They'll get to it. Our school is 24/7/365. So it looks like we're goofing off at 10 a.m. on a random Tuesday in April while your kid is grinding away at school. But we're playing math games at 8 p.m. on a Sunday. We don't feel the need to get to it RIGHT NOW, but we'll get to it eventually. Our kids will learn what they need to learn, just not at the same time as yours and probably not in the same way. But they'll get there.
I've "heard" the rant (mostly on FB) a bajillion times.
They'll get to it. Our school is 24/7/365. So it looks like we're goofing off at 10 a.m. on a random Tuesday in April while your kid is grinding away at school. But we're playing math games at 8 p.m. on a Sunday. We don't feel the need to get to it RIGHT NOW, but we'll get to it eventually. Our kids will learn what they need to learn, just not at the same time as yours and probably not in the same way. But they'll get there.
I've "heard" the rant (mostly on FB) a bajillion times.
I mean I get why they like it, but what if your kid just doesn't care at all about learning about the constitution? Or reading and analyzing literature? Learning to write papers? How to give a presentation? I don't get how the answer is that "Oh, we will get around to it." Sure you can pull some stuff into everyday life, like say learning biology while gardening or computer skills with computer games. But what if your kid just really isn't interested in certain areas? Do they just never "get to it," or does the letting the kid pursue their interests only go so far. And if there are specific things that the kids need to learn, how is this different than homeschooling? Or would they argue that there isn't a base of knowledge that everyone should have and having only specialized knowledge is ok?
I don't know. I only know that I have a bunch of unschoolers on my FB feed, and they're always getting questions like this.
What I can say is that there's homeschooling - - where you (parent) set the curriculum, the goals, etc. You 'teach' kids on a schedule, and even test them...
then there's unschooling, where you do none of that.
Sudbury schools are like unschooling without the parents needing to do it.
One final thought on this. I found the school's blog (incidentally, I'm almost positive the first post is written by the "G" in question in this article) and it is really not convincing me that these kids do anything except play video games all day long.
I guess they haven't gotten around to learning how to make a website yet!!
hahahahahhahaa
The 4 year olds probably haven't agreed to a color scheme yet. ETA: I'm dying at the image of a bunch of preschool age kids voting on things. Because someone would be all "Do we want a RED homepage?" And the class would go "YAY! RED!" and 5 seconds later some malcontent in the back would go, "NO I hate red. I want blue." And then you'd have eleventysix opinions and tears and then everyone would agree to talk about it later.
Post by jeaniebueller on Apr 29, 2014 14:44:03 GMT -5
I am just LOL in my head picturing what my 5 year old would study if given the choice. I mean, I am sure he would want to do some educational stuff, but 90% of his time would be spent "learning" Disney Infinity.
One final thought on this. I found the school's blog (incidentally, I'm almost positive the first post is written by the "G" in question in this article) and it is really not convincing me that these kids do anything except play video games all day long.
Interesting that all of those posts are about how these kids are defying societal norms and such by not wearing shoes and ::gasp:: cursing at school. It's basically summer camp.
Also, I saw white people dreads and we all know nothing good can happen in the presence of white people dreads. It's just science. Not that these kids would know much about science beyond some cool things they saw on the youtubes.
I don't know. I only know that I have a bunch of unschoolers on my FB feed, and they're always getting questions like this.
What I can say is that there's homeschooling - - where you (parent) set the curriculum, the goals, etc. You 'teach' kids on a schedule, and even test them...
then there's unschooling, where you do none of that.
Sudbury schools are like unschooling without the parents needing to do it.
So it seems like the biggest difference between homeschooling and unschooling, since homeschooling can incorporate the project based learning and doesn't have to be very structured is that with homeschooling there is a curriculum and the kids are expected to learn certain things. I am having trouble understanding why this is bad.
Because Spontaneity and creativity, and let them learn organically.
I don't know. I only know that I have a bunch of unschoolers on my FB feed, and they're always getting questions like this.
What I can say is that there's homeschooling - - where you (parent) set the curriculum, the goals, etc. You 'teach' kids on a schedule, and even test them...
then there's unschooling, where you do none of that.
Sudbury schools are like unschooling without the parents needing to do it.
So it seems like the biggest difference between homeschooling and unschooling, since homeschooling can incorporate the project based learning and doesn't have to be very structured is that with homeschooling there is a curriculum and the kids are expected to learn certain things. I am having trouble understanding why this is bad.
the problem is that there are a LOT of different definitions of unschooling.
this is the one, I think, that my closest unschooling friend would abide by:
What Is Unschooling?
This is also known as interest driven, child-led, natural, organic, eclectic, or self-directed learning. Lately, the term "unschooling" has come to be associated with the type of homeschooling that doesn't use a fixed curriculum. When pressed, I define unschooling as allowing children as much freedom to learn in the world, as their parents can comfortably bear. The advantage of this method is that it doesn't require you, the parent, to become someone else, i.e. a professional teacher pouring knowledge into child-vessels on a planned basis. Instead you live and learn together, pursuing questions and interests as they arise and using conventional schooling on an "on demand" basis, if at all. This is the way we learn before going to school and the way we learn when we leave school and enter the world of work. So, for instance, a young child's interest in hot rods can lead him to a study of how the engine works (science), how and when the car was built (history and business), who built and designed the car (biography), etc. Certainly these interests can lead to reading texts, taking courses, or doing projects, but the important difference is that these activities were chosen and engaged in freely by the learner. They were not dictated to the learner through curricular mandate to be done at a specific time and place, though parents with a more hands-on approach to unschooling certainly can influence and guide their children's choices.
Unschooling, for lack of a better term (until people start to accept living as part and parcel of learning), is the natural way to learn. However, this does not mean unschoolers do not take traditional classes or use curricular materials when the student, or parents and children together, decide that this is how they want to do it. Learning to read or do quadratic equations are not "natural" processes, but unschoolers nonetheless learn them when it makes sense to them to do so, not because they have reached a certain age or are compelled to do so by arbitrary authority. Therefore it isn't unusual to find unschoolers who are barely eight-years-old studying astronomy or who are ten-years-old and just learning to read.
—Pat Farenga, Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling
Unschooling is not unparenting; freedom to learn is not license to do whatever you want. People find different ways and means to get comfortable with John Holt's ideas about children and learning and no one style of unschooling or parenting defines unschooling, as the following selection of books demonstrates. Ñ PF
So basically, she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, then a doctor, but she can't, but it's OK because she can totally go to community college instead!!! Happy face! Yay Clearwater!
Unschoolers are as annoying to me as anti-vaxxing, paleo, and crossfitters. The idea that they know the natural way of things and it was better and all of this modern shit was designed to turn you into a fat, government dependent drone filled with ingredients and unnatural substances is pretty much an anti science, anti history, anti common sense approach to take to life.
I understand the inclination, truly I do. But the response to overscheduling, heavy expectations, and endless rounds of public school testing is not a return to Little House on the Prairie before the town became prosperous enough to hire in a teacher and a doctor from back East.
So basically, she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, then a doctor, but she can't, but it's OK because she can totally go to community college instead!!! Happy face! Yay Clearwater!
I don't know that this is fair.
she came there at 16. She's 18 now.
Until she was 16 she was in public school, and totally stressing AND suffering test taking anxiety. She did shitty on the SAT's, and started reconsidering what she wanted.
...then she went to the school and realized that being a doctor wasn't necessarily the be all and end all of the world.
This isn't a kid who was there through grammar school and high school wanting and wanting and wanting to be a doctor but not being able to get into college...
So basically, she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, then a doctor, but she can't, but it's OK because she can totally go to community college instead!!! Happy face! Yay Clearwater!
Unschoolers are as annoying to me as anti-vaxxing, paleo, and crossfitters. The idea that they know the natural way of things and it was better and all of this modern shit was designed to turn you into a fat, government dependent drone filled with ingredients and unnatural substances is pretty much an anti science, anti history, anti common sense approach to take to life.
I understand the inclination, truly I do. But the response to overscheduling, heavy expectations, and endless rounds of public school testing is not a return to Little House on the Prairie before the town became prosperous enough to hire in a teacher and a doctor from back East.
Also shoes!!! People were so much healthier before shoes!!! Nobody ever cuts their feet or anything! Tetanus totally isn't a thing!
So basically, she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, then a doctor, but she can't, but it's OK because she can totally go to community college instead!!! Happy face! Yay Clearwater!
"When Emma first enrolled at Clearwater, she studied SAT test prep materials for two hours every day to improve her SAT score" She should work in a bad public school because she can teach to the test like a pro. Go figure test prepping did not result in a great score. It's too bad no one pointed out the merit of learning the subjects on which the test is based.
So basically, she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, then a doctor, but she can't, but it's OK because she can totally go to community college instead!!! Happy face! Yay Clearwater!
I don't know that this is fair.
she came there at 16. She's 18 now.
Until she was 16 she was in public school, and totally stressing AND suffering test taking anxiety. She did shitty on the SAT's, and started reconsidering what she wanted.
...then she went to the school and realized that being a doctor wasn't necessarily the be all and end all of the world.
This isn't a kid who was there through grammar school and high school wanting and wanting and wanting to be a doctor but not being able to get into college...
I didn't get that at all. It sounded like she still wants to be a doctor, but thinks that she can still do it even if she can't get good grades or do well on tests, because she really likes to read. Or, yeah I could totally be a doctor if I wanted to but I don't want to you can't fire me because I quit."
Well, her kid probably won't be able to find any work, so he won't need to know how to calculate a tip because he won't be the one paying the bill when eating out. So there's that I guess.
Good point, and how will he know when he's been stiffed?? Because he's far more likely to be the one serving food than being served it.
Who needs quadratic equations when you could go barefoot at school? Amazing.
But seriously, this is counter productive imo to everything you ought to be doing for your children. You're supposed to be creating a foundation with which they can achieve what they like. Unschooling does not do that. It's incredibly limiting.
Can anyone explain the endgame here?
Because for me, best case scenario is that your unschooled child becomes a vendor in a farmer's market.
ETA: I just hope they aren't bored by the process of getting certified or making change.
"Learning to read or do quadratic equations are not "natural" processes, but unschoolers nonetheless learn them when it makes sense to them to do so"
This pretty much says to me that they would not agree that there is a certain set of knowledge that everyone should learn. Obviously learning how to pick up stuff when you need it is good and all, but then we complain here all the time about people who don't know things like science/how our government works/history.
Biology is boring. Who the fuck cares about fallopian tubes anyway?
Who needs quadratic equations when you could go barefoot at school? Amazing.
But seriously, this is counter productive imo to everything you ought to be doing for your children. You're supposed to be creating a foundation with which they can achieve what they like. Unschooling does not do that. It's incredibly limiting.
Can anyone explain the endgame here?
Because for me, best case scenario is that your unschooled child becomes a vendor in a farmer's market.
And even that is going to be a little tough when you never got around to learning how to add.
Honestly, this entire approach is just laziness to me. I'm not a fan of homeschooling but at least it does involve actual teaching and learning and effort. "I'm going to let my child just teach himself!" is not school. I'm pretty crunchy when it comes to education, being a big Montessori person and all, but come on. Children need to be guided and yes, sometimes instructed and taught. There is a reason that for most of human history, the vast majority of people didn't know how to read or write and never just magically learned it or taught themselves.
How is a "school" like this accredited? Don't homeschooling parents even have to submit their learning materials and curriculum to the state for the most part and have their children pass various tests or standards?
The worst part of all of this is that I'm supposed to be writing a paper for my class tomorrow and instead I'm reading this stupid blog and this thread.
I'm going to just tell my professor that I'm not interested in Operations and Logistics right now! And I'll get an un-MBA!
Until she was 16 she was in public school, and totally stressing AND suffering test taking anxiety. She did shitty on the SAT's, and started reconsidering what she wanted.
...then she went to the school and realized that being a doctor wasn't necessarily the be all and end all of the world.
This isn't a kid who was there through grammar school and high school wanting and wanting and wanting to be a doctor but not being able to get into college...
I didn't get that at all. It sounded like she still wants to be a doctor, but thinks that she can still do it even if she can't get good grades or do well on tests, because she really likes to read. Or, yeah I could totally be a doctor if I wanted to but I don't want to you can't fire me because I quit."
Plus, I rolled my eyes at her statement that she decided not to be a doctor because she couldn't get on board with a doctor's lifestyle. As if all doctors are created equally and have the same set of hours, days, and time commitments with patients.
I didn't get that at all. It sounded like she still wants to be a doctor, but thinks that she can still do it even if she can't get good grades or do well on tests, because she really likes to read. Or, yeah I could totally be a doctor if I wanted to but I don't want to you can't fire me because I quit."
Plus, I rolled my eyes at her statement that she decided not to be a doctor because she couldn't get on board with a doctor's lifestyle. As if all doctors are created equally and have the same set of hours, days, and time commitments with patients.
Well, I do think that all doctors are expected to show up at work from time to time and to actually see patients and stuff instead of just playing Minecraft and reading Game of Thrones. So I can understand her point about this highly stressful lifestyle.
The worst part of all of this is that I'm supposed to be writing a paper for my class tomorrow and instead I'm reading this stupid blog and this thread.
I'm going to just tell my professor that I'm not interested in Operations and Logistics right now! And I'll get an un-MBA!
Just tell him you played SimCity all day. That's basically the same thing as Operations and Logistics.
Plus, I rolled my eyes at her statement that she decided not to be a doctor because she couldn't get on board with a doctor's lifestyle. As if all doctors are created equally and have the same set of hours, days, and time commitments with patients.
Well, I do think that all doctors are expected to show up at work from time to time and to actually see patients and stuff instead of just playing Minecraft and reading Game of Thrones. So I can understand her point about this highly stressful lifestyle.
I bet she could become the kind of doctor that spreads misinformation and endangers public health, though.