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Leslie Moyer granted permission for me to crosspost this and the next
post to blast some of teh fallacies about unschooling.



Matt took the ACT test last month and he just got the scores back
today. He did *so* great, scoring in the 99th percentile--the highest
selectivity rating. I'm very proud of him, for sure, but I'm really not
writing this to brag on *him* but to use his achievement to shine the
spotlight on the process of unschooling.

Matt is 17 and has never had a vocabulary assignment, a spelling list,
or an assigned math worksheet. I have never "assigned" him
*anything*--no multiplication tables, no books or book reports, no
worksheets--nothing. He has completely followed his own interests in
life and had time to have a childhood and healthy adolescence....to be
creative, to pursue his interests, to develop passions, to dig in the
dirt, to play music, to play--and fight--with his sisters, to watch TV
and to read....and read....and read.

As an unschooling mom, I haven't "done nothing", however....

I took my children to interesting places, I bought them books and
electronics kits and magazine subscriptions and computers and Legos and
magnets and shovels and crayons and guitars and more books. I took them
to the library *very* often (and from a very early age) and read to
them often. We went to museums, we got memberships in zoos and art
museums and went to science clubs and art classes and endless Scouting
events. We drove endless miles to thousands of events and places and
volunteer activities and walks-in-the-woods. We heard presentations and
lectures, we watched TV and movies and stars (both kinds) together, we
listened to talk radio and had discussions about it in the car, and we
went to plays and concerts. I indulged their every interest--no matter
how deep or shallow (IMO)--to the very best of my ability. We hosted
foreign exchange students and traveled as much as we could afford. We
shopped for car insurance and tomatoes and thrift-store clothes
together, we had dinner discussions and no bedtimes (unless it began to
affect others in the family <g>). We planted gardens and made compost.
I passed on information about opportunities and believed in my
children.....and loved them for who they were, uniquely. I tried to put
aside my goals for their lives and trusted that they would figure out
their own worthy goals. I tried (but often failed) to be patient. I
loved their dad, and he loved & supported all of us.

What Matt did has been spectacular to witness. He blossomed, he
pursued, he reflected, he had patience with me. He *wanted* to do well
on the ACT so he did what he needed to to achieve that. He accomplishes
what he puts his mind to--in all different areas of his life. He still
blows my mind every day....unschooling blows my mind every day. I've
been doing it for all of his 17 years and I *still* don't understand
it. But this many years later, I finally trust it most every day.

The Oklahoma Department of Education would have strung me up on truancy
charges without hesitation if they'd known what was going on in our
home--it looks *nothing at all* like "school"--if they'd had the chance
or cared to pursue it. They just couldn't possibly understand.....they
know nothing about real learning....only about teaching.

I don't know what Matt will do next in his life. It's often scary for
me to think about, so I mostly don't. But I trust him to figure it out
and I think he trusts we'll help him however he needs us to.

My daughters are also individuals, of course, and I honestly don't
know--nor care--how well they score on the ACT test. I have a feeling
that at least one of them will shine most strongly in areas not tested
by those conventional means. And I trust them, too....hard as it is.
They're neat people.

I know I tend to be too-evangelical about unschooling. (Evangelical:
characterized by ardent or crusading enthusiasm; zealous <g>) I don't
think it's the answer for every family, but our family has experienced
so many gifts through unschooling that we would have missed if I were
their taskmaster teacher in addition to trying to be their loving
mother....it's just too hard for me, personally, to be the latter to
risk it with the former. And I kept my faith that the former wasn't
necessary....even as a goal to "a superior education."

So far, so good.

--Leslie



~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://liveandlearnconference.org

"The hardest problem for the brain is not learning, but forgetting. No
matter how hard we try, we can't deliberately forget something we have
learned, and that is catastrophic if we learn that we can't learn."
~Frank Smith
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