Jeanne Goodman

So I'm a little confused. I've been told to unschool for one month for each year of school -- but it sounds as though most of you unschool all the time. So what's it supposed to be?

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 10:23:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
goodmanj@... writes:

So I'm a little confused. I've been told to unschool for one month for each
year of school -- but it sounds as though most of you unschool all the time.
So what's it supposed to be?


<<<<

You need to DEschool for one month for each year you were in school.

If you have a master's degree, it might take two years before you've gotten
rid of schoolthink. If you didn't finish high school, you should plan on maybe
a year or less. And it's just a rule of thumb----sensitive people tend to
take longer to rid themselves of the damage done by school. Folks who kind of
blew off school to begin with take less time.

DEschooling is allowing yourself time to forget about school----to start
making school a part of your past---NOT your present or future. Think of it like
summer vacation that never ends.

It's the time you spend getting rid of words like "educational" and
"workbooks" and "should" and "must" and "texts" "schoolyear" or "back-to-school" and
"assignment"----you know, "schoolspeak". Banish these words from your
vocabulary.

It's also the time for you to start seeing value in what school
denigrates---like TV and video games and mudpuddles and staring into space. To see value
in skateboarding and horseback riding and knitting and making that same exact
mark in the middle of the 500th piece of paper! It's seeing ----and
SEEKING---value in what your child finds interesting.

UNschooling, on the other hand, is knowing that these things have just as
much value. Unschooling understands that workbooks and coloring books are the
same. That TV and books are equal ways to take in information. That blowing
buubles in milk is just as scientific as a laboratory experiment. Unschooling is
understanding that connections are made daily---sometimes big ones and
sometimes little ones----but that those little dots WILL connect sometime in the
future. Unschooling is knowing that our brains' capacities are limitless---and
that we keep on learning until we die---and that NO one knows better than we
do what we need to know and when.

DEschooling is hard. Really hard, because we've been brainwashed to devalue
what is not "educational".

Unschooling is much easier (AFTER you've deschooled) because it just makes
sense. It just takes a while to get to level of understanding! <g> And to
realize that *everything* is educational. It's just changing your definition
"educational"! <G>

So basically, you've misread or misunderstood DEschooling and UNschooling.
DEschooling is a process to get rid of schoolthink and takes as long as it
takes. UNschooling is living your life as if school didn't exist. We unschool
ALL the time.

~Kelly





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

catherine aceto

"Deschooling" is the process of ridding yourself of school baggage. As a rule of thumb, some people have suggested that it takes about 1 month for each year of school. During the "deschooling" transition period, some people find that it seems worse before it seems better. My children have never been to school and my own deschooling was so gradual I didn't pay attention to how long it took.

"Unschooling" is what we are doing and what this list is about.

-Cat
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeanne Goodman
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 10:19 AM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Really basic question about unschooling


So I'm a little confused. I've been told to unschool for one month for each year of school -- but it sounds as though most of you unschool all the time. So what's it supposed to be?



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Joan Labbe & Salvatore Genovese

I can't resist sharing this! Yesterday I read a story in the newspaper
about an 18 year old artist currently exhibiting in the Boston area. She
was so obsessed with coloring as a youngster that at 2 years old her mom
stopped buying coloring books, hoping she'd play more with dolls. At 5
years old, she remembers that they took her coloring books away.

At age 9 she was showing paintings and now she is internationally known.

If anyone is interested in reading the article it is at
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/artsCulture/view.bg?articleid=72628

It really brought home to me the importance of trusting my children to be
doing and learning what is important and essential to them and how great it
is to own my worries as just my worries and celebrate them. I'm glad this
young woman was not discouraged and obviously at some point, her parents
started supporting her art, but oh how easily that gift could have gotten
squashed!

Happy reading,

Joan

TreeGoddess

There were some great replies to this post so I won't rehash it, but I
wanted to again send the link to Sandra's DEschooling page. *I* was
the one who needed to deschool since my children have never attended a
school.
-- Deschooling for Parents --
http://sandradodd.com/deschooling

Also, while I'm at it....here's another. This one I printed out on
nice cardstock so I could have it in plain site. :)
-- Certificate of Empowerment --
http://sandradodd.com/empowerment

HTH
-Tracy-

On Jul 9, 2004, at 10:19 AM, Jeanne Goodman wrote:

> So I'm a little confused. I've been told to unschool for one month for
> each year of school -- but it sounds as though most of you unschool
> all the time. So what's it supposed to be?

G&M Contracting Inc., Kenneth Gillilan

>>Unschooling is knowing that our brains' capacities are limitless---and
that we keep on learning until we die---and that NO one knows better than
we
do what we need to know and when.>>>

I'm curious as to whether the "experts" have ever done a study on whether
the whole idea of "the learning years" is a bunch of crap or not. You know
how the brains of 3 year olds are like sponges and if we don't cram it full
of useless information between the ages of 3 and 5 then we have a stupid kid
on our hands? That study threw parents into a state of panic and that's
when preschools were being forced, some willingly, to provide a more
academic day. Has anyone ever disproved that theory? Just wondering if
anyone knows of a study. I know from living with kids day to day that it's
not true, but....

AnnMarie
-----Original Message-----
From: kbcdlovejo@... [mailto:kbcdlovejo@...]
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 10:47 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Really basic question about unschooling



In a message dated 7/9/2004 10:23:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
goodmanj@... writes:

So I'm a little confused. I've been told to unschool for one month for
each
year of school -- but it sounds as though most of you unschool all the
time.
So what's it supposed to be?


<<<<

You need to DEschool for one month for each year you were in school.

If you have a master's degree, it might take two years before you've
gotten
rid of schoolthink. If you didn't finish high school, you should plan on
maybe
a year or less. And it's just a rule of thumb----sensitive people tend to
take longer to rid themselves of the damage done by school. Folks who
kind of
blew off school to begin with take less time.

DEschooling is allowing yourself time to forget about school----to start
making school a part of your past---NOT your present or future. Think of
it like
summer vacation that never ends.

It's the time you spend getting rid of words like "educational" and
"workbooks" and "should" and "must" and "texts" "schoolyear" or
"back-to-school" and
"assignment"----you know, "schoolspeak". Banish these words from your
vocabulary.

It's also the time for you to start seeing value in what school
denigrates---like TV and video games and mudpuddles and staring into
space. To see value
in skateboarding and horseback riding and knitting and making that same
exact
mark in the middle of the 500th piece of paper! It's seeing ----and
SEEKING---value in what your child finds interesting.

UNschooling, on the other hand, is knowing that these things have just as
much value. Unschooling understands that workbooks and coloring books are
the
same. That TV and books are equal ways to take in information. That
blowing
buubles in milk is just as scientific as a laboratory experiment.
Unschooling is
understanding that connections are made daily---sometimes big ones and
sometimes little ones----but that those little dots WILL connect sometime
in the
future. Unschooling is knowing that our brains' capacities are
limitless---and
that we keep on learning until we die---and that NO one knows better than
we
do what we need to know and when.

DEschooling is hard. Really hard, because we've been brainwashed to
devalue
what is not "educational".

Unschooling is much easier (AFTER you've deschooled) because it just makes
sense. It just takes a while to get to level of understanding! <g> And to
realize that *everything* is educational. It's just changing your
definition
"educational"! <G>

So basically, you've misread or misunderstood DEschooling and UNschooling.
DEschooling is a process to get rid of schoolthink and takes as long as it
takes. UNschooling is living your life as if school didn't exist. We
unschool
ALL the time.

~Kelly





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT





----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Yahoo! Groups Links

a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/

b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]

c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 1:29:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
gmcontractinginc@... writes:

I'm curious as to whether the "experts" have ever done a study on whether
the whole idea of "the learning years" is a bunch of crap or not. You know
how the brains of 3 year olds are like sponges and if we don't cram it full
of useless information between the ages of 3 and 5 then we have a stupid kid
on our hands? That study threw parents into a state of panic and that's
when preschools were being forced, some willingly, to provide a more
academic day. Has anyone ever disproved that theory? Just wondering if
anyone knows of a study. I know from living with kids day to day that it's
not true, but....<<<<

Studies. Hurrumph.

I was at a guide dog meeting a few weeks ago. We were discussing something
about dogs. I mentioned what I had observed in dogs and what was also pointed
out to me in other species.

The host pipes up and says, "I don't bother much with personal observations.
They hold no water. What kinds of studies are there about this?"

I just shut up.

The observations of more than a hundred unschooling parents is so much more
valuable to *me* than some NEA-funded study done on Ferber-raised school
kids! Plus just observing my *own* children---not to mention my own
childhood!---is more info than I need.

~Kelly








[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

G&M Contracting Inc., Kenneth Gillilan

>>Studies. Hurrumph.>>>

Kelly,
I completely agree I was just curious as to whether the "experts" had
recanted their story or not. Isn't that study about brain function and our
children the basis for "success by six", "Head Start" and all the other
programs they are touting as being needed for our kids to function in
society? I thought maybe some homeschooler somewhere may have done
something to show disagreement to that. You know the "experts" live for
studies!

AnnMarie
-----Original Message-----
From: kbcdlovejo@... [mailto:kbcdlovejo@...]
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 2:32 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Really basic question about Unschooling


In a message dated 7/9/2004 1:29:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
gmcontractinginc@... writes:

I'm curious as to whether the "experts" have ever done a study on whether
the whole idea of "the learning years" is a bunch of crap or not. You
know
how the brains of 3 year olds are like sponges and if we don't cram it
full
of useless information between the ages of 3 and 5 then we have a stupid
kid
on our hands? That study threw parents into a state of panic and that's
when preschools were being forced, some willingly, to provide a more
academic day. Has anyone ever disproved that theory? Just wondering if
anyone knows of a study. I know from living with kids day to day that
it's
not true, but....<<<<

Studies. Hurrumph.

I was at a guide dog meeting a few weeks ago. We were discussing
something
about dogs. I mentioned what I had observed in dogs and what was also
pointed
out to me in other species.

The host pipes up and says, "I don't bother much with personal
observations.
They hold no water. What kinds of studies are there about this?"

I just shut up.

The observations of more than a hundred unschooling parents is so much
more
valuable to *me* than some NEA-funded study done on Ferber-raised school
kids! Plus just observing my *own* children---not to mention my own
childhood!---is more info than I need.

~Kelly








[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT





----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Yahoo! Groups Links

a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/

b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]

c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 2:46:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
gmcontractinginc@... writes:

Isn't that study about brain function and our
children the basis for "success by six", "Head Start" and all the other
programs they are touting as being needed for our kids to function in
society?


They tout it as being needed for our kids to function in SCHOOL! NOT in
society!

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 2:46:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
gmcontractinginc@... writes:

I completely agree I was just curious as to whether the "experts" had
recanted their story or not.<<<<


I don't think they would ever recant. It's not in the interest of public
education or the NEA. The "study" had an agenda. To get kids in school earlier
and earlier.

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 9:47:53 AM Central Daylight Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:


> If you have a master's degree, it might take two years before you've gotten
>
> rid of schoolthink. If you didn't finish high school, you should plan on
> maybe
> a year or less. And it's just a rule of thumb----sensitive people tend to
> take longer to rid themselves of the damage done by school. Folks who kind
> of
> blew off school to begin with take less time.
>

i have a question,,,,if we allow the kids to de-school one month for each
year pf PS,,then howdo we explain this as far as school board/evaluations..i know
there are alturnatives like a private school whos main jobis to do the record
keeping,,,,just asking
June



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 3:51:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
blessed54321@... writes:

i have a question,,,,if we allow the kids to de-school one month for each
year pf PS,,then howdo we explain this as far as school board/evaluations..i
know
there are alturnatives like a private school whos main jobis to do the
record
keeping,,,,just asking<<<<<


But STILL, if the child is doing something other than staring at the
wall....there's still *something* to document, right?

Plus, most states that have any requirements at all state that you must
"school" 180 days/year.

So..... take the FIRST 180 as the deprogramming time. You can also tell your
"evaluator" (if you must have one) that school SO damaged your child that
you had to allow him some healing time, so you couldn't start right away. That
he'd "shut down" from the bad school experience, and you needed to get him
back into enjoying learning. Maybe even "kept him back" one year----that gives
you a grace period.

But keep in mind that the one month/year thing isn't set in stone---and most
of us aren't taking a child out at 17 years old----so no one should be
thinking about a whole year (12 months) down the drain. Most likely it'll be a few
months---AFTER you quit nagging about why he's not doing *something*.

I'm more concerned with your OWN DEschooling. it's hard to unschool if
you're still thinking in and using schoolspeak. How well have YOU deschooled
yourself? How many years of schoolin' do you have to rid yourself of? How is
*that* going?

~Kelly



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

its goin ok ..ive let the kids pretty much de-school,,except when we first
started home schooling in january.i mostly wanted to hear how others have
handled that.,.fl.is an eval.state,,although i have enrolled my two in alternative
edcation institute,,which basiclky is a ''private school ''but all they do is
basicly keep attendance records ,,,so essentually there is no need for
evaluations,,i was just mainly curious,,how you explain it,,i wish florida had no
''laws''what so ever,,,it'd be mucho better,,,although ive read about other
states who have alot of ''hoops''you'd have to jump through to be ableto
homeschool.just curious how everyone handles the de-schooling issue on a legal stand
point where there is a reason to ''have to'''.
June


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Michelle

June:

Where in Florida are you?

Michelle

blessed54321@... wrote:
its goin ok ..ive let the kids pretty much de-school,,except when we first
started home schooling in january.i mostly wanted to hear how others have
handled that.,.fl.is an eval.state,,although i have enrolled my two in alternative
edcation institute,,which basiclky is a ''private school ''but all they do is
basicly keep attendance records ,,,so essentually there is no need for
evaluations,,i was just mainly curious,,how you explain it,,i wish florida had no
''laws''what so ever,,,it'd be mucho better,,,although ive read about other
states who have alot of ''hoops''you'd have to jump through to be ableto
homeschool.just curious how everyone handles the de-schooling issue on a legal stand
point where there is a reason to ''have to'''.
June


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT


---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

justlikemama

--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 7/9/2004 3:51:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> blessed54321@w... writes:
>
> i have a question,,,,if we allow the kids to de-school one month
for each
> year pf PS,,then howdo we explain this as far as school
board/evaluations..i
> know
> there are alturnatives like a private school whos main jobis to do
the
> record
> keeping,,,,just asking<<<<<
>
>
> I took the time off, to deschool myself and my boys, and it has in
fact taken longer then the 1month/year timing, yes, they(school)did
major damage. If I had been asked WHAT we did during the last year,
I would, and have , documented all the time I"ve spent learning how
to teach my children (which in reality is our unschooling, but I read
and read and read about it and still reading!) During this time of
doing nothing I started to write down all that they DID do on their
own. Like the things they did read, the time spent outdoors or on
walks, everything in which school would say they are not learning,
but in fact they are. So I put it on paper in the schools
terminology. We learn, just not the way they teach at public school.
syndi

[email protected]

In a message dated 7/9/2004 3:52:16 PM Central Daylight Time,
mamatoethan1@... writes:


>
> June:
>
> Where in Florida are you?
>
> Michelle
>
>

milton,f;orida,,,just east of pensacola,,,got to meet ren and her kids,,,cool
folks to know,,,glad i do


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Michelle

blessed54321@... wrote:

milton,f;orida,,,just east of pensacola,,,got to meet ren and her kids,,,cool
folks to know,,,glad i do

Lucky You!!! I can not wait to meet everyone at the beach party next year!! I wish we could make it this year to the live and learn, but looks like it is not going to work out for us to do that. But Pensacola is much closer.

Michelle


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sherri-Lee Pressman

And studies are just glorified "observations" made by the scientist with an
agenda (usually to prove a theory in order to maintain funding). That makes
me WAY more skeptical of studies than anecdotal evidence any day,



Sherri-Lee



_____

From: kbcdlovejo@... [mailto:kbcdlovejo@...]
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 11:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Really basic question about Unschooling



In a message dated 7/9/2004 1:29:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
gmcontractinginc@... writes:

I'm curious as to whether the "experts" have ever done a study on whether
the whole idea of "the learning years" is a bunch of crap or not. You
know
how the brains of 3 year olds are like sponges and if we don't cram it full
of useless information between the ages of 3 and 5 then we have a stupid
kid
on our hands? That study threw parents into a state of panic and that's
when preschools were being forced, some willingly, to provide a more
academic day. Has anyone ever disproved that theory? Just wondering if
anyone knows of a study. I know from living with kids day to day that it's
not true, but....<<<<

Studies. Hurrumph.

I was at a guide dog meeting a few weeks ago. We were discussing something
about dogs. I mentioned what I had observed in dogs and what was also
pointed
out to me in other species.

The host pipes up and says, "I don't bother much with personal
observations.
They hold no water. What kinds of studies are there about this?"

I just shut up.

The observations of more than a hundred unschooling parents is so much more

valuable to *me* than some NEA-funded study done on Ferber-raised school
kids! Plus just observing my *own* children---not to mention my own
childhood!---is more info than I need.

~Kelly








[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






Yahoo! Groups Sponsor



ADVERTISEMENT

<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=129pbj3h7/M=295196.4901138.6071305.3001176/D=gr
oups/S=1705081972:HM/EXP=1089484378/A=2128215/R=0/SIG=10se96mf6/*http:/compa
nion.yahoo.com> click here



<http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=295196.4901138.6071305.3001176/D=groups/S=
:HM/A=2128215/rand=972926479>



_____

Yahoo! Groups Links

* To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/

* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe>

* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Valerie

> Studies. Hurrumph.

**** There are studies to prove and disprove EVERYTHING. Studies
usually turn out the way the person in charge wants them to. (I
learned that in Sociology Theory class... so it MUST be so!) :-)

love, Valerie
www.ubpub.com