New member
katiescarlet02
Hi All,
I'm new here. My son is 11 months old and I have only recently come across the term unschooling. I am really drawn to this and am looking forward to hearing how it works for others:)
I have some opposition from my partner and family following this path, especially when it comes t the socialisation asepct of this choice. So I'm here to learn lots!
Look forward to sharing other's experiences.
Kate
I'm new here. My son is 11 months old and I have only recently come across the term unschooling. I am really drawn to this and am looking forward to hearing how it works for others:)
I have some opposition from my partner and family following this path, especially when it comes t the socialisation asepct of this choice. So I'm here to learn lots!
Look forward to sharing other's experiences.
Kate
jfetteroll
--- In [email protected], "katiescarlet02" <katiescarlet02@...> wrote:
It's not that it's easy for all homeschooled kids to find friends. It can be hard. But I think adults idealize school and think being with all those kids solves all their social needs when for too many kids the friendships formed are more for convenience than because the kids actually like each other. Too often kids have to change who they are to fit in. My friends in school were more based on similar temperaments than because we had anything else in common. Being a girl into science fiction and engineering, there just weren't any others with similar interests.
For introverted kids being forced to be social all day with people you share nothing with other than age is a huge stressor. In real life we get to choose the type of work we do and the company we work for so that it better matches our needs. And if we find there are insolvable problems we always know we can search for a new job. Not so kids in school. They're stuck.
My daughter has had the freedom to blossom at her own pace, find friends she really clicked with, has gotten to know her social needs and listen to what she needs not warp herself into socialization imposed on her. She's very comfortable in her own skin and has friends all over the world she's met through her interests in music and art. (And liking to draw '80s hair metal bands is way more esoteric than science fiction but she's found a lot more friends than I had surrounded by kids in school. ;-)
Joyce
>I have some opposition from my partner and family following this path,The worst part about homeschooling is the name ;-) It suggests being at home all day but nothing could be further from the truth. Once you're away from school thinking, it becomes clearer that the kids in school are the ones in an unnatural social environment. When else in life are you trapped with 30 people of the same age for 6 hours a day with no way to escape? In the real world, we get to choose friends based on interest. And that's what unschoolers get to do. There are classes and park days and online friends and people of all ages that homeschoolers interact with.
>especially when it comes t the socialisation asepct of this choice.
It's not that it's easy for all homeschooled kids to find friends. It can be hard. But I think adults idealize school and think being with all those kids solves all their social needs when for too many kids the friendships formed are more for convenience than because the kids actually like each other. Too often kids have to change who they are to fit in. My friends in school were more based on similar temperaments than because we had anything else in common. Being a girl into science fiction and engineering, there just weren't any others with similar interests.
For introverted kids being forced to be social all day with people you share nothing with other than age is a huge stressor. In real life we get to choose the type of work we do and the company we work for so that it better matches our needs. And if we find there are insolvable problems we always know we can search for a new job. Not so kids in school. They're stuck.
My daughter has had the freedom to blossom at her own pace, find friends she really clicked with, has gotten to know her social needs and listen to what she needs not warp herself into socialization imposed on her. She's very comfortable in her own skin and has friends all over the world she's met through her interests in music and art. (And liking to draw '80s hair metal bands is way more esoteric than science fiction but she's found a lot more friends than I had surrounded by kids in school. ;-)
Joyce
DJ250
Where do you live, Kate?
~Melissa, in MD :)
~Melissa, in MD :)
----- Original Message -----
From: katiescarlet02
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 12:14 AM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] New member
Hi All,
I'm new here. My son is 11 months old and I have only recently come across the term unschooling. I am really drawn to this and am looking forward to hearing how it works for others:)
I have some opposition from my partner and family following this path, especially when it comes t the socialisation asepct of this choice. So I'm here to learn lots!
Look forward to sharing other's experiences.
Kate
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
rachel.ginsburg
Hi Kate and everyone else!
I'm new here too. My son is 7.5 months and I'm in the same boat. Well, I should say that my husband is very resistant to homeschooling, but I haven't even broached the topic of unschooling yet. My MIL knows we're considering it and seems positive (she saw some books about it lying around the house). My own mother and sister are academics and teachers and would be horrified, so they're not going to know about this for a few years!
I'm excited to follow this list for the next few years before we get to the preschool question.
I'm just north of NYC. Where are you Kate?
Rachel
I'm new here too. My son is 7.5 months and I'm in the same boat. Well, I should say that my husband is very resistant to homeschooling, but I haven't even broached the topic of unschooling yet. My MIL knows we're considering it and seems positive (she saw some books about it lying around the house). My own mother and sister are academics and teachers and would be horrified, so they're not going to know about this for a few years!
I'm excited to follow this list for the next few years before we get to the preschool question.
I'm just north of NYC. Where are you Kate?
Rachel
--- In [email protected], "katiescarlet02" <katiescarlet02@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> I'm new here. My son is 11 months old and I have only recently come across the term unschooling. I am really drawn to this and am looking forward to hearing how it works for others:)
> I have some opposition from my partner and family following this path, especially when it comes t the socialisation asepct of this choice. So I'm here to learn lots!
> Look forward to sharing other's experiences.
> Kate
>
Sandra Dodd
-=-The worst part about homeschooling is the name ;-) It suggests
being at home all day but nothing could be further from the truth.
Once you're away from school thinking, it becomes clearer that the
kids in school are the ones in an unnatural social environment. When
else in life are you trapped with 30 people of the same age for 6
hours a day with no way to escape?...-=-
I took what Joyce wrote and gathered some other little things and
built a new page:
http://sandradodd.com/socialization
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
being at home all day but nothing could be further from the truth.
Once you're away from school thinking, it becomes clearer that the
kids in school are the ones in an unnatural social environment. When
else in life are you trapped with 30 people of the same age for 6
hours a day with no way to escape?...-=-
I took what Joyce wrote and gathered some other little things and
built a new page:
http://sandradodd.com/socialization
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-Where do you live, Kate?
~Melissa, in MD :)-=-
Keep all the topics toward unschooling discussion, please. To find
people near you, check here:
http://sandradodd.com/world
and maybe here:
http://familyrun.ning.com/
in the groups or forum
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
~Melissa, in MD :)-=-
Keep all the topics toward unschooling discussion, please. To find
people near you, check here:
http://sandradodd.com/world
and maybe here:
http://familyrun.ning.com/
in the groups or forum
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Diana Strasser
Thanks for that new page. I have passed it on to another home educating mum
who has had some doubts creeping in if she is providing enough social
contact for her nearly 5 year old daughters and that school might provide
that more perhaps and we just had a chat about it today. And it also serves
as a good reminder for me and my dh too. Not that I really think that school
is an option but 'arranging' social contact for a 4 year old who
still really just wants to watch and watch and watch other people
interacting/doing things without having the pressure to interact herself is
sometimes quite difficult.
Diana x
2009/8/26 Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
who has had some doubts creeping in if she is providing enough social
contact for her nearly 5 year old daughters and that school might provide
that more perhaps and we just had a chat about it today. And it also serves
as a good reminder for me and my dh too. Not that I really think that school
is an option but 'arranging' social contact for a 4 year old who
still really just wants to watch and watch and watch other people
interacting/doing things without having the pressure to interact herself is
sometimes quite difficult.
Diana x
2009/8/26 Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> -=-The worst part about homeschooling is the name ;-) It suggests
> being at home all day but nothing could be further from the truth.
> Once you're away from school thinking, it becomes clearer that the
> kids in school are the ones in an unnatural social environment. When
> else in life are you trapped with 30 people of the same age for 6
> hours a day with no way to escape?...-=-
>
> I took what Joyce wrote and gathered some other little things and
> built a new page:
>
> http://sandradodd.com/socialization
>
> Sandra
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
adesah
--- In [email protected], "jfetteroll" <jfetteroll@...> wrote:
Adesa
> The worst part about homeschooling is the nameI couldn't agree more!!! I try to use "home education" as much as possible, but that sticks in my craw, too. I have a friend who calls it "freeschooling," but the part I take the most offense to is the "schooling." Any suggestions?
>
Adesa
Sandra Dodd
-=-I couldn't agree more!!! I try to use "home education" as much as
possible, but that sticks in my craw, too. I have a friend who calls
it "freeschooling," but the part I take the most offense to is the
"schooling." Any suggestions?-=-
I have a suggestion.
Don't forget that all English speaking countries have compulsory
school attendance laws. We don't have "the right" to keep our kids
out of school. Just about everywhere has created some sort of
alternative to government or private schooling, and that is often
called home schooling or home education.
Just live with it. That's my suggestion. It's not a word we own or
can change.
We talk about radical unschooling here, but it's not a good idea to
tell the state or province that you're a radical unschooler. Your
choice is probably homeschool or put them in school.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
possible, but that sticks in my craw, too. I have a friend who calls
it "freeschooling," but the part I take the most offense to is the
"schooling." Any suggestions?-=-
I have a suggestion.
Don't forget that all English speaking countries have compulsory
school attendance laws. We don't have "the right" to keep our kids
out of school. Just about everywhere has created some sort of
alternative to government or private schooling, and that is often
called home schooling or home education.
Just live with it. That's my suggestion. It's not a word we own or
can change.
We talk about radical unschooling here, but it's not a good idea to
tell the state or province that you're a radical unschooler. Your
choice is probably homeschool or put them in school.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
adesah
--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
I think of word choice as a way to slowly change that horrid stereotype of homeschoolers sitting around the dining room table, books open, on a Wednesday morning. When the general public hears the term "homeschooler," that's what they envision: school, but at home. And that's so completely not it that I feel like the whole term needs to change.
As you said in another post, word choice matters. I just haven't found the right words yet.
Adesa
>Oh, I know. As far as the school (or my parents, for that matter) is concerned, we homeschool. It just really bothers me to tell *other* people that we homeschool when, in fact, what we do looks NOTHING like school. Not that it simply *isn't* school, but that it has absolutely nothing to do with our lives in any way, shape, or form.
> We talk about radical unschooling here, but it's not a good idea to
> tell the state or province that you're a radical unschooler. Your
> choice is probably homeschool or put them in school.
>
I think of word choice as a way to slowly change that horrid stereotype of homeschoolers sitting around the dining room table, books open, on a Wednesday morning. When the general public hears the term "homeschooler," that's what they envision: school, but at home. And that's so completely not it that I feel like the whole term needs to change.
As you said in another post, word choice matters. I just haven't found the right words yet.
Adesa
Sandra Dodd
-=-I think of word choice as a way to slowly change that horrid
stereotype of homeschoolers sitting around the dining room table,
books open, on a Wednesday morning. When the general public hears the
term "homeschooler," that's what they envision: school, but at home.
And that's so completely not it that I feel like the whole term needs
to change.-=-
The term has no needs. It's been in use since before you had
children. It's just what it is. The energy you might spent toward
getting hundreds of thousands of people (and government entities) to
change what they call home education would be much better spent with
your kids.
-=-As you said in another post, word choice matters. I just haven't
found the right words yet.-=-
When you're describing what you do at your house (which is optional;
no one has to post) then choose your words carefully, and proofread
your post before you send it, and decide whether those words really
describe what you do and say.
That's not the same as saying it's a good idea to try to change
decades-old terminology.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
stereotype of homeschoolers sitting around the dining room table,
books open, on a Wednesday morning. When the general public hears the
term "homeschooler," that's what they envision: school, but at home.
And that's so completely not it that I feel like the whole term needs
to change.-=-
The term has no needs. It's been in use since before you had
children. It's just what it is. The energy you might spent toward
getting hundreds of thousands of people (and government entities) to
change what they call home education would be much better spent with
your kids.
-=-As you said in another post, word choice matters. I just haven't
found the right words yet.-=-
When you're describing what you do at your house (which is optional;
no one has to post) then choose your words carefully, and proofread
your post before you send it, and decide whether those words really
describe what you do and say.
That's not the same as saying it's a good idea to try to change
decades-old terminology.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]