Peolple who maybe cannot or should not unschool
Lisa Breger
<<<I want to talk about my hardest thing ever to talk about. That is this: how
many integrity points do I lose (or does anyone lose) by saying "Oh, anyone
can unschool" when that truly seems NOT to be the case? I still don't know a
way to preface the unschooling intro to weed out people who might possibly
be... (glancing around and not actually seeing any eyes to gauge by, and so
risking insult to an unknown reader; I hope not) ... *dull*. >>>
As I took the first steps towards changing our lifestyle to encompass unschooling a few months ago, there was a discussion going on either at the unschooling.com message boards or here, can't remember exactly where, but you made a list, Sandra, of personal qualities that would be required to be an unschooling parent. As simplistic as it might seem to some seasoned unschoolers, it was extremely helpful to me. I had to take a hard look at myself to determine if it would be feasible, and thankfully it is! I haven't read the current intro, but I don't believe there is anything wrong in being straight forward and honest about what it takes, and even using the word, "dull." Assuming most parents want to make the best decision for their family, those reading the intro would appreciate knowing they were/were not cut out for it.
My opinion is to put that list in the intro, if you can remember or find it.
Lisa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lisa Breger
lisa@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
many integrity points do I lose (or does anyone lose) by saying "Oh, anyone
can unschool" when that truly seems NOT to be the case? I still don't know a
way to preface the unschooling intro to weed out people who might possibly
be... (glancing around and not actually seeing any eyes to gauge by, and so
risking insult to an unknown reader; I hope not) ... *dull*. >>>
As I took the first steps towards changing our lifestyle to encompass unschooling a few months ago, there was a discussion going on either at the unschooling.com message boards or here, can't remember exactly where, but you made a list, Sandra, of personal qualities that would be required to be an unschooling parent. As simplistic as it might seem to some seasoned unschoolers, it was extremely helpful to me. I had to take a hard look at myself to determine if it would be feasible, and thankfully it is! I haven't read the current intro, but I don't believe there is anything wrong in being straight forward and honest about what it takes, and even using the word, "dull." Assuming most parents want to make the best decision for their family, those reading the intro would appreciate knowing they were/were not cut out for it.
My opinion is to put that list in the intro, if you can remember or find it.
Lisa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lisa Breger
lisa@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Lisa,
I didn't find the recent list, but while looking I found what follows AND
something I started for a column for HEM which I never finished (GOOD!)
So... this is old, from AOL forum days, and some blasts from the past for
some folks here (or maybe might BE some folks here! <g>):
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 11:40:28 EDT
From: MSeger
Posted on: America Online
<<I'm working on (goofing around with) the possibility of a "test" to give
people (a checklist, or list of questions, or something) so that they can
start to figure out what they have that they can use to unschool, or whether
the whole thing is too foreign and odious to them (and if the latter, why).
You guys want to contribute to it?>>
Can't resist. For the math portion of the quiz: <g>
1. Estimate the number of cleaning products in your home (x). Compare to
the number of books (y).
2. Estimate the number of times per week you say: "Don't touch." (a).
3. Do a probability analysis of the likelihood that you will be playing
outside on any given day. Label the result (z).
4. Chart the number of pairs of comfortable shoes you own (b). Compare to
the number of umbrellas (c).
5. If you were a geometric figure, which would you be? Write a brief essay
explaining why.
Scoring:
1. If x>y, deduct one point. If x<y, add one point.
2. If a>5, deduct one point. If a<5, add one point. If a<0, add two points.
3. If z>2:4, add one point. If z<2:4, deduct one point.
4. If b>c, add one point. If b<c, deduct one point.
5. Add one point for each dimension included in your figure beyond 2. Add
two points for each dimension beyond 4. Essays will be graded at a later
date and returned to you.
Thank you for your attention and good luck with your homeschooling decision.
Maura
_________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 12:02:05 EDT
From: LisaCaryl
Posted on: America Online
<<I'm working on (goofing around with) the possibility of a "test" to give
people (a checklist, or list of questions, or something) so that they can
start to figure out what they have that they can use to unschool, or whether
the whole thing is too foreign and odious to them (and if the latter, why).>>
Sandra, I think that a test is sure to make a lot of people mad. Maybe a
list of personal attributes would be more helpful. Something like...
Unschooling parents tend to have:
1.) A stronge sense of curiousity
2.) A love of life
3.) A love of learning that supercedes their love of order
4.) A high tolerance for noise
5.) Access to lots of children's books and resources...etc.
I don't know what the 'right' answer for leaving the house is. If we're
going to the park, I need to pack diapers, wipes, extra clothes for my
potty-training daycare kiddo, sunscreen, sunhat, water, cups, snacks,
blanket, toys for the baby...so it takes me quite a while. Also, whenever we
leave the house I wear makeup (3 minutes, tops) and my kids have their long
hair brushed and pulled back, and their faces and hands clean. But at the
park I don't tell my kids what to play or bore them with lectures on botany,
so I guess we're still unschooling.
I don't think you have to be contantly on the go in order to unschool, and
I think you can unschool and still be clean and neat. (But nobody would get
that idea from looking at my house. <g>) I have a fairly low tolerance for
noise so either I stay away from the area where my kids are being noisy or
they go to another area. (That's why God created basements and back yards.)
Oh yeah, a few things I would add are
6.) Ability to withstand criticism from friends and relatives.
7.) Ability to trust children's innate capacity for natural learning.
8.) A loving, non-adversarial relationship with their children.
Lisa C.
_____________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 12:44:31 EDT
From: SandyZ9072
Posted on: America Online
<<What other kinds of factors should I be considering? >>
Don't forget my personal favorite. A sense of humor.
Sandy
__________________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 13:23:19 EDT
From: Coolside
Posted on: America Online
2. If a>5, deduct one point. If a<5, add one point. If a<0, add two points.
3. If z>2:4, add one point. If z<2:4, deduct one point.
4. If b>c, add one point. If b<c, deduct one point.
5. Add one point for each dimension included in your figure beyond 2. Add
two points for each dimension beyond 4. Essays will be graded at a later
date and returned to you.
<<
6. If you actually filled this out, please reconsider any thoughts of
unschooling!
_________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 13:38:58 EDT
From: LJDBush
Posted on: America Online
I'm not sure how to put this as a "test" question, but I think one factor
might have to do with how naturally interactive a person is. That is, Sandra
frequently describes the way she uses whatever's on the radio or TV or a
billboard or whatever in talking to her kids, throwing out interesting
historical tidbits all the time, for example. I'm guessing that Sandra sees
and thinks and talks, involving her kids in her own thought processes,
without conciously trying to. I think that must make it easier to unschool
for her than it is for me, a natural introvert, because my thinking and
talking are all more deliberate. I don't speak off the top of my head,
typically; I see and think and think some more, and it may not occur to me to
tell the kids what I'm seeing and how I'm thinking about it. Doesn't mean I
can't unschool (I am!), but it may mean I need to be more deliberate about
it. Does this make any sense?
Laura
I didn't find the recent list, but while looking I found what follows AND
something I started for a column for HEM which I never finished (GOOD!)
So... this is old, from AOL forum days, and some blasts from the past for
some folks here (or maybe might BE some folks here! <g>):
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 11:40:28 EDT
From: MSeger
Posted on: America Online
<<I'm working on (goofing around with) the possibility of a "test" to give
people (a checklist, or list of questions, or something) so that they can
start to figure out what they have that they can use to unschool, or whether
the whole thing is too foreign and odious to them (and if the latter, why).
You guys want to contribute to it?>>
Can't resist. For the math portion of the quiz: <g>
1. Estimate the number of cleaning products in your home (x). Compare to
the number of books (y).
2. Estimate the number of times per week you say: "Don't touch." (a).
3. Do a probability analysis of the likelihood that you will be playing
outside on any given day. Label the result (z).
4. Chart the number of pairs of comfortable shoes you own (b). Compare to
the number of umbrellas (c).
5. If you were a geometric figure, which would you be? Write a brief essay
explaining why.
Scoring:
1. If x>y, deduct one point. If x<y, add one point.
2. If a>5, deduct one point. If a<5, add one point. If a<0, add two points.
3. If z>2:4, add one point. If z<2:4, deduct one point.
4. If b>c, add one point. If b<c, deduct one point.
5. Add one point for each dimension included in your figure beyond 2. Add
two points for each dimension beyond 4. Essays will be graded at a later
date and returned to you.
Thank you for your attention and good luck with your homeschooling decision.
Maura
_________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 12:02:05 EDT
From: LisaCaryl
Posted on: America Online
<<I'm working on (goofing around with) the possibility of a "test" to give
people (a checklist, or list of questions, or something) so that they can
start to figure out what they have that they can use to unschool, or whether
the whole thing is too foreign and odious to them (and if the latter, why).>>
Sandra, I think that a test is sure to make a lot of people mad. Maybe a
list of personal attributes would be more helpful. Something like...
Unschooling parents tend to have:
1.) A stronge sense of curiousity
2.) A love of life
3.) A love of learning that supercedes their love of order
4.) A high tolerance for noise
5.) Access to lots of children's books and resources...etc.
I don't know what the 'right' answer for leaving the house is. If we're
going to the park, I need to pack diapers, wipes, extra clothes for my
potty-training daycare kiddo, sunscreen, sunhat, water, cups, snacks,
blanket, toys for the baby...so it takes me quite a while. Also, whenever we
leave the house I wear makeup (3 minutes, tops) and my kids have their long
hair brushed and pulled back, and their faces and hands clean. But at the
park I don't tell my kids what to play or bore them with lectures on botany,
so I guess we're still unschooling.
I don't think you have to be contantly on the go in order to unschool, and
I think you can unschool and still be clean and neat. (But nobody would get
that idea from looking at my house. <g>) I have a fairly low tolerance for
noise so either I stay away from the area where my kids are being noisy or
they go to another area. (That's why God created basements and back yards.)
Oh yeah, a few things I would add are
6.) Ability to withstand criticism from friends and relatives.
7.) Ability to trust children's innate capacity for natural learning.
8.) A loving, non-adversarial relationship with their children.
Lisa C.
_____________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 12:44:31 EDT
From: SandyZ9072
Posted on: America Online
<<What other kinds of factors should I be considering? >>
Don't forget my personal favorite. A sense of humor.
Sandy
__________________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 13:23:19 EDT
From: Coolside
Posted on: America Online
>>Scoring:1. If x>y, deduct one point. If x<y, add one point.
2. If a>5, deduct one point. If a<5, add one point. If a<0, add two points.
3. If z>2:4, add one point. If z<2:4, deduct one point.
4. If b>c, add one point. If b<c, deduct one point.
5. Add one point for each dimension included in your figure beyond 2. Add
two points for each dimension beyond 4. Essays will be graded at a later
date and returned to you.
<<
6. If you actually filled this out, please reconsider any thoughts of
unschooling!
_________________
Subj: Re:pre-test for unschooling
Date: 97-05-21 13:38:58 EDT
From: LJDBush
Posted on: America Online
I'm not sure how to put this as a "test" question, but I think one factor
might have to do with how naturally interactive a person is. That is, Sandra
frequently describes the way she uses whatever's on the radio or TV or a
billboard or whatever in talking to her kids, throwing out interesting
historical tidbits all the time, for example. I'm guessing that Sandra sees
and thinks and talks, involving her kids in her own thought processes,
without conciously trying to. I think that must make it easier to unschool
for her than it is for me, a natural introvert, because my thinking and
talking are all more deliberate. I don't speak off the top of my head,
typically; I see and think and think some more, and it may not occur to me to
tell the kids what I'm seeing and how I'm thinking about it. Doesn't mean I
can't unschool (I am!), but it may mean I need to be more deliberate about
it. Does this make any sense?
Laura
Elizabeth Hill
Lisa Breger wrote:
Betsy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>I printed it and taped it to my wall, next to the computer.
> As I took the first steps towards changing our lifestyle to encompass
> unschooling a few months ago, there was a discussion going on either
> at the unschooling.com message boards or here, can't remember exactly
> where, but you made a list, Sandra, of personal qualities that would
> be required to be an unschooling parent. As simplistic as it might
> seem to some seasoned unschoolers, it was extremely helpful to me.
Betsy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
KT
>I was one of the most un-cut-out-for-it people you could imagine.
>
> Assuming most parents want to make the best decision for their family, those reading the intro would appreciate knowing they were/were not cut out for it.
>
Former military, you know? Authoritarian, yada, yada, yada. I was
almost as bad as Pat. (If I didn't like you, Pat, I wouldn't kid you,
Pat. I think you've come a long way since I've been on this list.)
But one thing I did have going for me that some people don't have. The
willingness to try new things. I was willing to change.
Can you be an unschooler without that? I don't think so. (Pat, I think
you have it. <g>)
Tuck