Re: [Unschooling-Discussion] Does lots of books= Reading "indoctrination" ?
[email protected]
This is an excellent question/thought. To me, it ties right in with folks
different reactions, perceptions, and feelings about reading.
We have LOTS of books.. I mean.. well, its a lot.. thousands,I would guess.
They are on several easily accessible shelves throughout the house. We
have racks and stacks of magazines. Landon and myself are always reading
something. We (Landon and I) read the backs of cereal boxes, fliers that come in
the mail.. heck, anything.. lol. Anna has a few collections of particular
series of books she likes. She takes reading jags and she will read constantly
til she is finished with a book. Dh reads his bicycles magazines every night.
Of course we have the computer and Landon, Anna, DH or I are usually reading
something online. We get a local trade paper every week and browse for
bargains. Barnes and Noble is a favorite hangout for Landon, Anna and I. The
library is right up there with B&N. In every aspect of our lives, books and
printed materials are "there" and valued highly by most of our family
sidenote: Landon just came upstairs and handed me Carson McCullers "The
Member of the Wedding" and said.. "Read this, it will greatly enhance your
horizons, it will take about 5 minutes..".. OK, its 153 pages, it will take me a
little more than 5 minutes.. lol. but.. this is a good RIGHT NOW example of
books and reading "lifestyle" in our home.
OK.. given all that I have described about books and reading in our family,
my middle son, Ethan. (almost 12) couldnt care less if every book in the world
burned up tomorrow. Now, I do not mean that he hates books or has some
aversion to them.. the just does not care about them. .. at all. He will opt out
of going to the book store or library if he has an option. ( Now that he is
older he can stay at home by himself). He has some gaming magazines, but he
mostly looks at the pictures. He CAN read.. at a very basic level, but he
will avoid if at all possible. I do not push him, never have.. and he was VERY
fortunate to not have pushy teachers or some over the top curriculum when he
was in school. He does not seem to be ashamed of his reading level. He
does not seem embarrassed about it. He is just ambivalent.
Our love of reading and the rich reading/book availabilty environment that
he lives in, has zero affect on his feelings about reading. Or in other
words, he has not been indoctrinated, or even influenced by our "lifestyle" of
reading or by the value that most of the members of our family places on books
and reading.
Now, I must make my disclaimer. My description of Ethan and his reading ( or
lack thereof) does NOT mean I am worried about him, that I want to "fix"
him, or that something is "wrong" with him. Ethan is a bright young man. He
can do things, and he knows about things that none of my other children have a
clue about. Ethan can change a tire, change the oil in a car, jumpstart a
battery.. . heck, he could probably rebuild a carbeurator.. :-) When DH is not
here ( and sometimes when he is..lol) Ethan is our "tech" man. He takes care
of VCR, DVD, TV, game systems, fuse box.. heck, just about any kind of
technical/electronic/mechanical problems that comes up. He just built a little
table to go in his room. He constructed some kind of a cardboard house out of
refrigerator boxes in the yard.. complete with doors, windows and a fan. He has
been building lego models of Hummers. Ethan has skills, interests, and
abilities that he will most likely continue to explore and I have no fear that he
will have a full and happy, productive life. Reading is not, and I think
never will be, "natural" to Ethan. And, programming the VCR is not natural to
me :-) It's a good thing we all have our own special gifts and talents.
Teresa
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
different reactions, perceptions, and feelings about reading.
We have LOTS of books.. I mean.. well, its a lot.. thousands,I would guess.
They are on several easily accessible shelves throughout the house. We
have racks and stacks of magazines. Landon and myself are always reading
something. We (Landon and I) read the backs of cereal boxes, fliers that come in
the mail.. heck, anything.. lol. Anna has a few collections of particular
series of books she likes. She takes reading jags and she will read constantly
til she is finished with a book. Dh reads his bicycles magazines every night.
Of course we have the computer and Landon, Anna, DH or I are usually reading
something online. We get a local trade paper every week and browse for
bargains. Barnes and Noble is a favorite hangout for Landon, Anna and I. The
library is right up there with B&N. In every aspect of our lives, books and
printed materials are "there" and valued highly by most of our family
sidenote: Landon just came upstairs and handed me Carson McCullers "The
Member of the Wedding" and said.. "Read this, it will greatly enhance your
horizons, it will take about 5 minutes..".. OK, its 153 pages, it will take me a
little more than 5 minutes.. lol. but.. this is a good RIGHT NOW example of
books and reading "lifestyle" in our home.
OK.. given all that I have described about books and reading in our family,
my middle son, Ethan. (almost 12) couldnt care less if every book in the world
burned up tomorrow. Now, I do not mean that he hates books or has some
aversion to them.. the just does not care about them. .. at all. He will opt out
of going to the book store or library if he has an option. ( Now that he is
older he can stay at home by himself). He has some gaming magazines, but he
mostly looks at the pictures. He CAN read.. at a very basic level, but he
will avoid if at all possible. I do not push him, never have.. and he was VERY
fortunate to not have pushy teachers or some over the top curriculum when he
was in school. He does not seem to be ashamed of his reading level. He
does not seem embarrassed about it. He is just ambivalent.
Our love of reading and the rich reading/book availabilty environment that
he lives in, has zero affect on his feelings about reading. Or in other
words, he has not been indoctrinated, or even influenced by our "lifestyle" of
reading or by the value that most of the members of our family places on books
and reading.
Now, I must make my disclaimer. My description of Ethan and his reading ( or
lack thereof) does NOT mean I am worried about him, that I want to "fix"
him, or that something is "wrong" with him. Ethan is a bright young man. He
can do things, and he knows about things that none of my other children have a
clue about. Ethan can change a tire, change the oil in a car, jumpstart a
battery.. . heck, he could probably rebuild a carbeurator.. :-) When DH is not
here ( and sometimes when he is..lol) Ethan is our "tech" man. He takes care
of VCR, DVD, TV, game systems, fuse box.. heck, just about any kind of
technical/electronic/mechanical problems that comes up. He just built a little
table to go in his room. He constructed some kind of a cardboard house out of
refrigerator boxes in the yard.. complete with doors, windows and a fan. He has
been building lego models of Hummers. Ethan has skills, interests, and
abilities that he will most likely continue to explore and I have no fear that he
will have a full and happy, productive life. Reading is not, and I think
never will be, "natural" to Ethan. And, programming the VCR is not natural to
me :-) It's a good thing we all have our own special gifts and talents.
Teresa
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
drbar68
Hi,
I'm new here, have been lurking for a couple of weeks, soaking up all I can about unschooling. We have always homeschooled, but I am convinced that unschooling will be so much better.
Haven't posted here yet, but wanted to say that this post is a great encouragement to me. I am a voracious reader, also reading cereal boxes, shampoo bottles etc! There are books all over the house, and many times I have a different book in each room that I am reading at the same time. But my daughter hasn't picked up any great interest in reading. In spite of what the commercials say, that if you want your kids to read then they should see you reading.
My daughter sounds so much like your son. She can read but not on the level "they" say she should be for her age. Like your son, she can figure out how to put things together much better than I can, she has many interests and a lot of knowledge not picked up from books. She does like going to the bookstore or library though, but that's because she can socialize there and they have music and videos too!
When I first started kicking around the idea of unschooling, I was nervous about the reading and math. After reading here and other places and thinking over how much more I learned outside of school than in it, I am ready to let go and let her be. I realize I made alot of mistakes along the way, but I can see that now and am very excited about the changes ahead of us.
So thanks to all of you who have gone on ahead blazing the trail! Just lurking on these lists the last couple of weeks has helped me resolve some of my questions and fears. You've challenged my thinking and helped me to see things in ways I may not have considered before.
Deb
I'm new here, have been lurking for a couple of weeks, soaking up all I can about unschooling. We have always homeschooled, but I am convinced that unschooling will be so much better.
Haven't posted here yet, but wanted to say that this post is a great encouragement to me. I am a voracious reader, also reading cereal boxes, shampoo bottles etc! There are books all over the house, and many times I have a different book in each room that I am reading at the same time. But my daughter hasn't picked up any great interest in reading. In spite of what the commercials say, that if you want your kids to read then they should see you reading.
My daughter sounds so much like your son. She can read but not on the level "they" say she should be for her age. Like your son, she can figure out how to put things together much better than I can, she has many interests and a lot of knowledge not picked up from books. She does like going to the bookstore or library though, but that's because she can socialize there and they have music and videos too!
When I first started kicking around the idea of unschooling, I was nervous about the reading and math. After reading here and other places and thinking over how much more I learned outside of school than in it, I am ready to let go and let her be. I realize I made alot of mistakes along the way, but I can see that now and am very excited about the changes ahead of us.
So thanks to all of you who have gone on ahead blazing the trail! Just lurking on these lists the last couple of weeks has helped me resolve some of my questions and fears. You've challenged my thinking and helped me to see things in ways I may not have considered before.
Deb
----- Original Message -----
From: grlynbl@...
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 11:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-Discussion] Does lots of books= Reading "indoctrination" ?
This is an excellent question/thought. To me, it ties right in with folks
different reactions, perceptions, and feelings about reading.
We have LOTS of books.. I mean.. well, its a lot.. thousands,I would guess.
They are on several easily accessible shelves throughout the house. We
have racks and stacks of magazines. Landon and myself are always reading
something. We (Landon and I) read the backs of cereal boxes, fliers that come in
the mail.. heck, anything.. lol. Anna has a few collections of particular
series of books she likes. She takes reading jags and she will read constantly
til she is finished with a book. Dh reads his bicycles magazines every night.
Of course we have the computer and Landon, Anna, DH or I are usually reading
something online. We get a local trade paper every week and browse for
bargains. Barnes and Noble is a favorite hangout for Landon, Anna and I. The
library is right up there with B&N. In every aspect of our lives, books and
printed materials are "there" and valued highly by most of our family
sidenote: Landon just came upstairs and handed me Carson McCullers "The
Member of the Wedding" and said.. "Read this, it will greatly enhance your
horizons, it will take about 5 minutes..".. OK, its 153 pages, it will take me a
little more than 5 minutes.. lol. but.. this is a good RIGHT NOW example of
books and reading "lifestyle" in our home.
OK.. given all that I have described about books and reading in our family,
my middle son, Ethan. (almost 12) couldnt care less if every book in the world
burned up tomorrow. Now, I do not mean that he hates books or has some
aversion to them.. the just does not care about them. .. at all. He will opt out
of going to the book store or library if he has an option. ( Now that he is
older he can stay at home by himself). He has some gaming magazines, but he
mostly looks at the pictures. He CAN read.. at a very basic level, but he
will avoid if at all possible. I do not push him, never have.. and he was VERY
fortunate to not have pushy teachers or some over the top curriculum when he
was in school. He does not seem to be ashamed of his reading level. He
does not seem embarrassed about it. He is just ambivalent.
Our love of reading and the rich reading/book availabilty environment that
he lives in, has zero affect on his feelings about reading. Or in other
words, he has not been indoctrinated, or even influenced by our "lifestyle" of
reading or by the value that most of the members of our family places on books
and reading.
Now, I must make my disclaimer. My description of Ethan and his reading ( or
lack thereof) does NOT mean I am worried about him, that I want to "fix"
him, or that something is "wrong" with him. Ethan is a bright young man. He
can do things, and he knows about things that none of my other children have a
clue about. Ethan can change a tire, change the oil in a car, jumpstart a
battery.. . heck, he could probably rebuild a carbeurator.. :-) When DH is not
here ( and sometimes when he is..lol) Ethan is our "tech" man. He takes care
of VCR, DVD, TV, game systems, fuse box.. heck, just about any kind of
technical/electronic/mechanical problems that comes up. He just built a little
table to go in his room. He constructed some kind of a cardboard house out of
refrigerator boxes in the yard.. complete with doors, windows and a fan. He has
been building lego models of Hummers. Ethan has skills, interests, and
abilities that he will most likely continue to explore and I have no fear that he
will have a full and happy, productive life. Reading is not, and I think
never will be, "natural" to Ethan. And, programming the VCR is not natural to
me :-) It's a good thing we all have our own special gifts and talents.
Teresa
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/16/03 9:27:38 AM, grlynbl@... writes:
<< Dh reads his bicycles magazines every night.
Of course we have the computer and Landon, Anna, DH or I are usually reading
something online. >>
Isn't it strange that some parents will say "My child isn't reading, all he's
doing is being on the computer all day"? That takes a lot of reading, and
if they're doing instant messages of any sort, that's REAL writing, in real
time.
I think that's the hardest part of helping people get from school-visions to
unschooling is helping the parents see writing when it's not on a piece of
notebook paper with straight margins. I want to magically help them see that
reading cereal boxes and Harry Potter cards and game instructions is more REAL as
reading goes than any reading-comprehension workbook ever created.
Sandra
<< Dh reads his bicycles magazines every night.
Of course we have the computer and Landon, Anna, DH or I are usually reading
something online. >>
Isn't it strange that some parents will say "My child isn't reading, all he's
doing is being on the computer all day"? That takes a lot of reading, and
if they're doing instant messages of any sort, that's REAL writing, in real
time.
I think that's the hardest part of helping people get from school-visions to
unschooling is helping the parents see writing when it's not on a piece of
notebook paper with straight margins. I want to magically help them see that
reading cereal boxes and Harry Potter cards and game instructions is more REAL as
reading goes than any reading-comprehension workbook ever created.
Sandra
[email protected]
drbar68@... writes:
LMAO
Seriously, glad you found what you were looking for!
~Peace
Aimee
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> So thanks to all of you who have gone on ahead blazing the trail! JustCongratulations! You have been indoctrinated into the world of unschooling!
> lurking on these lists the last couple of weeks has helped me resolve some of my
> questions and fears. You've challenged my thinking and helped me to see
> things in ways I may not have considered before.
>
> Deb
LMAO
Seriously, glad you found what you were looking for!
~Peace
Aimee
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/03 10:49:11 AM, AimeeL73@... writes:
<< Congratulations! You have been indoctrinated into the world of
unschooling! >>
WAITaminute...
I HAVE indoctrinated my children into believing in natural learning
AGAINST THEIR WILL!
BEFORE THEY ASKED!
Does that mean I'm not an unschooler?
Sandra
<< Congratulations! You have been indoctrinated into the world of
unschooling! >>
WAITaminute...
I HAVE indoctrinated my children into believing in natural learning
AGAINST THEIR WILL!
BEFORE THEY ASKED!
Does that mean I'm not an unschooler?
Sandra