unschooling everything
Ren
"Are there people on this list who believe that the two are
inseparable? I mean, I've gotten the feeling that there are at least a few
vocal posters who might believe that it isn't unschooling unless there is no
coercion whatsoever."
Yes to the question.
I'm not sure how people are arriving at the above conclusion though, since it's been repeated over and over that the definition of unschooling means one that is not schooled, and that the other issues are affected simply by the new mindset.
If you trust that children will learn in their own way, in their own time, then you TRUST that. Whether they're learning about their own bodies, or how to be empathetic and work together as a family, whether they're learning from tv or games or ANYTHING, I'm trusting in their own inherent capability.
If you're saying they can learn about academic or "educational" things in their own way and time, but saying you don't trust them to learn other real life topics in their own way, I think that's limiting what unschooling can do in your life.
I think learning happens best in an environment of complete trust and respect. I've seen it happen in my own family, and many others, so I KNOW it works. I've been on both sides of this issue.
Going from not trusting children completely, to deep and real trust, has produced amazing results around here.
So again, I'm not interested in saying who is and who is not unschooling (unless you want to argue that a full-time public schooler is unschooled or that lessons at home are unschooling), like Pam, I'm interested in talking about how children learn without these parental controls, what it looks like inside other unschooling families and creative ways to deal with real life issues as they arise, with the philosophy of trust firmly in place.
Ren
Learn about unschooling at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/
inseparable? I mean, I've gotten the feeling that there are at least a few
vocal posters who might believe that it isn't unschooling unless there is no
coercion whatsoever."
Yes to the question.
I'm not sure how people are arriving at the above conclusion though, since it's been repeated over and over that the definition of unschooling means one that is not schooled, and that the other issues are affected simply by the new mindset.
If you trust that children will learn in their own way, in their own time, then you TRUST that. Whether they're learning about their own bodies, or how to be empathetic and work together as a family, whether they're learning from tv or games or ANYTHING, I'm trusting in their own inherent capability.
If you're saying they can learn about academic or "educational" things in their own way and time, but saying you don't trust them to learn other real life topics in their own way, I think that's limiting what unschooling can do in your life.
I think learning happens best in an environment of complete trust and respect. I've seen it happen in my own family, and many others, so I KNOW it works. I've been on both sides of this issue.
Going from not trusting children completely, to deep and real trust, has produced amazing results around here.
So again, I'm not interested in saying who is and who is not unschooling (unless you want to argue that a full-time public schooler is unschooled or that lessons at home are unschooling), like Pam, I'm interested in talking about how children learn without these parental controls, what it looks like inside other unschooling families and creative ways to deal with real life issues as they arise, with the philosophy of trust firmly in place.
Ren
Learn about unschooling at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/
Deb Lewis
***Are there people on this list who believe that the two are
inseparable? I mean, I've gotten the feeling that there are at least a
few
vocal posters who might believe that it isn't unschooling unless there is
no
coercion whatsoever.***
For me they are inseparable. I came to unschooling after watching the
way Dylan was living and growing and learning how to do things within our
family without being taught to do them.
When he was very small he would take his plate to the sink when he was
finished eating, because he saw us doing it. If something, a toy, was
dirty he would wash it off. He was doing those things as a side effect
of living with other people who did those things. That got me wondering
what all a person could learn by living in a world full of possibilities.
By the time he was school age I was relieved he didn't want to go to
school.
I can't separate the two things in my mind. He was born a human. He
wants for himself what others of his kind want. He want's to be clean
and safe and warm and fed and entertained and challenged and free. He
wants help when he's in need. He wants respect for his process. He
wants all those things without me telling him he should want them and
without me directing how he goes about accomplishing them. He only
needed to live among others who were working toward those things and he
learned how to go about it.
Others don't need to see non coercive parenting and unschooling as the
same thing in order to enjoy or benefit from this list. Everyone gets
to do whatever they want! <g> No one needs to feel like what we say
here must be applied in full to their lives. There is no one going to
show up at the door to enforce this particular philosophy. Use the bits
that are useful, ignore the bits that aren't.
Deb Lewis
inseparable? I mean, I've gotten the feeling that there are at least a
few
vocal posters who might believe that it isn't unschooling unless there is
no
coercion whatsoever.***
For me they are inseparable. I came to unschooling after watching the
way Dylan was living and growing and learning how to do things within our
family without being taught to do them.
When he was very small he would take his plate to the sink when he was
finished eating, because he saw us doing it. If something, a toy, was
dirty he would wash it off. He was doing those things as a side effect
of living with other people who did those things. That got me wondering
what all a person could learn by living in a world full of possibilities.
By the time he was school age I was relieved he didn't want to go to
school.
I can't separate the two things in my mind. He was born a human. He
wants for himself what others of his kind want. He want's to be clean
and safe and warm and fed and entertained and challenged and free. He
wants help when he's in need. He wants respect for his process. He
wants all those things without me telling him he should want them and
without me directing how he goes about accomplishing them. He only
needed to live among others who were working toward those things and he
learned how to go about it.
Others don't need to see non coercive parenting and unschooling as the
same thing in order to enjoy or benefit from this list. Everyone gets
to do whatever they want! <g> No one needs to feel like what we say
here must be applied in full to their lives. There is no one going to
show up at the door to enforce this particular philosophy. Use the bits
that are useful, ignore the bits that aren't.
Deb Lewis
sandrewmama
on 6/25/04 8:37 AM, Deb Lewis at ddzimlew@... wrote:
lists where anything hinting of parental direction was argued against
ad-nauseum and the undeclared goal of the list seemed to promote
non-coercive parenting to everyone all of the time.
I'm happy to participate in a list where non-coercive parenting and loving
guidance can co-exist with the goal of discussing unschooling as it's focus.
Chris
>This is reassuring to me. Maybe I was being a little gun shy. I've been on
> Others don't need to see non coercive parenting and unschooling as the
> same thing in order to enjoy or benefit from this list. Everyone gets
> to do whatever they want! <g> No one needs to feel like what we say
> here must be applied in full to their lives. There is no one going to
> show up at the door to enforce this particular philosophy. Use the bits
> that are useful, ignore the bits that aren't.
>
> Deb Lewis
lists where anything hinting of parental direction was argued against
ad-nauseum and the undeclared goal of the list seemed to promote
non-coercive parenting to everyone all of the time.
I'm happy to participate in a list where non-coercive parenting and loving
guidance can co-exist with the goal of discussing unschooling as it's focus.
Chris