Definition of Radical Unschooling
Tori Otero
Hi everyone
I've posted here a couple of times over the past few years but have been
reading daily. I'm not sure this is appropriate question to ask here?
I've recently joined a face book group for Radical Unschoolers in the UK.
There appears to be huge differences of opinion about what Radical
Unschooling is and what it isn't. It feels like an anything goes group (I'm
struggling with this but that's another story) at the moment, which doesn't
feel like it is supporting people to move towards Radical Unschooling (not
as I understand it anyway)
Could you guys point me in the direction of a comprehensive definition of
Radical Unschooling that would help the group develop it's terms of
reference. I'm not sure that a definition will be the panacea I'm hoping
for, and I might need to accept that it's not a group I can use. There
seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK. I
think this has been mentioned recently on this list.
Tori
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I've posted here a couple of times over the past few years but have been
reading daily. I'm not sure this is appropriate question to ask here?
I've recently joined a face book group for Radical Unschoolers in the UK.
There appears to be huge differences of opinion about what Radical
Unschooling is and what it isn't. It feels like an anything goes group (I'm
struggling with this but that's another story) at the moment, which doesn't
feel like it is supporting people to move towards Radical Unschooling (not
as I understand it anyway)
Could you guys point me in the direction of a comprehensive definition of
Radical Unschooling that would help the group develop it's terms of
reference. I'm not sure that a definition will be the panacea I'm hoping
for, and I might need to accept that it's not a group I can use. There
seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK. I
think this has been mentioned recently on this list.
Tori
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BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
http://sandradodd.com/unschool/definition.html
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Alex Polikowsky
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Sandra Dodd
-=-Could you guys point me in the direction of a comprehensive definition of
Radical Unschooling that would help the group develop it's terms of
reference. I'm not sure that a definition will be the panacea I'm hoping
for, and I might need to accept that it's not a group I can use.-=-
I have a collection of definitions:
http://sandradodd.com/unschool/definition
My own favorite, developed after years, is that unschooling is creating and maintaining an environment in which natural learning can flourish.
-=-There
seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK. I
think this has been mentioned recently on this list.-=-
No, what I mentioned was that "Autonomous Ed" isn't the same as unschooling.
I've spoken in the UK several times (three places in one week in Scotland, three conferences in/near London, twice the same day in Bristol). There are people who read this list or Radical Unschooling Info on Facebook. Maybe they're also on that UK Radical Unschooling list; maybe not. I think if that discussion is an "anything goes" list, it's probably from the influence of an individual or small group, rather than being an all-UK reality.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Radical Unschooling that would help the group develop it's terms of
reference. I'm not sure that a definition will be the panacea I'm hoping
for, and I might need to accept that it's not a group I can use.-=-
I have a collection of definitions:
http://sandradodd.com/unschool/definition
My own favorite, developed after years, is that unschooling is creating and maintaining an environment in which natural learning can flourish.
-=-There
seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK. I
think this has been mentioned recently on this list.-=-
No, what I mentioned was that "Autonomous Ed" isn't the same as unschooling.
I've spoken in the UK several times (three places in one week in Scotland, three conferences in/near London, twice the same day in Bristol). There are people who read this list or Radical Unschooling Info on Facebook. Maybe they're also on that UK Radical Unschooling list; maybe not. I think if that discussion is an "anything goes" list, it's probably from the influence of an individual or small group, rather than being an all-UK reality.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Jenny Cyphers
***There appears to be huge differences of opinion about what Radical
Unschooling is and what it isn't.***
Sure, that's been the case for a long time!
***It feels like an anything goes group (I'm
struggling with this but that's another story) at the moment, which doesn't
feel like it is supporting people to move towards Radical Unschooling (not
as I understand it anyway)***
If this is a local group in which you want to find friends, I wouldn't push it too much on the definition. Local groups are notoriously terrible when it comes to this weirdness of "anything goes, nicey nicey" stuff. It seems to me, that local groups are mostly for finding friends and supporting each other, but not in the supporting each other to be better unschoolers. That's been my experience and I've heard from many others that seems to reflect that.
It's sad that it's harder to find radical unschooling integrity in local unschooling groups, but it doesn't mean those folks don't exist within the local groups. It generally means they shut up to avoid arguments locally. Moderators make such a big difference in these matters!
***There
seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK.***
I've heard that to be true, but in actuality, radical unschooling was coined by Sandra Dodd, so there shouldn't be any sort of twisting of it to mean other things. Unschooling, on the other hand means so many different things to so many different people, which is partly why Sandra made a distinction in the first place. You have unschooling which means not doing school or replicating. That's a huge sort of thing. Radical unschooling, at the core, means that if you can learn without school, then learning is natural, and if learning is natural then one can learn everything else too, not just schoolish things. Things like when one is tired and needs sleep and when one is hungry and what to eat.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Unschooling is and what it isn't.***
Sure, that's been the case for a long time!
***It feels like an anything goes group (I'm
struggling with this but that's another story) at the moment, which doesn't
feel like it is supporting people to move towards Radical Unschooling (not
as I understand it anyway)***
If this is a local group in which you want to find friends, I wouldn't push it too much on the definition. Local groups are notoriously terrible when it comes to this weirdness of "anything goes, nicey nicey" stuff. It seems to me, that local groups are mostly for finding friends and supporting each other, but not in the supporting each other to be better unschoolers. That's been my experience and I've heard from many others that seems to reflect that.
It's sad that it's harder to find radical unschooling integrity in local unschooling groups, but it doesn't mean those folks don't exist within the local groups. It generally means they shut up to avoid arguments locally. Moderators make such a big difference in these matters!
***There
seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK.***
I've heard that to be true, but in actuality, radical unschooling was coined by Sandra Dodd, so there shouldn't be any sort of twisting of it to mean other things. Unschooling, on the other hand means so many different things to so many different people, which is partly why Sandra made a distinction in the first place. You have unschooling which means not doing school or replicating. That's a huge sort of thing. Radical unschooling, at the core, means that if you can learn without school, then learning is natural, and if learning is natural then one can learn everything else too, not just schoolish things. Things like when one is tired and needs sleep and when one is hungry and what to eat.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tori Otero
Thanks for the help.
-=- I've spoken in the UK several times (three places in one week in
Scotland, three conferences in/near London, twice the same day in Bristol).
There are people who read this list or Radical Unschooling Info on
Facebook. Maybe they're also on that UK Radical Unschooling list; maybe
not. I think if that discussion is an "anything goes" list, it's probably
from the influence of an individual or small group, rather than being an
all-UK reality. -=-
I agree it probably is from a small group. I think my frustration has led
me to generalise, and effected my ability to acknowledge that there are
people on that group, who think about and are moving towards Radical
Unschooling. Maybe I just need to use my voice more, the conflict though is
wearing but may be part of the process.
-=- I've spoken in the UK several times (three places in one week in
Scotland, three conferences in/near London, twice the same day in Bristol).
There are people who read this list or Radical Unschooling Info on
Facebook. Maybe they're also on that UK Radical Unschooling list; maybe
not. I think if that discussion is an "anything goes" list, it's probably
from the influence of an individual or small group, rather than being an
all-UK reality. -=-
I agree it probably is from a small group. I think my frustration has led
me to generalise, and effected my ability to acknowledge that there are
people on that group, who think about and are moving towards Radical
Unschooling. Maybe I just need to use my voice more, the conflict though is
wearing but may be part of the process.
On Tuesday, 30 October 2012, Sandra Dodd wrote:
> **
>
>
> -=-Could you guys point me in the direction of a comprehensive definition
> of
> Radical Unschooling that would help the group develop it's terms of
> reference. I'm not sure that a definition will be the panacea I'm hoping
> for, and I might need to accept that it's not a group I can use.-=-
>
> I have a collection of definitions:
>
> http://sandradodd.com/unschool/definition
>
> My own favorite, developed after years, is that unschooling is creating
> and maintaining an environment in which natural learning can flourish.
>
> -=-There
> seems to be fundamental differences between the Radical Unschooling
> philpsophy in the US and what is called Radical Unschooling in the UK. I
> think this has been mentioned recently on this list.-=-
>
> No, what I mentioned was that "Autonomous Ed" isn't the same as
> unschooling.
>
> I've spoken in the UK several times (three places in one week in Scotland,
> three conferences in/near London, twice the same day in Bristol). There are
> people who read this list or Radical Unschooling Info on Facebook. Maybe
> they're also on that UK Radical Unschooling list; maybe not. I think if
> that discussion is an "anything goes" list, it's probably from the
> influence of an individual or small group, rather than being an all-UK
> reality.
>
> Sandra
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=Maybe I just need to use my voice more, the conflict though is
wearing but may be part of the process.-=-
Asking people why they are writing what they're writing (or thinking what they're thinking) might be all you need.
Or asking them how long they've unschooled and how it's going at their house. :-)
Some people jump up and "speak" before they really know what they're talking about. Of those, some don't mind a bit when someone else gives them a chance to clarify. Some get huffy and go away. Either way is probably good for the larger group.
Sandra
wearing but may be part of the process.-=-
Asking people why they are writing what they're writing (or thinking what they're thinking) might be all you need.
Or asking them how long they've unschooled and how it's going at their house. :-)
Some people jump up and "speak" before they really know what they're talking about. Of those, some don't mind a bit when someone else gives them a chance to clarify. Some get huffy and go away. Either way is probably good for the larger group.
Sandra