I AM A NEWBIE TO THIS LIST
D. J. Brewer
Howdy all. I am newbie on this e-list. My name is D.J.
(That is short for the Texan moniker of Donna Jean, but the only person
to ever call me that was my mother when she was angry with me).
I am a homeschooling mother of 4. I am very interested in how children
learn and facilitating that. My experience has been that most people
want to meddle a lot with kids' cognitive processes, thinking that it
enhances learning. One would hope they would infer that there is a
reason in the radical drop in children's learning from age 5 on.
Children absorb a tremendous amount of information, completely
untutored, between the ages of 0 and 5. The entire acquisition of
language usually takes place during that time, with absolutely NO formal
instruction whatsoever.
For some odd reason, our society seems to think 5 the perfect age to
start "formal" education, and, concomitantly, the learning drops off at
a plummeting rate once formal education is introduced. Were kids'
brains a money making venture, the idiot that employed that strategy
would have been fired long ago. But, alas, they are only kids and its
only their brains -- so presumably, they'll get over it. (NOT!)
Sorry if I sound a little cynical in my intro, but so few people
understand how learning takes place. Digesting what is encountered is
at least as important as encountering it. Play is how the child
incorporates what he/she has learned into his/her own mental matrix.
So, providing kids with rich experiences and plenty of time to play and
digest what they are learning is an integral part of the learning scheme
at our house.
Of course I DO provide guidance. I do not believe in an unmentored
child any more than I would recommend a child be raised by wolves. Kids
need guidance, not interference. Finding that balance is the
responsibility of parents. We've been through more, so we can offer
information. Of course, one can argue when guidance digresses to
interference, but that is pretty much up to each parent and child to
figure out.
I homeschool my kids and other people's kids at my house. We always
have a houseful. It is always pretty insane here. This weekend we had
10 kids here. My daughter, age 14, just left for Korea. For 2 years,
she had been asking for us to let her apply for a special foreign
exchange program through our church, and my husband and I sat on it.
Finally, we let her apply and she was accepted.
My 12 year old dyslexic son loves physics and algebra. He can read a
book upside down as easily as right side up. He is a cute, nerdy,
freckle faced boy. My 10 year old sprite of a daughter is a gifted
actress. My 5 year old son is undoubtedly the cutest boy on earth. (In
NO way do I claim to be unbiased in my assessment of my children. Hell,
they are my kids. You want unbiased, go read a statistician's report
(which may or may not be unbiased but sure will be boring).
As for myself, I am a journalist and a computer graphic design artist.
First and foremost, I am mother to my kids, and any other kids that
happen to be at my house. I have friends that are absolutely "radical
unschoolers." I know specifically what that means. I am not at all
sure that I fit that category, but my ideas sure DO NOT fit any other
philosophy. The term "eclectic" is too wishy-washy for my taste. I
HATE "structured." I equate that with "anal retentive." I am
definitely "relaxed" (except, of course, when I am "stressed out!")
My husband and I are both self taught people. We know what it takes to
learn, since we ourselves had no teachers for the professions that we
respectively acquired.
Life is an adventure through which one learns. Work is an excellent
tutor. Our kids definitely know how to live life to the fullest and how
to work! (No maid service here. When its time to clean the bathrooms,
do yard work, fold clothes, wash dishes, etc., like it or not, we ALL
clean 'em. Some things jes' AIN'T an option!)
I am very sorry if I appear pedantic. An intro was suggested to me, so
I deigned to offer one. I am happily argumentative and Irish.
Nice to meet everyone
DJ
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http://www.alternative-learning.org
to access associated Web-sites
(That is short for the Texan moniker of Donna Jean, but the only person
to ever call me that was my mother when she was angry with me).
I am a homeschooling mother of 4. I am very interested in how children
learn and facilitating that. My experience has been that most people
want to meddle a lot with kids' cognitive processes, thinking that it
enhances learning. One would hope they would infer that there is a
reason in the radical drop in children's learning from age 5 on.
Children absorb a tremendous amount of information, completely
untutored, between the ages of 0 and 5. The entire acquisition of
language usually takes place during that time, with absolutely NO formal
instruction whatsoever.
For some odd reason, our society seems to think 5 the perfect age to
start "formal" education, and, concomitantly, the learning drops off at
a plummeting rate once formal education is introduced. Were kids'
brains a money making venture, the idiot that employed that strategy
would have been fired long ago. But, alas, they are only kids and its
only their brains -- so presumably, they'll get over it. (NOT!)
Sorry if I sound a little cynical in my intro, but so few people
understand how learning takes place. Digesting what is encountered is
at least as important as encountering it. Play is how the child
incorporates what he/she has learned into his/her own mental matrix.
So, providing kids with rich experiences and plenty of time to play and
digest what they are learning is an integral part of the learning scheme
at our house.
Of course I DO provide guidance. I do not believe in an unmentored
child any more than I would recommend a child be raised by wolves. Kids
need guidance, not interference. Finding that balance is the
responsibility of parents. We've been through more, so we can offer
information. Of course, one can argue when guidance digresses to
interference, but that is pretty much up to each parent and child to
figure out.
I homeschool my kids and other people's kids at my house. We always
have a houseful. It is always pretty insane here. This weekend we had
10 kids here. My daughter, age 14, just left for Korea. For 2 years,
she had been asking for us to let her apply for a special foreign
exchange program through our church, and my husband and I sat on it.
Finally, we let her apply and she was accepted.
My 12 year old dyslexic son loves physics and algebra. He can read a
book upside down as easily as right side up. He is a cute, nerdy,
freckle faced boy. My 10 year old sprite of a daughter is a gifted
actress. My 5 year old son is undoubtedly the cutest boy on earth. (In
NO way do I claim to be unbiased in my assessment of my children. Hell,
they are my kids. You want unbiased, go read a statistician's report
(which may or may not be unbiased but sure will be boring).
As for myself, I am a journalist and a computer graphic design artist.
First and foremost, I am mother to my kids, and any other kids that
happen to be at my house. I have friends that are absolutely "radical
unschoolers." I know specifically what that means. I am not at all
sure that I fit that category, but my ideas sure DO NOT fit any other
philosophy. The term "eclectic" is too wishy-washy for my taste. I
HATE "structured." I equate that with "anal retentive." I am
definitely "relaxed" (except, of course, when I am "stressed out!")
My husband and I are both self taught people. We know what it takes to
learn, since we ourselves had no teachers for the professions that we
respectively acquired.
Life is an adventure through which one learns. Work is an excellent
tutor. Our kids definitely know how to live life to the fullest and how
to work! (No maid service here. When its time to clean the bathrooms,
do yard work, fold clothes, wash dishes, etc., like it or not, we ALL
clean 'em. Some things jes' AIN'T an option!)
I am very sorry if I appear pedantic. An intro was suggested to me, so
I deigned to offer one. I am happily argumentative and Irish.
Nice to meet everyone
DJ
--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
ATTENTION ONElist MEMBERS: Get your ONElist news!
Join our MEMBER NEWSLETTER here:
<a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/newsletter2 ">Click Here</a>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "Alternative Learning Foundation"
http://www.alternative-learning.org
to access associated Web-sites
[email protected]
In a message dated 9/7/99 10:32:53 AM, djbrewer@... writes:
<<For some odd reason, our society seems to think 5 the perfect age to
start "formal" education, and, concomitantly, the learning drops off at
a plummeting rate once formal education is introduced. Were kids'
brains a money making venture, the idiot that employed that strategy
would have been fired long ago. But, alas, they are only kids and its
only their brains -- so presumably, they'll get over it. (NOT!)>>
I agree with you. The scariest thing I've seen is the Ed. system talking as
though they could do a much better job is they started rounding up the kids
at age 3!
Betsy
<<For some odd reason, our society seems to think 5 the perfect age to
start "formal" education, and, concomitantly, the learning drops off at
a plummeting rate once formal education is introduced. Were kids'
brains a money making venture, the idiot that employed that strategy
would have been fired long ago. But, alas, they are only kids and its
only their brains -- so presumably, they'll get over it. (NOT!)>>
I agree with you. The scariest thing I've seen is the Ed. system talking as
though they could do a much better job is they started rounding up the kids
at age 3!
Betsy