaniel Branden, Barbara Branden, and Chris Sciabarra).

• You must be interested in parenting and education based on the principles of Objectivism.

If you do not clearly meet those criteria, you should not subscribe without first e-mailing the list administrator, Jenn Casey, [email protected].

The OGrownups list is managed through Google Groups. You can request a subscription via this web interface. You will be asked to confirm that you meet the two criteria for membership. Subscription requires an account with Google. (It’s free and easy to create.)

After you subscribe, please feel free to post an introduction.

The rules are the same too, namely:

• Please be friendly or at least civil in posts to the list. Subscribers who behave like asses, such as by insulting other list members or attacking Objectivist intellectuals, will be removed from the list.

• Please respect the purpose of the list. Subscribers who prove disruptive to the basic purpose of the list — such as by attempting to arguing against Objectivist positions or posting on irrelevant topics — will be unsubscribed or subject to moderation.

I’ve been really pleased to see the serious and thoughtful discussions on parenting that Jenn’s blog posts have generated. In less than a day, this new list has acquired 44 members, with discussion already in progress. Wow! Thank you, Jenn, for taking charge!