Luz Shosie and Ned Vare

Group,

First Stacy:
No, you don't correct spelling for your child, any more than we would
correct yours. Writing is what's important. If you correct her spelling, you
risk spoiling it for her, and turning yourself into a "teacher"...heaven
forbid. She'll learn spelling in other ways.

On TEACHING MYSELF:

When we say, "He's teaching," we imply that the person already knows
something. When we say, "He's teaching himself," we describe a situation in
which the person already knows something, but is also learning it (again?)
from himself. We create a conundrum -- a riddle inside an enigma. "Is he
learning from himself?" and "Will he give himself a test?" etc., etc...

John Holt, in his usual desdain for school teaching, wrote something like,
"Just because someone is "teaching" doesn't mean anyone else is learning."
Could that apply to teaching one's self? What fun !

For Josie:
Yours is a common problem. You are seeing the results of being in public
school...it takes time to overcome the damage done. From your post, it's
hard to tell how long you've been with this list, but if you stick around,
I'm sure you will find reasons to continue to trust your kids to be
learning. The key just might be to increase their freedom instead of
thinking of ways to regiment them into familiar (but dumb) ways of
"learning" such as doing schoolwork.

If one of them wants a curriculum, make him/her BEG for it. Luz adds, "and
make 'em pay for it, too." (long ago, I sent for one for a ten year old. On
the second day, the kid looked up and said, "Dad, this is stupid." I
replied, "Right. Let's send it back." We did. He went out to play --
permanently. Today, he's a thirty-two year old who makes sound tracks for TV
commercials.

You need new ideas. With the money and time you are considering spending on
a curriculum, why not buy magazine subscriptions or go to museums or
factories or the newspaper office (talk to reporters and editors) or city
hall (see how it works/doesn't) or all learn to sail or ride horses (like
royalty all do -- it's great survival training). If all else fails, browse
the yellow pages to see what people in the real world are doing.

As the cartoon character Pogo once said, "We are confronted with
insurmountable opportunity."

To Melissa:
You end with this: >> I cannot imagine bringing myself to
take him there ever again.<<

That's your bottom line...your conclusion. It's risky for anyone to advise
you about raising your child, but that usually doesn't stop me...
You are the one who's in charge since your dh is at MIT learning, of all
things, that there is a science to politics. Well, there is a science to
being a mother, too, and it doesn't have anything to do with sending the
kids to schools for babysitting and being told to sit down and be quiet and
cut this and paste that. I also don't believe that the goal in life is to be
a "well informed voter" especially when most schools prepare children
mostly for Socialism, not independence. It gets me crazy just thinking about
it when your child needs to be climbing trees and playing with one or two
friends. Keep in touch.
Luz and I have a website/page for more...
www.borntoexplore.org/unschool

To Joyce:
Great stuff!

To Liza:
Thanks, and about READING SIGNS, when my youngest son was very small and I
carried him around town on my shoulders, talking to him, he learned to read
the signs -- all kinds -- from my reading them and, of course, saying them
to him. The first I remember was STOP and GO on the light signals at
crossings. Then BANK and MARKET and, and... We went into stores and talked
to many people. I know it was why he became so verbal at a young age. He now
speaks four languages and is off in Europe (as a graduation from college
present) practicing them every day.

To all:
One more crack: Stay away from anything that calls itself "progressive."

Cheers,
Ned Vare