Huge , exciting news around here!
Deb
I have been unschooling my son since August, he's eight by the way, and have really struggled with the no teaching/no curriculum thing. But I kept my fears and doubts to myself and just kept playing and doing and going places with my son, trying to see the world as a rich, learning environment.
Well, my daughter, who is a freshman studying early childhood education had an internship with kids my son's age and she kept telling me he would never learn to read, write, do math, etc. without a curriculum. For my son's ears, I just kept repeating things like how he'd learn to read when he was ready, even if it was later, etc. but what she said still made me feel insecure. Well.....this morning he came running up the stairs to my room saying " Mommy I can read, I can read", and proceeded to read a chapter book to me flawlessly. The funny part is that my husband, who has really struggled with the video game thing told me that earlier my son was playing his video game and just stopped out of the blue, grabbed a few books and started sounding out the words and reading them!
I am so happy that we stayed the course so far because the process does work! As much as I told everyone else that little nugget, I finally can honestly say I believe it. Yay!
Well, my daughter, who is a freshman studying early childhood education had an internship with kids my son's age and she kept telling me he would never learn to read, write, do math, etc. without a curriculum. For my son's ears, I just kept repeating things like how he'd learn to read when he was ready, even if it was later, etc. but what she said still made me feel insecure. Well.....this morning he came running up the stairs to my room saying " Mommy I can read, I can read", and proceeded to read a chapter book to me flawlessly. The funny part is that my husband, who has really struggled with the video game thing told me that earlier my son was playing his video game and just stopped out of the blue, grabbed a few books and started sounding out the words and reading them!
I am so happy that we stayed the course so far because the process does work! As much as I told everyone else that little nugget, I finally can honestly say I believe it. Yay!
Stephanie
Hooray! I love the moment when it all falls in place. My son will be nine in April and I am still waiting for his ahha moment, but my daughter taught herself to read at 5 so I know it will come when he is ready.
Stephanie K
Sent from my iPhone
Stephanie K
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 17, 2012, at 6:17 PM, "Deb" <vwb777@...> wrote:
> I have been unschooling my son since August, he's eight by the way, and have really struggled with the no teaching/no curriculum thing. But I kept my fears and doubts to myself and just kept playing and doing and going places with my son, trying to see the world as a rich, learning environment.
> Well, my daughter, who is a freshman studying early childhood education had an internship with kids my son's age and she kept telling me he would never learn to read, write, do math, etc. without a curriculum. For my son's ears, I just kept repeating things like how he'd learn to read when he was ready, even if it was later, etc. but what she said still made me feel insecure. Well.....this morning he came running up the stairs to my room saying " Mommy I can read, I can read", and proceeded to read a chapter book to me flawlessly. The funny part is that my husband, who has really struggled with the video game thing told me that earlier my son was playing his video game and just stopped out of the blue, grabbed a few books and started sounding out the words and reading them!
> I am so happy that we stayed the course so far because the process does work! As much as I told everyone else that little nugget, I finally can honestly say I believe it. Yay!
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-My son will be nine in April and I am still waiting for his ahha moment, but my daughter taught herself to read at 5 so I know it will come when he is ready.-=-
It will make a big difference if you think of it as "my daughter learned to read" instead of "taught herself."
People don't need to "teach themselves." They learn.
http://sandradodd.com/teaching/
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
It will make a big difference if you think of it as "my daughter learned to read" instead of "taught herself."
People don't need to "teach themselves." They learn.
http://sandradodd.com/teaching/
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Regan
On 18/03/2012, at 9:17 AM, Deb wrote:
Attachment to outcomes values some learning above others. Unschooling will be hindered by your placing undue weight on particular achievements.
"The process" was "working" yesterday as well as today. It helps your children if you know this. Their learning will be more awesome if it's not interfered with by your hopes, expectations, concerns etc.
Debbie.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>I think it's good not to be vested in outcomes like "learning to read". Unschooling will "work" much better in your home if you're able to let go of an attachment to specific outcomes.
> I am so happy that we stayed the course so far because the process does work! As much as I told everyone else that little nugget, I finally can honestly say I believe it. Yay!
>
>
Attachment to outcomes values some learning above others. Unschooling will be hindered by your placing undue weight on particular achievements.
"The process" was "working" yesterday as well as today. It helps your children if you know this. Their learning will be more awesome if it's not interfered with by your hopes, expectations, concerns etc.
Debbie.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pam Sorooshian
Besides, it doesn't even make sense to say "taught herself." How can
someone teach something they don't yet know. Not a logical expression AND
puts the emphasis on the act of teaching rather than the process of
learning.
-pam
someone teach something they don't yet know. Not a logical expression AND
puts the emphasis on the act of teaching rather than the process of
learning.
-pam
On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 at 9:25 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> It will make a big difference if you think of it as "my daughter learned
> to read" instead of "taught herself."
> People don't need to "teach themselves." They learn.
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Lesa Owens
In elementary school someone tried to teach me fractions but I didn't learn them until I was an adult and began baking because I needed it then. My dad bought me my first watch when I was 7 or so and tried to teach me to tell time. That was a miserable experience that started off happy at receiving the watch. I don't know how old I was by the time I learned to tell time. After watching The Color Purple I thought it a good idea to write words on 3x5 cards and tape them up around the house to teach my son how to read. He colored on them (and the door and the chair, etc) or pulled them off to play with. A person cannot be taught anything. I'm convinced because of experience learning something happens when it is needed and wanted.
Lesa~
------------------------------
Lesa~
------------------------------
On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 11:23 PM PDT Pam Sorooshian wrote:
>Besides, it doesn't even make sense to say "taught herself." How can
>someone teach something they don't yet know. Not a logical expression AND
>puts the emphasis on the act of teaching rather than the process of
>learning.
>
>-pam
>
>
>On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 at 9:25 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
>> It will make a big difference if you think of it as "my daughter learned
>> to read" instead of "taught herself."
>> People don't need to "teach themselves." They learn.
>>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Sandra Dodd
-=-I think it's good not to be vested in outcomes like "learning to read". Unschooling will "work" much better in your home if you're able to let go of an attachment to specific outcomes. -=-
-=-Attachment to outcomes values some learning above others.-=-
I disagree.
-=-Unschooling will be hindered by your placing undue weight on particular achievements. -=-
Learning to read is huge, difficult, and the primary reason for the existence of schools. The excitement of a parent who first sees her own child's joyous excitement at figuring out how to read is NOT undue.
-=-"The process" was "working" yesterday as well as today. It helps your children if you know this. Their learning will be more awesome if it's not interfered with by your hopes, expectations, concerns etc.-=-
There is truth to that, but it's kind of airy-fairy truth. Only a stone can live without hopes, expectations and concerns.
When parents see something they were concerned about become part of the fabric of their confidence, they will be able to see other kinds of learning work.
It's one thing to trust that other people are telling the truth (and, sad to say, not everyone IS telling the truth, but they tend not to be on this list; they're elsewhere, spinning fantasy "success" and experience). It's quite another thing to be one of the people for whom unschooling is clearly, even from a distance, NOT disadvantaging children, NOT leaving them friendless and illiterate.
The more confidence a parent gains, the easier unschooling will be for them, and the more they can reassure friends and relatives (maybe just by example) and help others (also perhaps by example, or by sharing their experiences and excitement!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
-=-Attachment to outcomes values some learning above others.-=-
I disagree.
-=-Unschooling will be hindered by your placing undue weight on particular achievements. -=-
Learning to read is huge, difficult, and the primary reason for the existence of schools. The excitement of a parent who first sees her own child's joyous excitement at figuring out how to read is NOT undue.
-=-"The process" was "working" yesterday as well as today. It helps your children if you know this. Their learning will be more awesome if it's not interfered with by your hopes, expectations, concerns etc.-=-
There is truth to that, but it's kind of airy-fairy truth. Only a stone can live without hopes, expectations and concerns.
When parents see something they were concerned about become part of the fabric of their confidence, they will be able to see other kinds of learning work.
It's one thing to trust that other people are telling the truth (and, sad to say, not everyone IS telling the truth, but they tend not to be on this list; they're elsewhere, spinning fantasy "success" and experience). It's quite another thing to be one of the people for whom unschooling is clearly, even from a distance, NOT disadvantaging children, NOT leaving them friendless and illiterate.
The more confidence a parent gains, the easier unschooling will be for them, and the more they can reassure friends and relatives (maybe just by example) and help others (also perhaps by example, or by sharing their experiences and excitement!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-A person cannot be taught anything. I'm convinced because of experience learning something happens when it is needed and wanted.-=-
I agree with the second part, but sometimes it does help to have someone assist.
I tried to learn to play recorder on my own, but needed someone to show me just a couple of things about how to old it and what "half hole" really looked like, in practice. (It's much less than half, and there are good ways to do it so that the transitions between notes is fast and smooth.)
I tried to learn to do calligraphy with a dip pen, but failed in three attempts over ten years or so, because I needed to watch someone do it, and to have them spot me on the angle to hold a flat-nib pen.
Nowadays there are online videos for that sort of thing, but there weren't back then. And a video can't see what you're doing wrong and point it out.
People don't learn ballet or karate from a video very well.
While I think it's true that someone can't be taught something if he's not interested, I think that when someone is ready and eager, it can help to have a coach, at least at first, for some things.
I could show you how to make a basket with rope and yarn. I could show you how to do a faced facing. I sure wouldn't want to take money for that and feel a responsibility to ensure that you were able to do it to specifications later, but for fun, if you were interested, I could show you. If you learned it, I would have taught you. If you didn't learn it, I would've been just talking while I did something I already knew how to do, and you would've been ignoring me, or thinking about something else, or being baffled if I wasn't explaining it well. But IF you went away from there understanding it, it would be because you learned it. That part's very true.
The examples above couldn't be "taught" to someone who didn't have the physical dexterity (in the first case) or a fair amount of sewing experience (for the faced facing). And reading can't be "taught" to someone who doesn't have a lot of knowledge and ability already in place. Sometimes that all comes together the same season there are reading lessons, and then it seems the teacher taught it. It helps, with unschooling, to wait to answer questions the learners have. The coach is living right in the same house, and the information can be requested any time of the week, day or night.
Sandra
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I agree with the second part, but sometimes it does help to have someone assist.
I tried to learn to play recorder on my own, but needed someone to show me just a couple of things about how to old it and what "half hole" really looked like, in practice. (It's much less than half, and there are good ways to do it so that the transitions between notes is fast and smooth.)
I tried to learn to do calligraphy with a dip pen, but failed in three attempts over ten years or so, because I needed to watch someone do it, and to have them spot me on the angle to hold a flat-nib pen.
Nowadays there are online videos for that sort of thing, but there weren't back then. And a video can't see what you're doing wrong and point it out.
People don't learn ballet or karate from a video very well.
While I think it's true that someone can't be taught something if he's not interested, I think that when someone is ready and eager, it can help to have a coach, at least at first, for some things.
I could show you how to make a basket with rope and yarn. I could show you how to do a faced facing. I sure wouldn't want to take money for that and feel a responsibility to ensure that you were able to do it to specifications later, but for fun, if you were interested, I could show you. If you learned it, I would have taught you. If you didn't learn it, I would've been just talking while I did something I already knew how to do, and you would've been ignoring me, or thinking about something else, or being baffled if I wasn't explaining it well. But IF you went away from there understanding it, it would be because you learned it. That part's very true.
The examples above couldn't be "taught" to someone who didn't have the physical dexterity (in the first case) or a fair amount of sewing experience (for the faced facing). And reading can't be "taught" to someone who doesn't have a lot of knowledge and ability already in place. Sometimes that all comes together the same season there are reading lessons, and then it seems the teacher taught it. It helps, with unschooling, to wait to answer questions the learners have. The coach is living right in the same house, and the information can be requested any time of the week, day or night.
Sandra
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]