a little bit on School
"This is working for now. If it stops working, we'll do something else.""Thanks. I'll think about that." (Or you could say "We thought about that," or "I think about that all the time.")
Mostly people want to know you heard what they said, and that you have thought about what they're suggesting. It doesn't hurt to say that you have, or that you will.
Sandra Dodd
Someone wrote:
-=-I'm dealing with family/friends/advisors who say things like "some curriculum would be good" or "eventually he will need some type of school" it really aggravates me to have to explain or justify this new lifestyle of unschooling while still trying to figure it out for myself.-=-My response:
#1, take care of your marriage. Go easy. Smile and be sweet.
#2, probably those people (most of them, anyway) are sincerely concerned for your children, so try to be grateful for that, or at least to understand it.
#3, you don't "have to" explain or justify it. Step back from "have to." Hear it every time you say it. See it when you write it. Pause when you think it.
Once in a while you might want to explain or justify. Many more times, you could just pause, and breathe, and think "She likes my kids," or "Yeah, unschooling DOES seem crazy to people who don't know much about it." And you do not have to respond.
The nicest thing to say might be "Thanks, I'll think about it." If they say he might need some type of school, you could say yeah, someday he might.
I liked to tell people that things were going well, but if that changed we would do something different. That gave them hope, and that was good for all of us. And it was true.
In my sweet, nonarrogant voice, I simply say,I am so glad to have this opportunity to enlighten you. We incorporate a constructivist approach with the experiential learning model. This is sometimes referred to as "unschooling" due to it's promotion of higher level thinking skills (which, more often than not, just does not happen in school). By the way, our nation's 4H program has been doing this active, hands on approach for many years. Feel free to do a google search to find the abundant research which indicates how this still is a preferred approach. Presently, hundreds of colleges are actively courting such homeschooled students for their overall educational excellence, intelligence and creativity.After their heads stop reeling, they typically shut up and go away. lol
sheree
I wrote "You could say it's the open classroom philosophy of the late 1960's and early 1970's which doesn't work in schools but does work at home." She responded:
Might go over like a fart in church. 🙂My response:
Well, then.When relatives, friends, professionals around you are critical, there are "been there, done that" ideas you might want to gather up and use in advance. They can be humorous. But you're not required to submit a formal report. Be conversational. the whole topic is good At the end, there, someone talks about mandatory reporters, and there ARE people whose positions/jobs require them to report child abuse or child neglect. So if you say "I'ts none of your business," that would not be a good thing to say at all.Fart in her church, maybe!
You don't have to bow and cater to her. You can tell her your unschooling information is shared on a need-to-know basis, and she doesn't have clearance.
The best thing for ANY unschooler is to move quickly toward becoming so confident that you can easily explain what you're doing, with enthusiasm and clarity. Don't muddle along.
|
Other ideas for responding to questions about homeschooling and unschooling
a little bit on School |
|