David Albert's Math article in Home Educaton
dluechtefeld.geo
Hi All,
I recently forwarded a copy of David Albert's math article to another
homeschool mom because I thought it was a very interesting article. Well, I
got her reply back and I'm not sure I know what to think of it. I was wondering
if any of you would share your thoughts on some points that she made.
Thanks,
Denise
"We all have our special situations and theories. All I know is my kids are
excited about homeschooling and their new books and very excited about
learning. My kids are wanting to learn and are ready right now. I believe in
being flexible yet encouraging a balanced learning environment so that they
won't feel inferior among their peers if the occasions arise where they may be
with children of their age group. I don't want to hit and miss with their learning
so I depend on evaluative tests from the internet to find gaps in their learning
and try to make as much available to them as possible. We still visit the
library and find plenty of time to read which I couldn't agree more as being
very important. "
"We want to give our kids all of the opportunities possible to be prepared
for the exams to enter college and to be able to function in a public school
setting if the desire ever arises, such as in Jr. High and High School when
they may want to be involved in social activities with thier peers, sports, clubs,
the prom or whatever else they may decide to do. I just want to keep all the
options open to them and without encouraging and making available to them
some of the same structured learning that they have in public school, they
may never have that option as they grow older.
I am sure every theory has its flaws and strong points. "
I recently forwarded a copy of David Albert's math article to another
homeschool mom because I thought it was a very interesting article. Well, I
got her reply back and I'm not sure I know what to think of it. I was wondering
if any of you would share your thoughts on some points that she made.
Thanks,
Denise
"We all have our special situations and theories. All I know is my kids are
excited about homeschooling and their new books and very excited about
learning. My kids are wanting to learn and are ready right now. I believe in
being flexible yet encouraging a balanced learning environment so that they
won't feel inferior among their peers if the occasions arise where they may be
with children of their age group. I don't want to hit and miss with their learning
so I depend on evaluative tests from the internet to find gaps in their learning
and try to make as much available to them as possible. We still visit the
library and find plenty of time to read which I couldn't agree more as being
very important. "
"We want to give our kids all of the opportunities possible to be prepared
for the exams to enter college and to be able to function in a public school
setting if the desire ever arises, such as in Jr. High and High School when
they may want to be involved in social activities with thier peers, sports, clubs,
the prom or whatever else they may decide to do. I just want to keep all the
options open to them and without encouraging and making available to them
some of the same structured learning that they have in public school, they
may never have that option as they grow older.
I am sure every theory has its flaws and strong points. "
pam sorooshian
On Nov 23, 2004, at 5:46 AM, dluechtefeld.geo wrote:
material covered on those tests has no more intrinsic value than
material that is NOT on those tests.
She's assuming that the kids will feel inferior if they've learned
different things than their school-age friends.
Why isn't she worrying that her kids will feel superior for learning so
much more and about things that matter to them?
-pam
> I don't want to hit and miss with their learning so I depend onNo hit and miss? She's going to aim and fire at those tests - but the
> evaluative tests from the internet to find gaps in their learning and
> try to make as much available to them as possible.
material covered on those tests has no more intrinsic value than
material that is NOT on those tests.
She's assuming that the kids will feel inferior if they've learned
different things than their school-age friends.
Why isn't she worrying that her kids will feel superior for learning so
much more and about things that matter to them?
-pam
Robyn Coburn
<<<<<I recently forwarded a copy of David Albert's math article to another
homeschool mom because I thought it was a very interesting article. Well,
I got her reply back and I'm not sure I know what to think of it. I was
wondering if any of you would share your thoughts on some points that she
made.>>>>>
This Mom is not Unschooling. I would go further to suggest that she is not
ready to look at Unschooling. She is still caught up with the external
standards of the public school system. Her kids are still caught up with
idea that they can't learn anything unless some authority figure is teaching
it to them. She trusts neither her kids nor herself (as a teacher). Reading
between the lines, I would guess that she considers David to be a crackpot
who is negligently leaving his children unprepared for life, but didn't want
to be rude.
I don't do school conversations if I can possibly avoid them. This includes
getting into conversations with Moms about their school-at-home practices,
preferring to simply answer any questions that they may have about Jayn's
and my activities instead. Jayn seems to be pretty much on a par with most
of her homeschooled peers with no "teaching" effort on my part and a
generally good relationship between us. Your friend is not ready for a
learning philosophy that seems effortless. Perhaps she wants to be able to
take credit for ensuring all of her children's "accomplishments".
The lesson here is not to let other people's practices and apparent mandate
to "teach" their kids to make us distrustful of our own Unschooling. If
someone else makes me feel inadequate or untrusting, I hurry back to the
lists to get a dose of faith.
Robyn L. Coburn
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homeschool mom because I thought it was a very interesting article. Well,
I got her reply back and I'm not sure I know what to think of it. I was
wondering if any of you would share your thoughts on some points that she
made.>>>>>
This Mom is not Unschooling. I would go further to suggest that she is not
ready to look at Unschooling. She is still caught up with the external
standards of the public school system. Her kids are still caught up with
idea that they can't learn anything unless some authority figure is teaching
it to them. She trusts neither her kids nor herself (as a teacher). Reading
between the lines, I would guess that she considers David to be a crackpot
who is negligently leaving his children unprepared for life, but didn't want
to be rude.
I don't do school conversations if I can possibly avoid them. This includes
getting into conversations with Moms about their school-at-home practices,
preferring to simply answer any questions that they may have about Jayn's
and my activities instead. Jayn seems to be pretty much on a par with most
of her homeschooled peers with no "teaching" effort on my part and a
generally good relationship between us. Your friend is not ready for a
learning philosophy that seems effortless. Perhaps she wants to be able to
take credit for ensuring all of her children's "accomplishments".
The lesson here is not to let other people's practices and apparent mandate
to "teach" their kids to make us distrustful of our own Unschooling. If
someone else makes me feel inadequate or untrusting, I hurry back to the
lists to get a dose of faith.
Robyn L. Coburn
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.799 / Virus Database: 543 - Release Date: 11/19/2004
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**We want to give our kids all of the opportunities possible to be prepared
for the exams to enter college and to be able to function in a public school
setting if the desire ever arises, such as in Jr. High and High School when
they may want to be involved in social activities with thier peers, sports,
clubs,
the prom or whatever else they may decide to do. I just want to keep all the
options open to them and without encouraging and making available to them
some of the same structured learning that they have in public school, they
may never have that option as they grow older.
I am sure every theory has its flaws and strong points. **
I'd probably jreply that since the author's daughter entered a highly
selective college this fall at 16, it's unlikely following his theories have left her
feeling inferior.
But then again I might just ignore the dig and stop sending her articles that
she doesn't want to read because they make her feel defensive. :)
Deborah in IL
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
for the exams to enter college and to be able to function in a public school
setting if the desire ever arises, such as in Jr. High and High School when
they may want to be involved in social activities with thier peers, sports,
clubs,
the prom or whatever else they may decide to do. I just want to keep all the
options open to them and without encouraging and making available to them
some of the same structured learning that they have in public school, they
may never have that option as they grow older.
I am sure every theory has its flaws and strong points. **
I'd probably jreply that since the author's daughter entered a highly
selective college this fall at 16, it's unlikely following his theories have left her
feeling inferior.
But then again I might just ignore the dig and stop sending her articles that
she doesn't want to read because they make her feel defensive. :)
Deborah in IL
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]