Sigh
Shyrley
Dear List,
I need a moan. Some days unschooling goes fine, other days, like today I
realise that my kids do nothing but play on the computer.
Now that my daughter is 10, DH is beginning to question unschooling and
giving me a hard time. I'm unsure enough myself without him bugging me.
I 'feel' that it is the right way to go but look at the big bad world
and wonder how my kids will cope should they decide never to learn maths
and history and science etc.
Will I end up with three unemployable louts?
They all left school 18 months a go and their 'knowledge' of what they
learnt, esp in maths, has diminished.
Help
Shyrley
I need a moan. Some days unschooling goes fine, other days, like today I
realise that my kids do nothing but play on the computer.
Now that my daughter is 10, DH is beginning to question unschooling and
giving me a hard time. I'm unsure enough myself without him bugging me.
I 'feel' that it is the right way to go but look at the big bad world
and wonder how my kids will cope should they decide never to learn maths
and history and science etc.
Will I end up with three unemployable louts?
They all left school 18 months a go and their 'knowledge' of what they
learnt, esp in maths, has diminished.
Help
Shyrley
Nichoel
Shyrley;
I'm a new unschooler so I may not be the best 'vault' of advice (I *just* started unschooling after 'schooling at home' for the first 6 months, my daughter was pulled from ps at the end of last school year (out of 2nd grade)..) however it is just my observation that if they are not retaining what they learned at public school, then was it really learned? Memorization is completely different from true learning in my experience..
Is there any way you can look at what they have learned and what areas they have grown in? Maybe keep a notebook out and when you see little glimpses of what they are learning/exploring write it down so that on days like this you can go to it to reassure yourself?
Nichoel
Fertility Friend Online Support Guide
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I'm a new unschooler so I may not be the best 'vault' of advice (I *just* started unschooling after 'schooling at home' for the first 6 months, my daughter was pulled from ps at the end of last school year (out of 2nd grade)..) however it is just my observation that if they are not retaining what they learned at public school, then was it really learned? Memorization is completely different from true learning in my experience..
Is there any way you can look at what they have learned and what areas they have grown in? Maybe keep a notebook out and when you see little glimpses of what they are learning/exploring write it down so that on days like this you can go to it to reassure yourself?
Nichoel
Fertility Friend Online Support Guide
Now you CAN conceive online..
www.fertilityfriend.com/sm/21749/
----- Original Message -----
From: Shyrley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 8:55 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Sigh
Dear List,
I need a moan. Some days unschooling goes fine, other days, like today I
realise that my kids do nothing but play on the computer.
Now that my daughter is 10, DH is beginning to question unschooling and
giving me a hard time. I'm unsure enough myself without him bugging me.
I 'feel' that it is the right way to go but look at the big bad world
and wonder how my kids will cope should they decide never to learn maths
and history and science etc.
Will I end up with three unemployable louts?
They all left school 18 months a go and their 'knowledge' of what they
learnt, esp in maths, has diminished.
Help
Shyrley
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Leslie Moyer
+ their 'knowledge' of what they
+ learnt, esp in maths, has diminished.
Shyrley,
If they don't remember what they learned, then they didn't REALLY learn it
in the first place. It must not have value for them.....or have value for
them YET.
What sorts of things does your 10 year old do on the computer? My 15 year
old is on the computer all the time. When he was about that age (a little
younger), he was doing almost nothing but playing Microsoft Flight
Simulator. I was starting to get worried about it, but he loved all aspects
of flight and flying and I kept thinking it would feed a passion and lead
somewhere "productive" eventually. Well, one day he was playing and I
checked in to see that he was teaching himself triangulation. That game
gives you 3 coordinates from different airports and, from there, you have to
figure out where you are. It was a pretty complicated mathematical problem
and he was working on it because he *wanted* to. Since that time, I've
relaxed a bit. He no longer plays that particular game, but now he's
*really* into website construction. He's taught himself how to build little
flash movies, learned a lot about digital photography, and knows tons about
HTML. Because of all he knows about computers, he is able to help the
librarian a LOT on the days he volunteers there (he's the one who helps
patrons with their computer questions) and it has fed his self-esteem to be
so competent at something. (Ditto with his Scout troop--he is the resident
computer expert.) Also, he took a computer class and found he knew FAR more
than any of the adults in the class...and this was when he was about 10.
The guys who owned the store asked him to come hang out and help them teach
the class. Anyway--his computer expertise has been beneficial in *so* many
areas of his life.
I do still worry from time to time about him spending *so* much time on the
computer, but I've come to understand that "immersion" is his learning
style....and it's something he'll work on for a LONG time and then move on.
There is no "day-to-day" balance, but there is balance OVER TIME in his
life/learning.
I do sometimes talk to him about "balance" in his life. Sometimes he
listens; sometimes not. Mostly, I trust it will be OK because he's shown me
that it will.
Leslie Moyer
+ learnt, esp in maths, has diminished.
Shyrley,
If they don't remember what they learned, then they didn't REALLY learn it
in the first place. It must not have value for them.....or have value for
them YET.
What sorts of things does your 10 year old do on the computer? My 15 year
old is on the computer all the time. When he was about that age (a little
younger), he was doing almost nothing but playing Microsoft Flight
Simulator. I was starting to get worried about it, but he loved all aspects
of flight and flying and I kept thinking it would feed a passion and lead
somewhere "productive" eventually. Well, one day he was playing and I
checked in to see that he was teaching himself triangulation. That game
gives you 3 coordinates from different airports and, from there, you have to
figure out where you are. It was a pretty complicated mathematical problem
and he was working on it because he *wanted* to. Since that time, I've
relaxed a bit. He no longer plays that particular game, but now he's
*really* into website construction. He's taught himself how to build little
flash movies, learned a lot about digital photography, and knows tons about
HTML. Because of all he knows about computers, he is able to help the
librarian a LOT on the days he volunteers there (he's the one who helps
patrons with their computer questions) and it has fed his self-esteem to be
so competent at something. (Ditto with his Scout troop--he is the resident
computer expert.) Also, he took a computer class and found he knew FAR more
than any of the adults in the class...and this was when he was about 10.
The guys who owned the store asked him to come hang out and help them teach
the class. Anyway--his computer expertise has been beneficial in *so* many
areas of his life.
I do still worry from time to time about him spending *so* much time on the
computer, but I've come to understand that "immersion" is his learning
style....and it's something he'll work on for a LONG time and then move on.
There is no "day-to-day" balance, but there is balance OVER TIME in his
life/learning.
I do sometimes talk to him about "balance" in his life. Sometimes he
listens; sometimes not. Mostly, I trust it will be OK because he's shown me
that it will.
Leslie Moyer
rumpleteasermom
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., Shyrley <shyrley@s...> wrote:
educational value whether they are supposed to or not. I bet yours
do too. If that is where there interests are get them more games.
Our library has cd-roms to borrow, maybe yours does too?
Don't get discouraged. I went through this with my girls too. For
years I had this nagging guilt that they weren't learning enough.
Now, they are some of the smartest people I know. I don't know where
or how they learned stuff but they sure do know it!
As for the doubting dh, I had a doubting grandma, but she has come
around. Give him time and make sure they tell him lots of 'stuff'
about what they do and what they know.
Bridget
>today I
> Dear List,
> I need a moan. Some days unschooling goes fine, other days, like
> realise that my kids do nothing but play on the computer.What are they playing on the computer? Most of the games we own have
educational value whether they are supposed to or not. I bet yours
do too. If that is where there interests are get them more games.
Our library has cd-roms to borrow, maybe yours does too?
Don't get discouraged. I went through this with my girls too. For
years I had this nagging guilt that they weren't learning enough.
Now, they are some of the smartest people I know. I don't know where
or how they learned stuff but they sure do know it!
As for the doubting dh, I had a doubting grandma, but she has come
around. Give him time and make sure they tell him lots of 'stuff'
about what they do and what they know.
Bridget
Leslie Moyer
Replying to myself here.... I wrote:
+ He's taught himself how to build little
+ flash movies, learned a lot about digital photography, and knows
+ tons about HTML.
Just one more quick note about this....I had started learning some HTML
about 5 years ago because I had a *need* (NOT a desire) and I really thought
he would ENJOY it. So I worked really hard to try to cultivate an interest
in it--sharing with him interesting things I had learned. He messed with it
for just a very short time and then dropped it. Then, about a year ago, he
started getting very interested in it and learned more in a week than I had
learned in 5 years. My point is that he learned it when HE had an interest
and a reason to learn it. (I.e. there was an event that led to this
interest, though I won't go into it.)
--Leslie Moyer
+ He's taught himself how to build little
+ flash movies, learned a lot about digital photography, and knows
+ tons about HTML.
Just one more quick note about this....I had started learning some HTML
about 5 years ago because I had a *need* (NOT a desire) and I really thought
he would ENJOY it. So I worked really hard to try to cultivate an interest
in it--sharing with him interesting things I had learned. He messed with it
for just a very short time and then dropped it. Then, about a year ago, he
started getting very interested in it and learned more in a week than I had
learned in 5 years. My point is that he learned it when HE had an interest
and a reason to learn it. (I.e. there was an event that led to this
interest, though I won't go into it.)
--Leslie Moyer
Sarah Carothers
On Wed, 02 Jan 2002 11:55:54 -0500, Shyrley wrote:
it after the test?
Your kids will be fine. Let them play on the computer all day long.
Get an old trashed one and let them take it apart. Show them places
where they can create webpages. There's a lot of learning going on
when a kid sits at the computer!
~xx~ ~xx~ ~xx~
Sarah Carothers
puddles@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>They all left school 18 months a go and their 'knowledge' ofSo, did they *learn* math or did they must memorize it only to forget
>what they
>learnt, esp in maths, has diminished.
>
>Help
>
>Shyrley
it after the test?
Your kids will be fine. Let them play on the computer all day long.
Get an old trashed one and let them take it apart. Show them places
where they can create webpages. There's a lot of learning going on
when a kid sits at the computer!
~xx~ ~xx~ ~xx~
Sarah Carothers
puddles@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Karin
Leslie, I just had to say thank you, thank you for writing this.
I read the whole thing to my dh yesterday and it really opened his eyes.
You see, we too, have a 10 yos who is always playing Microsoft Flight Sim and is always on the computer.
Reading your experiences and thoughts was extremely helpful in calming my dh's fears about unschooling.
Just knowing that there was someone out there with similar experiences was amazing.
Once again, thank you for sharing. Your words made a tremendous difference to our lives.
Karin
Leslie Moyer wrote:
If they don't remember what they learned, then they didn't REALLY learn it
in the first place. It must not have value for them.....or have value for
them YET.
What sorts of things does your 10 year old do on the computer? My 15 year
old is on the computer all the time. When he was about that age (a little
younger), he was doing almost nothing but playing Microsoft Flight
Simulator. I was starting to get worried about it, but he loved all aspects
of flight and flying and I kept thinking it would feed a passion and lead
somewhere "productive" eventually. Well, one day he was playing and I
checked in to see that he was teaching himself triangulation. That game
gives you 3 coordinates from different airports and, from there, you have to
figure out where you are. It was a pretty complicated mathematical problem
and he was working on it because he *wanted* to. Since that time, I've
relaxed a bit. He no longer plays that particular game, but now he's
*really* into website construction. He's taught himself how to build little
flash movies, learned a lot about digital photography, and knows tons about
HTML. Because of all he knows about computers, he is able to help the
librarian a LOT on the days he volunteers there (he's the one who helps
patrons with their computer questions) and it has fed his self-esteem to be
so competent at something. (Ditto with his Scout troop--he is the resident
computer expert.) Also, he took a computer class and found he knew FAR more
than any of the adults in the class...and this was when he was about 10.
The guys who owned the store asked him to come hang out and help them teach
the class. Anyway--his computer expertise has been beneficial in *so* many
areas of his life.
I do still worry from time to time about him spending *so* much time on the
computer, but I've come to understand that "immersion" is his learning
style....and it's something he'll work on for a LONG time and then move on.
There is no "day-to-day" balance, but there is balance OVER TIME in his
life/learning.
I do sometimes talk to him about "balance" in his life. Sometimes he
listens; sometimes not. Mostly, I trust it will be OK because he's shown me
that it will.
Leslie Moyer
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
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Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I read the whole thing to my dh yesterday and it really opened his eyes.
You see, we too, have a 10 yos who is always playing Microsoft Flight Sim and is always on the computer.
Reading your experiences and thoughts was extremely helpful in calming my dh's fears about unschooling.
Just knowing that there was someone out there with similar experiences was amazing.
Once again, thank you for sharing. Your words made a tremendous difference to our lives.
Karin
Leslie Moyer wrote:
If they don't remember what they learned, then they didn't REALLY learn it
in the first place. It must not have value for them.....or have value for
them YET.
What sorts of things does your 10 year old do on the computer? My 15 year
old is on the computer all the time. When he was about that age (a little
younger), he was doing almost nothing but playing Microsoft Flight
Simulator. I was starting to get worried about it, but he loved all aspects
of flight and flying and I kept thinking it would feed a passion and lead
somewhere "productive" eventually. Well, one day he was playing and I
checked in to see that he was teaching himself triangulation. That game
gives you 3 coordinates from different airports and, from there, you have to
figure out where you are. It was a pretty complicated mathematical problem
and he was working on it because he *wanted* to. Since that time, I've
relaxed a bit. He no longer plays that particular game, but now he's
*really* into website construction. He's taught himself how to build little
flash movies, learned a lot about digital photography, and knows tons about
HTML. Because of all he knows about computers, he is able to help the
librarian a LOT on the days he volunteers there (he's the one who helps
patrons with their computer questions) and it has fed his self-esteem to be
so competent at something. (Ditto with his Scout troop--he is the resident
computer expert.) Also, he took a computer class and found he knew FAR more
than any of the adults in the class...and this was when he was about 10.
The guys who owned the store asked him to come hang out and help them teach
the class. Anyway--his computer expertise has been beneficial in *so* many
areas of his life.
I do still worry from time to time about him spending *so* much time on the
computer, but I've come to understand that "immersion" is his learning
style....and it's something he'll work on for a LONG time and then move on.
There is no "day-to-day" balance, but there is balance OVER TIME in his
life/learning.
I do sometimes talk to him about "balance" in his life. Sometimes he
listens; sometimes not. Mostly, I trust it will be OK because he's shown me
that it will.
Leslie Moyer
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]