Dots
[email protected]
Hi everyone,
I went to my unschooling discussion group this past Sunday night and heard
something that so touched me and wanted to share it. It has probably been
presented before in this fashion or something similiar, and I am sure I have
heard it, but sometimes things just grab you as this did.
Someone had brought up how they sometimes are in the company of other
homeschoolers who do "school at home" and they will ask her . . ."you mean,
you aren't doing fractions yet?" or some other similiar innane comment. And
she never really knows what to say and always feels sort of odd about it.
Another person there gave a great explanation that goes like this. . . she
took out a large sheet of blank paper, and said this blank area of the paper
represents all of the knowledge or material out there available to learn
about, and if we are being realistic, this paper would only be a small
portion of it. Then she put a dot on the paper and said, this dot represents
what schools(or some other curriculumn) have deemed important to learn. And
then she said we, as unschoolers, just have decided that we will learn a
different dot.
I just so love this. . . because the young people in my family get to choose
which dot they are interested in learning about. And they can change that dot
at anytime they choose as well. And I can choose my own dot. So here's to
choosing our own dots!! :)
lovemary
If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then
make a change.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I went to my unschooling discussion group this past Sunday night and heard
something that so touched me and wanted to share it. It has probably been
presented before in this fashion or something similiar, and I am sure I have
heard it, but sometimes things just grab you as this did.
Someone had brought up how they sometimes are in the company of other
homeschoolers who do "school at home" and they will ask her . . ."you mean,
you aren't doing fractions yet?" or some other similiar innane comment. And
she never really knows what to say and always feels sort of odd about it.
Another person there gave a great explanation that goes like this. . . she
took out a large sheet of blank paper, and said this blank area of the paper
represents all of the knowledge or material out there available to learn
about, and if we are being realistic, this paper would only be a small
portion of it. Then she put a dot on the paper and said, this dot represents
what schools(or some other curriculumn) have deemed important to learn. And
then she said we, as unschoolers, just have decided that we will learn a
different dot.
I just so love this. . . because the young people in my family get to choose
which dot they are interested in learning about. And they can change that dot
at anytime they choose as well. And I can choose my own dot. So here's to
choosing our own dots!! :)
lovemary
If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then
make a change.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
I like the dots story.
When I first saw "dots" I was thinking of the grid game built on dots. And
with that model still in my head when you said "piece of paper," I have
another idea.
School (at or away from home) tries to claim that their "dot" is the
information people need to succeed. And they tie it together, in most
repetitive ways, from year to year, but rarely do they cross-reference
(science to language, history to music, math to history, etc.)
Unschoolers, meanwhile come on dots randomly and connect them to other random
dots, and our kids end up with a huge web of connections. Holes? Surely,
but if you got a hundred of the best-educated mainstream kids and compared
what they know, ALL would have a hole or ten compared to what the others
happened to have learned. And it is impossible to separate what a bright kid
learned in school from what he came across and connected on his own after (or
during) school.
It is not measurable, regardless of the joy some take in "standardized
tests." All you can measure is how well a person does on that test--not how
much more he knows, now how psychic he is, or how his deductive powers work
(eliminate the two worst, make a best guess--the whole column won't be "B" so
following five "B" answers, go with the other if you can't decide...).
If the grid of all possibilities is the model, the schools stay in the corner
of school-requirements, what will be on the SAT test. Our kids are out
riding horses or collecting action figures or cooking or building tents or
teaching embroidery, without regard for the test. Which group will have the
greater bulk of information?
Sandra
When I first saw "dots" I was thinking of the grid game built on dots. And
with that model still in my head when you said "piece of paper," I have
another idea.
School (at or away from home) tries to claim that their "dot" is the
information people need to succeed. And they tie it together, in most
repetitive ways, from year to year, but rarely do they cross-reference
(science to language, history to music, math to history, etc.)
Unschoolers, meanwhile come on dots randomly and connect them to other random
dots, and our kids end up with a huge web of connections. Holes? Surely,
but if you got a hundred of the best-educated mainstream kids and compared
what they know, ALL would have a hole or ten compared to what the others
happened to have learned. And it is impossible to separate what a bright kid
learned in school from what he came across and connected on his own after (or
during) school.
It is not measurable, regardless of the joy some take in "standardized
tests." All you can measure is how well a person does on that test--not how
much more he knows, now how psychic he is, or how his deductive powers work
(eliminate the two worst, make a best guess--the whole column won't be "B" so
following five "B" answers, go with the other if you can't decide...).
If the grid of all possibilities is the model, the schools stay in the corner
of school-requirements, what will be on the SAT test. Our kids are out
riding horses or collecting action figures or cooking or building tents or
teaching embroidery, without regard for the test. Which group will have the
greater bulk of information?
Sandra
[email protected]
I too loved the dots story, thank you for sharing it, and I loved Sandra's
response. Both came at a good time here as all those standardized test scores
are coming in. I have never tested my kids, never will. But this morn a good
friend emailed me to say that his son (only child) who is a public school 2nd
grader just got back his standardize test scores. He scored in the top 3% in
the nation. (you knew I was going to say that right. No one ever emails if
their kid is in the bottom 3%!) Top 1% in math. My friend says, as he often
does, that his child is a lot smarter than him and he is only in 2nd grade.
That is so stupid. Another homeschool friend I have just emailed me with his
high schoolers test scores too. And he told me how his son just finished a
book for their school district explaining what they would be doing next year.
It is 3000 pages long!
How nice it is too hear from like minded people. Thank you for being here.
Candy
response. Both came at a good time here as all those standardized test scores
are coming in. I have never tested my kids, never will. But this morn a good
friend emailed me to say that his son (only child) who is a public school 2nd
grader just got back his standardize test scores. He scored in the top 3% in
the nation. (you knew I was going to say that right. No one ever emails if
their kid is in the bottom 3%!) Top 1% in math. My friend says, as he often
does, that his child is a lot smarter than him and he is only in 2nd grade.
That is so stupid. Another homeschool friend I have just emailed me with his
high schoolers test scores too. And he told me how his son just finished a
book for their school district explaining what they would be doing next year.
It is 3000 pages long!
How nice it is too hear from like minded people. Thank you for being here.
Candy
Kim Baker
> then she said we, as unschoolers, just haveSo here's to
> decided that we will learn a
> different dot.
> choosing our own dots!! :)I love this!!!!!
=====
Kim - Missouri MOM of Dylan(11) Jacob(10) Noah(21 mos)
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