Unschoolers can learn---or not
[email protected]
Tucson Region
'Unschoolers' can learn - or not
Johnny reads when he's ready, and state of Arizona butts out
By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.13.2005
As most schoolchildren are sitting down for their morning classes, Taylor Gavin is just rolling out of bed. "Sometimes I get up at 8, sometimes not until 9 or 10. It just depends," the talkative 11-year-old says.
Each day is different for Taylor and his 10-year-old sister, Karina. Activities range from video games at their East Side home to dance lessons to museum and national park visits.
The Gavins are "unschoolers," a small branch of home-schoolers with parents who reject the structured and authoritative nature of today's education system. Some call it "discovery learning" because of its laissez faire attitude.
Unschoolers defy the trendiest new styles of learning. Their methodology - or lack thereof - is a slap in the face of school accountability measures. In a post-No Child Left Behind Act world, federal education spending is up, standardized testing is a required part of the classroom and the word "rigor" is experiencing a renaissance in education circles.
Unschoolers don't take tests and don't typically have homework. There are no single-file lines of boys and girls, no cafeteria lunches or crashing lockers. But it's the lack of any kind of concrete lesson plan that makes unschooling far different from normal home schooling.
Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want, how they want. And that could mean learning nothing at all.
It's a concept that's totally legal in Arizona, though it's not without critics. Some say unschooling is irresponsible and question whether it allows for healthy child development.
But advocates maintain that the usual ways of learning aren't the only way of learning. Socialization doesn't have to happen in classrooms. And letting kids chart their own course, they say, will give them more choices and provide more of a challenge.
"I think when kids have the idea that their learning is up to them, they'll do interesting things with their time," said Tucsonan Debbie Gubernick, who has four children who have been unschooled, including a son who's now a junior at the University of Arizona.
"Most kids are waiting for life to start happening."
Steady numbers
General home schooling surged in the past five years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, increasing nearly 30 percent from 1999 to 2003. That's about 2.2 percent of U.S. school-age children.
Unschooling has remained a small but steady part of it.
Estimates of the number of unschoolers in Southern Arizona vary and could be as high as 50 families, though no organized unschoolers group exists in the Tucson area. Unschoolers make up about 10 percent of the entire home-school population, said Patrick Farenga, president of Holt Associates, a consulting company founded by John Holt, the author who coined the term "unschoolers."
The term and original movement came about in the late 1970s with the book "Instead of Education." Holt adopted the name "unschooling" from the popular 7-Up "Uncola" advertising campaign of the time.
"The beauty of unschooling is you're learning in real life," Farenga said. "Unschoolers have a very strong sense of how the world works because they've lived in it."
Many other home-schoolers stay away from public schools because of religious values or because they don't feel school curriculum is competitive. But unschoolers rarely incorporate religion and generally oppose barriers that stand in the way of kids enjoying life.
For example, what if a child wants to spend the day watching soap operas? That's fine under certain circumstances, parent Gubernick says.
"I think it's important for teenagers to do absolutely nothing sometimes."
And it's still possible for unschoolers - or any other homeschooler - to attend college, since an SAT score - not a high school diploma - is enough to get into many universities.
Parental rights
Home-schoolers, such as Karyn Parisi, co-president of Tucson's Southeast Side chapter of Christian Home Educators, are quick to distance themselves from unschoolers.
"Our philosophy is totally different," Parisi said. "We're not rebelling against education. We just want to have more control and more say over what our children learn, which often times is tougher than what you would find in public schools."
John Wright, president of the Arizona Education Association, a teacher lobbying group, also is skeptical.
"Parents have the right to make decisions that are right for their children. In a home-school environment, it's up to them to set the structure," he said. "If unschooling is where the child's will is the child's way, there will be some hard lessons when they grow up."
And while Wright doesn't doubt that parents can provide socialization at home, he said it might be harder to accomplish in a home environment, especially without a structured home-school plan.
Still, unschooling is perfectly legal in Arizona, says Kim Fields, program coordinator for the Pima County School Superintendent's office. Home-schoolers need to file an affidavit with the county to remove children from school, she said. The same process applies to unschoolers.
The affidavit requires they be taught reading, grammar, math and social studies, but there's "no rule they have to be taught a certain way," she said.
Arizona's home-schooling laws are among the most liberal in the nation, Fields said. Parents aren't required to provide any proof their kids are learning. There are a bit more than 3,000 home-schooling affidavits in Pima County, Fields said.
Flexibility
Taylor's and Karina's mother, Eileen Gavin, became interested in unschooling when she first had her children. She tried out a private school for a few months, then decided to give unschooling a shot. She admits she isn't an absolutist, and she sometimes steers her kids toward certain subjects.
She isn't sure yet if her children's interest in self-discovery will carry into the teen years. But, for now, Taylor and Karina seem to be doing just fine.
There are no signs these children have problems socializing or are behind the curve. They have lots of friends in their neighborhood, answer questions about their daily lives with excitement and show almost no signs of insecurities.
And just what do they do all day? There's a lot of reading. Taylor learned the countries of the world by setting up Pokemon characters on a map. And Karina worked on math by figuring out how she'd spend the $340 million Powerball jackpot.
"I like it much better than when I was in school," Taylor said.
? Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 573-4195 or at dscarpinato@....
~Kelly
Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://liveandlearnconference.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
'Unschoolers' can learn - or not
Johnny reads when he's ready, and state of Arizona butts out
By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.13.2005
As most schoolchildren are sitting down for their morning classes, Taylor Gavin is just rolling out of bed. "Sometimes I get up at 8, sometimes not until 9 or 10. It just depends," the talkative 11-year-old says.
Each day is different for Taylor and his 10-year-old sister, Karina. Activities range from video games at their East Side home to dance lessons to museum and national park visits.
The Gavins are "unschoolers," a small branch of home-schoolers with parents who reject the structured and authoritative nature of today's education system. Some call it "discovery learning" because of its laissez faire attitude.
Unschoolers defy the trendiest new styles of learning. Their methodology - or lack thereof - is a slap in the face of school accountability measures. In a post-No Child Left Behind Act world, federal education spending is up, standardized testing is a required part of the classroom and the word "rigor" is experiencing a renaissance in education circles.
Unschoolers don't take tests and don't typically have homework. There are no single-file lines of boys and girls, no cafeteria lunches or crashing lockers. But it's the lack of any kind of concrete lesson plan that makes unschooling far different from normal home schooling.
Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want, how they want. And that could mean learning nothing at all.
It's a concept that's totally legal in Arizona, though it's not without critics. Some say unschooling is irresponsible and question whether it allows for healthy child development.
But advocates maintain that the usual ways of learning aren't the only way of learning. Socialization doesn't have to happen in classrooms. And letting kids chart their own course, they say, will give them more choices and provide more of a challenge.
"I think when kids have the idea that their learning is up to them, they'll do interesting things with their time," said Tucsonan Debbie Gubernick, who has four children who have been unschooled, including a son who's now a junior at the University of Arizona.
"Most kids are waiting for life to start happening."
Steady numbers
General home schooling surged in the past five years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, increasing nearly 30 percent from 1999 to 2003. That's about 2.2 percent of U.S. school-age children.
Unschooling has remained a small but steady part of it.
Estimates of the number of unschoolers in Southern Arizona vary and could be as high as 50 families, though no organized unschoolers group exists in the Tucson area. Unschoolers make up about 10 percent of the entire home-school population, said Patrick Farenga, president of Holt Associates, a consulting company founded by John Holt, the author who coined the term "unschoolers."
The term and original movement came about in the late 1970s with the book "Instead of Education." Holt adopted the name "unschooling" from the popular 7-Up "Uncola" advertising campaign of the time.
"The beauty of unschooling is you're learning in real life," Farenga said. "Unschoolers have a very strong sense of how the world works because they've lived in it."
Many other home-schoolers stay away from public schools because of religious values or because they don't feel school curriculum is competitive. But unschoolers rarely incorporate religion and generally oppose barriers that stand in the way of kids enjoying life.
For example, what if a child wants to spend the day watching soap operas? That's fine under certain circumstances, parent Gubernick says.
"I think it's important for teenagers to do absolutely nothing sometimes."
And it's still possible for unschoolers - or any other homeschooler - to attend college, since an SAT score - not a high school diploma - is enough to get into many universities.
Parental rights
Home-schoolers, such as Karyn Parisi, co-president of Tucson's Southeast Side chapter of Christian Home Educators, are quick to distance themselves from unschoolers.
"Our philosophy is totally different," Parisi said. "We're not rebelling against education. We just want to have more control and more say over what our children learn, which often times is tougher than what you would find in public schools."
John Wright, president of the Arizona Education Association, a teacher lobbying group, also is skeptical.
"Parents have the right to make decisions that are right for their children. In a home-school environment, it's up to them to set the structure," he said. "If unschooling is where the child's will is the child's way, there will be some hard lessons when they grow up."
And while Wright doesn't doubt that parents can provide socialization at home, he said it might be harder to accomplish in a home environment, especially without a structured home-school plan.
Still, unschooling is perfectly legal in Arizona, says Kim Fields, program coordinator for the Pima County School Superintendent's office. Home-schoolers need to file an affidavit with the county to remove children from school, she said. The same process applies to unschoolers.
The affidavit requires they be taught reading, grammar, math and social studies, but there's "no rule they have to be taught a certain way," she said.
Arizona's home-schooling laws are among the most liberal in the nation, Fields said. Parents aren't required to provide any proof their kids are learning. There are a bit more than 3,000 home-schooling affidavits in Pima County, Fields said.
Flexibility
Taylor's and Karina's mother, Eileen Gavin, became interested in unschooling when she first had her children. She tried out a private school for a few months, then decided to give unschooling a shot. She admits she isn't an absolutist, and she sometimes steers her kids toward certain subjects.
She isn't sure yet if her children's interest in self-discovery will carry into the teen years. But, for now, Taylor and Karina seem to be doing just fine.
There are no signs these children have problems socializing or are behind the curve. They have lots of friends in their neighborhood, answer questions about their daily lives with excitement and show almost no signs of insecurities.
And just what do they do all day? There's a lot of reading. Taylor learned the countries of the world by setting up Pokemon characters on a map. And Karina worked on math by figuring out how she'd spend the $340 million Powerball jackpot.
"I like it much better than when I was in school," Taylor said.
? Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 573-4195 or at dscarpinato@....
~Kelly
Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://liveandlearnconference.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pamela Sorooshian
On Nov 14, 2005, at 11:09 AM, kbcdlovejo@... wrote:
Don't you all get the feeling we escaped just in time?
Even though I chose unschooling over schooling, I have to say that
truly schools weren't this horrible 15 years ago - there was whole
language and constructivist mathematics and authentic assessment and
integrated curriculum and differentiated curriculum and learning
stations and a strong sense that children learned best through
personal exploration and investigation and teachers were learning
about multiple intelligences. Now there is rigor and testing and
direct instruction and standardization and testing and testing and
testing.
My freshman college students are significantly MORE burned out,
apathetic, resistant, negative, cynical, defensive, detached, and
"going through the motions," than ever before. I don't blame them.
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> In a post-No Child Left Behind Act world, federal educationI just want to say, "WHEW!"
> spending is up, standardized testing is a required part of the
> classroom and the word "rigor" is experiencing a renaissance in
> education circles.
Don't you all get the feeling we escaped just in time?
Even though I chose unschooling over schooling, I have to say that
truly schools weren't this horrible 15 years ago - there was whole
language and constructivist mathematics and authentic assessment and
integrated curriculum and differentiated curriculum and learning
stations and a strong sense that children learned best through
personal exploration and investigation and teachers were learning
about multiple intelligences. Now there is rigor and testing and
direct instruction and standardization and testing and testing and
testing.
My freshman college students are significantly MORE burned out,
apathetic, resistant, negative, cynical, defensive, detached, and
"going through the motions," than ever before. I don't blame them.
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb
--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
headline "Unschoolers can learn - or not" which is also echoed midway
in the article - it misses the whole idea that learning doesn't stop
just because there's no workbook or school day or measurement. It's
pretty nigh impossible to learn 'nothing at all' if you're alive and
kicking.
--Deb
>Interesting article - even if it has one glaring problem smack in the
>
> Tucson Region
> 'Unschoolers' can learn - or not
> Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want, how they want. And
>that could mean learning nothing at all.
headline "Unschoolers can learn - or not" which is also echoed midway
in the article - it misses the whole idea that learning doesn't stop
just because there's no workbook or school day or measurement. It's
pretty nigh impossible to learn 'nothing at all' if you're alive and
kicking.
--Deb
Pamela Sorooshian
On Nov 14, 2005, at 11:40 AM, Deb wrote:
NO LEARNING. NO. STOP THAT! I TOOOOLD YOU TO STOP THAT. I MEAN IT. NO
LEARNING. I CAN SEEEEE YOU and I KNOW YOU"RE LEARNING OVER THERE.
Oh well. It isn't working. I give up - can't make them stop learning.
Oh wait - maybe I could try reverse psychology - maybe I could try
making them learn something and maybe they'd stop learning altogether.
OKAY KID. MEMORIZE THESE MATH FACTS. THAT'S IT. MEMORIZE THEM. STUDY
THEM NOW. REPEAT THEM OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU CAN DO IT EASILY. I
DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE BORED. LEARN THEM NOW.
Oh. So you learned that math is just memorizing and you're not good
at it and it isn't fun? And now you hate math and it makes you
anxious and stressed out to think about it? You're going to avoid
careers and hobbies that involve math?
Sheesh. You just can't stop learning SOMETHING, can you?!!!
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> And that could mean learning nothing at all.Quite a challenge!
NO LEARNING. NO. STOP THAT! I TOOOOLD YOU TO STOP THAT. I MEAN IT. NO
LEARNING. I CAN SEEEEE YOU and I KNOW YOU"RE LEARNING OVER THERE.
Oh well. It isn't working. I give up - can't make them stop learning.
Oh wait - maybe I could try reverse psychology - maybe I could try
making them learn something and maybe they'd stop learning altogether.
OKAY KID. MEMORIZE THESE MATH FACTS. THAT'S IT. MEMORIZE THEM. STUDY
THEM NOW. REPEAT THEM OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU CAN DO IT EASILY. I
DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE BORED. LEARN THEM NOW.
Oh. So you learned that math is just memorizing and you're not good
at it and it isn't fun? And now you hate math and it makes you
anxious and stressed out to think about it? You're going to avoid
careers and hobbies that involve math?
Sheesh. You just can't stop learning SOMETHING, can you?!!!
-pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb
--- In [email protected], Pamela Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
>LOL LOL LOL
> NO LEARNING. NO. STOP THAT! I TOOOOLD YOU TO STOP THAT. I MEAN IT.
>NO
> LEARNING. I CAN SEEEEE YOU and I KNOW YOU"RE LEARNING OVER THERE.
>
> Oh well. It isn't working. I give up - can't make them stop
>learning.
>
> Oh wait - maybe I could try reverse psychology - maybe I could
>try
> making them learn something and maybe they'd stop learning
>altogether.
>
> OKAY KID. MEMORIZE THESE MATH FACTS. THAT'S IT. MEMORIZE THEM.
>STUDY
> THEM NOW. REPEAT THEM OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU CAN DO IT EASILY. I
> DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE BORED. LEARN THEM NOW.
>
> Oh. So you learned that math is just memorizing and you're not
>good
> at it and it isn't fun? And now you hate math and it makes you
> anxious and stressed out to think about it? You're going to avoid
> careers and hobbies that involve math?
>
> Sheesh. You just can't stop learning SOMETHING, can you?!!!
>
> -pam
>
Deb
--- In [email protected], Pamela Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
grade science and English; the even more self directed algebra in
8th grade; spending the entire 7th grade year in history being the
Colonies (the teacher was Queen Georgina) and exploring the whys and
wherefores of trade and economics and the Declaration of
Independence and all. Lots of freedom in many areas to explore
things of interest.
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1126743,00.html
part of Time magazine's report on Ambition includes this bit:
"Figuring out why the fire went out is the first step. Assuming that
a kid doesn't suffer from an emotional or learning disability, or
isn't involved in some family crisis at home, many educators
attribute a sudden lack of motivation to a fear of failure or peer
pressure that conveys the message that doing well academically
somehow isn't cool. "Kids get so caught up in the moment-to-moment
issue of will they look smart or dumb, and it blocks them from
thinking about the long term," says Carol Dweck, a psychology
professor at Stanford. "[You have to teach them that] they are in
charge of their intellectual growth." Over the past couple of years,
Dweck has helped run an experimental workshop with New York City
public school seventh-graders to do just that. Dubbed Brainology,
the unorthodox approach uses basic neuroscience to teach kids how
the brain works and how it can continue to develop throughout
life. "The message is that everything is within the kids' control,
that their intelligence is malleable," says Lisa Blackwell, a
research scientist at Columbia University who has worked with Dweck
to develop and run the program, which has helped increase the
students' interest in school and turned around their declining math
grades"
I read that and DH heard me growl (lol) - the big problem is that
you spend the first 6 years (assuming that you use the 7th grade
program they describe) to make sure that the kids are well aware of
who is in charge, who decides when and where and what and how they
will be doing things (and they wonder "why the fire went out"
sheesh!). Then you do this program that tries to teach them
that "they are in charge of their intellectual growth"
and "everything is within <their> control" when the reality is that
they've still got a minimum of 5 more years where someone else
determines what and when and where and how you do things. They have
little control over *anything* in that regard - unless they happen
to have energy and time left over and aren't totally burnt out and
decide to explore things on their own.
Ack!
--Deb
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
>that
> I just want to say, "WHEW!"
>
> Don't you all get the feeling we escaped just in time?
>
> Even though I chose unschooling over schooling, I have to say
> truly schools weren't this horrible 15 years agoI know - I still remember the work at your own pace stuff in 6th
grade science and English; the even more self directed algebra in
8th grade; spending the entire 7th grade year in history being the
Colonies (the teacher was Queen Georgina) and exploring the whys and
wherefores of trade and economics and the Declaration of
Independence and all. Lots of freedom in many areas to explore
things of interest.
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1126743,00.html
part of Time magazine's report on Ambition includes this bit:
"Figuring out why the fire went out is the first step. Assuming that
a kid doesn't suffer from an emotional or learning disability, or
isn't involved in some family crisis at home, many educators
attribute a sudden lack of motivation to a fear of failure or peer
pressure that conveys the message that doing well academically
somehow isn't cool. "Kids get so caught up in the moment-to-moment
issue of will they look smart or dumb, and it blocks them from
thinking about the long term," says Carol Dweck, a psychology
professor at Stanford. "[You have to teach them that] they are in
charge of their intellectual growth." Over the past couple of years,
Dweck has helped run an experimental workshop with New York City
public school seventh-graders to do just that. Dubbed Brainology,
the unorthodox approach uses basic neuroscience to teach kids how
the brain works and how it can continue to develop throughout
life. "The message is that everything is within the kids' control,
that their intelligence is malleable," says Lisa Blackwell, a
research scientist at Columbia University who has worked with Dweck
to develop and run the program, which has helped increase the
students' interest in school and turned around their declining math
grades"
I read that and DH heard me growl (lol) - the big problem is that
you spend the first 6 years (assuming that you use the 7th grade
program they describe) to make sure that the kids are well aware of
who is in charge, who decides when and where and what and how they
will be doing things (and they wonder "why the fire went out"
sheesh!). Then you do this program that tries to teach them
that "they are in charge of their intellectual growth"
and "everything is within <their> control" when the reality is that
they've still got a minimum of 5 more years where someone else
determines what and when and where and how you do things. They have
little control over *anything* in that regard - unless they happen
to have energy and time left over and aren't totally burnt out and
decide to explore things on their own.
Ack!
--Deb
Liz in AZ
Oh my, yes. Also from this week's education news in Tucson:
"In Tucson Unified School District [...] 67 percent of the
district's 3,488 potential May graduates have passed all three
sections of the AIMS test [Arizona's new high-stakes exam]. Another
15 percent of TUSD students are expected to pass with the help of an
augmentation formula passed by the Legislature that factors in
classroom grades."
I.e., 18% of kids in the system aren't meeting the system's minimum
requirements. Additional sessions of the exam are being scheduled
for next July. For those poor kids, I think it will be the 6th time
they will sit the exams.
I don't want to drift too far into school-bashing, but... yikes.
Liz in AZ
--- In [email protected], Pamela Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
"In Tucson Unified School District [...] 67 percent of the
district's 3,488 potential May graduates have passed all three
sections of the AIMS test [Arizona's new high-stakes exam]. Another
15 percent of TUSD students are expected to pass with the help of an
augmentation formula passed by the Legislature that factors in
classroom grades."
I.e., 18% of kids in the system aren't meeting the system's minimum
requirements. Additional sessions of the exam are being scheduled
for next July. For those poor kids, I think it will be the 6th time
they will sit the exams.
I don't want to drift too far into school-bashing, but... yikes.
Liz in AZ
--- In [email protected], Pamela Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@e...> wrote:
>
>
> On Nov 14, 2005, at 11:09 AM, kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
>
> > In a post-No Child Left Behind Act world, federal education
> > spending is up, standardized testing is a required part of the
> > classroom and the word "rigor" is experiencing a renaissance in
> > education circles.
>
>
> I just want to say, "WHEW!"
>
> Don't you all get the feeling we escaped just in time?
[email protected]
In a message dated 11/14/05 12:37:59 PM, pamsoroosh@... writes:
YES~! And they probably will. And the schools will all swing back the
OTHER way with people saying "You're just stuffing them (and not very well) with
facts, when you should be helping them learn how to think," and then there
will be a great outcry, and they will swing BACK the other way.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> My freshman college students are significantly MORE burned out,Can't the schools figure out how to test for that and avoid it!?
> apathetic, resistant, negative, cynical, defensive, detached, and
> "going through the motions," than ever before.
>
YES~! And they probably will. And the schools will all swing back the
OTHER way with people saying "You're just stuffing them (and not very well) with
facts, when you should be helping them learn how to think," and then there
will be a great outcry, and they will swing BACK the other way.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Deb
--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
mental and/or emotional states - gotta go full steam ahead with
mandatory psych screenings for our kids before it's too late....
(way way way tongue in cheek)
--Deb
>YES~! And they probably will.
>
> In a message dated 11/14/05 12:37:59 PM, pamsoroosh@e... writes:
>
>
> > My freshman college students are significantly MORE burned out,
> > apathetic, resistant, negative, cynical, defensive, detached,
>and
> > "going through the motions," than ever before.
> >
>
> Can't the schools figure out how to test for that and avoid it!?
>
>
> SandraHmm apathy, negative attitude, defensiveness, gee these are all
mental and/or emotional states - gotta go full steam ahead with
mandatory psych screenings for our kids before it's too late....
(way way way tongue in cheek)
--Deb