Introduction
Tina
Hi, I'm Tina. Pat and I have a combined family of seven children:
Tabitha, 18, and Amy, 17 for another month, both had their last day
of public high school yesterday. YIPPEE!!! I'm SO happy to have two
less children in that institution! Tammi and Tracey are 16-year-old
twins with one year of public high school left. Amie is 14 and in
8th grade, and Andrew is 12 in 6th grade both at a local charter
school system. Adrian is 10 years old and my only home schooled
child. He has been unschooled since Christmas. We really haven't
done any "school work" since before the holidays.
So, as you can see, our family is a little unique to say the least.
It is my dream to someday homeschool Amie and Andrew, but I don't
know if that will ever happen. Long story...I've had a ton of advice
on that topic, but I just can't go there right now. So, Adrian and I
are it. He loves being homeschooled and is taking to unschooling
naturally. Yeah, I know...no surprise there.
I have been immersing myself in books. I just finished, "Do What You
Love, The Money Will Follow" and "Unjobbing: The Adult Liberation
Handbook" and am currently reading "The Teenage Liberation Handbook"
which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone interested in unschooling, not
just teenagers. This book is awesome. The book that really hooked
my interest in unschooling was, "Homeschooling our Children,
Unschooling Ourselves." That book is awesome as well!
Anyway, this group was recommended to me by April at UofM; the local
unschooling group in Michigan that I newly belong to. I was a bit
apprehensive at first, but seeing everyone's posts and being
encouraged by April, I am very happy to be here. (My initial
experience when first seeking out other unschoolers wasn't exactly
positive.) I'm happy to be in a friendly place with
familiar "faces", and I really look forward to learning and sharing
with everyone.
Tina
Tabitha, 18, and Amy, 17 for another month, both had their last day
of public high school yesterday. YIPPEE!!! I'm SO happy to have two
less children in that institution! Tammi and Tracey are 16-year-old
twins with one year of public high school left. Amie is 14 and in
8th grade, and Andrew is 12 in 6th grade both at a local charter
school system. Adrian is 10 years old and my only home schooled
child. He has been unschooled since Christmas. We really haven't
done any "school work" since before the holidays.
So, as you can see, our family is a little unique to say the least.
It is my dream to someday homeschool Amie and Andrew, but I don't
know if that will ever happen. Long story...I've had a ton of advice
on that topic, but I just can't go there right now. So, Adrian and I
are it. He loves being homeschooled and is taking to unschooling
naturally. Yeah, I know...no surprise there.
I have been immersing myself in books. I just finished, "Do What You
Love, The Money Will Follow" and "Unjobbing: The Adult Liberation
Handbook" and am currently reading "The Teenage Liberation Handbook"
which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone interested in unschooling, not
just teenagers. This book is awesome. The book that really hooked
my interest in unschooling was, "Homeschooling our Children,
Unschooling Ourselves." That book is awesome as well!
Anyway, this group was recommended to me by April at UofM; the local
unschooling group in Michigan that I newly belong to. I was a bit
apprehensive at first, but seeing everyone's posts and being
encouraged by April, I am very happy to be here. (My initial
experience when first seeking out other unschoolers wasn't exactly
positive.) I'm happy to be in a friendly place with
familiar "faces", and I really look forward to learning and sharing
with everyone.
Tina
[email protected]
Hi folks!
I'm Kathryn Baptista, and my life is a little insane right now.
I live in Salem, MA with my partner, Beth, and son Julian, who is 14.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (those "activist
judges!") Beth and I are getting married in one week!
So I've been planning a wedding, and the Live and Learn Unschooling
conference, working (I'm a Director of Religious Education at a
Unitarian Universalist church), and unschooling with Julian. As I
said, a bit crazy right now.
About Unschooling: we've been unschoolers since about six weeks
before Julian left the third grade, and school, for good. It's the
most wonderful way to be a family. Early on, we realized that we
couldn't "unschool Julian." We all had to agree that our family
valued and loved learning and would support each other to be the best
people we could be. So while we support Julian in learning and
exploring, etc., he does the same for us.
We're almost a ridiculously happy family.
Anyway....you probably won't see much of me for the next couple of
weeks, but then I go into Full Conference mode.
PLEASE come to the conference! It's going to be a blast. You'll learn
tons about unschooling, and you and the kids won't want to go home.
The Early Bird deadline is June 1. Go to
www.LiveandLearnConference.org for more information.
Kathryn
I'm Kathryn Baptista, and my life is a little insane right now.
I live in Salem, MA with my partner, Beth, and son Julian, who is 14.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (those "activist
judges!") Beth and I are getting married in one week!
So I've been planning a wedding, and the Live and Learn Unschooling
conference, working (I'm a Director of Religious Education at a
Unitarian Universalist church), and unschooling with Julian. As I
said, a bit crazy right now.
About Unschooling: we've been unschoolers since about six weeks
before Julian left the third grade, and school, for good. It's the
most wonderful way to be a family. Early on, we realized that we
couldn't "unschool Julian." We all had to agree that our family
valued and loved learning and would support each other to be the best
people we could be. So while we support Julian in learning and
exploring, etc., he does the same for us.
We're almost a ridiculously happy family.
Anyway....you probably won't see much of me for the next couple of
weeks, but then I go into Full Conference mode.
PLEASE come to the conference! It's going to be a blast. You'll learn
tons about unschooling, and you and the kids won't want to go home.
The Early Bird deadline is June 1. Go to
www.LiveandLearnConference.org for more information.
Kathryn
[email protected]
I wish there was an unschooling conference going on in Missouri, it sounds like so much fun!
We worry about what a child will be tomorrow, yet we forget that he
is someone today.
Stacia Tauscher
is someone today.
Stacia Tauscher
[email protected]
In a message dated 6/21/2004 3:07:31 AM Eastern Standard Time,
doulos@... writes:
Well, I guess that's enough to start on. Who else is here? What are you
guys
"into" right now?
Greetings!
My name is Linda and I am relatively new to this list also.
I am Mom to 5 children, two sons (25, 22) who made it through the public
schools, though not unscathed. I have 3 children still at home (12, 10 - a
Logan also!) and a daughter who just turned 9.
We began our homeschooling adventure with Logan, 2 years ago - pulling him
from 2nd grade. His brother joined us in September this year, deciding not to
return to middle school 7th grade (thank goodness!). Daughter, Holly was my
hold out and joined in January. She's very social and didn't want to give
up her circle of friends, but also has dreadful allergies that were
exacerbated when she went into her classroom, often needing me to pick her up by 10:00
AM. She just decided not to go back.
We dabbled with "homeschooling" or "school at home", but no one was too
enthusiastic and I began to do a lot of reading - John Holt, John Taylor Gatto,
and my favorite, Frank Smith. I was easily convinced the unschooling style of
life would work for us.... it simply made so much sense!
We are all currently "deschooling" - me included, to try to rid ourselves of
the concepts and beliefs that we were inundated with in the public school
system. I've found these email lists to be supportive and helpful, especially
when I'm feeling like the only one who is struggling or wondering about
something.
But, I know this works. 10 year old Logan (who came out of school with a
real math phobia) expressed an interest in "learning more about physics". I
informed him it's rather math heavy, did he still want to go there? He said,
"Well, give me a math problem I've never done before." So I verbally gave him
a simple algebraic equation to solve, something like:
2x + 3y - 4 = 17. After a few moments, in his head, came up with x = 3 and
y = 5. Well, needless to say, I am still reeling. We did several more and
he came up with some for me on his own. We did this all in the dark as we
were getting ready to fall asleep.
Anyway, I never "taught" him any of this. It is something he learned when
he was ready and that will continue to be my reminder that this will work and
I needn't worry about anything.
As for summer treks, we are planning an early fall trip out west to the
Grand Canyon, past Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, etc., etc. We choose to do it early
October to beat the heat and the crowds, since we have the flexibility of not
having to conform to a school schedule. Part of the fun will be
investigating all the possible side trips, with the kids, via the Internet, to make this
3 week driving trip from Michigan a fun one. We did the same thing 2 years
ago when we drove, for 2 weeks, out to Cape Cod. We never drove for more than
6 hours and stopped someplace new and interesting every day. We spent a
couple of days in New York City and 5 on the Cape and the rest traveling and
visiting things we'd never seen before - Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water
house, Valley Forge, Plymouth Rock, Niagara Falls. We did another trip the year
before that to Williamsburg, stopping in Hershey, PA and Washington, DC.
Anyway, welcome!
Linda in Ann Arbor
_Eberwhite@..._ (mailto:Eberwhite@...)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
doulos@... writes:
Well, I guess that's enough to start on. Who else is here? What are you
guys
"into" right now?
Greetings!
My name is Linda and I am relatively new to this list also.
I am Mom to 5 children, two sons (25, 22) who made it through the public
schools, though not unscathed. I have 3 children still at home (12, 10 - a
Logan also!) and a daughter who just turned 9.
We began our homeschooling adventure with Logan, 2 years ago - pulling him
from 2nd grade. His brother joined us in September this year, deciding not to
return to middle school 7th grade (thank goodness!). Daughter, Holly was my
hold out and joined in January. She's very social and didn't want to give
up her circle of friends, but also has dreadful allergies that were
exacerbated when she went into her classroom, often needing me to pick her up by 10:00
AM. She just decided not to go back.
We dabbled with "homeschooling" or "school at home", but no one was too
enthusiastic and I began to do a lot of reading - John Holt, John Taylor Gatto,
and my favorite, Frank Smith. I was easily convinced the unschooling style of
life would work for us.... it simply made so much sense!
We are all currently "deschooling" - me included, to try to rid ourselves of
the concepts and beliefs that we were inundated with in the public school
system. I've found these email lists to be supportive and helpful, especially
when I'm feeling like the only one who is struggling or wondering about
something.
But, I know this works. 10 year old Logan (who came out of school with a
real math phobia) expressed an interest in "learning more about physics". I
informed him it's rather math heavy, did he still want to go there? He said,
"Well, give me a math problem I've never done before." So I verbally gave him
a simple algebraic equation to solve, something like:
2x + 3y - 4 = 17. After a few moments, in his head, came up with x = 3 and
y = 5. Well, needless to say, I am still reeling. We did several more and
he came up with some for me on his own. We did this all in the dark as we
were getting ready to fall asleep.
Anyway, I never "taught" him any of this. It is something he learned when
he was ready and that will continue to be my reminder that this will work and
I needn't worry about anything.
As for summer treks, we are planning an early fall trip out west to the
Grand Canyon, past Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, etc., etc. We choose to do it early
October to beat the heat and the crowds, since we have the flexibility of not
having to conform to a school schedule. Part of the fun will be
investigating all the possible side trips, with the kids, via the Internet, to make this
3 week driving trip from Michigan a fun one. We did the same thing 2 years
ago when we drove, for 2 weeks, out to Cape Cod. We never drove for more than
6 hours and stopped someplace new and interesting every day. We spent a
couple of days in New York City and 5 on the Cape and the rest traveling and
visiting things we'd never seen before - Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water
house, Valley Forge, Plymouth Rock, Niagara Falls. We did another trip the year
before that to Williamsburg, stopping in Hershey, PA and Washington, DC.
Anyway, welcome!
Linda in Ann Arbor
_Eberwhite@..._ (mailto:Eberwhite@...)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pam sorooshian
You don't need any math to understand a LOT of physics. In fact,
schools have it backwards (as usual) - they should NOT be showing how
to think about physics using math until the student already has a HUGE
amount of conceptual understanding of physics. Otherwise, they separate
physics from what is "real" by inserting mathematics in the middle of
it and they make it far more difficult for students to understand it.
OH OH -- I have a book for you.
"Thinking Physics" -- here is something from the back cover:
"In real life, the question comes first and the explanation follows. In
school the lecture comes first and the exam follows. In this book, as
in real life, the question comes first. When the explanation follows it
goes to the central point fast. There is an easy way to explain
everything (it's just hard to find it). That is Epsteins's Law, and
this book demonstrates it.'
Here is a sample. The way this would work is you should read the
question and then NOT read the answer. Spend time talking about it with
your child - let them come up with ideas and you do too. Maybe wait a
day or two before looking at the answer. Don't look at the answer too
soon - the point is to think about the question enough - delve into it
enough - that when you do read the answer you go, "AHA - okay, yeah
that's kind of what I was thinking" or "Whoa - that is a whole
different way of thinking about it." Or whatever - but you don't want
to read the answer without having fooled with the question first, on
your own. The questions and answers sometimes have vocabulary I don't
fully understand - they use real physics vocabulary, this is rigorous
stuff, not watered down, in spite of the appearance of simplicity. So
sometimes I have too look up words and sort those out before fully
understanding. The answers sometimes take some hard work to understand.
AND - sometimes I don't fully understand but understand as much as I
want at that moment so I just leave one and go on to something else.
Gluug, Gluug, Gluug
You are emptying a gallon jug or gallon can. As the liquid runs out it
makes a "gluug gluug gluug" sound. As the gallon becomes empty, the
frequency of the sound:
a) gets lower, that is: glug, gluug, gluuug.
b) does not change, that is: gluug, gluug, gluug.
c) gets higher, that is: gluuug, gluug, glug.
The answer is down below - I'll put a bunch of blank lines in so people
won't accidentally see it, in case they want to think for a while
first. (I hope that'll work.)
The answer is: a.
As the liquid runs out the size of the air space in the jug grows and
the large air space, or cavity, has a lower resonant frequency.
Remember: big organ pipes make the low notes. The liquid flow pulses at
the resonant frequency of the air cavity and that frequency decreases
as the liquid spills out.
The reverse happens when you run water into a container. As the air
space becomes smaller the frequency of the sound which comes out of the
container increases. By listening, you can almost tell when the
container is full, without looking.
But why is the glugging sound frequency emitted on emptying always so
very much lower than the hissing sound emitted on filling? Because when
the container is emptying the water must vibrate with air, but when the
container is filling the air alone vibrates.
Imagine a little mass hanging on a spring and bouncing up and down.
Then imagine a larger mass on the same spring. The larger mass bounces
slower. It is harder to accelerate the larger mass. In a similar
manner, when emptying the container, the mass of water slows down the
vibes.
schools have it backwards (as usual) - they should NOT be showing how
to think about physics using math until the student already has a HUGE
amount of conceptual understanding of physics. Otherwise, they separate
physics from what is "real" by inserting mathematics in the middle of
it and they make it far more difficult for students to understand it.
OH OH -- I have a book for you.
"Thinking Physics" -- here is something from the back cover:
"In real life, the question comes first and the explanation follows. In
school the lecture comes first and the exam follows. In this book, as
in real life, the question comes first. When the explanation follows it
goes to the central point fast. There is an easy way to explain
everything (it's just hard to find it). That is Epsteins's Law, and
this book demonstrates it.'
Here is a sample. The way this would work is you should read the
question and then NOT read the answer. Spend time talking about it with
your child - let them come up with ideas and you do too. Maybe wait a
day or two before looking at the answer. Don't look at the answer too
soon - the point is to think about the question enough - delve into it
enough - that when you do read the answer you go, "AHA - okay, yeah
that's kind of what I was thinking" or "Whoa - that is a whole
different way of thinking about it." Or whatever - but you don't want
to read the answer without having fooled with the question first, on
your own. The questions and answers sometimes have vocabulary I don't
fully understand - they use real physics vocabulary, this is rigorous
stuff, not watered down, in spite of the appearance of simplicity. So
sometimes I have too look up words and sort those out before fully
understanding. The answers sometimes take some hard work to understand.
AND - sometimes I don't fully understand but understand as much as I
want at that moment so I just leave one and go on to something else.
Gluug, Gluug, Gluug
You are emptying a gallon jug or gallon can. As the liquid runs out it
makes a "gluug gluug gluug" sound. As the gallon becomes empty, the
frequency of the sound:
a) gets lower, that is: glug, gluug, gluuug.
b) does not change, that is: gluug, gluug, gluug.
c) gets higher, that is: gluuug, gluug, glug.
The answer is down below - I'll put a bunch of blank lines in so people
won't accidentally see it, in case they want to think for a while
first. (I hope that'll work.)
The answer is: a.
As the liquid runs out the size of the air space in the jug grows and
the large air space, or cavity, has a lower resonant frequency.
Remember: big organ pipes make the low notes. The liquid flow pulses at
the resonant frequency of the air cavity and that frequency decreases
as the liquid spills out.
The reverse happens when you run water into a container. As the air
space becomes smaller the frequency of the sound which comes out of the
container increases. By listening, you can almost tell when the
container is full, without looking.
But why is the glugging sound frequency emitted on emptying always so
very much lower than the hissing sound emitted on filling? Because when
the container is emptying the water must vibrate with air, but when the
container is filling the air alone vibrates.
Imagine a little mass hanging on a spring and bouncing up and down.
Then imagine a larger mass on the same spring. The larger mass bounces
slower. It is harder to accelerate the larger mass. In a similar
manner, when emptying the container, the mass of water slows down the
vibes.
On Jun 21, 2004, at 8:10 AM, Eberwhite@... wrote:
> But, I know this works. 10 year old Logan (who came out of school
> with a
> real math phobia) expressed an interest in "learning more about
> physics". I
> informed him it's rather math heavy, did he still want to go there?
> He said,
> "Well, give me a math problem I've never done before."
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
[email protected]
In a message dated 6/21/2004 10:41:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
joannecwatson@... writes:
Anyone else heading anywhere on
holiday?
<<<<<<<
We'll be going to the Live and Learn Unschooling Conference August 27-29 in
Peabody, MA!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
joannecwatson@... writes:
Anyone else heading anywhere on
holiday?
<<<<<<<
We'll be going to the Live and Learn Unschooling Conference August 27-29 in
Peabody, MA!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robyn Coburn
<<<were my main teaching goals for our first year.
.... Moving into American History next year......Haley is in Pre-K and
loving it. >>>
My last seemed a bit snarky - thought I was on
UnschoolingDiscussion - so here is the reply I wish had sent first.
If you do not wish to Unschool, then don't! However this is an Unschooling
list with people coming here to learn how to unschool better. It is no good
for someone then to come along and say, "Or you could do *this* schoolish
thing like we do, and your kids will still be happy", and not expect to be
challenged. Challenged at least on their definition of unschooling.
Every time a parent, seeing themselves as a teacher, has an educational goal
*for* their child, they are depriving their child of developing their own
learning goal. Our children are wise. Their goals will most likely be so far
beyond the mere "teaching" goals that we could devise for them.
Unschooling does not divide the world into grades or subjects. If allowed to
follow their interests without prodding, our children will make more
connections than we can dream of for them.
I don't doubt that your kids are delightful and happy. I hope, if you write
a book about your homeschooling progam, it will be very successful and
helpful. However I hope you do *not* try to tell the world that what you are
doing *now* is Unschooling.
Robyn L. Coburn
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.707 / Virus Database: 463 - Release Date: 6/15/2004
.... Moving into American History next year......Haley is in Pre-K and
loving it. >>>
My last seemed a bit snarky - thought I was on
UnschoolingDiscussion - so here is the reply I wish had sent first.
If you do not wish to Unschool, then don't! However this is an Unschooling
list with people coming here to learn how to unschool better. It is no good
for someone then to come along and say, "Or you could do *this* schoolish
thing like we do, and your kids will still be happy", and not expect to be
challenged. Challenged at least on their definition of unschooling.
Every time a parent, seeing themselves as a teacher, has an educational goal
*for* their child, they are depriving their child of developing their own
learning goal. Our children are wise. Their goals will most likely be so far
beyond the mere "teaching" goals that we could devise for them.
Unschooling does not divide the world into grades or subjects. If allowed to
follow their interests without prodding, our children will make more
connections than we can dream of for them.
I don't doubt that your kids are delightful and happy. I hope, if you write
a book about your homeschooling progam, it will be very successful and
helpful. However I hope you do *not* try to tell the world that what you are
doing *now* is Unschooling.
Robyn L. Coburn
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.707 / Virus Database: 463 - Release Date: 6/15/2004
Valerie
> We'll be going to the Live and Learn Unschooling ConferenceAugust 27-29 in
> Peabody, MA!*****Kelly, would you mind <g> giving your mailing address again so
>
> ~Kelly
I can send a few things for the auction?
I'll be there too, but I'm getting damned nervous about speaking!
love, Valerie
[email protected]
In a message dated 6/22/2004 11:11:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
valerie@... writes:
*****Kelly, would you mind <g> giving your mailing address again so
I can send a few things for the auction? <<<<<
118 Steeplechase South
Columbia, SC 29209-4810
I'll be there too, but I'm getting damned nervous about speaking!<<<<
As long as you're not me, you'll be fine!
~Kelly, the fainting public speaker
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
valerie@... writes:
*****Kelly, would you mind <g> giving your mailing address again so
I can send a few things for the auction? <<<<<
118 Steeplechase South
Columbia, SC 29209-4810
I'll be there too, but I'm getting damned nervous about speaking!<<<<
As long as you're not me, you'll be fine!
~Kelly, the fainting public speaker
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
erikad428
Hello Everyone,
I am happy to be a member of this group. The archives have made for
a most interesting read. I think I'm going to really like it here.
My name is Erika and I live in Connecticut. My husband and I have 4
kids - One daughter (25) and three sons (21,19 & 11).
My Daughter lives in Seattle,(that where my husband and I grew up-we
have only lived in Ct for 4 1/2yrs)where she is a physician's
assistant, and my oldest son lives in Boston(where he is a college
senior).
The 19yr old is a recent highschool graduate(his choice, he was
homeschooled and will be attending college in Boston in the fall)
and the 11yr old is my unschooler. He says he's not going to leave
home until college!
We are loving how close everything is in the northeast. With the
amount of museums, historic sites, universities and concentrations
of so many different cultures, this is the perfect place to
unschool. Our only problem is over-commitment, and here it is so
easy to do(I am getting better at saying no).
I belong to several HS groups here, two local ones that are all
learning-styles inclusive, a state wide inclusive group (it's nice
that Ct is so small) and a national unschooler group that just
happens to be based in Ct (it's called Unschoolers Unlimited and
their e-mail address is www.borntoexplore.org/unschool).
We even picked the neighborhood we live in based in part because of
some unschoolers that were listed in the Growing Without Schooling
magazine's list of unschoolers willing to host families traveling
thorough out the world (I was heartbroken when that magazine stopped
being published). I knew if this small town had a family of friendly
unschoolers living in it, then this was the town for me:-).
We have a great family life and have always been very close. I
sometimes think that we are the only parents who never had un-
attached teenagers(all three of my older kids have always loved to
be with us and have included us in most things going on in their
lives).
We unschool because we wanted my youngest son to have a childhood
that was similar to the one my older kids had. It is so different
today from when my oldest was starting out.
I was always seen as strange because I roomed in with my daughter
after she was born (in a teaching hospital), had one of the first
VBAC's (Vaginal Birth After a Cesarean) in a Seattle hospital,
breastfed all my kids beyond 6 months and now after years of owning
my own business (a small private school) I am a SAHM of 6 1/2yrs. So
unschooling only adds to my long list of "strange traits". I hope to
keep growing and learning from all who post here.
I'm happy to have found out about this site. I hope to participate
here a lot.
Take Care,
Erika
"I am learning all the time, the tombstone will be my diploma"-
Eartha Kitt
I am happy to be a member of this group. The archives have made for
a most interesting read. I think I'm going to really like it here.
My name is Erika and I live in Connecticut. My husband and I have 4
kids - One daughter (25) and three sons (21,19 & 11).
My Daughter lives in Seattle,(that where my husband and I grew up-we
have only lived in Ct for 4 1/2yrs)where she is a physician's
assistant, and my oldest son lives in Boston(where he is a college
senior).
The 19yr old is a recent highschool graduate(his choice, he was
homeschooled and will be attending college in Boston in the fall)
and the 11yr old is my unschooler. He says he's not going to leave
home until college!
We are loving how close everything is in the northeast. With the
amount of museums, historic sites, universities and concentrations
of so many different cultures, this is the perfect place to
unschool. Our only problem is over-commitment, and here it is so
easy to do(I am getting better at saying no).
I belong to several HS groups here, two local ones that are all
learning-styles inclusive, a state wide inclusive group (it's nice
that Ct is so small) and a national unschooler group that just
happens to be based in Ct (it's called Unschoolers Unlimited and
their e-mail address is www.borntoexplore.org/unschool).
We even picked the neighborhood we live in based in part because of
some unschoolers that were listed in the Growing Without Schooling
magazine's list of unschoolers willing to host families traveling
thorough out the world (I was heartbroken when that magazine stopped
being published). I knew if this small town had a family of friendly
unschoolers living in it, then this was the town for me:-).
We have a great family life and have always been very close. I
sometimes think that we are the only parents who never had un-
attached teenagers(all three of my older kids have always loved to
be with us and have included us in most things going on in their
lives).
We unschool because we wanted my youngest son to have a childhood
that was similar to the one my older kids had. It is so different
today from when my oldest was starting out.
I was always seen as strange because I roomed in with my daughter
after she was born (in a teaching hospital), had one of the first
VBAC's (Vaginal Birth After a Cesarean) in a Seattle hospital,
breastfed all my kids beyond 6 months and now after years of owning
my own business (a small private school) I am a SAHM of 6 1/2yrs. So
unschooling only adds to my long list of "strange traits". I hope to
keep growing and learning from all who post here.
I'm happy to have found out about this site. I hope to participate
here a lot.
Take Care,
Erika
"I am learning all the time, the tombstone will be my diploma"-
Eartha Kitt
Ren Allen
"unschoolers that were listed in the Growing Without Schooling
magazine's list of unschoolers willing to host families traveling
thorough out the world (I was heartbroken when that magazine stopped
being published)."
Me TOO! I still have some beat up copies, can't bear to part with
them.:)
Welcome to the list Erika....it's nice to have folks that formerly
lived in the NW. I left there 6 years ago and still miss it a lot.
Ren
magazine's list of unschoolers willing to host families traveling
thorough out the world (I was heartbroken when that magazine stopped
being published)."
Me TOO! I still have some beat up copies, can't bear to part with
them.:)
Welcome to the list Erika....it's nice to have folks that formerly
lived in the NW. I left there 6 years ago and still miss it a lot.
Ren
[email protected]
In a message dated 7/1/2004 4:19:07 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
"unschoolers that were listed in the Growing Without Schooling
magazine's list of unschoolers willing to host families traveling
thorough out the world (I was heartbroken when that magazine stopped
being published)."
Me TOO! I still have some beat up copies, can't bear to part with
them.:)
*****************************
Ren, here's a REALLY good reason to come to the conference this August.
I scored the coolest Raffle prize, from The Family Resource Center.
Not a COMPLETE set, but a huge set of GWS, from #1.
Kathryn
Come to the Live and Learn Unschooling Conference August 27-29 in Peabody, MA!
For more information, go to www.LiveandLearnConference.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected] writes:
"unschoolers that were listed in the Growing Without Schooling
magazine's list of unschoolers willing to host families traveling
thorough out the world (I was heartbroken when that magazine stopped
being published)."
Me TOO! I still have some beat up copies, can't bear to part with
them.:)
*****************************
Ren, here's a REALLY good reason to come to the conference this August.
I scored the coolest Raffle prize, from The Family Resource Center.
Not a COMPLETE set, but a huge set of GWS, from #1.
Kathryn
Come to the Live and Learn Unschooling Conference August 27-29 in Peabody, MA!
For more information, go to www.LiveandLearnConference.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Daniel Macintyre
Hi,
I am new to the group and thought I would introduce myself. I am
Daniel Macintyre from O'Fallon IL. I am looking at homeschooling
options and am leaning towards the unschooling route. I have a son
and a daughter, 3 1/2 years and 10 months respectively, so I still
have a decent amount of time to make a decision. Just to get the
ball rolling, I thought I would come right out and ask, Why should I
unschool? What are the pitfalls to avoid? what are the cons I can't
avoid? It seems that there is some variation in what people think is
unschooling, is that true? What do you feel is essential to
unschooling? What about math? What about College?
Sorry for the unloading
Daniel
I am new to the group and thought I would introduce myself. I am
Daniel Macintyre from O'Fallon IL. I am looking at homeschooling
options and am leaning towards the unschooling route. I have a son
and a daughter, 3 1/2 years and 10 months respectively, so I still
have a decent amount of time to make a decision. Just to get the
ball rolling, I thought I would come right out and ask, Why should I
unschool? What are the pitfalls to avoid? what are the cons I can't
avoid? It seems that there is some variation in what people think is
unschooling, is that true? What do you feel is essential to
unschooling? What about math? What about College?
Sorry for the unloading
Daniel
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/3/2004 2:01:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
macintyd@... writes:
I am new to the group and thought I would introduce myself. I am
Daniel Macintyre from O'Fallon IL.<<<<
Welcome, Daniel! My husband, Ben, was stationed @ Scott in the early 90's.
We lived in Belleville (202 East E St) for three years. I worked @ Solaire
Kennel in O'Fallon when we were there. I miss it----though it's grown SO much
since we were there ten years ago! I still get teary whenever I see the arch
on tv! <g>
Well, why are you looking into it in the first place? Something about it
must intrigue you. What is it?
catalogues. Using school-think and school-speak. Thinking that one kind of
learning (academic) is more important than all other kinds. It ALL counts!
about math? What about college?
Living in a world of people who DON'T respect or trust their kids---that's
the hardest, for me.
You bet! Basically and at it's simplest form, it's NOT replicating school in
your home----NOT schooling. But many of us have found that extending that
into a philosophy of unschooling our LIVES is much more wonderful----letting
the children learn about their bodies' needs as well as their minds'. It's
about respect and trust and honoring the children for who they are now---not what
we want them to become.
a world rich with math. A child with a deep interest in math will, of
course, pick up more math than a child who is more interested in the written word
or animals or baseball or art (although EACH of those things is RICH in math!
<g>). But that's true of any "subject": we learn what we're interested in,
what we love.
Many colleges are actively pursuing unschoolers because of their love of
learning (they're not tired of it like most high school grads) and their intense
interests and reasoned goals. Unschoolers who chose to go to college do VERY
well.
Mostly, now, I'd advise you to read here, read the message boards at
_www.unschooling.com_ (http://www.unschooling.com) , read all of John Holt----in
order, subscribe to Life Learning magazine, attend the Live and Learn
Unschooling Conference when you can-----but mostly PLAY with and observe your children.
They'll teach you far more about learning and how it happens than anything
else!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
macintyd@... writes:
I am new to the group and thought I would introduce myself. I am
Daniel Macintyre from O'Fallon IL.<<<<
Welcome, Daniel! My husband, Ben, was stationed @ Scott in the early 90's.
We lived in Belleville (202 East E St) for three years. I worked @ Solaire
Kennel in O'Fallon when we were there. I miss it----though it's grown SO much
since we were there ten years ago! I still get teary whenever I see the arch
on tv! <g>
>>>>Just to get the ball rolling, I thought I would come right out and ask,Why should I unschool?<<<<<
Well, why are you looking into it in the first place? Something about it
must intrigue you. What is it?
>>>>What are the pitfalls to avoid?<<<<Hanging around strict school-at-homers (doh!) and looking at curriculum
catalogues. Using school-think and school-speak. Thinking that one kind of
learning (academic) is more important than all other kinds. It ALL counts!
>>>> what are the cons I can't avoid?<<<<The same old questions: What about socialization? What about reading? What
about math? What about college?
Living in a world of people who DON'T respect or trust their kids---that's
the hardest, for me.
>>>>>It seems that there is some variation in what people think isunschooling, is that true?<<<
You bet! Basically and at it's simplest form, it's NOT replicating school in
your home----NOT schooling. But many of us have found that extending that
into a philosophy of unschooling our LIVES is much more wonderful----letting
the children learn about their bodies' needs as well as their minds'. It's
about respect and trust and honoring the children for who they are now---not what
we want them to become.
>>>What do you feel is essential to unschooling?<<<<TRUST. RESPECT.
>>> What about math?<<<<What about it? <g> Our lives are surrounded by math. They will pick it up in
a world rich with math. A child with a deep interest in math will, of
course, pick up more math than a child who is more interested in the written word
or animals or baseball or art (although EACH of those things is RICH in math!
<g>). But that's true of any "subject": we learn what we're interested in,
what we love.
>>>What about College? <<<What about college? <g> Anyone with an interest in college can go. Really.
Many colleges are actively pursuing unschoolers because of their love of
learning (they're not tired of it like most high school grads) and their intense
interests and reasoned goals. Unschoolers who chose to go to college do VERY
well.
Mostly, now, I'd advise you to read here, read the message boards at
_www.unschooling.com_ (http://www.unschooling.com) , read all of John Holt----in
order, subscribe to Life Learning magazine, attend the Live and Learn
Unschooling Conference when you can-----but mostly PLAY with and observe your children.
They'll teach you far more about learning and how it happens than anything
else!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Jon and Rue Kream
Hi Daniel -
**Our family unschools because we want our kids to be free, to be treated as
whole people, and to choose their own lives. For what reasons do you find
yourself leaning towards unschooling?
hurried along and should live under another person's authority.
**Most people aren't going to understand how you live.
**Seeing your children for who they are, enjoying their company, being
willing to help them get what they want and need, and being interested in
the world.
about anything else - by observing the world around them, asking questions,
making connections, and being open to new information.
I know see it very much as a choice as opposed to seeing it as what you do
when you turn 18 like so many schooled kids do. ~Rue
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>Why should Iunschool?
**Our family unschools because we want our kids to be free, to be treated as
whole people, and to choose their own lives. For what reasons do you find
yourself leaning towards unschooling?
>>What are the pitfalls to avoid?**I'd say getting caught up in the ideas that children need to be molded and
hurried along and should live under another person's authority.
>>what are the cons I can'tavoid?
**Most people aren't going to understand how you live.
>>What do you feel is essential tounschooling?
**Seeing your children for who they are, enjoying their company, being
willing to help them get what they want and need, and being interested in
the world.
>>What about math?**Math is all around us. My kids learn about math the same way they learn
about anything else - by observing the world around them, asking questions,
making connections, and being open to new information.
>>What about College?**Unschooled kids can get into college if they want to. The unschooled kids
I know see it very much as a choice as opposed to seeing it as what you do
when you turn 18 like so many schooled kids do. ~Rue
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Daniel Macintyre
Thanks for the reply;
--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 8/3/2004 2:01:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> macintyd@s... writes:
>
> I am new to the group and thought I would introduce myself. I am
> Daniel Macintyre from O'Fallon IL.<<<<
>
> Welcome, Daniel! My husband, Ben, was stationed @ Scott in the early
90's.
> We lived in Belleville (202 East E St) for three years. I worked @
Solaire
> Kennel in O'Fallon when we were there. I miss it----though it's
grown SO much
> since we were there ten years ago! I still get teary whenever I see
the arch
> on tv! <g>
I live right by Solaire Kennel! When I pass it I know I need to turn
on my turn signal :)
>
> >>>>Just to get the ball rolling, I thought I would come right out
and ask,
> Why should I unschool?<<<<<
>
> Well, why are you looking into it in the first place? Something
about it
> must intrigue you. What is it?
>
I like the idea that my children will learn what interests them. I
want them to enjoy learning and feel that they will learn more and
more effectively if the are interested in what they learn.
I feel kind of silly saying that here - like telling Donald Trump that
there is money to be made in real estate.
> >>>>What are the pitfalls to avoid?<<<<
>
> Hanging around strict school-at-homers (doh!) and looking at
curriculum
> catalogues. Using school-think and school-speak. Thinking that one
kind of
> learning (academic) is more important than all other kinds. It ALL
counts!
>
> >>>> what are the cons I can't avoid?<<<<
>
> The same old questions: What about socialization? What about
reading? What
> about math? What about college?
>
> Living in a world of people who DON'T respect or trust their
kids---that's
> the hardest, for me.
>
> >>>>>It seems that there is some variation in what people think is
> unschooling, is that true?<<<
>
> You bet! Basically and at it's simplest form, it's NOT replicating
school in
> your home----NOT schooling. But many of us have found that
extending that
> into a philosophy of unschooling our LIVES is much more
wonderful----letting
> the children learn about their bodies' needs as well as their
minds'. It's
> about respect and trust and honoring the children for who they are
now---not what
> we want them to become.
>
>
> >>>What do you feel is essential to unschooling?<<<<
>
> TRUST. RESPECT.
>
> >>> What about math?<<<<
>
>
> What about it? <g> Our lives are surrounded by math. They will pick
it up in
> a world rich with math. A child with a deep interest in math will, of
> course, pick up more math than a child who is more interested in the
written word
> or animals or baseball or art (although EACH of those things is RICH
in math!
> <g>). But that's true of any "subject": we learn what we're
interested in,
> what we love.
>
I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in math until
they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an engineer or
astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!
>
> >>>What about College? <<<
>
>
> What about college? <g> Anyone with an interest in college can go.
Really.
> Many colleges are actively pursuing unschoolers because of their
love of
> learning (they're not tired of it like most high school grads) and
their intense
> interests and reasoned goals. Unschoolers who chose to go to college
do VERY
> well.
That is what I figured, but I still feel reassured hearing it.
>
> Mostly, now, I'd advise you to read here, read the message boards at
> _www.unschooling.com_ (http://www.unschooling.com) , read all of
John Holt----in
> order, subscribe to Life Learning magazine, attend the Live and Learn
> Unschooling Conference when you can-----but mostly PLAY with and
observe your children.
> They'll teach you far more about learning and how it happens than
anything
> else!
>
> ~Kelly
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robyn Coburn
<<<I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in math until
they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an engineer or
astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!>>>
It is *not* a large subject in the scary way you are saying - that is your
residual schoolthink talking. Math concepts can be learnt very quickly when
there is a real motivation to do so - just like anything else. Nor does it
necessarily build on itself in the supposedly sequential manner that it is
destroyed ...I mean taught..in schools. The several years are *school years*
not real time interest based learning. The hours and hours are mostly drill
- and guess what? Drill is not necessary if the concepts are understood. How
are they understood? Through learning them in real contexts in the order
that makes sense to the learner.
Try "The Unprocessed Child" by Valerie Fitzenreiter, for an account, amongst
other great experiences, of a college bound Unschooler who never saw a work
book grasping all the math she needed to be Sumna Cum Laude (is that right
spelling?) in an amazingly short time.
Of course if you spend your time anxiously watching for math "teachable
moments" to appear, and saying things like "This is really hard stuff, so
don't worry if you don't get it right away" even in your own mind, you are
well on the way to creating math phobia without a school to assist you.
Robyn L. Coburn
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.732 / Virus Database: 486 - Release Date: 7/29/2004
they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an engineer or
astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!>>>
It is *not* a large subject in the scary way you are saying - that is your
residual schoolthink talking. Math concepts can be learnt very quickly when
there is a real motivation to do so - just like anything else. Nor does it
necessarily build on itself in the supposedly sequential manner that it is
destroyed ...I mean taught..in schools. The several years are *school years*
not real time interest based learning. The hours and hours are mostly drill
- and guess what? Drill is not necessary if the concepts are understood. How
are they understood? Through learning them in real contexts in the order
that makes sense to the learner.
Try "The Unprocessed Child" by Valerie Fitzenreiter, for an account, amongst
other great experiences, of a college bound Unschooler who never saw a work
book grasping all the math she needed to be Sumna Cum Laude (is that right
spelling?) in an amazingly short time.
Of course if you spend your time anxiously watching for math "teachable
moments" to appear, and saying things like "This is really hard stuff, so
don't worry if you don't get it right away" even in your own mind, you are
well on the way to creating math phobia without a school to assist you.
Robyn L. Coburn
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.732 / Virus Database: 486 - Release Date: 7/29/2004
christy_imnotred
--- In [email protected], "Robyn Coburn"
<dezigna@c...> wrote:
learned in 2 months or something like that by someone who is
interested and developmentally ready. And I don't think kids that
have had the freedom to explore their interests and really get to
know themselves will suddenly decide to be anything. They most
likely will have been interested in the subject for quite a while and
learning about it as they go along.
Christy
<dezigna@c...> wrote:
> <<<I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in mathuntil
> they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an engineer orWhat is that statistics I've heard? All of high school math can be
> astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
> to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
> builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!>>>
>
learned in 2 months or something like that by someone who is
interested and developmentally ready. And I don't think kids that
have had the freedom to explore their interests and really get to
know themselves will suddenly decide to be anything. They most
likely will have been interested in the subject for quite a while and
learning about it as they go along.
Christy
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/4/2004 10:28:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
macintyd@... writes:
I like the idea that my children will learn what interests them. I
want them to enjoy learning and feel that they will learn more and
more effectively if the are interested in what they learn.
I feel kind of silly saying that here - like telling Donald Trump that
there is money to be made in real estate.<<<<<
Yeah. <g> But you have the right idea! <BWG>
astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!<<<<
And then you go and write THIS! <g>
Chances aren't good that a person will suddenly, out of the blue, with NO
preparation at all beforehand, will, at the age of 38 or so, decide to be an
engineer! Much more likely is that someone who is drawn to math and physics
will hone in immediately or either meander towards astrophysics throughout his
life. Those who are less math-interested will learn all the math they need to
use. How much of your calculus did you use today? <g>
A child, who is allowed to pursue his passions, WILL. His passions may
change or grow or abruptly end. But all the while, he's making connections. His
passions (and therefore his connections) will include math---the world is FULL
of math: you can't avoid it. Math is art is science is history is agriculture
is literature is life (and I'm mathphobic! <g>).
Tell you what----give me a "subject" or a passion, and I'll find the math in
it. (If I fail, I'll hand it over to our resident mathie, PamS.) Give me ten!
<g> I dare you! <G> But I bet you'll find the math yourself before you even
throw it at me!
Math is a large subject, and it does build on itself, but it doesn't take 12
years of worksheets to do it! Your three year old (?right?) already probably
knows some math concepts---"more vs less", for sure! I bet she can count to
three cookies! Hold up three fingers! Watch and learn! One day she'll say,
"Daddy, did you know three fives are fifteen?" She'll figure it out. She WILL!
Unschooling is trusting that it will happen. NOT that she'll become an
engineer, but that she will learn what she needs to know. Unschooling is about
your facilitating her exploration and respecting her needs at that moment.
I'm glad you're here.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
macintyd@... writes:
I like the idea that my children will learn what interests them. I
want them to enjoy learning and feel that they will learn more and
more effectively if the are interested in what they learn.
I feel kind of silly saying that here - like telling Donald Trump that
there is money to be made in real estate.<<<<<
Yeah. <g> But you have the right idea! <BWG>
>>>>I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in math untilthey are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an engineer or
astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!<<<<
And then you go and write THIS! <g>
Chances aren't good that a person will suddenly, out of the blue, with NO
preparation at all beforehand, will, at the age of 38 or so, decide to be an
engineer! Much more likely is that someone who is drawn to math and physics
will hone in immediately or either meander towards astrophysics throughout his
life. Those who are less math-interested will learn all the math they need to
use. How much of your calculus did you use today? <g>
A child, who is allowed to pursue his passions, WILL. His passions may
change or grow or abruptly end. But all the while, he's making connections. His
passions (and therefore his connections) will include math---the world is FULL
of math: you can't avoid it. Math is art is science is history is agriculture
is literature is life (and I'm mathphobic! <g>).
Tell you what----give me a "subject" or a passion, and I'll find the math in
it. (If I fail, I'll hand it over to our resident mathie, PamS.) Give me ten!
<g> I dare you! <G> But I bet you'll find the math yourself before you even
throw it at me!
Math is a large subject, and it does build on itself, but it doesn't take 12
years of worksheets to do it! Your three year old (?right?) already probably
knows some math concepts---"more vs less", for sure! I bet she can count to
three cookies! Hold up three fingers! Watch and learn! One day she'll say,
"Daddy, did you know three fives are fifteen?" She'll figure it out. She WILL!
Unschooling is trusting that it will happen. NOT that she'll become an
engineer, but that she will learn what she needs to know. Unschooling is about
your facilitating her exploration and respecting her needs at that moment.
I'm glad you're here.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb Lewis
***Why should I unschool?***
Because people want to be free and children are people.
Institutionalization of children is *not* a normal part of healthy human
growth. It's a social experiment and the tactics they use are shame,
guilt, conformity, obedience, confinement and force. If your children
are not lab rats, don't put them in the cage.
Unschooling is the free and joyful life of learning humans are meant to
live.
Children who live with loving, interesting people learn what they need to
know in their lives because that's exactly what humans specialize in.
***What are the pitfalls to avoid? ***
Your own public or private school programing that tells you children need
to be taught or they won't learn.
You may find yourself unfairly assessing your children or comparing them
to children who attend school. You may be tempted to blame unschooling
for family problems when unschooling is not the problem. You may find it
difficult to let go of and rethink society's blueprint of what it means
to be a responsible parent.
*** what are the cons I can't avoid? ***
Friends, family members and strangers will not understand and in many
cases will do their damndest to convince you you're wrong. They may try
to convince you by showing you your children are lacking in some area.
They may try to convince you with books, studies, experts, laws, or
anger. You may lose friends.
***It seems that there is some variation in what people think is
unschooling, is that true?***
Yes. Some people think unschooling is letting a child choose which unit
study to work on this month.
Some people think unschooling is letting a child choose when and where he
wants to do his math workbook. Some people think unschooling is not doing
school.
Some people think unschooling is life, naturally. They think children
learn what they need to know in the course of living life in world full
of possibilities.
***What do you feel is essential to unschooling?***
Trusting your children will learn and grow. Being involved in their
lives and interests and being available to inspire, encourage and help
them in ways they need. Understanding learning is a personal journey
and happens when the learner is ready for it, not when *you* think they
should be ready. Parents need to be interesting people who find pleasure
in life. They need to be positive. They need to have humor and
flexibility and patience.
***What about math?***
Math is all around us. When your child pays for a toy at the store, when
she divides cookies evenly between family members, when she counts the
channels from your favorite news station to Boomerang, when she waits an
hour for popsicles to freeze, math is a part of a child's real life.
When their real lives call for the use and understanding of other types
of math they will find it and use it.
***What about College?***
Your kids might not choose college. Life is big. Life is bigger than
college. Lots of times people go to college to make their small lives
larger, by getting away from their parents, meeting new people, doing new
things, being independent. But kids who were never confined in an
institution and boxed into thinking life was about SAT scores and school,
will have a world of options and college will be only one.
In the years between your three year old and college things might change
in ways you cannot conceive of.
But if your children choose college they will be able to go.
Deb Lewis
Because people want to be free and children are people.
Institutionalization of children is *not* a normal part of healthy human
growth. It's a social experiment and the tactics they use are shame,
guilt, conformity, obedience, confinement and force. If your children
are not lab rats, don't put them in the cage.
Unschooling is the free and joyful life of learning humans are meant to
live.
Children who live with loving, interesting people learn what they need to
know in their lives because that's exactly what humans specialize in.
***What are the pitfalls to avoid? ***
Your own public or private school programing that tells you children need
to be taught or they won't learn.
You may find yourself unfairly assessing your children or comparing them
to children who attend school. You may be tempted to blame unschooling
for family problems when unschooling is not the problem. You may find it
difficult to let go of and rethink society's blueprint of what it means
to be a responsible parent.
*** what are the cons I can't avoid? ***
Friends, family members and strangers will not understand and in many
cases will do their damndest to convince you you're wrong. They may try
to convince you by showing you your children are lacking in some area.
They may try to convince you with books, studies, experts, laws, or
anger. You may lose friends.
***It seems that there is some variation in what people think is
unschooling, is that true?***
Yes. Some people think unschooling is letting a child choose which unit
study to work on this month.
Some people think unschooling is letting a child choose when and where he
wants to do his math workbook. Some people think unschooling is not doing
school.
Some people think unschooling is life, naturally. They think children
learn what they need to know in the course of living life in world full
of possibilities.
***What do you feel is essential to unschooling?***
Trusting your children will learn and grow. Being involved in their
lives and interests and being available to inspire, encourage and help
them in ways they need. Understanding learning is a personal journey
and happens when the learner is ready for it, not when *you* think they
should be ready. Parents need to be interesting people who find pleasure
in life. They need to be positive. They need to have humor and
flexibility and patience.
***What about math?***
Math is all around us. When your child pays for a toy at the store, when
she divides cookies evenly between family members, when she counts the
channels from your favorite news station to Boomerang, when she waits an
hour for popsicles to freeze, math is a part of a child's real life.
When their real lives call for the use and understanding of other types
of math they will find it and use it.
***What about College?***
Your kids might not choose college. Life is big. Life is bigger than
college. Lots of times people go to college to make their small lives
larger, by getting away from their parents, meeting new people, doing new
things, being independent. But kids who were never confined in an
institution and boxed into thinking life was about SAT scores and school,
will have a world of options and college will be only one.
In the years between your three year old and college things might change
in ways you cannot conceive of.
But if your children choose college they will be able to go.
Deb Lewis
eriksmama2001
Trust your child to learn from life, don't teach fear of living life.
Pat
.--- In [email protected], "Daniel Macintyre"
<macintyd@s...> wrote:
Pat
.--- In [email protected], "Daniel Macintyre"
<macintyd@s...> wrote:
> Hi,I
>
> I am new to the group and thought I would introduce myself. I am
> Daniel Macintyre from O'Fallon IL. I am looking at homeschooling
> options and am leaning towards the unschooling route. I have a son
> and a daughter, 3 1/2 years and 10 months respectively, so I still
> have a decent amount of time to make a decision. Just to get the
> ball rolling, I thought I would come right out and ask, Why should
> unschool? What are the pitfalls to avoid? what are the cons Ican't
> avoid? It seems that there is some variation in what people thinkis
> unschooling, is that true? What do you feel is essential to
> unschooling? What about math? What about College?
>
> Sorry for the unloading
>
> Daniel
Valerie
> I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in mathuntil they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an
engineer or astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years
worth of Math to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried
about - but math builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!
***** Hi Daniel
I apologize to those that have heard this before, but Laurie is a
summa cum laude grad and now pursuing her PhD. She hated math. She
didn't want anything math-like to come within 20 feet of her. She
went so far as to find out that there was a college student in Texas
that was so non-mathematical, that she was able to get a waiver from
taking math classes to graduate from college. Laurie wanted to do
that too. She felt that there should be a restriction on the back of
her degree much like someone who has to wear glasses has a
restriction on the back of their driver's license. <g> I'm
grinning; Laurie was dead serious.
Then Laurie decided she wanted to go to college. She took the
remedial math classes and scored 100%. She went on to take 3
statistics classes that weren't required for her degree...just
because she LOVES math so much. Statistics is so special to her now
that her chosen career will be in that field.
Basically, when SHE decided that she needed to know math, she was
able to learn how quickly. As a sophomore, she was teaching seniors
how to use their calculators and work statistics problems.
Not bad for a kid that wasn't interested in math huh?
love, Valerie
www.ubpub.com
Valerie
> What is that statistics I've heard? All of high school math canbe
> learned in 2 months or something like that by someone who is***** Try "12 years of math can be learned in 2 months!" <g>
> interested and developmentally ready.
> Christy
love, Valerie
www.ubpub.com
Nichole, in Dallas
I know a girl in Montana who did just this thing.
It can be done.
:o)
Nichole
It can be done.
:o)
Nichole
----- Original Message -----
From: Valerie
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 4:14 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Introduction
> What is that statistics I've heard? All of high school math can
be
> learned in 2 months or something like that by someone who is
> interested and developmentally ready.
> Christy
***** Try "12 years of math can be learned in 2 months!" <g>
love, Valerie
www.ubpub.com
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]
Daniel Macintyre
Valerie,
Thanks! I needed to hear that. I guess part of my worries with math
actually stem from my own experiences in school. I didn't like math
through school, Hated college math through Calculus, started thinking
it was ok in Differential equations, and then fell in love with Modern
algebra, Set theory and Discrete Analysis. I didn't need to take
Modern Algebra for my major, but thought I would give it a try after
my experience with Diff Eq., so I came "THAT" close to never knowing
how much I would enjoy it.
Daniel
Thanks! I needed to hear that. I guess part of my worries with math
actually stem from my own experiences in school. I didn't like math
through school, Hated college math through Calculus, started thinking
it was ok in Differential equations, and then fell in love with Modern
algebra, Set theory and Discrete Analysis. I didn't need to take
Modern Algebra for my major, but thought I would give it a try after
my experience with Diff Eq., so I came "THAT" close to never knowing
how much I would enjoy it.
Daniel
--- In [email protected], "Valerie" <valerie@u...> wrote:
> > I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in math
> until they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an
> engineer or astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years
> worth of Math to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried
> about - but math builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!
>
> ***** Hi Daniel
>
> I apologize to those that have heard this before, but Laurie is a
> summa cum laude grad and now pursuing her PhD. She hated math. She
> didn't want anything math-like to come within 20 feet of her. She
> went so far as to find out that there was a college student in Texas
> that was so non-mathematical, that she was able to get a waiver from
> taking math classes to graduate from college. Laurie wanted to do
> that too. She felt that there should be a restriction on the back of
> her degree much like someone who has to wear glasses has a
> restriction on the back of their driver's license. <g> I'm
> grinning; Laurie was dead serious.
>
> Then Laurie decided she wanted to go to college. She took the
> remedial math classes and scored 100%. She went on to take 3
> statistics classes that weren't required for her degree...just
> because she LOVES math so much. Statistics is so special to her now
> that her chosen career will be in that field.
>
> Basically, when SHE decided that she needed to know math, she was
> able to learn how quickly. As a sophomore, she was teaching seniors
> how to use their calculators and work statistics problems.
>
> Not bad for a kid that wasn't interested in math huh?
>
> love, Valerie
> www.ubpub.com
Daniel Macintyre
You're probably right. I hated math through most of my school time -
I enjoy it a lot now, but I still remember all the time I didn't. I
certainly don't want to traumatize my children with it - I just don't
want them to miss out on any opportunity they want to take.
Daniel
--- In [email protected], "Robyn Coburn"
<dezigna@c...> wrote:
I enjoy it a lot now, but I still remember all the time I didn't. I
certainly don't want to traumatize my children with it - I just don't
want them to miss out on any opportunity they want to take.
Daniel
--- In [email protected], "Robyn Coburn"
<dezigna@c...> wrote:
> <<<I guess I'm just worried that they won't be interested in math untilis your
> they are adults and then one will suddenly want to be an engineer or
> astrophysicist and realize he or she has several years worth of Math
> to catch up on - Other subjects I'm not so worried about - but math
> builds on itself and is such a LARGE subject!>>>
>
> It is *not* a large subject in the scary way you are saying - that
> residual schoolthink talking. Math concepts can be learnt veryquickly when
> there is a real motivation to do so - just like anything else. Nordoes it
> necessarily build on itself in the supposedly sequential manner thatit is
> destroyed ...I mean taught..in schools. The several years are*school years*
> not real time interest based learning. The hours and hours aremostly drill
> - and guess what? Drill is not necessary if the concepts areunderstood. How
> are they understood? Through learning them in real contexts in the orderamongst
> that makes sense to the learner.
>
> Try "The Unprocessed Child" by Valerie Fitzenreiter, for an account,
> other great experiences, of a college bound Unschooler who never sawa work
> book grasping all the math she needed to be Sumna Cum Laude (is thatright
> spelling?) in an amazingly short time.stuff, so
>
> Of course if you spend your time anxiously watching for math "teachable
> moments" to appear, and saying things like "This is really hard
> don't worry if you don't get it right away" even in your own mind,you are
> well on the way to creating math phobia without a school to assist you.
>
> Robyn L. Coburn
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.732 / Virus Database: 486 - Release Date: 7/29/2004
catherine aceto
Looking back at your other interests, can you see why someone who was paying attention to your interests would have realized that you would have liked Differential Equations, etc.? Part of the problem with "schoolthink" is that the concept of "math" seems like a uniform thing including both arithmetic and topology -- and knowing that you don't like one part can make it seem that you won't like the whole. And, of course, the sheer amount of time that one wastes in school reduces the amount of time that you can spend experimenting and trying things out and seeing what you like.
But also part of school is that at school there is no one really paying attention to you and thinking about things that you might like the in way that unschooling parents are able to. I think it does take attention to your children and their interests to minimize the chance that they will be unaware of areas that they would appreciate.
But that being said -- I think the chances are good that you and they will miss some things that you and they will wish they had discovered earlier. I think a real advantage of unschooling is that it helps prevent the "schoolthink" feeling of something being too late. When you discover that you like something - you are free to pursue it, regardless of where you are on some arbitrary "educational path."
From my own life: when I was in college, I realized that I was interested in Artificial Intelligence research. At the time, I decided that since I would be so far behind people who were already steeped in programming, that it wasn't even worth pursuing. Now, of course, at 38, I laugh to think that I ever thought that ANYTHING at 21 was too late to pursue. Ultimately, I am glad that I followed the course that I ended up following (law school and practice in corporate law), so I don't actually regret my actions and am no longer particularly interested in AI research -but I would like to prevent my children being indoctrinated into having the same sense of artificial limits and windows on when things can be studied.
-Cat
But also part of school is that at school there is no one really paying attention to you and thinking about things that you might like the in way that unschooling parents are able to. I think it does take attention to your children and their interests to minimize the chance that they will be unaware of areas that they would appreciate.
But that being said -- I think the chances are good that you and they will miss some things that you and they will wish they had discovered earlier. I think a real advantage of unschooling is that it helps prevent the "schoolthink" feeling of something being too late. When you discover that you like something - you are free to pursue it, regardless of where you are on some arbitrary "educational path."
From my own life: when I was in college, I realized that I was interested in Artificial Intelligence research. At the time, I decided that since I would be so far behind people who were already steeped in programming, that it wasn't even worth pursuing. Now, of course, at 38, I laugh to think that I ever thought that ANYTHING at 21 was too late to pursue. Ultimately, I am glad that I followed the course that I ended up following (law school and practice in corporate law), so I don't actually regret my actions and am no longer particularly interested in AI research -but I would like to prevent my children being indoctrinated into having the same sense of artificial limits and windows on when things can be studied.
-Cat
----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel Macintyre
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 1:27 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: math (Daniel)
but thought I would give it a try after
my experience with Diff Eq., so I came "THAT" close to never knowing
how much I would enjoy it.
Daniel
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/6/2004 5:35:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
aceto3@... writes:
Part of the problem with "schoolthink" is that the concept of "math" seems
like a uniform thing including both arithmetic and topology -- and knowing
that you don't like one part can make it seem that you won't like the whole. <<<
Science, history, and english too! If you don't like geology, you hate
science----even though you might LOVE anatomy or botany. Elizabethan England makes
you hate history, but you'd be GLUED to the Han Dynasty or WWII. Hemingway
turned you off of English, but you would have ADORED Steinbeck.
"School subjects" screw with kids' heads for years!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
aceto3@... writes:
Part of the problem with "schoolthink" is that the concept of "math" seems
like a uniform thing including both arithmetic and topology -- and knowing
that you don't like one part can make it seem that you won't like the whole. <<<
Science, history, and english too! If you don't like geology, you hate
science----even though you might LOVE anatomy or botany. Elizabethan England makes
you hate history, but you'd be GLUED to the Han Dynasty or WWII. Hemingway
turned you off of English, but you would have ADORED Steinbeck.
"School subjects" screw with kids' heads for years!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Daniel Macintyre
> But also part of school is that at school there is no one reallypaying attention to you and thinking about things that you might like
the in way that unschooling parents are able to. I think it does take
attention to your children and their interests to minimize the chance
that they will be unaware of areas that they would appreciate.
>Another part of school is that people who see what you like and/or are
good at in school get a distorted idea of what you would like in real
life. For example, when I was in High school, my parents suggested to
me that I might like to be a Postal Worker. Their reasoning was that
it was a very secure job with good benefits and you had to take a
standardized test to qualify for it. I'm VERY good at standardized
tests, but only did average in school through high school. I spent
too much time reading science fiction to get good grades in
everything, so I just got good grades in the subjects I liked.
They were definately NOT supportive when I majored in Physics. They
knew I liked science, but kept telling me that there were many
sciences that did not need so much math. I think that's part of why I
took the extra math courses - just to show that I could. I'm not
trying to be unkind. There was not too much reason to believe I could
handle the amount of math involved. I only got C's in math in high
school and it was the only subject I ever scored average on in
achievement tests in grade school.
> But that being said -- I think the chances are good that you andthey will miss some things that you and they will wish they had
discovered earlier. I think a real advantage of unschooling is that
it helps prevent the "schoolthink" feeling of something being too late.
Or too early either, right? :)
> When you discover that you like something - you are free to pursueit, regardless of where you are on some arbitrary "educational path."
>interested in Artificial Intelligence research. At the time, I
> From my own life: when I was in college, I realized that I was
decided that since I would be so far behind people who were already
steeped in programming, that it wasn't even worth pursuing. Now, of
course, at 38, I laugh to think that I ever thought that ANYTHING at
21 was too late to pursue. Ultimately, I am glad that I followed the
course that I ended up following (law school and practice in corporate
law), so I don't actually regret my actions and am no longer
particularly interested in AI research -but I would like to prevent
my children being indoctrinated into having the same sense of
artificial limits and windows on when things can be studied.
>I had a friend in High school who was programming. He was designing
simple games that would play on an Apple IIe. I thought it was cool,
but I didn't understand a lot of what he did. I remember thinking
that going into computer programming would be neat, but I felt I was
already behind the curve on this. After all, it seemed the people
doing it had been doing it since they were kids. I had some knowledge
in Basic, but the Apple II operating system was new to me. So, at 17,
I decided it was too late for me to go into computer science.
I'm now 34 and am going back to school to get my associate's in
Computer Science (hopefully to get enough prerequisites to jump into a
masters degree program).
Go figure :)
> -Cat
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Daniel Macintyre
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 1:27 PM
> Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: math (Daniel)
>
>
> but thought I would give it a try after
> my experience with Diff Eq., so I came "THAT" close to never knowing
> how much I would enjoy it.
>
> Daniel
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pam sorooshian
On Aug 4, 2004, at 8:11 AM, kbcdlovejo@... wrote:
My daughters have done NO formal math at all. But I'm not going to say,
"We don't do math," because it comes up all the time. How could
somebody be living in the real world and not add, subtract, multiply,
and divide? How could they not notice fractions, decimals, and
percentages? They'll see them and they'll pick them up in very natural
ways - each in their own way - depending on what happens to catch their
attention. The child interested in shopping will notice the percentage
off sale items. The child interested in carpentry will learn fractions
in a measurement context. The baseball player will learn all about
averages. All the basic arithmetic learned, generally, in grades K
through 8, will come up in life. Parents can be ready to explain them,
when kids ask, just exactly like they'd be ready to explain anything
else.
The ONLY thing I'd add about math (get the pun?) is that parents who
have their OWN math anxiety and math phobia to deal with should get
over it - for their kids' sakes. Try to imagine a kid learning to read
"naturally" in a household where a parent has reading phobia - thinks
it is SUPER LARGE and BUILDS ON ITSELF and IF YOU DON'T LEARN IT IN
ORDER YOU'LL GET LOST and "SOME PEOPLE HAVE READING BRAINS" and "BOYS
ARE BETTER AT IT THAN GIRLS" and "YOU HAVE TO BREAK IT DOWN AND LEARN
LITTLE BITS AT A TIME" and "IT ISN'T GOING TO BE FUN, BUT YOU HAVE TO
LEARN IT ANYWAY" and "IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE SENSE BUT YOU HAVE TO
MEMORIZE CERTAIN THINGS" and so on. Imagine your child asks you, "What
is this word?" And you answer - "I'm not a reading brain, ask your dad
when he gets home." Imagine your child never sees you enjoying reading
and, when you're forced to read something, you moan and groan about it.
Suppose when you get the check at a restaurant, you glance at it and
say, "Here, somebody else do this, I can't read it." Suppose you simply
avoided anything to do with reading, as much as possible.
None of those thoughts and resulting behaviors would be conducive to
your unschooled child learning to read. And those are exactly the kinds
of thoughts people have about math - and more.
So MANY people are math phobic/anxious as a direct result of the way
math is taught in schools. It is sad, frightening, and the MOST
convincing evidence, to me, that unschooling is the best way for kids
to learn. Far from being a "risky endeavor" - at LEAST we're able to
not create the kind of anxieties and phobias that school creates. At
LEAST do no harm.
That was my goal with my kids - I wasn't sure how to support their math
learning, exactly - I only knew I did NOT want to do to them what
schools do to almost everybody (Oh - and don't be fooled by people who
are good at school math. MOST of them are clueless about when and where
and how to apply it and MANY of them get good grades in school but are
just as anxious as those with poor grades. But that's another story for
another time.)
My goal for my kids was that they'd grow up without the prejudices and
fears and frustrations and low self-esteem that school math programs
seem so GOOD at creating. I was less concerned that they "could" do
math, than that they'd "want to" do math.
So - we had fun. I kept my own anxieties at bay - and kept any
interactions that we had relating to math light and easy and enjoyable.
I did buy pattern blocks and base ten cubes - we played with them if
and when the kids felt like it. We played with tangrams and fraction
blocks and geo-boards. We played cards and dice games and paper and
pencil dot games and lots and lots of board games. We played SET and
FLUX and we played blackjack and poker, including betting with
toothpicks or pennies.
My kids are now 13, 16, and 19. My 19 yo has completed 2 years of
college. She started with the lowest math class offered at the college
- because she wasn't sure where else to start <G>. It was a breeze -
she picked up a few little tricks, but otherwise there was nothing in
the class she didn't already know. Same for the next math class - easy
to pick up the bit of new stuff. Then she had algebra for the first
time. She LOVED it. It was just more puzzles and game playing to her.
Sometimes she got frustrated (my opinion is that this was mostly when
the teacher confused them <G>), but she worked at it and figured it out
and easily got the highest grade in the class. So much for needing 13
YEARS of studying math! She went on to a second semester of algebra and
then took probability and statistics. This was a tough class - she took
it in a 4-week summer school - so it was 4 hours per day plus at LEAST
that many hours spent on studying. I worked with her every single day
on it. It was hard. But, in working with her on it, I noticed that she
was insisting on fully understanding every bit of it - was not at all
content to memorize "how to do" something, unless she totally
understood why it worked. This is very unusual for kids in this class
(I've taught it). Again, she got by far the highest grade in the class.
What gave her this ability? She isn't a "math brain" - she's an artist
and writer. But (1) she worked HARD and (2) she expected that it all
made sense and that she could understand it.
That willingness to work hard and that confidence that it made sense
and she could get it - those are the two things missing in my college
students. CLEARLY - they did not learn those things by doing math, bit
by bit, day after day, for years.
Whatever it is the schools are doing, it is disastrous. We have an
epidemic of math phobia and anxiety and avoidance as a result. So -
whatever we're going to do about math at home - duplicating school-type
math is clearly not a good idea.
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
> Math is a large subject, and it does build on itself, but it doesn'tShe will.
> take 12
> years of worksheets to do it! Your three year old (?right?) already
> probably
> knows some math concepts---"more vs less", for sure! I bet she can
> count to
> three cookies! Hold up three fingers! Watch and learn! One day she'll
> say,
> "Daddy, did you know three fives are fifteen?" She'll figure it out.
> She WILL!
>
My daughters have done NO formal math at all. But I'm not going to say,
"We don't do math," because it comes up all the time. How could
somebody be living in the real world and not add, subtract, multiply,
and divide? How could they not notice fractions, decimals, and
percentages? They'll see them and they'll pick them up in very natural
ways - each in their own way - depending on what happens to catch their
attention. The child interested in shopping will notice the percentage
off sale items. The child interested in carpentry will learn fractions
in a measurement context. The baseball player will learn all about
averages. All the basic arithmetic learned, generally, in grades K
through 8, will come up in life. Parents can be ready to explain them,
when kids ask, just exactly like they'd be ready to explain anything
else.
The ONLY thing I'd add about math (get the pun?) is that parents who
have their OWN math anxiety and math phobia to deal with should get
over it - for their kids' sakes. Try to imagine a kid learning to read
"naturally" in a household where a parent has reading phobia - thinks
it is SUPER LARGE and BUILDS ON ITSELF and IF YOU DON'T LEARN IT IN
ORDER YOU'LL GET LOST and "SOME PEOPLE HAVE READING BRAINS" and "BOYS
ARE BETTER AT IT THAN GIRLS" and "YOU HAVE TO BREAK IT DOWN AND LEARN
LITTLE BITS AT A TIME" and "IT ISN'T GOING TO BE FUN, BUT YOU HAVE TO
LEARN IT ANYWAY" and "IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE SENSE BUT YOU HAVE TO
MEMORIZE CERTAIN THINGS" and so on. Imagine your child asks you, "What
is this word?" And you answer - "I'm not a reading brain, ask your dad
when he gets home." Imagine your child never sees you enjoying reading
and, when you're forced to read something, you moan and groan about it.
Suppose when you get the check at a restaurant, you glance at it and
say, "Here, somebody else do this, I can't read it." Suppose you simply
avoided anything to do with reading, as much as possible.
None of those thoughts and resulting behaviors would be conducive to
your unschooled child learning to read. And those are exactly the kinds
of thoughts people have about math - and more.
So MANY people are math phobic/anxious as a direct result of the way
math is taught in schools. It is sad, frightening, and the MOST
convincing evidence, to me, that unschooling is the best way for kids
to learn. Far from being a "risky endeavor" - at LEAST we're able to
not create the kind of anxieties and phobias that school creates. At
LEAST do no harm.
That was my goal with my kids - I wasn't sure how to support their math
learning, exactly - I only knew I did NOT want to do to them what
schools do to almost everybody (Oh - and don't be fooled by people who
are good at school math. MOST of them are clueless about when and where
and how to apply it and MANY of them get good grades in school but are
just as anxious as those with poor grades. But that's another story for
another time.)
My goal for my kids was that they'd grow up without the prejudices and
fears and frustrations and low self-esteem that school math programs
seem so GOOD at creating. I was less concerned that they "could" do
math, than that they'd "want to" do math.
So - we had fun. I kept my own anxieties at bay - and kept any
interactions that we had relating to math light and easy and enjoyable.
I did buy pattern blocks and base ten cubes - we played with them if
and when the kids felt like it. We played with tangrams and fraction
blocks and geo-boards. We played cards and dice games and paper and
pencil dot games and lots and lots of board games. We played SET and
FLUX and we played blackjack and poker, including betting with
toothpicks or pennies.
My kids are now 13, 16, and 19. My 19 yo has completed 2 years of
college. She started with the lowest math class offered at the college
- because she wasn't sure where else to start <G>. It was a breeze -
she picked up a few little tricks, but otherwise there was nothing in
the class she didn't already know. Same for the next math class - easy
to pick up the bit of new stuff. Then she had algebra for the first
time. She LOVED it. It was just more puzzles and game playing to her.
Sometimes she got frustrated (my opinion is that this was mostly when
the teacher confused them <G>), but she worked at it and figured it out
and easily got the highest grade in the class. So much for needing 13
YEARS of studying math! She went on to a second semester of algebra and
then took probability and statistics. This was a tough class - she took
it in a 4-week summer school - so it was 4 hours per day plus at LEAST
that many hours spent on studying. I worked with her every single day
on it. It was hard. But, in working with her on it, I noticed that she
was insisting on fully understanding every bit of it - was not at all
content to memorize "how to do" something, unless she totally
understood why it worked. This is very unusual for kids in this class
(I've taught it). Again, she got by far the highest grade in the class.
What gave her this ability? She isn't a "math brain" - she's an artist
and writer. But (1) she worked HARD and (2) she expected that it all
made sense and that she could understand it.
That willingness to work hard and that confidence that it made sense
and she could get it - those are the two things missing in my college
students. CLEARLY - they did not learn those things by doing math, bit
by bit, day after day, for years.
Whatever it is the schools are doing, it is disastrous. We have an
epidemic of math phobia and anxiety and avoidance as a result. So -
whatever we're going to do about math at home - duplicating school-type
math is clearly not a good idea.
> Unschooling is trusting that it will happen. NOT that she'll become an-pam
> engineer, but that she will learn what she needs to know. Unschooling
> is about
> your facilitating her exploration and respecting her needs at that
> moment.
>
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.