What do you think of un-schooling??

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
Test scores matter when they are trying to get into college. That is what I would be worried about. The "real world" unfortunately, is about what degree you have. You can't simply show up at corporate headquarters and dazzle them with your life skills.

You really need to be educated on both planes.

Unschooled kids can take the SATs just as easily as a traditionally schooled kid. There are also an increasing number of schools (including Ivy League), that have admissions people dedicated to dealing with homeschoolers. Meaning, homeschoolers don't have transcripts like traditional schooled kids do, but they do have portfolios that show the caliber of their work. The article in question was skewed imo. It isn't about not giving your child an education as the article says: What Darr-Babson is trying to say is that unschooling -- a movement where children get no education . That is completely incorrect. It is about a different type of education.

 

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
And that is why it only works for highly motivated children and parents. Sadly some families do nothing, and call it unschooling, which isn't exactly kosher.

Ok Saddina, those are the ones I am worried about.

The future of this society depends on having educated people available to run it. People who have spent their entire lives learning nothing frighten me.

There are plenty of examples of kids coming out of public school and knowing nothing truly useful. The idea that the future of our society rests on the results of most public schools frightens me.

 

[redux]

Quote:
Test scores matter when they are trying to get into college. That is what I would be worried about. The "real world" unfortunately, is about what degree you have. You can't simply show up at corporate headquarters and dazzle them with your life skills.

You really need to be educated on both planes.

Unschooled kids can take the SATs just as easily as a traditionally schooled kid. There are also an increasing number of schools (including Ivy League), that have admissions people dedicated to dealing with homeschoolers. Meaning, homeschoolers don't have transcripts like traditional schooled kids do, but they do have portfolios that show the caliber of their work. The article in question was skewed imo. It isn't about not giving your child an education as the article says: What Darr-Babson is trying to say is that unschooling -- a movement where children get no education . That is completely incorrect. It is about a different type of education.

The OP was about that article and our reaction to it. That is the sum total of my knowledge of unschooling, and that is what I am commenting on.

If the article does not describe what I thought we were talking about, then I don't understand why it was quoted.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I hope that you do realize that people CAN test into college without a formal education. With proper "un-schooling" many kids test far higher on entrance exams than the masses.

Do you have the statistics on that? I am very curious.

Only one. My son. He can dance circles around people when it comes to history - any history. Any era, any event, any fact. People are not all the same. Different people have different needs. If a child is fed what they desire, in my sons case - history, then they will thrive. I am not interested in statics. I am interested in individual examples of success. A person who has passion for history should not have math shoved down their throats. Calculus is not gonna balance the checkbook, nor teach a person how to manage finances. Balance in education will. Some kid who fails 9th grade because calculus is beyond their understanding is not kosher IMHO.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Quote:
It CAN work but only for those willing to WORK...WORK is the key word. It's not about video games. I do think unschoolers should have to do testing...simply because of lazy parents that need to be checked up on so the kid doesn't suffer for their laziness.

 

[saddina]

Quote:
And that is why it only works for highly motivated children and parents. Sadly some families do nothing, and call it unschooling, which isn't exactly kosher.

THOSE are the ones I don't like. Unschooling would make me one of those simply because my kid would NOT cooperate..or I'd have to become a child abuser to get anything done...no thanks. We'll stick to our curriculum and everybody else can do it how they want

Oh I understand, it would work for my oldest, and possiably my youngest, but my sister who was chartered school the last 2 years of high school would've been a wreck, sleeping till noon, boys and online games were her life.

 

[suzettex5]

I would say, anyone who loves this country, or what it used to be- Should send their kids to real school. It teaches socialization, and how to do things you might not wanna do, but you have to, just like real life.
How does tha tie into my original statement? This country was made great by people who went to school (mostly, and I'm not talking 1800's here) Those were the days when real hard workers made things happen and werent into the whole 'me' generation. It was a world of Do It and thats how it is, my friend. One look at todays youth says we screwed up somewhere along the way. NO MATTER WHAT, the real world DEMANDS a REAL high school education and certificate and a REAL degree from a real college to get a JOB, anywhere, period. If you want to raise kids who have to live off the system and who flip burgers all their lives- go ahead, my kids will need someone to employ.

I'm not saying that kids cant learn at home, BUUUUUT, you have to have certain things to advance in this country and an education is a big one. Sure there will be a few who live off mom and dads $ (money earned because they are, yep, educated) and those very few who will make it big being entrepreneures, but really, those are the exceptions and will not be the rule. The real worldis a tough place and I certainly will NOT hire anyone to work for me who cant give me an certificate of graduation from an acredited school.

Maybe I'm not in the know about how all this unschooling works, but, I'm pretty sure Harvard, Yale, Any law school, etc, will NOT be acepting the applications from kids who went to Ma and Pa High.

Just my lowly opinion. BTW, I'm mom to 8 kids, 1 nurse, 1 Law student, 6 more in traditional school. I have done homeschool, private school and public school, so I've seen alot of different ways to educate. My hubby and I are in business for ourselves and we simply would NEVER hire ANYONE without an education, nor would the companies we deal with. Again, just my opinion...sorry if I offended anyone

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Suzette!

This is all about opinions. Like Potterwatch said - anyone can take the SAT's. You don;t have to have a public school diploma to do so.

 

[redux]

Quote:
Do you have the statistics on that? I am very curious.

Only one. My son. He can dance circles around people when it comes to history - any history. Any era, any event, any fact. People are not all the same. Different people have different needs. If a child is fed what they desire, in my sons case - history, then they will thrive. I am not interested in statics. I am interested in individual examples of success. A person who has passion for history should not have math shoved down their throats. Calculus is not gonna balance the checkbook, nor teach a person how to manage finances. Balance in education will. Some kid who fails 9th grade because calculus is beyond their understanding is not kosher IMHO.

Well, then your son is clearly educated. The article says that unschooled kids do not get educated. That concerns me. However, I can't imagine how he was able to test into college without math skills. This is what puzzles me. You need to know a lot more than how to balance a checkbook to do well on the SATs.

 

[redux]

Quote:
Suzette!

This is all about opinions. Like Potterwatch said - anyone can take the SAT's. You don;t have to have a public school diploma to do so.

Agreed, anyone can take them. The question is what do they score?