special needs and unschooling
Roger
I have been thinking that maybe kids dont always have 'special needs' but a repulsion toward traditional institutionalized learning?
Ive been reading the older posts and it sure sounds like unschooling is not only natural...but actually more 'normal' than the one size fits most system of brick and mortar bldgs
Ive been reading the older posts and it sure sounds like unschooling is not only natural...but actually more 'normal' than the one size fits most system of brick and mortar bldgs
Dawn Hall
I think that is sometimes the case. Other times, the special needs are very
very real. It affects all of life. I have children with Autism Spectrum,
NeuroFibromatosis, ADD, ADHD, Visual Processing Disorder, Auditory
Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, and more. Traditional learning certainly
would be an awful match for them, but they have special needs regardless.
very real. It affects all of life. I have children with Autism Spectrum,
NeuroFibromatosis, ADD, ADHD, Visual Processing Disorder, Auditory
Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, and more. Traditional learning certainly
would be an awful match for them, but they have special needs regardless.
On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 1:51 PM, Roger <rogerrifenburgh@...> wrote:
> **
>
>
> I have been thinking that maybe kids dont always have 'special needs' but a
> repulsion toward traditional institutionalized learning?
> Ive been reading the older posts and it sure sounds like unschooling is not
> only natural...but actually more 'normal' than the one size fits most system
> of brick and mortar bldgs
>
>
>
--
Love, Dawn
Helpmeet to Aaron
Mommy to Thomas (14), Stephen (14), Naomi Ruth (12), Rebekah (11), Hannah
(9), Miriam (7), Susanna (5), Benjamin (3), and Matthew (1)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tova
I agree with these sentiments 100%. I think that school has created all these disorders as 'ADD' and 'Learning disabilities.' They are a symptom of school. Humans naturally learn and discover by moving their bodies freely, talking freely and using the brain freely. Children crave to learn holistically (as the Native Americans did). School doesn't offer that. In traditional education, it is a very passive and restrictive state; the body sits idle in a chair for hours (one gets reprimanded for even standing up and stretching the legs), the voice remains silent (one gets reprimanded for speaking freely), the brain remains passive and dead to the things that spark your unique interest.
Learning efficiently is a very active endeavor by the learner. That is the only way true learning goes on. It certainly doesn't happen by sitting like a motionless puppet all day listening to someone speak on about all the things that are meaningful and important to them.
I would get ADD and all types of learning disabilities too if I was forced to listen to a lecture that didn't interest me for 6 hrs a day, 5 days a week. The thought officially repulses me!
Learning efficiently is a very active endeavor by the learner. That is the only way true learning goes on. It certainly doesn't happen by sitting like a motionless puppet all day listening to someone speak on about all the things that are meaningful and important to them.
I would get ADD and all types of learning disabilities too if I was forced to listen to a lecture that didn't interest me for 6 hrs a day, 5 days a week. The thought officially repulses me!
--- On Thu, 10/13/11, Roger <rogerrifenburgh@...> wrote:
From: Roger <rogerrifenburgh@...>
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] special needs and unschooling
To: [email protected]
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2011, 1:51 PM
I have been thinking that maybe kids dont always have 'special needs' but a repulsion toward traditional institutionalized learning?
Ive been reading the older posts and it sure sounds like unschooling is not only natural...but actually more 'normal' than the one size fits most system of brick and mortar bldgs
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Debra Rossing
There are some who are outside the realm of what is considered 'neurotypical' - they are wired to interact with the world differently. Whether it's something as relatively "simple" as an aversion to strong smells or as complex as a processing issue where the signals get scrambled somewhere along the way (incoming or outgoing or both), it's there. The 'school' way of dealing with any of it is to use medication as a hammer or saw to make people fit. The bonus, benefit, blessing (pick whichever fits your view) of homeschooling generally and unschooling specifically is that each person is able to grow individually with someone (us parents) alongside to assist with navigating the world and finding those tools (whether it's a physical technique, medication, therapy, whatever) that are uniquely effective for that individual to address the world in the ways they choose. That might mean, for instance, using only citrus scented cleaners in the house and only 'food' scented candles (vanilla, lemongrass, cinnamon) and nothing floral or herbal. It might mean exploring alternative therapies such as Bach flower remedies (Rescue Remedy was a standard item in my purse when DS was younger). It might mean finding a compatible physical therapist (or speech therapist or whatever).
Deb R
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Deb R
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Debra Rossing
Oh, also, every PERSON is 'special needs' in the sense that every person views the world differently, in their own special way, with their own 'quirks' and sensitivities and needs. There are some people that just need MORE assistance in finding ways to navigate.
Deb R
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Meredith
Dawn Hall <hallfamily8@...> wrote:
Unschooling isn't some kind of magic fix, for sure, but it makes a biiiiig difference when you're working *with* your kids to help them pursue their needs and interests in their own way rather than trying to train them into behaving "normally" so they can inhabit a classroom.
One of the marvelous things about unschooling is that the principles work with Any child, regardless of special needs, because the principles of unschooling are derived from human commonalities. The *benefits* of unschooling are often more dramatic with kids with higher or atypical needs. It's not exaggerating to say unschooling very likely saved Ray's life - not just in some existential way, but in a very literal way
---Meredith
>Traditional learning certainly***************
> would be an awful match for them, but they have special needs regardless.
Unschooling isn't some kind of magic fix, for sure, but it makes a biiiiig difference when you're working *with* your kids to help them pursue their needs and interests in their own way rather than trying to train them into behaving "normally" so they can inhabit a classroom.
One of the marvelous things about unschooling is that the principles work with Any child, regardless of special needs, because the principles of unschooling are derived from human commonalities. The *benefits* of unschooling are often more dramatic with kids with higher or atypical needs. It's not exaggerating to say unschooling very likely saved Ray's life - not just in some existential way, but in a very literal way
---Meredith
Meredith
Tova <ml_ja@...> wrote:
Many of them are - likely the vast majority, and that's sad not only for the kids who are being misdiagnosed but also because there really Are kids who struggle to focus their attention and need real help, sometimes even medication - not so they can "do well in school" but so they can do what They want to do.
There are real limits in the world, and sometimes those limits are biological. One of the wonderful aspects of unschooling is getting to see limits as something other than roadblocks. They can be opportunities to go a different way, see the world from a different angle.
---Meredith
>*******************
> I think that school has created all these disorders as 'ADD' and 'Learning disabilities.' They are a symptom of school.
Many of them are - likely the vast majority, and that's sad not only for the kids who are being misdiagnosed but also because there really Are kids who struggle to focus their attention and need real help, sometimes even medication - not so they can "do well in school" but so they can do what They want to do.
There are real limits in the world, and sometimes those limits are biological. One of the wonderful aspects of unschooling is getting to see limits as something other than roadblocks. They can be opportunities to go a different way, see the world from a different angle.
---Meredith