Unschooling Very Well

by Sandra Dodd, Saturday August 4, 2012
at the HSC conference

Below is the dump of my notes. I don't "write a speech" and read it. I make an outline with a few quotes and speak. There ended up being no recording of this talk, so... sorry you'll need to guess. :-)

I've enlivened the links, and my whole site is about unschooling well, so anyone unfamiliar with it might want to have a look around there.

Unschooling Very Well

SandraDodd.com

Always Learning (intro to the Always Learning discussion list on yahoo; very serious discussion)

Always Learning Live Symposium December 27-30, 2012

Pam Laricchia's book Free to Learn, and business cards

Choices (who was there? If some weren't, review briefly)

Getting warm, getting cold.

What really matters?

learning
peace and safety
ability to travel

What is the purpose of unschooling?
replacement for private school
BIG DEAL like owning a yacht

How will I know what's important?

If joy and optimism seem stupid, don't even try to unschool until after you've gotten some therapy or made direct strides toward recovering from the sooty veil of negativity. Children won't benefit from a life guide who is sure he or she is smarter than all the rest of the world. Arrogant certitude prevents learning.

Time Out, September 14, 2013:
I'm quoting this in Just Add Light and Stir, so I figured I should add a couple of links. "Some therapy" sources are listed here: SandraDodd.com/issues/therapy
and this might help: "When Parents Have Issues"
About "the sooty veil of negativity," it's a serious and deadly (to unschooling) disease: Negativity
When I posted that quote, someone told a story, and there were comments. Worth a read.

Back to August 4, 2012

Am I doing enough? BIG DEAL like building a solar home buying the book isn't enough, you need to own the land and have resources (personal, financial) and abilities How much IS enough?

Planning to do the minimum
Competitive unschooling
Sufficient unschooling

What SHOULD I be doing as an unschooling parent?

More.
Better than school
Making memories

How do they learn without a teacher?

How do people learn WITH a teacher?
Why? (Personal interest, or time-filling, or performance for reward)

Will they learn what they need to learn?

Nobody knows.
Do kids at school learn what they need to learn?
"Need" for what purpose?
- test taking?
- making university courses simpler?
- getting jobs?
- Being successful in jobs?
- Marriage and reproduction? (yes, in India)

How do THEY know what to learn?

Unschooling is not “Child-Led Learning”

Handwriting practice

"And I copied all the letters in a big round hand."

Kirby Dodd, 2006 pizza, phone orders

MORE ON UNSCHOOLING WELL, Coming to a leisurely symposium not so far from you:

Always Learning Live Unschooling Symposium, December 27-30, 2012, Albuquerque

Rose Sorooshian, Joyce Fetteroll, Pam Sorooshian, Jill and Luke Parmer and me! ALL three of my kids will be there: Kirby, Marty and Holly, and will be on a panel, and hanging out. My husband will even be there. Feel free to come and meet them and check them out. See if they're weirdos.

Food and fun.

Other things this all reminds me of:

Precisely How to Unschool
Priorities
Seeing and avoiding NEGATIVITY
Learning
CONNECTIONS: How Learning Works

My other HSC 2012 presentations:

Happiness Inside and Out (with a sound file)

Deschooling (sadly, no sound file)

Why Radical Unschooling? (Sound!)