lavonneellis

Hi,

I'm divorced and have been unschooling my now 14 yo son since last
spring when he begged me to let him stay home. He was becoming very
depressed because of the social situation with other kids teasing him
about his appearance and what I consider a very sweet, lovable
nature. The teacher's punitive attitude was another problem, although
he wasn't personally getting into any real trouble - she just yelled
a lot. Not a happy educational experience.

I had done some research on unschooling already, so when he asked, I
said yes without hesitation. He's been 'decompressing' since then,
mostly playing video games and surfing the web. I was worried about
that and have been working on getting him interested in other things,
and he's starting to show some interest.

The problem is that people are now starting to ask a lot of questions
about what we 'do' all day, and I don't know what to say. I stammer
and say, "Well, I've read a lot about it and you can't really
understand until you read this stuff," etc. Very lame response.

I need an explanation that will get people off my back, particularly
relatives, and particularly about socialization which seems to be
more important to them than education. I want to print it out,
memorize it and even hand it out to all the critics. I'm really tired
of defending my choices as a parent.

Any suggestions?

Renee Seawell

Hi: I am by no means an expert but I'm in my fifth year of homeschooling my chldren ages 16 down
to 6. I, too, have received a lot of questions over the years. The best way to respond that I've
found is to tell the person asking that we compile our learning around each child's individual
needs. They usually don't know exactly what that means and they feel embarrassed to ask any more
questions. I've learned I don't have to go into any great detail. As for socialization, my
children are involved in various musical lessons and Church so I tell people they are very happy
with our situation. That being a "joiner" isn't important to them. I hope this helps. I've been
where you are and still am getting the questions after 5 years. Blessings to you and your son.

=====
Renee S.
(Blessed Moma to Ryan 16, Austin 14, Carson 11 and Jessica- Renee 6. (Matthew and Ethan already safe in the Arms of Jesus.)

__________________________________________________
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psam ordener

> The problem is that people are now starting to ask a lot of questions
> about what we 'do' all day, and I don't know what to say. I stammer
> and say, "Well, I've read a lot about it and you can't really
> understand until you read this stuff," etc. Very lame response.

He's following a custom-designed curriculum, with an emphasis on computer
technology. He's doing research (surfing) and experimenting with various
formats (video games). He's working on language arts (needs that to surf
and to play video games), exercising to improve eye-hand coordination, and
exploring computer programming.

Is that enough?

psam
psamo@...

Motherhood - not just a job, it's an Adventure!

Tia Leschke

>
>
>He's following a custom-designed curriculum, with an emphasis on computer
>technology. He's doing research (surfing) and experimenting with various
>formats (video games). He's working on language arts (needs that to surf
>and to play video games), exercising to improve eye-hand coordination, and
>exploring computer programming.

And the socialization situation has improved greatly as well since he's
been out of school , thank you very much for asking. <g>
Tia

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island

lavonneellis

> He's following a custom-designed curriculum, with an emphasis on
computer
> technology. He's doing research (surfing) and experimenting with
various
> formats (video games). He's working on language arts (needs that
to surf
> and to play video games), exercising to improve eye-hand
coordination, and
> exploring computer programming.
>
> Is that enough?

ROFL! I called my son out from his video games to read this. We both
love it!

I also found a great page full of good answers here:

http://www.lightlink.com/hilinda/philosophy.shtml

Thanks for the suggestions!

LaVonne

Bonni Sollars

Lavonne, I can relate. You will get a lot of responses, and I know you
will be able to find some way of explaining it in your own words. When
people asked my husband how we know our kids learn without tests, I
pointed him to a quote of John Holt in How Children Learn. "We do not
need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning.
What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world
as we can into the school and the classroom{home}; give children as much
help and guidance as they need and ask for; listen respectfully when they
feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do
the rest." I say "I homeschool" to avoid unnecessary confusion about
unschooling. But when they question me, my canned response is, "well,
they pursue their own interests and I help them along the way." When
they ask if the children are learning the basic curriculum, I say, "in
the process of learning they become well rounded." You might say that
your son gets most of his education using the internet and playing
educational games. I know it's sort of b.s., but so is what they are
thinking when they ask such things. I guess what I am saying is more of
a response to someone you don't trust or don't know well enough to be
entirely forthcoming with. But John Holt's quote isn't b.s. for those
people who really are interested in knowing how to unschool.
Bonni