Tags for "Homeschooling And Unschooling"
The First Three Minutes of Unschooling
We want our two young boys to remain the wise, compassionate, and engaged souls they are today. We want them to avoid the coercive, limiting regime of schooling we experienced which might, as with us, render their learning passive and repress their will to freedom and self-expression.
At four years old, after weeks of talking over educational options, my oldest son Ezra decided he wanted to go to pre-school. After visiting several, we... Homeschoolers Anonymous
I never encountered any homeschooled kids until I went to college. Having excelled in school for the most part, I met the very idea of being taught at home with disdain. Most of the homeschooled students I met were nice, happy, pretty well-adjusted--and very, very religious. I immediately jumped onto the bandwagon driven by the people chanting, "Brainwash!" and decided that people who homeschooled their children were simply training them to be members of the Army of God, that it was such a travesty, and that the drones produced from such mind-numbing instruction would only go off into the wild blue yonder, birthing more drones to keep... Question the Answers
Outright lies and misinformation, however, are another matter entirely. Why weren't we introduced to, say, theories about Shakespeare's true identity, or alternatives to vivisection? Neither of these were lies, of course, but the information we were instructed to memorize was presented as the be-all and end-all, without the possibility of another reality. Wouldn't school have been so much more interesting... Nobody Told Me I Was Unschooling
I first heard about unschooling when I was doing research on homeschooling my daughter. I received The Unschooling Handbook for Christmas (yes, I ordered it myself) and as I make my way through it, I'm quickly realizing that I've been pretty much unschooling my little girl since...well, birth.
Don't we all use our kids' cues to play what they want to play with, talk about what they want to talk about, and that sort of thing? How many times have you switched a toy when your ten-month-old refused to play with the one you've given her? How many times have you let your child pick out his or her own books, or craft projects to work on, or games to play,... Support in Unexpected Places
Fortunately, where there is despair, there is always hope. People who support our decision have been coming out of the woodwork--friends, acquaintances, people at the library... I can't believe how many people say they'd like to homeschool, too, if only they didn't have to work, and especially how many people there are... In Defense of Unschooling
My family and I are not technically unschoolers. I'm very attracted to the word and what it means, and we do "unschool" in some ways, but we still prefer to use some Waldorf curriculum in our life. That works for us. Different methods work for different... 10 Reasons to Unschool
If made aware of all of the different options available to them, I believe that many parents would not choose to send their children into public schools as they are currently... Aren’t You Worried About the Socialization?
"Well, that's not for us," a relative says. "We want our kids socialized!" another agrees. "Aren't you worried about her... The Homeschooling Disclaimer
Each time I criticize the American public school paradigm or talk about homeschooling, I always feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer about how much I support teachers, public schools that work, etc. But this little disclaimer feels so hollow; I've encountered just as many awful teachers as I've encountered amazing ones, when I add them... What Back to School is Like for An Unschooler
For unschoolers like us, there is no back to school. There is continual learning, all of the time. We don't buy a bunch of supplies (unless we find something incredible on sale, like my new $4 planner), we don't buy school clothes (we tend to get messy in whatever we wear, to be honest with you), and we definitely don't need Kindermats or other special, expensive items. I always have to laugh at the people who tell me that homeschooling must be expensive; most of what we do is free, save for special classes like taekwondo, which kids in school do, too.
I've been finding myself in rather hostile territory--or, perhaps, I am just hostile. All of these parents are posting pictures of their...
Posted on Oct 26, 2009 - 12:06 AM by Khalif Williams in Uncharted Parenting
Even though we went to mediocre public schools and are the products of lovingly conventional parenting, my wife and I are trying to create our own family quite differently by embracing attachment parenting and, more recently, unschooling our children.We want our two young boys to remain the wise, compassionate, and engaged souls they are today. We want them to avoid the coercive, limiting regime of schooling we experienced which might, as with us, render their learning passive and repress their will to freedom and self-expression.
At four years old, after weeks of talking over educational options, my oldest son Ezra decided he wanted to go to pre-school. After visiting several, we... Homeschoolers Anonymous
Posted on Dec 11, 2009 - 02:31 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
My name is Sara, and I'm a former homeschool basher.I never encountered any homeschooled kids until I went to college. Having excelled in school for the most part, I met the very idea of being taught at home with disdain. Most of the homeschooled students I met were nice, happy, pretty well-adjusted--and very, very religious. I immediately jumped onto the bandwagon driven by the people chanting, "Brainwash!" and decided that people who homeschooled their children were simply training them to be members of the Army of God, that it was such a travesty, and that the drones produced from such mind-numbing instruction would only go off into the wild blue yonder, birthing more drones to keep... Question the Answers
Posted on Dec 18, 2009 - 01:14 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Like many people, I have found fault with plenty of school textbooks. I remember pointing out an error in my Geometry text to my teacher, who smiled and said, "Whoops, looks like they missed that one." Well, an unfinished circle isn't such a big deal; anyone could have made that mistake.Outright lies and misinformation, however, are another matter entirely. Why weren't we introduced to, say, theories about Shakespeare's true identity, or alternatives to vivisection? Neither of these were lies, of course, but the information we were instructed to memorize was presented as the be-all and end-all, without the possibility of another reality. Wouldn't school have been so much more interesting... Nobody Told Me I Was Unschooling
Posted on Jan 21, 2010 - 01:31 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Have I really been doing it all along?I first heard about unschooling when I was doing research on homeschooling my daughter. I received The Unschooling Handbook for Christmas (yes, I ordered it myself) and as I make my way through it, I'm quickly realizing that I've been pretty much unschooling my little girl since...well, birth.
Don't we all use our kids' cues to play what they want to play with, talk about what they want to talk about, and that sort of thing? How many times have you switched a toy when your ten-month-old refused to play with the one you've given her? How many times have you let your child pick out his or her own books, or craft projects to work on, or games to play,... Support in Unexpected Places
Posted on Jun 04, 2010 - 12:53 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Last week, I wrote about how bummed I was because so many people--especially one or two people that we are very close to--do not support our decision to homeschool. It is very distressing, especially when you provide explanations and clear reasoning--that we really shouldn't have to provide in the first place, to most of these people--and you're still met with disapproval.Fortunately, where there is despair, there is always hope. People who support our decision have been coming out of the woodwork--friends, acquaintances, people at the library... I can't believe how many people say they'd like to homeschool, too, if only they didn't have to work, and especially how many people there are... In Defense of Unschooling
Posted on Jun 10, 2010 - 01:12 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Lately, there has been a surge of questions, comments, and in many cases, diatribes against unschooling. Most of these have been spawned from two very brief, very biased (in many peoples' opinions), news-oriented television programs--not from actual research completed on unschooling itself. In response to so much misunderstanding and heated--even hateful, in many cases--commentary, I decided to write out my own defense of unschooling.My family and I are not technically unschoolers. I'm very attracted to the word and what it means, and we do "unschool" in some ways, but we still prefer to use some Waldorf curriculum in our life. That works for us. Different methods work for different... 10 Reasons to Unschool
Posted on Jun 14, 2010 - 12:17 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
There are so many different philosophies of education in the world to choose from. It's a rich, diverse world, so it's only natural that there are so many different ways to learn and grow. It's a shame, however, that most of these paths toward learning are concealed from the majority of people. If asked what education means, most people cite the public school method; and though others might also toss in private or homeschooling, there are still so many variations out there that go unnoticed, or even unheard of.If made aware of all of the different options available to them, I believe that many parents would not choose to send their children into public schools as they are currently... Aren’t You Worried About the Socialization?
Posted on Oct 14, 2010 - 02:12 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Most of the misgivings about homeschooling that I've ever had came first from ignorance as a teenager, when I could definitely empathize with the questions that people ask me today. As an adult, most of my hesitation came from external sources; I didn't have many doubts until well-meaning relatives and friends (or even web trolls) started to interrogate me. I use the word interrogate rather than question here because that's how it's been feeling most recently. Rather than asking simple questions, which I never mind, I'm posed instead with accusatory tones and eye rolls."Well, that's not for us," a relative says. "We want our kids socialized!" another agrees. "Aren't you worried about her... The Homeschooling Disclaimer
Posted on Oct 22, 2010 - 10:08 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Why is it that when we criticize the government or welfare programs, immigration policies, health care, or any of its other arms, it's considered valid--but when we move toward criticizing education, it's either A. taboo, something that's too sacred to dissect, or B. something that should be blamed on the children and their "lack of motivation"?Each time I criticize the American public school paradigm or talk about homeschooling, I always feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer about how much I support teachers, public schools that work, etc. But this little disclaimer feels so hollow; I've encountered just as many awful teachers as I've encountered amazing ones, when I add them... What Back to School is Like for An Unschooler
Posted on Aug 21, 2011 - 08:07 PM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
For unschoolers like us, there is no back to school. There is continual learning, all of the time. We don't buy a bunch of supplies (unless we find something incredible on sale, like my new $4 planner), we don't buy school clothes (we tend to get messy in whatever we wear, to be honest with you), and we definitely don't need Kindermats or other special, expensive items. I always have to laugh at the people who tell me that homeschooling must be expensive; most of what we do is free, save for special classes like taekwondo, which kids in school do, too.I've been finding myself in rather hostile territory--or, perhaps, I am just hostile. All of these parents are posting pictures of their...