What do you think of un-schooling??

[Ferrret]

Quote:
There are plenty of things learned in a public school that cannot be gained in an isolated home environment. Social skills are highly important in the real world and being in a public or private school has students associating with each other on a regular basis. Students also learn the types of people they can and cannot work with, how to befriends others, hopefully how to deal with bullies and other basic social skills.

Public schools may be lacking on individual levels, and as a system it is damaged, but to go so far as suggesting that persons educated in a public school environment are lacking in skills and an education needed for real world experiences is offensive. Plenty of people have gone through the public school system and turned out just fine, and have even become quite successful.

 

[OccamsTazer]

Gettinaclue, you said it better than I could. It sounds like the sort of things I would do with my kids *in addition to* regular school, be it home or public.
It sounds like people are calling "having a family and doing stuff with them" an alternative to education.

 

[saddina]

Quote:
from the article

unschooling -- a movement where children get no education and basically teach themselves what they need to know -

"children get no education."

'nuff said.

I think in this article's case they're looking at an unsual example of parents who are not really involved. When you send a child to public school you can have this level of detachment, (most parents really do care about hier offspring and are involved), but some poeple are simply lacking as a parent, and want the least amount of work. And that's true for both homeschoolers, public schoolers, and private schoolers.

Many people who consider unschooling, as a form of child-led learning (which is the gold-standard in ECE programs), decide it's too much work on the parents and instead go for pre-fab cirriculum.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

I did not read the original link but regardless I would like to add that I would have unschooled my kids if they were the least bit receptive to it. Homework itself from public school was a huge battle. Can't imagine the unschooled battles. We just didn't click on that level. I read on someones thread on BYC that they"saw the village and I don't want them raising my child" Those words ring so true for me. My boys are 18 and 20 with the youngest a senior(in special ed I might add) and I just was saying to my mom the other day how it seems impossible to raise my kids the way I was raised. The way things are these days it's like you have to isolate them to be able to instill the values you learned as a child because the outside influences are so much stronger than we can imagine and they seem much stronger than me anyway. Yes, the actual 'education' , the RRR's, they get in schools may be more than most unschoolers can provide but after taking my kids through public school, the other undesirable social 'things' they picked up blow my mind. Taking a child through with a disability opened my eyes to the low expectations and standards required of the kids today. The rebellion and the apathy, the horrible foul mouths and lack of simple respect my children were exposed to sickens me and the schools do nothing. It's a losing battle for them too because It starts with the parents. There are some quality chidren, on task and motivated who somehow manage to come out on top. Kudos to them and their parents but they are a minority. If I had been able to isolate them from those things, you bet I would. If I had known sooner that this is what they were exposed to I would have moved to the middle of Montana where you have no choice but to home school. Chidren who are raised with high morals and values, expectations and standards, respect for family and others. That is more important in their school years. If they have that to back them, when they get out into the world they will have the tools for success and it won't take them much time to get caught up academically. Education is secondary to raising a quality person. Call me stupid or ignorant but I had no idea the 'village' was having such an impact on my kids. The Bible says "raise up a child the way he should go and when he grows up he will not depart from it". I feel I have lost the battle but I pray I havn't lost the war. I like to think I did the best I could with the society that was available to me to raise my children in but probably not.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I think you have a very valid point here. Bullying is a big problem and I think for some, removing the child from this situation is the only solution.

It was for me. And I know it is area specific, I am not saying that ALL schools have these issues. But mine here certainly do. I just read another report this morning about a man being shot in butt as he ran away from some kids near one of the three local high schools. And I am firm in my opinion that it is administration that does nothing. I KNOW the teachers, the good ones anyways, do all they can.

 

[sune42]

Quote:
I am just curious about how kids learn calculus and American History by hanging around the house and playing in the garden. How do they learn these things if there is no curriculum?

The concept is that you follow thier interests, now to be quite honest most highschoolers graduate without calculus, and just algebra. So if the child asks who's on the dollar bill, you go get some books on presidents, if they ask why the fuss at thanksgiving, you get books on that. It's usually more work on the parents to keep an eye out and shift gears for changes in interests. In that respect we got lucky, when our oldest turned 5 it was all robots, has been ever since, he's exposed to plenty of other things, but he's still focused on his first love.

In KY you have to have Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II to graduate from high school. Calculus is evil. I think the fear in this is that the kids are not going to ask any questions. They have to be motivated, and like others have said, I think that's on the rare side. I can think of myself as a 16 year old, I wouldn't have asked anything, and I would have slept all day as well. That's not to say I disliked learning, I was just 16 and didn't give a darn. My mother would have kicked my butt if all I wanted to do was watch TV and play computer games all day.

On a side note, I didn't realize you were talking about real robots! Now I really want one, I have a front loader

 

[redux]

Quote:
I am just curious about how kids learn calculus and American History by hanging around the house and playing in the garden. How do they learn these things if there is no curriculum?

The concept is that you follow thier interests, now to be quite honest most highschoolers graduate without calculus, and just algebra. So if the child asks who's on the dollar bill, you go get some books on presidents, if they ask why the fuss at thanksgiving, you get books on that. It's usually more work on the parents to keep an eye out and shift gears for changes in interests. In that respect we got lucky, when our oldest turned 5 it was all robots, has been ever since, he's exposed to plenty of other things, but he's still focused on his first love.

and if the child's interests are limited to video games and trips to the mall? How does this prepare them for college?

 

[sune42]

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Perfectly said!

 

[gettinaclue]

Quote:
I agree.

 

[PotterWatch]

I am really sorry to be getting in so late in this conversation. My kids are homeschooled and though I am not a radical unschooler (my kids still have to do some chores, I tell them when to go to bed, and that they have to take showers and brush their teeth), we do absolutely no formal schooling. For those of you who think that I should go to jail and/or have my kids taken away because of this. Please, meet my kids. Talk to them and then tell me if my children are lacking in social skills, ethics, or education. I think that to say my way of schooling is c r a p, is horrible of you. You don't know my kids, you don't know how much they learn or at what level. My kids are intellegent and are learning everyday... things they need to know to survive in the "real world". They love learning. That is more important to me than any test score or grade would ever be. I will be going through and reading this whole thread, but from what I have read so far, I think that most people who are against unschooling, simply are afraid of a way of life they don't understand.