Tuesday "HOT TOPIC"-Join

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2003
Tuesday "HOT TOPIC"-Join
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Tue, 03-06-2007 - 8:42am

Our hottopic talk for this week is regarding....UNSCHOOLING!


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 11:51am
I have to say that is intresting.
But I also would have to question is the child actually learning anything? Its fine that you allow them to learn from the environment but what about history. And what about the parts of math that you need to know that you can not in the "environment." I would have to say that is not a full range of knowledge.... So the child will be limited when the child gets older. I will stick with the too much work in schools.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 2:23pm

I would have the same concerns that while it sounds great, what if your child just never really asks to study math. Do you just not do it for their whole life then say "sorry, you can't do that career because you don't know advanced math?" I'm just not sure it would be possible to follow it 100% without some direction on the part of the parent. I know if they suddenly want to study the solar system, go for it, but there are some things kids need to know that form a base that they may never express an interest in and I think it would be irresponsible of a parent to just let it go because their child didn't bring it up.


Although not ever having done it or even homeschooling, perhaps it all works out in the end. I certainly don't think its for everyone or every kid. I know physicaly I couldn't do it. Being a single mother who has to work full-time to pay the rent, even more traditional homeschooling is not an option for us. But I suppose in the right setting it might work.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2003
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 3:18pm
Here's a topic I can get into! We are unschoolers. When We first pulled Matthew out of school we used very school at home- curriculum based format. Unfortunately his awful Kindergarten experience made him rebel against anything that looked like school. I started going for a more relaxed approach and using real life experiences and following what he was interested in as a base for his learning. When Rachel and Alex came out out of school a year later we were already being successful with this approach and they settled into it as well. They entirely choose what they are going to do that day and what they want to learn. There are English, Math and Science workbooks

Linda
mom to
Alex (16), Rachel (14), Matthew (12)


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-03-2006
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 4:01pm

Higher mammals learn by imitating the actions of the older ones of their species. This helps ensure survival. Social "norms" are established by the elder, not the younger. The younger need to be acclimated to these norms in order to best survive throughout their lives. While there are many forms of schooling that are appropriate, the purpose of any type of education is for the young to "learn the ropes" from their elders. I believe that any format for education has the potential for success as long as it follows this premise.

If the process is truly led by the child and not the "mentoring" elder, then it is not destined to appropriately guide the child's attention to the necessary lessons in life. As in the example of "strewing": If the adult chooses to "strew" the things that will eventually lead to necessary life skills (reading, writing, verbalizing, math ability, social knowledge, etc.), then the process is valid. If, however, the child is allowed to gravitate to whatever object most often captures his/her attention, he/she is likely to not choose some very important educational processes along the way. This would be similar to letting your child always choose the foods he/she is going to eat. I have a son who would never choose anything but carbs. How healthy and appropriate would that be?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 4:17pm

I'm of a split mind on this. I think homeschooling is a fantastic option for people who will really put an effort into it. I homeschooled my son last year and part of it's success was letting him decide what subjects and topics to focus on..but the point was he HAD to focus on SOMETHING in his required subjects. I think it's great to let kids study topics they enjoy because they certainly are more invested in learning, but the idea of letting a child 'graze' through their education scares me. You don't let a child graze out of the fridge and pantry unsupervised all day because they don't have a clear understanding of good vs. not so good snacks..of course they'll want to overindulge on cookies and ignore the apples if not taught correctly. The same with education. My neighbor has unschooled her 16 yr old son, and they say he has ADD...he can't focus. Well from what I've seen, if its not entertaining to HIM, he will not sit down and concentrate. He won't even sit in our house to watch my son take his turn on a video game, if he's not actively playing he's outta there. I don't think that he has the building blocks to make it in the real world. Heaven forbid he be required to neatly write out a job application... I hope I'm wrong, but with it's rising popularity I guess we'll be finding out soon enough how these kids turn out!

Denise

Avatar for bradleyteach
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-29-2001
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 4:24pm
I have read about "Unschooling" over the years in publications such as Mothering magazine.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-17-2004
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 6:11pm

I support a parents right to raise their children as they see fit, as long they have their children's best interests at heart. I may not agree with their choices, but I respect their right to make them. This is where unschooling fits in for me. I don't agree that it is a good educational model, but I respect a parents right to use it.

Unschooling in it's true form is illegal in my state. While homeschooling is legal, parents need to teach a prescribed list of subjects, and submit their curriculum to the local superintendent of schools for approval. I am sure some might find ways around it.

I think I agree with most people. I think the idea sounds lovely, but I think it falls short in practice. I can assure you my daughter is doing far more math than she would ever volunteer to do. I also think that it is important to have a good educational foundation because so many skills build upon each other.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-17-2004
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 6:15pm

"But it doesn't prepare you with the education that you need before college if you're going into certain career paths like a doctor or statistician (jump in here and back me up AndoverMom."

I had laugh when I saw this.

I agree, this educational model would have gaps that would make certain college tracks far more difficult.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 6:23pm

I absolutely believe a child will learn what he needs to learn.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2003
Tue, 03-06-2007 - 9:31pm

"

Linda
mom to
Alex (16), Rachel (14), Matthew (12)


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