Defining what we do....
Ruthie
Okay....so I just read through most of the posts in "lazy unschooling" and came out wondering if I can really call myself an unschooler....
We are enrolled in a program called Self Design. Basically I have a learning consultant who I have to report to every week. I write short vignettes of our week that include any kind of learning that I observe....in all aspects of his life. The LC then takes those observations and translates them into outcomes for the BC government. The reason that we went with this program is so that we can benefit from the 1200.00 a year that we receive. We are able to use that money for anything that is reflected in his learning plan. His learning plan basically was to say what his interests were at the time and say how we would support those interests. I do not show these reports to Justin or talk about the program with him. He knows that I write stuff about what we do but that's about it. My LC supposedly is an unschooler himself and he hasn't questioned anything that I have written to date and has been very positive and encouraging in his feedback. I just jump through the hoops that they put out and in return we are able to experience more things because of the finances.
As far as our lifestyle is concerned I have.....more later - Justin just requested to read a book with me.
Ruthie
We are enrolled in a program called Self Design. Basically I have a learning consultant who I have to report to every week. I write short vignettes of our week that include any kind of learning that I observe....in all aspects of his life. The LC then takes those observations and translates them into outcomes for the BC government. The reason that we went with this program is so that we can benefit from the 1200.00 a year that we receive. We are able to use that money for anything that is reflected in his learning plan. His learning plan basically was to say what his interests were at the time and say how we would support those interests. I do not show these reports to Justin or talk about the program with him. He knows that I write stuff about what we do but that's about it. My LC supposedly is an unschooler himself and he hasn't questioned anything that I have written to date and has been very positive and encouraging in his feedback. I just jump through the hoops that they put out and in return we are able to experience more things because of the finances.
As far as our lifestyle is concerned I have.....more later - Justin just requested to read a book with me.
Ruthie
Ruthie
"I just jump through the hoops that they put out and in return we are able to experience more things because of the finances. "
I thought about this while I was grocery shopping and I realized that I wanted to make sure that it was understood that if the hoops that I had to jump through included tests/samples or pressure to do things that we werent interested in I would go back to registering instead of enrolling. So far that hasnt happened...the LC does suggest things but only things that are in line with Justin's current interests and do not appear to have a schooly agenda behind them. What is really cool is that there is a whole online community of conversations where people who are enrolled with Self Design can connect and share experiences and cool ideas and kids can even connect with others and discuss what interests them.
As far as our lifestyle is concerned I have fully embraced the whole life approach...my husband is getting there :) The kids seem to be very happy and enjoying their lives.
Ruthie
I thought about this while I was grocery shopping and I realized that I wanted to make sure that it was understood that if the hoops that I had to jump through included tests/samples or pressure to do things that we werent interested in I would go back to registering instead of enrolling. So far that hasnt happened...the LC does suggest things but only things that are in line with Justin's current interests and do not appear to have a schooly agenda behind them. What is really cool is that there is a whole online community of conversations where people who are enrolled with Self Design can connect and share experiences and cool ideas and kids can even connect with others and discuss what interests them.
As far as our lifestyle is concerned I have fully embraced the whole life approach...my husband is getting there :) The kids seem to be very happy and enjoying their lives.
Ruthie
Pam Sorooshian
On 3/8/2010 9:01 AM, Ruthie wrote:
is how unschooling works.
If you're going around speaking with some authority and calling yourself
an unschooler, then expect people to notice if your kids actually go to
school or use curriculum, etc.
Otherwise, really, I do not at all understand why someone would insist
that they are unschoolers if they don't think they would be considered
such by others. Why do some people want that label so badly? I don't get
it. There is no club, no elite society, no kudos or awards or special
recognitions that anybody gets for being an unschooler. Again, for the
most part, we talk here about unschooling, not about who is or isn't.
Maybe just hedge a little - say, "We're pretty unschoolish."
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> Okay....so I just read through most of the posts in "lazy unschooling"The topic here is not whether or not someone is an unschooler. The topic
> and came out wondering if I can really call myself an unschooler....
is how unschooling works.
If you're going around speaking with some authority and calling yourself
an unschooler, then expect people to notice if your kids actually go to
school or use curriculum, etc.
Otherwise, really, I do not at all understand why someone would insist
that they are unschoolers if they don't think they would be considered
such by others. Why do some people want that label so badly? I don't get
it. There is no club, no elite society, no kudos or awards or special
recognitions that anybody gets for being an unschooler. Again, for the
most part, we talk here about unschooling, not about who is or isn't.
Maybe just hedge a little - say, "We're pretty unschoolish."
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
ackirebecci
> Okay....so I just read through most of the posts in "lazy unschooling" and came out wondering if I can really call myself an unschooler....Hi Ruthie:
>
> We are enrolled in a program called Self Design.
I'm new to this list myself, so I'll be brief.
There are several families who enroll with SelfDesign and benefit from gov't funding (through the learning investment) who are unschoolers. The money can be a lovely perk if you, the parent, are willing/able to be the protective firewall between the program/MinEd expectations and your child's living/learning.
There is a conference specifically for unschoolers on "The Village". You may want to find your way there and ask the other parents who unschool how they manage to keep the administrivia from having any effect on their families' unschooling lives. I know that many of these families embrace radical unschooling, so you might find it a wonderful support as you sort this out for yourself.
Personally, I don't like the weekly reporting or other necessary parental hoop jumping, so we are registered with a different independent school (and receive $150/year). Registration has no hoops at all and we are not required to follow or pay attention to any "educational program" other than our own. For our family, it's worth the $1000 difference in kickbacks.
Hope this helps,
Rebecca