HS Comments on the Fly

From an unschooling article:

“The [public] school system that we have now was invented in the late 19th century and had very explicit models: factories, railroads and the army,” Glass said. “So they took features from each of those areas and created a school system.”

The article has some interesting tidbits on educational philsophy — even mentioning Rousseau — and worth a read whether you believe unschooling (or Rousseau) has merit or not.

The article, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) mentions Ferris Beuller. “Beuller? Beuller?” And possibly Ferris Beuller is the most famous of all those who practice unschooling — even though in his case it was only for a day. Who can forget his famous words after serenading us with the clarinet? “Never had one lesson.” Yes, that’s one of our most favorite movie quotes for homeschoolers. And no I don’t recommend this movie for the little ones.

Well, here are a few posts of interest to homeschoolers. They are comments made by college instructors about some homeschool students they’re dealing with, plus replies. It makes for interesting reading, possibly instructive … or not.

Tammy in Topeka Is Tired of T. [Who Was Homeschooled]

response for Tammy — How to School the Homeschooler

Homeschooled or Unschooled?

We Hear From Some of the Homeschooled

In all fairness, we have never been pure unschoolers. And it’s probably about time that unschooling get a new definition because too few want to research out its meaning. They just think, “Un means not,” and head off from there.

You know, some might say that they’d never want an unschooler to work beside them on a project at their place of employment because unschoolers have been taught to think that life is all about doing whatever you want whenever you want.

But work and learning are different.

Work is one thing. Learning is another.

My children have been given a number of educational choices. They don’t ever have to learn about the Battle of the Boyne as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think we ever touched upon Edith Wharton, Sappho, Eugene O’Neill, Nasser, or Huey Long. I don’t think either of them will take a high school biology class. C’mon, how often do you use info from your high school biology class? You need to know physics and chemistry much more to get along in the world, imo. And no I don’t feel like debating that. I took Honors Biology in high school, and it was a complete and utter waste of my time, just like it’s a waste of most other kids’ lives. My students made many of their own educational choices.

But when it came to certain types of things that needed to be done, we all pitched in. I’m talking about things usually considered work — namely washing dishes, mowing the lawn, care and feeding the animals, vacuuming, taking out the trash, washing down the cupboards, etc., changing the oil in the car/truck, dusting, laundry, chopping wood, etc. That’s work. It must be done.

Why would anyone try to equate work with learning? One is fun and one is … well, work … sometimes fun … but still work.

Additionally, being employed and being paid for work is different from learning (unschooling). An employer is paying you to do your job; you’re earning money which is a benefit. If you’re learning in a classroom environment in grades 1-12, you are “earning” your grades (A, B, C, D, F). Not quite the same inducement to get your school work done, but that’s your reward at a school. Tough luck.

If you are unschooled, you are rewarded with learning. You get to find out something. You enjoy your time spent learning, usually. You experience the joy in learning because it’s not being forced on you. Unschooling isn’t about teaching your children to be little immature brats for the rest of their lives, never knowing what responsibility is all about. To call it that shows a distinct lack of understanding. Sure parents can raise selfish little brats who only want to do “their own thing,” but that’s a whole other issue.

Gail Kerr says:

It seems to me, on these cold winter mornings when the wind blows sharp and Jack Frost bites that the logical next step of the “unschooling” trend should be “unworking.”

Logical? I don’t think logic has anything to do with it — whether it be formal, informal, or symbolic. Let’s just hope Gail’s just a big kidder because her complete article has a bit of a sting to it.

Massive Resource List for All Autodidacts

Oh, look there’s even one link so that you can test your hearing loss — perfect for all iPod users!

This unschooling article is out of California (photos included near the bottom). Here’s an excerpt of interest:

Forced to defend an unusual educational practice, unschoolers take great care as to how they describe it. Buchanan hedges a bit when asked if she’s an unschooler. She does put books in front of her children from time to time, which is anathema to orthodox unschoolers.

That might make her more of an “eclectic” home-schooler, she said. Still, “We’re letting (our children) find their own interests.”

“A lot of unschoolers are afraid to stand up and say we are unschoolers,” said Buchanan. “There’s this fear of being misunderstood.”

I’ve found that also. Years ago, a lady at a homeschool meeting had given a talk about something or other. Afterward, I went up to the table in the front to look over the pamphlets she had brought for us to gather up. I glanced over and saw her adjusting papers in her see-through bin and caught a glancing view of Growing Without School, a defunct unschooling magazine. I mentioned that it was a good magazine and quietly asked her if she unschooled. She looked around guiltily, smiled, and said something like, “Oh, I try to keep that under wraps.” She then finished adjusting the papers making sure the magazine was no longer visible.

In December, Education Week published an article on unschooling, but only subscribers could read it.

The good news is that we can read it now for a limited time.

HT: Ms. Moon

Education Week has provided at Talkback Section where you can read people’s comments on unschooling.

The Chicago Sun-Times printed an article about unschooling.

Neil Steinberg at the Chicago Sun-Times gave his seemingly unresearched opinion about unschooling.

Kimzyn at Relaxed Homeskool interviewed herself for the original article.

Justin Armstrong, now 24, has built himself a sea-going cutter. The article provides a number of photos of the little beauty named Penny Rover. She’s 30′ - that’s not really that small. Most cutters have just one mast and a long bowsprit (a piece of wood sticking way off the front to attach a sail to). It can be sailed by one person. I wish we could see the interior and maybe a floor plan.

Justin was homeschooled. He started building boats when he was 12 and was working as a shipwright(!) at age 16. This is what Justin’s father said about him:

His father describes Justin as a quiet young fellow who would spend hours working on projects as a boy.

“When he was 6 years old, he’d work on a project for 10 hours a day. Those practical projects were a vehicle for his learning,” Bob Armstrong said. “(He and his older brother Jeremy) had a can-do attitude. When I saw where they wanted to go, I tried to give them the tools and opportunities.”

By 9, Justin was helping with wiring the family garage. Two years later, he was operating a saw mill, his father said. After reading Arthur Ransome’s “We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea,” Justin and Jeremy grew interested in boats, so Bob bought them an old sailboat to restore from a garage sale.

From what I can tell, it sounds like Justin learned in a relaxed way, possibly being unschooled. The article mentions:

… His less-structured schedule as a young man allowed him the freedom to pursue his passion for building.

Do go read the article; it’s inspiring and exciting. He even poured his own keel! That’s cool. I bet he can’t wait to get her in the water!

Here’s a detailed article about unschooling in Sharon, MA:

‘‘I’m unschooled. I basically control what I do,’’ said Finklestein, whose second theater production, ‘‘The Laramie Project,’’ closes this weekend.

‘‘I would not be doing any of this if I was still in school. I wouldn’t have time.’’

Melanie Fields’ English 291 class at Northern Kentucky University (yes, university!) was asked to write letters to the editor to showcase their persuasive writing abilities. They were published in The Enquirer.

This is an excerpt from Shannon Croxson’s response to an article on unschooling that had previously appeared in The Enquirer:

How do some parents believe that child-led learning is best for our children?

I don’t understand how a grown adult believes that another child can teach a child everything they need to know in life.

Oh, dear. I don’t think that Shannon Croxson knows what child-led learning is.

Read more here.

And just what does she mean by “… our children,” anyway? I am teaching and have taught my children.