[email protected]

I received the following on another HSing list. I replied as an UNschooler
adn encourage others to respond to help them develop a fun product rather
than a third grade in a laptop product!
My response follows
Elissa
> Dear Sir or Madam,
>
> My name is Meghann, and I work for Casio's US R&D division in San Jose.
As
> of late, a team of us here at the R&D Center have taken a strong interest
in
> developing an electronic educational product for use outside of the
> classroom. Part of our target audience would be parents who homeschool
> their children. Knowing that we are not experts in this field, however,
we
> would love to have the chance to talk to parents who homeschool their
> children. As a reseasrch team, we want to solve problems that actually
> exist and address concerns that need to be met, rather than passively
> sitting in our office and developing a product that doesn't make anyone's
> life better. Would you feel comfortable posting a request to an e-group
or
> do you know any parents who would be willing to take 20 minutes and talk
> with myself or my co-worker on the phone? We're really just trying to
> gather information--there are no sales to be made (the product doesn't
even
> exist on paper yet). We just want to develop the best product we can, one
> we believe will embetter lives of others. In order to do this, we need
> input. If you have any suggestions, leads, etc., it would be greatly
> appreciated. Thank you for your time!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Meghann Evershed
> meghann@...
> 408-467-3219
>
My response:
Hi Meghan,,
I am a homeschooling mom and would love to answer any questions your team
may have. You may call me - (301) 916-XXXX.
May I suggest one thing first? There are many, many homeschooling
curriculums out there that tend to focus on Book learning. Many
homeschoolers have moved beyond the teaching/learning styles that are used
in schools since most of those styles were developed to teach a large
number of students at one time.The average HSing family (if there is such a
mythical beast) has far fewer children. Many of those teaching techniques
don't apply. My suggestion is for your team to read or even just skim
through a few books on learning outside of the classroom. I heartily
recommend two of John Holt's books, How Children Fail and How Children
Learn, and The Unschooling Handbook By Mary Griffith. These three books will
give you an insight into how learning happens naturally and I believe it
will contribute immensely to your development of this product.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Elissa J. Cleaveland