Are there any other whole-life unschoolers here?
- Thread starter TubbyChicken
- Start date
Um, does that mean you don't teach them normal things? Not meaning to sound like an idiot...I'm genuinely curious.
- Thread starter
- #3
Quote:
Unschooling itself, is a way of letting your child lead the learning. There are no schedules or expectations. The focus is on giving the child the freedom and ability to follow their own interests and nurturing their unique abilities with lots of opportunities and fun. It's done at home...but it's not school at home. It lacks the structure and rigidity of schooling, but there is no lack of learning, unschoolers believe and emphasize that children are always learning and we try to stay in tune with our children and keep them in tune with their own inquistive nature.
As for whole-life or radical unschooling, the same theory or method is applied to all functions of a child's life.
Our children learn by living.
There are many resources available that can explain it all a bit further if you're interested.
Unschooling itself, is a way of letting your child lead the learning. There are no schedules or expectations. The focus is on giving the child the freedom and ability to follow their own interests and nurturing their unique abilities with lots of opportunities and fun. It's done at home...but it's not school at home. It lacks the structure and rigidity of schooling, but there is no lack of learning, unschoolers believe and emphasize that children are always learning and we try to stay in tune with our children and keep them in tune with their own inquistive nature.
As for whole-life or radical unschooling, the same theory or method is applied to all functions of a child's life.
Our children learn by living.
There are many resources available that can explain it all a bit further if you're interested.
Ahh...very interesting. They do still learn proper grammar and math and such, right? Just not on a timeline? And they get to focus on things they like...neat.
I am close to that with my daughter.
She is at the point where she needs to decide how serious she is to be about vet school (mom is hoping for something less stressful for her)
She is at the point where she needs to decide how serious she is to be about vet school (mom is hoping for something less stressful for her)
farrier! :
I am close to that with my daughter.
She is at the point where she needs to decide how serious she is to be about vet school (mom is hoping for something less stressful for her)
It's not that bad! Ok, it's stressful, but it's worth it in the end! I'm graduating in less than 3 months!
I am close to that with my daughter.
She is at the point where she needs to decide how serious she is to be about vet school (mom is hoping for something less stressful for her)
It's not that bad! Ok, it's stressful, but it's worth it in the end! I'm graduating in less than 3 months!
I've never heard of this before. It's an interesting concept. Just for the sake of discussion:
What happens when a child enters the "real world" (for lack of a better term) and must deal with situaltions that are learned from having to develop a measure of self-discipline? Schedules and expectations are a part of life (Ask any employer!). Structure and rigidity don't necessarily mean that a child does not have the opportunity or freedom to explore their own interests and have fun if a proper balance is met.
What happens when a child enters the "real world" (for lack of a better term) and must deal with situaltions that are learned from having to develop a measure of self-discipline? Schedules and expectations are a part of life (Ask any employer!). Structure and rigidity don't necessarily mean that a child does not have the opportunity or freedom to explore their own interests and have fun if a proper balance is met.
- Thread starter
- #8
Quote:
I'm not sure what you're asking...
There is definitely not a timeline, no one sits behind a desk or table with pen in hand ready to take instructions on what to learn about. There aren't tests or "grades".
Children learn the same concepts taught in school, but they aren't taught with even remotely similar methods.
When my son helps me make a grocery list he's learning about categorizing, fruits and vegetables, meats, starches, etc...When we measure ingredients he learns about numbers, fractions, adding, subtracting...This is just one, minor example of what we learn when doing every day things.
He's only 2 now, but capable of learning so much...I'm very glad we have chosen this path and feel excited about watching him grow and learn and being a part of it with him.
I hope I'm making it clear....it's not easy to explain.
I'm not sure what you're asking...
There is definitely not a timeline, no one sits behind a desk or table with pen in hand ready to take instructions on what to learn about. There aren't tests or "grades".
Children learn the same concepts taught in school, but they aren't taught with even remotely similar methods.
When my son helps me make a grocery list he's learning about categorizing, fruits and vegetables, meats, starches, etc...When we measure ingredients he learns about numbers, fractions, adding, subtracting...This is just one, minor example of what we learn when doing every day things.
He's only 2 now, but capable of learning so much...I'm very glad we have chosen this path and feel excited about watching him grow and learn and being a part of it with him.
I hope I'm making it clear....it's not easy to explain.
We do whole-life unschooling and it's working wonderfully for us!
Quote:
What happens when my daughter enters the real world? Well honestly--I don't mean this in a snarky way at all--she lives in the "real world" everyday.
In traditional schooling learning is segmented into subjects, children are separated by age and sometimes by ability, and on a daily basis they live according to school schedule and school authority. With unschooling (and some other forms of home schooling too) every day is spent living the same life an adult free from fishbowl of school would live, minus the adult responsibilities. Instead of being limited to only her peers, my daughter can learn from all types of people in all different situations. That is the real world--meeting new people, broadening your horizons, seeing all kinds of different ways to work and live and learn, finding out what responsibilities it takes to succeed outside of a classroom. She will also have an opportunity to learn from the whole community instead of being bogged down by a strict school schedule and homework.
As she grows older she will have a schedule for activities she chooses to do. She could choose to participate in classes and projects with our home school co-op, or even take college courses when she a teenager if she is interested. The best part about learning on your own is that you aren't at the pace of the slowest kid in the class, you don't have to ever do busy work, and if you are deeply interested in a certain subject you can follow that interest as far as you want. The funny thing is, many subjects intertwine. If my daughter wants to be a scientist and follows her interest, she will develop critical thinking skills along the way. She will need to gain knowledge of a large vocabulary. She will have to be able to read and comprehend dense texts. She will need to learn math skills. By diving into one subject that interests her, she can learn great skills of all the other traditional subjects as well, all while doing something she is enjoying and possibly becoming and expert in a subject that will one day lead to a fulfilling career.
There are many ways to learn self-discipline aside from school. I think children can learn the importance of self-discipline by watching their parents. They can learn self-discipline by working to achieve goals they've set for themselves based on their interests and passions rather than being obligated to meet goals set by someone else in order to receive a reward or grade.
Structure doesn't mean that there can be no room to explore their own interests, you're right, but our family loves the freedom and excitement that comes with unschooling and that's why we've chosen this path over traditional school.
Quote:
What happens when my daughter enters the real world? Well honestly--I don't mean this in a snarky way at all--she lives in the "real world" everyday.
In traditional schooling learning is segmented into subjects, children are separated by age and sometimes by ability, and on a daily basis they live according to school schedule and school authority. With unschooling (and some other forms of home schooling too) every day is spent living the same life an adult free from fishbowl of school would live, minus the adult responsibilities. Instead of being limited to only her peers, my daughter can learn from all types of people in all different situations. That is the real world--meeting new people, broadening your horizons, seeing all kinds of different ways to work and live and learn, finding out what responsibilities it takes to succeed outside of a classroom. She will also have an opportunity to learn from the whole community instead of being bogged down by a strict school schedule and homework.
As she grows older she will have a schedule for activities she chooses to do. She could choose to participate in classes and projects with our home school co-op, or even take college courses when she a teenager if she is interested. The best part about learning on your own is that you aren't at the pace of the slowest kid in the class, you don't have to ever do busy work, and if you are deeply interested in a certain subject you can follow that interest as far as you want. The funny thing is, many subjects intertwine. If my daughter wants to be a scientist and follows her interest, she will develop critical thinking skills along the way. She will need to gain knowledge of a large vocabulary. She will have to be able to read and comprehend dense texts. She will need to learn math skills. By diving into one subject that interests her, she can learn great skills of all the other traditional subjects as well, all while doing something she is enjoying and possibly becoming and expert in a subject that will one day lead to a fulfilling career.
There are many ways to learn self-discipline aside from school. I think children can learn the importance of self-discipline by watching their parents. They can learn self-discipline by working to achieve goals they've set for themselves based on their interests and passions rather than being obligated to meet goals set by someone else in order to receive a reward or grade.
Structure doesn't mean that there can be no room to explore their own interests, you're right, but our family loves the freedom and excitement that comes with unschooling and that's why we've chosen this path over traditional school.
Thankfully our state just asks for a letter of intent to homeschool once a year sent to the board of education. Beyond that, freedom to school as you please.
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