[email protected]

In a message dated 02/27/2003 12:34:23 PM Central Standard Time,
mummyone24@... writes:


> She likes the grades and the work that accompanies it. She isn't
> finding it hard.


This is an interesting thread. I'm thinking of my own school experience, and
the type of learner I was then and still am. I flourished in a school
environment -- loved the challenge of shooting for grades (even in math,
which I loathed), enjoyed the personal challenge of testing well, and did a
lot of self-motivated integration of materials. It was a game. I liked
jumping through the hoops, and I did it well. I look back on it now and see
that I really was a self-directed learner, even within a classroom setting.
I remember finding baroque music to listen to while I read history from that
period...specifically looking for historical fiction from those periods to
enrich the textbook experience...really getting into debate with my teachers
about alternative views of several different subjects...rocking the boat, in
other words. Not all of the teachers liked this, but some did, and I didn't
much care anyway. I was having a good time.

If I had had the opportunity and the support, I would have been a candidate
for unschooling, but as it was, I made the best of a limited situation.

There have been several other excellent points made in this discussion.

>>
But, again, it's the motivations, not the actions that define unschooling.
If a child is certain they need a teacher to learn something, then they
aren't making that decision based on unschooling principles but on fear
instilled by society.

Joyce<<

I think this point is dead on. My own schooling experience was positive IN
SPITE OF the institutional setting because I have somehow always been a
self-directed learner. My dad gave that gift to me (bless him, since he
didn't give me much else.) I was relatively free of the socially proscribed
sense that I had to do it THEIR way -- except, as I said, in math. For me,
the teachers were as useful as their ability to get out of the way and let me
go with the material. They were there to bounce ideas off of, the good ones.
It was a partnership. That's what I hope to do for my son as we unschool
now. Get out of his way and let his own internal magic happen. Obviously,
it's much more efficient to do this at home than in school, especially these
days, what with all the extra stuff they have to *teach.*

>>How can a person by definition be unschooling in school? That is ludicrous
to
me.
<snip>
Unschooling is not only an attitude and philosophy, it also mean NOT
schooling, at school, or at home.

Ren<<

I have to agree with these statements. While I may have been, by and large,
a self-directed learner in school, I was never completely free of societal
and institutional restraints and expectations, despite my rebellious nature.
Not all of my teacher/student relationships were positive -- not by a long
shot. I may have been self-directed, mainly, but I was in no way an
unschooler.

>>I think the *process* of discussing whether someone can unschool at school
can be illuminating. Exploring the borders of an idea can help us better
understand its core because it gives us the opportunity to look at things
from a very different point of view.

But I think pinning down and labeling something at the fringe is just
confusing because the *action* isn't unschooling and labeling that action as
unschooling doesn't clarify the definition of unschooling for anyone. It
just muddies it.

Joyce<<

Right on. The label, unschooling, just doesn't fit in this scenario, no
matter how much we might want it to. Again, as Ren said, though, there is a
big difference between *going to school* and taking classes that interest the
child and which are initiated by that child.

>>There's a book by Grace Llewellyn and Amy Silver called Guerilla
Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School.
I'd recommend it to any unschooler whose child is thinking of going to
school or is already there. On page 33, they say, "While we are not
generally in favor of war, we liked the 'guerrilla' image of a nimble,
zealous, loosely organized group of kids educating themselves 'beneath
the radar' of the dominant school paradigm. The power of guerrilla
force lies in their passion and flexibility. Dedication to a shared
vision of freedom allows guerrillas to resist much bigger,
better-funded, and better-organized forces."

Sorcha<<

I laughed when I read this because it so closely defined my own school
experience (25+ years ago!) I've read Llewellyn's TLH, but not this one. If
we need a label for *unschooling at school,* why not adapt her phrase?
Guerilla schooling?

I'm thinking that if my son decided to go back to school, I would respect his
decision, once I felt he had thought it through. But I would hope that he
would go in with a sense of internal rebellion and independence. I could see
him being quite good guerilla -- now. :-)

Peace,
Laura B.



















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sorcha

I'm trying to come up with an analogy because sometimes it's helpful to
think of things from a different angle. If I spend a whole pregnancy
read about homebirth and talking to women about homebirth, but when
labor starts, I decide that I should go straight to the hospital, am I a
homebirther?

What if the topic was breastfeeding? What if I wanted to consider
myself an extended nurser because I've read about how children in other
countries breastfeed until they're seven? What if I nursed for a few
weeks and the baby didn't really seem into it, but he took to a bottle
right away? Since he "chose" bottlefeeding even though I support
breastfeeding, can I still be an extended nurser? (I do realize that
it's not an entirely fair example for older kids. I think of a 5 yr old
choosing school as an uninformed choice - they might have just seen it
on Sesame Street or Blues Clues and it looked like fun. With a 15 yr
old, it's more of a choice)

I don't think you can homebirth in a hospital, I don't think you can
extended nurse with a bottle of Similac, and I don't think you can
unschool while sitting in your assigned seat in your third-period World
History class, listening to someone drone on about King-someone-or-other
while you're still thinking about the poem you were trying to write last
period. I learned far more outside of school than I ever did in school,
but I wasn't unschooled. My dad's an artist and I tagged along to
museums, art shows, Art Association meetings, films about Van Gogh. I
also had a set of Childcraft encyclopedias that I would read over and
over in my bedroom. I explored the woods outside my home, and followed
my grandfather around when he was gardening. When I went to school, my
dad told me that to succeed in school, all I had to do was follow the
instructions and give the teacher the answer s/he wanted. He told me it
didn't matter if what they were saying was complete nonsense, just
parrot it back as closely as you can for the test and don't let it
interfere with your life. I became very good at school, even though I
was learning far more in my out-of-school life. But I wasn't
unschooled.

Sorcha


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

zenmomma *

>>When I went to school, my dad told me that to succeed in school, all I had
>>to do was follow the instructions and give the teacher the answer s/he
>>wanted. He told me it didn't matter if what they were saying was complete
>>nonsense, just parrot it back as closely as you can for the test and don't
>>let it interfere with your life.>>

Cool Dad!!

Life is good.
~Mary

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moonlitbatiks <[email protected]>

My 5 yo daughter is in kindergarten (at her request) 14 hours/week.
A few weeks ago I would have been offended if someone told me I
wasn't unschooling, because I felt that it really was her decision,
and she was empowered by that. I ask her everyday if she wants to go
to school, and she used to always say yes. Lately she's been
saying, "no, I want to be homeschooled today" (I haven't explained
the unschooling label, but she has friends that are homeschooled and
their days look very different from ours).

On those days, and on weekends we spend our day in child-led
activities, she calls them science days because the bulk of the day
is spent investigating nature, space, etc. She says, "you don't
teach me anything, my mind teaches me, I homeschool myself". She is
starting to see that she doesn't learn anything at school (though
they don't really teach anything, it's a Waldorf-based school and
they just free-play and make bread, though they do have some open-
ended projects).

On unschooling days, I feel like we are living in the present moment
and are really connected with life, our minds and our hearts. On
days she goes to school she often seems dissconnected, like
she 'checked out' at some point.

After these experiences I know what unschooling is really about and I
have to say I can't call ourselves unschoolers. She still wants to
stay in school, though I have a strong feeling that we won't be
returning next year (yeah!). So right now we don't have the label of
unschoolers, but I don't care, she sought out school for a reason,
and she seems to have to have the experience of school before she can
appreciate unschooling.
We all choose our own paths, and as parents we need to respect that,
even if it includes school. It's not our choice to make. Forced
unschooling may still be unschooling, but it is not right.
Amy

Have a Nice Day!

I guess what I've been pondering is the difference between unschooling (the method) and unschooling (the philosophy).

Although trusting kids to choose is definitely respectful parenting, it is also tied up with unschooling in general, simply because successful unschooling actually depends on trusting a child to choose. The two really can't be separated for unschooling to work.

But I agree, in terms of method, school is school, not unschooling. And there are definitely subtle (and not so subtle) messages given to the students on a daily basis that wholly contradict what unschooling is all about. Because of that, the two are diametrically opposed to each other, even if we choose to be there.

Kristen


----- Original Message -----
From: moonlitbatiks <moonlitbatiks@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2003 11:28 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Unschooling: the label


My 5 yo daughter is in kindergarten (at her request) 14 hours/week.
A few weeks ago I would have been offended if someone told me I
wasn't unschooling, because I felt that it really was her decision,
and she was empowered by that. I ask her everyday if she wants to go
to school, and she used to always say yes. Lately she's been
saying, "no, I want to be homeschooled today" (I haven't explained
the unschooling label, but she has friends that are homeschooled and
their days look very different from ours).

On those days, and on weekends we spend our day in child-led
activities, she calls them science days because the bulk of the day
is spent investigating nature, space, etc. She says, "you don't
teach me anything, my mind teaches me, I homeschool myself". She is
starting to see that she doesn't learn anything at school (though
they don't really teach anything, it's a Waldorf-based school and
they just free-play and make bread, though they do have some open-
ended projects).

On unschooling days, I feel like we are living in the present moment
and are really connected with life, our minds and our hearts. On
days she goes to school she often seems dissconnected, like
she 'checked out' at some point.

After these experiences I know what unschooling is really about and I
have to say I can't call ourselves unschoolers. She still wants to
stay in school, though I have a strong feeling that we won't be
returning next year (yeah!). So right now we don't have the label of
unschoolers, but I don't care, she sought out school for a reason,
and she seems to have to have the experience of school before she can
appreciate unschooling.
We all choose our own paths, and as parents we need to respect that,
even if it includes school. It's not our choice to make. Forced
unschooling may still be unschooling, but it is not right.
Amy



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Backstrom kelli

I love the analogy. I am new to this list and considering all sorts of things now. One happened to be homebirth for my most recent addition. I ended up birthing in a birthing center near the hospital. It was the perfect choice for me. Acceptance... Kelli
Sorcha <sorcha-aisling@...> wrote:I'm trying to come up with an analogy because sometimes it's helpful to
think of things from a different angle. If I spend a whole pregnancy
read about homebirth and talking to women about homebirth, but when
labor starts, I decide that I should go straight to the hospital, am I a
homebirther?

What if the topic was breastfeeding? What if I wanted to consider
myself an extended nurser because I've read about how children in other
countries breastfeed until they're seven? What if I nursed for a few
weeks and the baby didn't really seem into it, but he took to a bottle
right away? Since he "chose" bottlefeeding even though I support
breastfeeding, can I still be an extended nurser? (I do realize that
it's not an entirely fair example for older kids. I think of a 5 yr old
choosing school as an uninformed choice - they might have just seen it
on Sesame Street or Blues Clues and it looked like fun. With a 15 yr
old, it's more of a choice)

I don't think you can homebirth in a hospital, I don't think you can
extended nurse with a bottle of Similac, and I don't think you can
unschool while sitting in your assigned seat in your third-period World
History class, listening to someone drone on about King-someone-or-other
while you're still thinking about the poem you were trying to write last
period. I learned far more outside of school than I ever did in school,
but I wasn't unschooled. My dad's an artist and I tagged along to
museums, art shows, Art Association meetings, films about Van Gogh. I
also had a set of Childcraft encyclopedias that I would read over and
over in my bedroom. I explored the woods outside my home, and followed
my grandfather around when he was gardening. When I went to school, my
dad told me that to succeed in school, all I had to do was follow the
instructions and give the teacher the answer s/he wanted. He told me it
didn't matter if what they were saying was complete nonsense, just
parrot it back as closely as you can for the test and don't let it
interfere with your life. I became very good at school, even though I
was learning far more in my out-of-school life. But I wasn't
unschooled.

Sorcha


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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Kelli Traaseth

Wow! Another Kelli, and with an i, I can't brag anymore!

Kelli


Backstrom kelli <kellibac@...> wrote:
I love the analogy. I am new to this list and considering all sorts of things now. One happened to be homebirth for my most recent addition. I ended up birthing in a birthing center near the hospital. It was the perfect choice for me. Acceptance... Kelli
Sorcha <sorcha-aisling@...> wrote:I'm trying to come up with an analogy because sometimes it's helpful to
think of things from a different angle. If I spend a whole pregnancy
read about homebirth and talking to women about homebirth, but when
labor starts, I decide that I should go straight to the hospital, am I a
homebirther?

What if the topic was breastfeeding? What if I wanted to consider
myself an extended nurser because I've read about how children in other
countries breastfeed until they're seven? What if I nursed for a few
weeks and the baby didn't really seem into it, but he took to a bottle
right away? Since he "chose" bottlefeeding even though I support
breastfeeding, can I still be an extended nurser? (I do realize that
it's not an entirely fair example for older kids. I think of a 5 yr old
choosing school as an uninformed choice - they might have just seen it
on Sesame Street or Blues Clues and it looked like fun. With a 15 yr
old, it's more of a choice)

I don't think you can homebirth in a hospital, I don't think you can
extended nurse with a bottle of Similac, and I don't think you can
unschool while sitting in your assigned seat in your third-period World
History class, listening to someone drone on about King-someone-or-other
while you're still thinking about the poem you were trying to write last
period. I learned far more outside of school than I ever did in school,
but I wasn't unschooled. My dad's an artist and I tagged along to
museums, art shows, Art Association meetings, films about Van Gogh. I
also had a set of Childcraft encyclopedias that I would read over and
over in my bedroom. I explored the woods outside my home, and followed
my grandfather around when he was gardening. When I went to school, my
dad told me that to succeed in school, all I had to do was follow the
instructions and give the teacher the answer s/he wanted. He told me it
didn't matter if what they were saying was complete nonsense, just
parrot it back as closely as you can for the test and don't let it
interfere with your life. I became very good at school, even though I
was learning far more in my out-of-school life. But I wasn't
unschooled.

Sorcha


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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[email protected]

In a message dated 3/1/03 7:56:31 AM, sorcha-aisling@... writes:

<< I don't think you can homebirth in a hospital, I don't think you can
extended nurse with a bottle of Similac, and I don't think you can
unschool while sitting in your assigned seat in your third-period World
History class, listening to someone drone on about King-someone-or-other
while you're still thinking about the poem you were trying to write last
period. >>


I agree.

<<I learned far more outside of school than I ever did in school,
but I wasn't unschooled. >>

Same with me.

Sandra