What do you think of un-schooling??

[debilorrah]

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I have first hand knowledge that yours kids are AWESOME!!!!

 

[redux]

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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.

 

[saddina]

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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?

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.

 

[debilorrah]

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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.

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.

 

[redux]

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

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.

 

[saddina]

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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

You'll need a busted roomba ($10 on ebay) a mindstorm set, a computer, and some very basic geometry skills, 6 hours to kill and laundry baskets in different colors (to sort into, and wash seperatly).

 

[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.

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.

 

[debilorrah]

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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.

I for one, KNOW that education does not equal intelligence. Someone who is a good student does not necessarily make a good employee. In fact, many that are ONLY book smart have no real life experiences and that makes them useless in the workplace.

 

[missionarywife]

I think unschooling would work, but for me I worry that they wouldn't learn. I have homeschooled for 8 yrs and have 5 in school. The 5th one is in pre k.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

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

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