susan

hi,

i guess the difference in my personal understanding of unschooling and the one you've put forth is that in my mind unschooling lies squarely in ones attitude and is not dogmatic in any real way but flows and utilizes everything.  i see that it's not a reject (as many surmise because of the un prefix) of anything but a shifting of perspective from control and schedules to a more individualized organic growth based on the inner workings of each individual.   personally i 'm turned off by any restrictions at all including not using textbooks.  it makes me wonder what's the difference between a textbook and a cookbook ?  how could a more unschooling person see the use one but not another?

just curious,
susan

marbleface@... wrote:

 
I just think some people are more un --
to me that means they absolutely do not approve of using, for example,
textbooks, or workbooks or anything at all school-y.
Take care.

Nance
 
 

susan

marbleface@... wrote:

> The only thing I would add is that some days my "attitude" is better than
> others -- sometimes I am a very relaxed hser, some days not so relaxed, some
> days it all works together, some days not.

i think this is only human - it's the rare person who glides right on
thrrough<g> and that having an unschool attitude is an overall thing not a
moment to moment or even a day to day thing. i don't believe perfection is part
of it. i think striving for something other than this flux gives a false
impression and creates stress.

> Cook or text books -- they are all books to me -- I agree. But, no matter
> how _I_ do it, if I want to call it unschooling (and sometimes I do not
> because I think it just confuses some people when they really only want to
> have a pretty surface-y conversation anyway -- like, how's the hsing going?
> great. OK, see you.) on any given day, then I feel free to.

it's funny i tell people i'm an unschooler so they won't bug me:)

> I don't feel I have to eschew text or cook books or fit anyone else's
> definition in order to "qualify." But that's me.

i was just curious because you said in your other post that some people would
not consider textbooks unschooling. i was just trying to grasp to whole notion
of what some believe to 'qualify' - where the line was drawn for them. it
certainly has no really baring on my personal beliefs just helps me understand
another's beliefs, something i enjoy doing.

> Some people question a lot of things that I don't. Whether "subjects" should
> be taught at all, whether "classes" should be taken, what approach those
> classes should take, what books are informative and what are too textbook-y,
> etc. My day-to-day answer to these and other questions is to do what works.
> There is not a big philosophical overlay.

for me it's helpful to have a philosophy in place and use it as a sort of spring
board but i try and stay clear of a dogmatic or a purist type stance because it
become rigid and exclusive which for me is not unschooling. kind of middle of
the road thing:)

> For instance, some people say they have been damaged by their school
> experience. Personally, I don't feel that way. But I can see how it can
> happen. But that's not where I am starting from and so I don't have some of
> the negative reactions to school-y stuff that some people have. They are
> right for them and, I think, we are doing right for us.

my childhood is a bit of a blur so i can't really say that it was bad, but i
can say i don't unschool because i'm against something but i unschool because
i'm for something. i was fortunate enough to have never lost my thirst for
knowledge and love getting it where ever i can - i pick peoples brains because i
feel i'm ever changing always on the move and if someone else values it it must
have some value whether it's clear to me or not:)

> Many, many, many shades of grey (or is it gray? :) ) and they are all OK with
> me. And I think if you want to call yourself an unschooler and you are any
> of those shades, good for you, call yourself whatever you want.

i would assume that everyone one this list calls themselves an unschooler (at
least to themselves) or why would they subscribe. but to be honest calling
myself anything has never been one of my issues. using the label 'unschooling'
is merely for the sake of brevity and a way to find some common ground (or not:)
with other people.

> Maybe it's something that is too individual to actually define for everyone.
> Maybe we can only define it for ourselves.

> Take care.
>
> Nance
>

this is probably true but i really enjoy listening to other people's take on
things, so i really appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts. i
learn a lot from this sort of thing and wanted to follow up on some curious
points you raised.

thanks again
-susan
austin,tx
'unity through diversity'