"too good to be true"
Sandra Dodd
I went looking for an article I had linked but has disappeared. I haven't found it yet (and might stop looking, which is fine; I could delete the link and not worry about it).
I found a description of unschooling written more as a report (summary of what could be found), and there was an interesting comment:
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As a former homeschool and unschooler, I can say from experience that unschooling, while it may work for some families, was absolute mayhem for us. It was a total disaster for my oldest daughter in so many ways because she thrives in a structured environment and found all the decisions that she was now allowed to make overwheleming. I read all the books on unschooling and the theory sounds wonderful. It is too good to be true, at least in our case.
I no longer homeschool, but I do support it. It may not be right for my family, but I have seen it work beautifully for others.
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That was written three years ago, so it's too late for us to try to help that family. :-)
I don't think anyone should bother to read all the books on unschooling, nor join all the list, nor any such thing. Reading that, I think she read a lot, but somehow thought that unschooling didn't require parental involvement. Or maybe when her daughter had a decision to make, the mom said "You decide! We're unschooling now. I'm not going to decide for you." Maybe none of the books she read suggested partnership or the parent helping the child to find interesting things to do, see, taste, touch, smell...
I'm sorry there's so much more lame advice than great advice, but there it is, all around us.
"Read a little, try a little, wait a while, watch."
Sandra
I found a description of unschooling written more as a report (summary of what could be found), and there was an interesting comment:
***************************
As a former homeschool and unschooler, I can say from experience that unschooling, while it may work for some families, was absolute mayhem for us. It was a total disaster for my oldest daughter in so many ways because she thrives in a structured environment and found all the decisions that she was now allowed to make overwheleming. I read all the books on unschooling and the theory sounds wonderful. It is too good to be true, at least in our case.
I no longer homeschool, but I do support it. It may not be right for my family, but I have seen it work beautifully for others.
***************************
That was written three years ago, so it's too late for us to try to help that family. :-)
I don't think anyone should bother to read all the books on unschooling, nor join all the list, nor any such thing. Reading that, I think she read a lot, but somehow thought that unschooling didn't require parental involvement. Or maybe when her daughter had a decision to make, the mom said "You decide! We're unschooling now. I'm not going to decide for you." Maybe none of the books she read suggested partnership or the parent helping the child to find interesting things to do, see, taste, touch, smell...
I'm sorry there's so much more lame advice than great advice, but there it is, all around us.
"Read a little, try a little, wait a while, watch."
Sandra
Sarah
> I'm sorry there's so much more lame advice than great advice, but there it is, all around us.The thing is that there is more lame advice than not out there, about anything you care to mention. Filtering out the dross is one of life's most useful skills. I remember reading some Holt (or someone!) describing a school in which teachers would not need any qualifications and their worthiness to teach their subject would be shown by the students willing to stick around and learn from them. If by unschooling I enable my kids to gain that filtering skill then I'll be delighted. Sarah
>
> "Read a little, try a little, wait a while, watch."