Article today about unschooling
Sandra Dodd
The Christian Science Monitor has a long a very decent article on unschooling today. Monica Molinar posted a long thank-you to me and Helen Hegener on facebook, and linked the article.
There are many people quoted. It’s quite a decent piece.
The last paragraph made me smile, though. It’s supposed to be critical of unschooling.
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“I think there is a broader threat to social cohesion that we’re all living through right now,” says Mr. Welner of the National Education Policy Center. “People see others who are different or who disagree with them as some existential threat. These threats are larger than any threat posed by a small group opting out of formal education. But strong public schools can be a bulwark against the broader threats to social cohesion.”
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Peopl esee others who disagree as an existential threat?
YES. The educational policy makers see people who criticize or opt out of public schools as a threat.
He seems to have missed the irony of hie dramatic statement. :-)
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2016/0214/Free-range-education-Why-the-unschooling-movement-is-growing?cmpid=gigya-fb
Sandra
There are many people quoted. It’s quite a decent piece.
The last paragraph made me smile, though. It’s supposed to be critical of unschooling.
___________________________
“I think there is a broader threat to social cohesion that we’re all living through right now,” says Mr. Welner of the National Education Policy Center. “People see others who are different or who disagree with them as some existential threat. These threats are larger than any threat posed by a small group opting out of formal education. But strong public schools can be a bulwark against the broader threats to social cohesion.”
__________________________
Peopl esee others who disagree as an existential threat?
YES. The educational policy makers see people who criticize or opt out of public schools as a threat.
He seems to have missed the irony of hie dramatic statement. :-)
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2016/0214/Free-range-education-Why-the-unschooling-movement-is-growing?cmpid=gigya-fb
Sandra
Sandra Dodd
Monica Molinar lives in Alaska, and back in the AOL days, 1998 and thereabout, she used to send out a set of e-mails we called “The Unschooling Barrage.” The only way to send static information then was by e-mail (or things could be downloaded, but it was more difficult and could be expensive). People would write and ask for the barrage and she would send the mails—eight or nine of them depending when.
I’ve started collecting those, as antiques. :-)
http://sandradodd.com/barrage
They’re not all up yet, but I hope they will be. “Detox” is a chat, and it’s pretty good. :-)
Here’s what Monica wrote on February 14, 2016:
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I am eternally grateful for Sandra Dodd and Helen Hegener, who are both remarkable leaders in the Unschooling arena, and have been, to the best of my knowledge, for decades.
As a young mom without a college degree, I was hesitant for my children to learn what they needed to know outside of the public school system.
Sandra and Helen were the two women who helped me to understand that my children would indeed learn the most important things in life, and that "the basics" were easy enough to cover.
I was also encouraged to sort out what "the basics" meant for our family. What was important?
After spending some time thinking about it, I knew that I wanted four things for my children, with respect to their education. I wanted them to be able to read, write, compute, and look stuff up.
Those goals were achieved very early on. From that point forward, they choose their own goals.
Thanks again, Sandra & Helen!
PS: Sawyer Fredericks, winner of The Voice, is also an Unschooled kid. Good for him! wink emoticon
_________________
I’ve always been grateful that Monica was willing to be the distribution point for that information.
Once web pages were available, we could put the information online and send links, and the rest is…. history and current events. :-)
The writer of that Christian Science Monitor article, Stephanie Hanes, did a good job.
Sandra
I’ve started collecting those, as antiques. :-)
http://sandradodd.com/barrage
They’re not all up yet, but I hope they will be. “Detox” is a chat, and it’s pretty good. :-)
Here’s what Monica wrote on February 14, 2016:
______________
I am eternally grateful for Sandra Dodd and Helen Hegener, who are both remarkable leaders in the Unschooling arena, and have been, to the best of my knowledge, for decades.
As a young mom without a college degree, I was hesitant for my children to learn what they needed to know outside of the public school system.
Sandra and Helen were the two women who helped me to understand that my children would indeed learn the most important things in life, and that "the basics" were easy enough to cover.
I was also encouraged to sort out what "the basics" meant for our family. What was important?
After spending some time thinking about it, I knew that I wanted four things for my children, with respect to their education. I wanted them to be able to read, write, compute, and look stuff up.
Those goals were achieved very early on. From that point forward, they choose their own goals.
Thanks again, Sandra & Helen!
PS: Sawyer Fredericks, winner of The Voice, is also an Unschooled kid. Good for him! wink emoticon
_________________
I’ve always been grateful that Monica was willing to be the distribution point for that information.
Once web pages were available, we could put the information online and send links, and the rest is…. history and current events. :-)
The writer of that Christian Science Monitor article, Stephanie Hanes, did a good job.
Sandra