joancaptain

I'm a home educator whose son was diagnosed and treated for a brain
tumour in 2006. I always was against the idea of compulsory education
and sympathetic with the idea of learning freedom for children.

From what I could understand of this philosophy, unschoolers trust that
people can learn anytime and there are no "windows of opportunity." So
if their children doen't read or learn whatever at the age usually
expected by national curriculums, is not an issue.

But what if, due to brain irradiation, a child looses learning ability
each year? What if the damage makes learning so dificult, tiring and
unplesant, that children start losing their curiosity and interest,
preferring to do what is already comfortable for them? What if not
learning something this year might mean it will be even harder next
year and less likely that it is learned?

Sandra Dodd

I'm really sorry to hear about your son's tumor and the effects of
the treatment, but he's alive! That's good.

-=-From what I could understand of this philosophy, unschoolers trust
that
people can learn anytime and there are no "windows of opportunity."-=-

I think by windows of opportunity you meant windows that open and
then close again. Unschooling is all about opportunities to learn
from real-world experiences and people and whatever music, movies,
plays, puzzles and games come into range. This list is probably better:

http://sandradodd.com/empowerment

-=-So if their children doen't read or learn whatever at the age
usually expected by national curriculums, is not an issue.-=-

Most of the kids in school don't read or learn whatever at the age
usually expected by national curriculums.

My kids were ahead in some things and "behind" in others (just as
kids at school are, only without any of the homework, grades, shame
and pressure). Now that they're 17, 19 and 22, they're each doing
well socially and financially. If you were in a socially-
representative group of people their age and you didn't know which
ones were my kids, I bet you'd figure it out before long. They're
interesting and interested. They make eye contact with people.
They speak clearly and with a sparkle in the voice. If you tried to
sort the group out by those you think might have learned to read at
advanced ages (9, 11) you wouldn't be able to spot my kids by that.
They read as well as others their ages, and way more willingly than
many who learned to hate reading and to avoid it.

-=-But what if, due to brain irradiation, a child looses learning
ability each year? -=-

Is this true? Is it expected to continue for many years? For life?

-=-What if the damage makes learning so dificult, tiring and
unplesant, that children start losing their curiosity and interest,
preferring to do what is already comfortable for them? -=-

If by "learning" in the sentence above you mean school lessons, then
this list can't be much help to you. If you want us to say "OH YES,
hurry and teach him things before he loses his curiosity and
interest," that's not going to happen.

Look at this:

What if school makes learning so dificult, tiring and unplesant, that
children start losing their curiosity and interest, preferring to do
what is already comfortable for them?

That happens to EVERY child in school. Some never recover. Some
find ways to continue to learn the things they like despite the
drudgery and time-suck of school hours, days, weeks, months and
years. The answer to the "what if" for most on this list has been
"Take them home and find ways for them to live fulltime in a life of
curiosity and interest, without making anything difficult, tiring or
unpleasant!"



-=-What if not learning something this year might mean it will be
even harder next year and less likely that it is learned?-=-

If this is true, if there is honestly an ability loss each year, then
what good will learning do? Won't memory be going away too?

If I had a child who was losing function steadily, or who had nearly
died and might yet die unnaturally soon, I would take him to
Disneyland. I would take him to lunch in interesting places. I
would do all these things:

http://sandradodd.com/strewing



Sandra




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jenny C

> From what I could understand of this philosophy, unschoolers trust
that
> people can learn anytime and there are no "windows of opportunity." So
> if their children doen't read or learn whatever at the age usually
> expected by national curriculums, is not an issue.

Actually, I see there being lots of windows of opportunities. In fact
that is largely how I view unschooling, many series of windows of
opportunities.

Learning how to read at a certain age because of an arbitrary school
curriculum benchmark has little to do with windows of opportunity for
learning how to read. There are many times that there are cool
opportunities to learn things and expand on things, not to be confused
with teachable moments. Sometimes my kids are more open and recpetive
to new and intersting things than other times, those are the windows, as
I see them.


> But what if, due to brain irradiation, a child looses learning ability
> each year?

Each year? What do you mean by this? Does the passing of time and the
loss of ability always coincide with each birthday or other yearly
benchmark?

What if the damage makes learning so dificult, tiring and
> unplesant, that children start losing their curiosity and interest,
> preferring to do what is already comfortable for them?

I suppose it depends on how you view learning and how you value what is
being learned. The only time I learn new things in art is when I get
bored of what I'm comfortable with. Comfort is a good thing, comfort
allows for an open mind. What kind of things are you talking about in
regards to learning that is difficult, tiring, and unpleasant?

What if not
> learning something this year might mean it will be even harder next
> year and less likely that it is learned?


Well, I have no experience with brain damage, but I would imagine that a
child that is living comfortably and happily being himself, brain damage
or not, will do to the best of their ability to do what they need to do
to get what they want.

If the brain damage is so enormous that the person can never read or
write, how would their life be different if they were in some special ed
class in school where they still try to focus on it? How would
something like that ever really help a person that really couldn't read
or write? Wouldn't it be better to help your child in the abilities
that they DO have and drop the ones they don't?

diana jenner

I have some experience with a right temporal lobectomy, in my then-32 year
old husband.
The absence of short-term memory was a bumpy adjustment, to be sure. Then
again, there was incredible comfort in the repetition. It was a boon that it
was also the very thing that brought great joy to my toddlers :D
It's a challenge, a tough one. I'd tell you, over tea and cookies, that
unconventional is what you got and unconventional is what you're gonna have
to seek to live there comfortably and joyfully. It's like that poem, you
got Holland instead of Italy. Me too. And I love my life.
It is possible & it's not at all gonna look like what you thought it would.
The secret is in keeping your focus on what's here and now. Embracing this
uncharted territory.

Be in relationship, find what works for who your son IS right now, what
engages him and brings him joy. Provide lots of that. Over and over. To his
heart's content. When the heart is content the mind is open. He'll learn in
his very own way exactly what he needs to know. Trust is *so* important.
What you do matters. How you feel about what you do matters. Even, perhaps
especially, if you're the only one who will remember.
~diana :)
xoxoxoxo
hannahbearski.blogspot.com
hannahsashes.blogspot.com
dianas365.blogspot.com


On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 4:30 AM, joancaptain <joan45@...> wrote:

> I'm a home educator whose son was diagnosed and treated for a brain
> tumour in 2006. I always was against the idea of compulsory education
> and sympathetic with the idea of learning freedom for children.
>
> From what I could understand of this philosophy, unschoolers trust that
> people can learn anytime and there are no "windows of opportunity." So
> if their children doen't read or learn whatever at the age usually
> expected by national curriculums, is not an issue.
>
> But what if, due to brain irradiation, a child looses learning ability
> each year? What if the damage makes learning so dificult, tiring and
> unplesant, that children start losing their curiosity and interest,
> preferring to do what is already comfortable for them? What if not
> learning something this year might mean it will be even harder next
> year and less likely that it is learned?
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]