mrsdebus

I agree, Sandra, that your way is more accurate/better...but when I say,
"he taught himself" says a whole lot in a few words.

Also, to be perfectly frank- I don't think I did help my son to read
(apart from obvious and important ways, like owning books, and reading
to him every now and again). When I tried to teach him the alphabet- he
didn't want a bar of it...likewise, when I noticed he had begun to read
without me even knowing he knew his letters- I tried to teach him some
other things I didn't think he would glean on his own. That was a
disaster too. I only helped him when I stopped trying to help, if you
know what I mean.

Shell (in NZ)
DS9, DD5, DS1
http://unschoolersanonymous.blogspot.com/

*** -=-I know that "She taught herself" isn't "appropriate" if
you ask Sandra (lol), but with others outside the unschooling world, it
seems like the best answer I can come up with. -=-

What about "She learned it gradually on her own, with just a little
bit of help" or We helped her when she asked, and she figured it out
on her own!"***

Sandra Dodd

-=-but when I say,
"he taught himself" says a whole lot in a few words.-=-

It does.

But it doesn't help move you and your audience (or your son) away
from the idea of "teaching" toward solid faith in and understanding
of natural learning.

http://sandradodd.com/wordswords

-=-Also, to be perfectly frank- I don't think I did help my son to
read (apart from obvious and important ways, like owning books, and
reading to him every now and again).-=-

Well then, leave that part out. Some kids did accept help.

But how did he "teach" himself something he didn't know? What he did
was figure it out in his own way. He learned it.

-=-I only helped him when I stopped trying to help, if you know what
I mean.-=-

I do, but that kind of talk can make some parents think they don't
need to do ANYTHING but put out food and water for their kids and the
kids will learn as much as Pam's kids or Joyce's or mine (or
whoever's kids you might be thinking are proof or example of
unschooling). The richer the life, the easier the learning.

Getting away from talk of teaching does help people understand what
unschooling can be.

Sandra

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Ren Allen

~~But it doesn't help move you and your audience (or your son) away
from the idea of "teaching" toward solid faith in and understanding
of natural learning.~~


What I've found is that I don't need to worry about my children's
ideas of learning vs.teaching. That helped ME early on, but they have
no hang ups or baggage surrounding the idea of "teach" and they use it
without any of that baggage being present.

They say things like "I taught myself" and there is complete
confidence in their ability to LEARN. I don't think it's an issue for
them. They come at the world with such a different view than all of
our schooled minds do.

Ren
learninginfreedom.com

Sandra Dodd

-=-What I've found is that I don't need to worry about my children's
ideas of learning vs.teaching. That helped ME early on, but they have
no hang ups or baggage surrounding the idea of "teach" and they use it
without any of that baggage being present.-=-

That's probably true of a lot of kids, but not of all. The more a
mom (who DOES have baggage and uncertainty) uses the word
"teach" (and all the assumptions that come with it for her) the less
she'll relax into "learn."



Sandra

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