I met an 11 yr old unschooled boy from South Dakota yesterday while on tour of an ancient ruin. He was polite, intelligent, and read well above his grade level. Previous to this the family had visited 2 national parks, a Native American museum, and he does math in the car among other places. Now, THAT, to me, is an education.
Unschooling might be a good idea for geniuses. But for kids of average intelligence?? Well, I wonder. Didn't Mahatma Gandhi impose unschooling on his sons and both of them turned out quite badly? Ah, well, however someone's daughters or sons turn out as a result of unschooling is a matter of indifference to me. They are not my children anyway. If they end up as ignorant misfits with no earning power, probably that's just their fate.
@tairanotomomori Highly Gifted and Geniuses both learn on their own as long as have books, computers and educational dvd's... I think they should rethink unschooling for kids otherwise. On the other hand who will clean public restrooms? I feel mean saying that though
@akissy I don't really see the irony, I'm a college graduate myself and to tell you the truth, that doesn't make me any better, just more prepared in a very specific field. Having been schooled gave me the insight to evaluate the "usefulness" of "schooling" in real life which I concluded is not much (close to none)! Learning is natural, in fact, in childhood is something that "just happens", so there's no need to push it. Besides, in this "digital era" there are BETTER ways to learn things!
@Freethinker45 There is a difference between general education and observation; being an educated person you should have known that. Digital era lol that would be more like home schooling if you actually use tools to teach a child, I learn more outside of school because of books and educational movies. Kids with no rules and no books, that whats messed up in America.
@LexieDeaves I guess you're the one who's mixing terms: when you wrote "general education" I assume you actually meant "formal education" which is also known as "schooling"; as for "observation", let me enlighten you: in "stricto sensu" is an activity consisting on receiving KNOWLEDGE of the outside world through your senses, therefore, it's inseparable of "learning" which is the ultimate goal of education, got it? It's more than obvious that your understanding of the Unschooling principles...
@Freethinker45 No I didnt mean formal education and wasn't talking about school :) but nice guess...I was talking about general knowledge that can be achieved outside of school but with help of parents, something that kids dont like until try(thx to caring parents) "stricto sensu"? are you from mars?Do you even understand what education is? its not just about butterflies or pond in the back yard, its math and science GOT IT?
@LexieDeaves I actually happen to be from planet Earth too, you know? And yes, I do know what Education is, the real question is: Do you??? (apparently not). Anyway, debating/arguing on Youtube is futile...I won't change your mind (wasn't trying to, just in case).....have yourself a good night!
@Freethinker45 google the word unschooling...all the answers there lol Home schooling is great and you can learn at your own pace and it makes sense,even the name does. We learn all the time, you dont need any freaking unschooling and spoiling kids, letting them think this is how it always going to be in life. I learn a lot through music,educational programs and so on but I still go to school and take extra science classes even if I dont need them,school rocks.
@LexieDeaves ...is very limited (or non-existing whatsoever)! Unscooling is not a method but a flexible approach and it states that Learning is innate and just happens all the time. I believe is not for everyone but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. I'm a father myself and I started unschooling my daughter. Regarding your sarcastic comment on "digital era" being for "homeschooling": I learned English through Television, Music and Internet some years ago (my native language is Spanish)...
@LexieDeaves ...I'm sure I would've learned it faster if I'd had the tools we have today, all that by MYSELF. See, Unschooling is about letting the child explore and lead the way while parents (at the same time) offer "tools" (toys, magazines, books, gadgets) to complement the learning process. In this "digital era" (let explain it to you) is easier for ANYONE to learn ANYTHING, technology is really useful for that purpose, don't you think? One can learn MORE in a day than in months at school!
@Freethinker45 you are THE parent so be one, guide them in the ride direction. Some kids can learn on their own, your job is to make sure they learn what they need in the future because you never know what might happen. All those things that you call unschooling is what we do for fun after school.
@LexieDeaves In the end, it's all about following your passions and interests (something that rarely happens at schools). Once again, this path is NOT for everyone but I'm sure it's far more pleasant and rewarding for both parents and children. Next time, do some research (if interested), otherwise, you're prone to make ignorant claims (you're absolutely entitled to do so, though)!
@Freethinker45 its what we do after school, what all educated ppl do. I always do research, besides, already have people saying how ridicules this whole thing is. I am never ignorant, I know about all religions and heredities just so I can understand people, research worth of 4 years.Isn't it clear I would make research aaand watch video on "unschooling". Research was much better looking than videos(isnt it sad?).Homeschooling is the right way to go here!
@LexieDeaves Oh boy/girl, sorry if I hurt your ego; first of all, I did NOT call YOU ignorant (although when it comes to Unschooling you obviously are). I said you made an "ignorant claim". However, there's nothing wrong about being "ignorant": I'm pretty ignorant about Quantum Mechanics for instance; it's not my area of expertise! Now, from your comment "I am never ignorant" I can only say you're just too arrogant and naive! I don't know why your so-called knowledge of "religions" and...
@LexieDeaves ..."heredities" came up in the discussion (won't even bother to ask)! As a freethinker (atheist to be precise) I'm very familiar with Theology, Philosophy and of course Science but I don't go around rubbing it on people's faces, especially when it's NOT the topic in question! Anyway, keep researching but stop trying to be a smartass....you'll just make an ass out of yourself!
@Freethinker45 Saying that someone has made an ignorant claim, is the same as calling that person "ignorant. I am neither arrogant nor naive,trust me. Well, sorry you can't keep up with the way I think. Atheist- to discard all religious believes; no god, no religion(sounds pretty ignorant to me. :P) Its sad how you cant understand the way I think, even my 9 years old sister get it...this is fun :D sry cant help it
@LexieDeaves Tsk,tsk,tsk...you never cease to amaze me! Ok kid, first of all, the fact that someone had ONE boring conversation with you doesn't make YOU a boring person, so your argument is flawed. Second, I thought you were only arrogant and naive but you are also irrational: I don't have to "keep up with" the way you think, even though I understand your position; I just don't share your views: That simple! Part of being mature is respecting others' beliefs and/or views no matter how much...
@LexieDeaves ...we disagree! I don't recall criticizing your religious beliefs (whichever they are) despite the fact that believing in an "invisible being" who/that lives somewhere in the sky and watches everything you do every minute of every day and also has a list of (ten) things He/It does not want you to do, and IF you do ANY of these, He/It has a special place for you full of fire, smoke, burning, torture and anguish where He/It will send you to live and suffer, burn, choke, scream, cry...
@Freethinker45 sadly, it seems that you might need to... Is there a particular reason why you were arguing with a 9 and 10 years old girls? Isn't there something better that you could do? Maybe something that doesn't involve trying to outsmart two kids?They cant reply, I have restricted their access to my youtube account. If you still have an urge to argue than maybe you should find someone who isn't going to make a fool out of you. I wont bother reading all the comments!
@LexieDeaves With all due respect sir/ma'am: first, there was NO way for me to know your daughter's age, unfortunately I don't have any sort of psychic powers; second, if someone posts a comment (especially criticizing a video), it's expected to get a reply by someone else with a counter-argument; third, I wasn't trying to "outsmart" anyone: it was your "curious" child who kept replying and finally, I REALLY think that, as a parent, you should pay more attention to what your children do...!
@Freethinker45 well I thought you are...how sad :) I am a bit too young to have kids, those are my little sisters fyi...I didnt know that it was logged in at home, I dont have psychic powers as well. I am afraid you sounds as young as they are, perhaps you are older than me, too bad no one can tell. When people reply they should have a reasonable argument, dont you think? well it never happens; I believe they shouldn't waste their time on people like that nor should I.
@LexieDeaves ...forever and ever until the end of time....BUT he loves you xD (makes perfect sense)! You should spend more time researching and start using Logic, Reason and Critical Thinking so that you see the bigger picture...but that's your business not mine! I believe you when you say your nine-year-old sister gets the way you think: there's not much to "think" about your thinking. Finally, check your grammar and spelling, they suck big time ;-)
@MusicBoOmBoxXx Check the laws on homeschooling to make sure you still follow them and switch your curriculum to more natural unstructured learning outside of text books or computer programs. You really just have to build it around your needs and what you want. The lines between homeschool and unschool are very thin when it comes down to the individual.
@MusicBoOmBoxXx There's a David Friedman video on YouTube called Libertarian Parenting or something similar. He's a brilliant professor who unschools his kids. He's also in California and speaks about that.
@angelhatesyou75217 what is karma? dont look into wiki...where does the word come from? one day someone will use that word and you gonna be like"haaa? I am unschooled" lol sry but this unschooling thing is so amusing.
Why is it that people are so stuck on the idea that intellectual career equals success and happiness in life? There is so much more to life! In fact, it is that very 'so much more' that we miss out on by being so narrowly focused. The 'pot of gold' at the end of the institutional schooling rainbow contains no guarantee of whole personal fulfillment.
I really want to unschool my kids, but feel I have to do book work. I just worry they won't want to do anything besides play on the X-box or computer games if I just let them go.
@GraceAlone71 When I was first thinking about this, there was a transition period before I was also emotionally comfortable with it. I knew intellectually what I knew, but that didn't mean old feelings 'n doubts were automatically switched off. There was still that "if I don't go to school, or if I don't send my kids to school, am I making a mistake?" When you're forced to learn times tables, you're also learning that you need to be forced in order to learn. It's not easy to unlearn that.
I have 3 kiddos from a previous marriage, I would love nothing more than to unschool them but my ex-husband won't allow it. I'm still debating whether or not it would be worth it to fight it out in court or just let there be peace for the kids on the topic. (they would love to be unschooled or at least homeschooled) I now am very happily married and have a 5 month old daughter who I am unschooling. Some don't think you can teach her so early on, but now they see her beginning to talk, I win!
I, and my four siblings, were unschooled" before it even had a name. Those of us who wanted to attended college did so with no problem. Between us we are in the professions/trades of horse trainer/riding instructor, nurse, general contractor, bartender, and the youngest is a carpet tech. Besides our insatiable intrest in continued learning and the tendancy to "think outside the box," you'd be hard pressed to discern a difference between us and public schooled individuals.
I unschool my kids..........my 13 year old son is going to dual enrrolment next year, he passed the college test. He know more than me......I am very proud.
i got a qustion. did your son go to collage? cuz i want to go to a preforming arts school for collage. that is my main concern other why's im all for it
why does everybody always question people as a member of society and rank them as if being a doctor or a police officer makes you so much better than everybody else. The fact of the matter is the way our society is set up is messed up and those who will stand to try to change it are the only ones to be held to esteem. All that really matters is that you are happy and healthy. Why are people so set in their ways that they can never try to understand where others are coming from?
why does everybody always question people as a member of society and rank them as if being a doctor or a police officer makes you so much better than everybody else. The fact of the matter is the way our society is set up is messed up and those who will stand to try to change it are the only ones to be held to esteem. All that really matters is that you are happy and healthy. Why are people so set in their ways that they can never try to understand where others are coming from?
It's funny reading the comments because it seems that with unschooling, you're either all for it 100%, or you have absolutely no tolerance for it. Myself, I know that unless they ask me to go, there's no way I'm sending my future kids to school.
Are ANY unschooled people health professionals (i.e. medical doctors, veterinarians, dentists, optometrists, registered nurses, etc.)? No, because you have to be educated in school to attain these vital roles in society. The courses required to study the subjects in these fields is predicated upon a strong foundation of science, in which most average parents are not able to teach their children. Parents of unschooled children are just limiting their children's prospects.
@jazzmatik the only reason they are not health professionals is because they are not allowed to be health professionals without doing it there way: getting a diploma, and going to college to be taken seriously. and that completely goes against the very foundation of unschooling.
I have yet to meet one Unschooled person who doesn't suffer socially later.
(aside from the fact that all 3 were pretty dim as heck)
Life whether we want it to or not FORCES us to do things we hate. When you get a job, you have to do things you don't want. You learn things you don't want.
So, when we allow a child to not learn this fundamental rule of life, we do n't help them at all.
@hymanyeah I think you should stick to those claims. The earth needs slaves like you, that can be forced by "life". Also you should help your children becoming good slaves. Whom could my children command, if your children haven't learned to obey?
Thank you for your work and your subjection of your children on the masters account. The country needs parents like you. (But not the US, we need free, innovative people)
Some people have control issues and that is why they invented school for kids. Kids should be allowed to go to school only if they want to and it should never be forced. I believe learning is a natural process and it will all work out in the end.
On the contrary, people who are forced to go to school normally just end up joining the zombie population where they are subsequently brought into the NWO fold.
@meteorologist15 Yes. Since coercion isn't necessary for growth and learning, then you have to ask, what does coercion achieve? We know that learning is natural and fun until someone forces you to do it (like anything else), so it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to piece together how children come to find "education" to be a chore. We know that children spend age 5 to 18 being told what to think and when to think it; and it doesn't take Dupin to deduce that this teaches obedience.
@meteorologist15 We know that after the obedience training and busy work of school, there is very little time for normal growth and development, and it doesn't take a Charles Wallace to figure out why teenagers and college aged adults are childish, why so many people don't know who they are and what they want. School is destructive. It doesn't have a leg to stand on. To the extent that is strange to you is a testament to the power of brainwashing.
@meteorologist15 of course. everyone would be less oppressed, and would be more in touch with their instincts and natural interests and passions. a lot of the absurdity in society stems from oppression. there would be less apathy and submission to our current fucked up system and society would be more accepting/ diverse/ creative-- there would be more fertile, productive dialogue... i don't know. i'm not "unschooled," i went to prep school and am at nyu (although at an individualized school)--
@meteorologist15 so i've had a good education thus far but still feel like "unschooling" allows for something that one could probably never find at school-- it seems to allow people to express their natural impulses and interests and cultivates passion. school definitely is oppressive in many ways-- forcing us to conform to a certain curricula and to a ridiculous social code in high school(and perhaps in college if you don't learn to escape the illusion of forced networking/ fake friendships,etc
@meteorologist15 and doesn't allow too much freedom for us to explore what deeply interests us because we (1) are forced to fill our heads with bullshit and have no time to look around for something we are profoundly moved by (2) are so often forced to suppress our natural desires that our natural desires become silenced and we start to loose sight of our passions and fall into a state of anxiety and uncertainty about what truly interests us. perhaps i am taking this too far, and i am barely
@meteorologist15 familiar with "unschooling"-- i've just watched pt 1-3 of these videos/ read the wiki/ facebook pages/ a few articles... but i believe a lot of problems today-- rampant unhappiness, psychosis, apathy... our lack of outrage and action with issues such as poverty, environmental degradation, inequality, etc-- stem from oppression... from being forced to do shit we hate: memorizing things to get good grades in highschool so we can apply to the best colleges and then going to college
@meteorologist15 to continue to memorize mostly irrelevant things, being a slave to absurdity (well, i guess such enslavement only occurs if you're studying something for 'practical' reasons of getting a job, etc-- rather than studying things that genuinely interest you-- which of course, either choice has it's pros and cons, i chose to study what excites me so i will probably be in debt post- college, which is kind of just postponing my enslavement-- but i'm hoping for some kind of money
@meteorologist15 making career to pop up relevant to what i study/ what interests me) for four more years while setting our parents back $200,000, then going into a job to pay off such debt... and eventually kind of giving up on our dreams to sell out to things that used to disgust us as teenagers. mmm, i don't know. it just seems more natural, so i think society would benefit if all parents were able to be as thoughtful as sandra dodd and were able to stimulate a passion for knowledge in
@meteorologist15 their children (which i feel shouldn't be hard because our lack of passion seems to be a result of our broken education system breaking our will and curiosity).
sorry, that was just ridiculously long but i always just type a lot and usually cut it down, but i don't really feel like editing it-- so, yeah. hopefully it's comprehendable enough.
@meteorologist15, I'm not an unschooling parent but I am (for now) a nonvaccinating one and I suspect the answer is the same for both: NO.
I can choose to delay vaccinations for my child because enough people do vaccinate that the likelihood of exposure to dangerous pathogens is small. My kid benefits from the risks taken by other parents. But if all parents made the same choice, society at large would suffer.
...similarly, unschooling so far seems to involve a rather intelligent, intellectually adventurous and tiny minority that can make use of the resources developed by formally educated professionals (such as libraries).
But if everyone opted for unschooling, our culture's intellectual life would soon stagnate and decay beyond recognition.
@EyeLean5280 The library was invented by Ben Franklin. That people who work in public libraries went to school is incidental; those libraries don't exist because the workers in them went to school. It's not logical to say that because those wor work in libraries went to school, unschoolers are relying on schooled people to keep their operation going... You have things the wrong way around. Our culture's intellectual life is stagnating and decaying precisely because we're schooled.
...because most parents are ill-equipped for regular homeschooling, let alone unschooling, which requires mentoring by someone who's psychologically fit, intellectually gifted & academically informed enough to guide the learner through the maze of disinformation, propaganda & just plain junk that clutters up the landscape.
Sure, not all school teachers are wonderful. But at school, a child will sooner or later come into contact with some who are, who will point the way. At home, who knows?
@EyeLean5280 I think you mean you "explain" in your next post. I don't see your "next" post. So, allow me to ask you just the one question; why do you think coercion ins necessary?
Doper parents creating another hippie generation. These people that unschool seem to mostly all have nice homes. They probably just tell thier kids. 'Don't worry, you have trust fund and are rich. Just smoke dope and do what feels good" America is dooming itself. Of course the unschooler won't be able to post a reply to my statement becouse of lack of reading skills. And Mcdonalds after all will still hire them. I would like a large fry with that coke please. Get used to it.
@SCHRUBBE1966, while I don't agree with your assessment, it should be obvious to any fair-minded person that your comment is not spam and has been flagged as such by someone who's just trying to silence dissent. Is that what the unschooling community is about?
Full Disclosure Statement: I make several remarks here defending homeschooling as a concept. However, I have made many more critical remarks on the video featuring this woman's daughter, who seemed perfectly nice but did not (in my opinion) speak very well and did not seem like a good example of how well this approach to education works.
@EyeLean5280 I watched that video and do not see what you are talking about at all. On the other hand, how often have we seen school kids/adults on the news who are only saying what they think they're supposed to say and/or can barely speak the language of their homeland?
@prayfertrey, if you can't see what I was talking about, all I can assume is you perhaps don't understand the difference between a well-spoken person and an inarticulate one (I was not even close to being the only commentator to put Holly in the latter category).
As for how school kids speak, I don't understand your point. Sure, there are plenty of public school kids who just babble nonsense. They aren't good examples of that educational approach, either.
@EyeLean5280 I considered that you weren't referring to her not talking the way she might write... so I watched the video looking for what would be less than every day colloquial speech. The worst I heard was the over use of "like". I didn't get "inarticulate". At any rate, you don't think there's a difference between speaking informally, even saying "cool" and "like" too much, and talking babble, anti intellectual, thoughtlessness?
@prayfertrey, yes of course there's a difference. But it's not that she uses "like" and "cool" too much (though of course she does that, too). She takes way too long and way too many (albeit very simple) words to say way too little. And does so in a disorganized way.
She's not anti-intellectual per se. I'd say this clip is simply non-intellectual. There's little to no intellect involved. And that would be fine if this were a video about a trip to the mall. But it's promoting unschooling.
@prayfertrey, for comparison, check out the YT video, " looking back on unschooling: Kate Cayley" This woman also uses "like" too much, but not way too much. She is very well spoken and has an awful lot to say. I find her pretty convincing, actually, and might be interested in checking her website out. The difference between her and Holly is exactly the difference between an articulate person speaking informally and an inarticulate person being inarticulate.
...as I said, I am not at all the only person to make these observations. if you take the time to go through the commentary, you will find those who see Holly as poorly spoken are fairly numerous and handily outnumber the few who see no problem. And among her admirers, I must say, you are the only one who seems to be above average in your writing or thinking skills.
I can't help but wonder if you are being biased by your support for unschooling.
But I am a nurse. And without formal education I could not have learned the things I know to take care of people the way I do. And without daily disciplines I would not have been able to handle getting a college education and dealing with a career. I still think that some structure and a type of formal learning is necessary.
For our more "formalized" learning we still learned according to our own pace to a certain degree, and got to focus more one what we wanted to learn, but got exposed to many things in order to find our main interests.
I was home-schooled my whole life, and much of how I learned was through the 'techniques' found in unschooling. I was raised in my parents mom and pop hardware/feed store. I cemented my arithmetic skills from running our cash register and making change, learned basic skills in carpentry/animal husbandry/plumbing/electrical work etc. My parents used every little thing to teach me basics about life, simple math, science, chemistry, physics etc. It was a GREAT way to learn.
Hmmmm...I understand the idea behind this, and agree with it in part. But I must agree that in order to be a participating member of this society formal education is required for anything other than basic jobs (such as burger flipping).
I see it as this: Before there was school, all children were basically unschooled, and learning only through living. But, after a lot of discoveries, and advancements in the way we live, it became vital to pass this information down and make sure our happy ways of life were sustained. By unschooling at this time, you are basically starting from the beginning again. We need a place like a school to make sure the majority of society isn't left behind and is useless to the growth of humanity.
Ok but your robbing your kids of the oppertunity to be a teacher or any other profession in which you need to KNOW stuff! This advocate makes me a little upset. Woman your thinking is all wrong...
1 question, how the fuck will these kids get a job. how will they learn world history, algebra, reading. they won't. i wouldn't want to when i was 10. but the end justifies the means. kids need education, all apes need a form of environment learning. to not do it is evolutionary not beneficial. this is crazy, kids need education.
keeping an optimistic mind, i think that this utopian "unschooling" method has some merits. other than the fact that these kids will generally probably be unprepared for life in society, one thing that sticks out in my mind is that every parent (their own educational background, their parenting, communication, and interactional skills) are all different meaning that while someone's kids turn out fine, other kids just end up being completely useless.
you can see a tree outside but you dont know anything about the tree, the inside, the anatomy.... same with everything else. you can see a person but have no clue how a persons body actually works. yeah lame argument
How would you have learned about "unschooling" if you haven't been schooled yourself? Unschooling is just an idealistic utopia, how will these kids maintain a life without having a solid education to get a job. I'm just being a realist, and mean no disrespect, I just don't get it.
@grux2741 you *are* being a 'realist' and you *do* in fact not [yet] get it.
And you've just demonstrated a major point of criticism towards the 'schooling system': You seem to sit firmly inside the box and do not trust yourself, or anyone else to shape and determine their existence without 'training' by 'experts'.
As Ms. Dodd pointed out: With the internet you can acquire the information needed in one day, easily. Of course it takes much longer to assimilate it and adjust one's belief system.
@walteredstates So basically what you are saying is that if I want to become a dentist I can just look it up on Google and I will magically become a dentist? I don't think so...I would hope that my dentist had some sort of 'training' by 'experts.'
@grux2741 Let's not waste any more time by misunderstanding simple statements. I recommend johntaylorgatto's website - a one-stop wealth of 1st hand information from a teacher of 30 years and very perceptive writer and consummate researcher.
While I'm willing to have an open mind about unschooling as a concept, I cannot agree with the assertion that one can become a dentist by surfing the Internet.
Expertise is a very real thing, as anyone who has devoted their lives to acquiring it can tell you. They will also tell you that without the expert guidance of their teachers and mentors, they would not have mastered their field of knowledge.
Here's a challenge. Why don't you try becoming a concert pianist by looking it up on Google?
@EyeLean5280 : You misunderstood in similar way to grux2741, silly! I never made that or similar assertion. Expert guidance of teachers or mentors is crucial. The point is that this existing schoolsystem is set up to socialize the population in a specific way to be able to be controlled, not to take control of their own lives and/or effectively learn and/or reach their innate potential. I went thru 13yrs. schooling - most of it was waste and incurring psychol. damage in the 'inmates'.
@walteredstates, okay, I appreciate and even agree with your clarification.
However, if two intelligent people misunderstood your point, perhaps they're not "silly" after all. Perhaps you did not make your point clear the first time. Just perhaps?
She could have learned as I did, by hearing about it from others in informal environments. The first place I heard of unschooling was in a homeschool group, and have learned even more from others since and from the Internet. I, in turn, have told others about it, and show what it is through example and results. The knowledge, once begun, can be shared in many ways. Knowledge is not at all confined to the classroom.
I agree not all knowledge is learned in the classroom. I have learned much from my own curiosity and activities outside the classroom, but I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't had a formal education. I wouldn't trade my education for anything.
@grux2741, I agree. I learned an amazing amount of stuff on my own or talking with my parents throughout my school years. But I also learned quite a lot at school throughout it all, too. I learned things I would not have maintained the discipline for if left to my own devices (I still don't sit down to learn more math when not in a class!)
I imagine unschooling can work for a few families. But most people need a balance between externally-directed & self-directed learning.
@grux2741, while I don't quite agree that unschooling is "just an idealistic utopia," I do think that it is probably unsuited to most families and must be approached with great care. An unschooling parent should also be willing to constantly assess how it's working for his or her child.
@grux2741 It's hard to respond in a short amount of space. Counter-examples: I went to public school and my mother tells me that I taught myself to read before I entered kindergarten. My business partner has an honors degree in CS that has never helped him get a job (he's actually been turned down for being "over-qualified!") I never went to college & am in business for myself - 7 years strong. It's a fallacy that you need other people to tell you what you need to know. We learn independently.
@grux2741: Unschooling could lead to a job as a baker/chef, a farmer, a physicist, a painter, a vet. Children (who haven't been turned off "learning" by school's technique of "memorize a random subject long enough to pass a test, then memorize another random subject") HAVE interests. And they pursue them. My best friend taught himself (and by 'taught himself' I mean "pursued all avenues of learning because he was interested") Chinese and zoology. I taught myself philosophy and Japanese.
@grux2741 Education to get a job is actually not education but training! That's precisely what's behind this idea of homeschooling... Ken Robinson in a talk with TED was giving the idea of the agricultural model of education where every individual is given personal attention, instead of an idustrial model where students are treated like products in the assembly line...
Unschooling isn't the same as uneducating, quite the opposite actually...
@grux2741 It is quite likely that those who are unschooled will become more entrepreneurial and not simply work for a boss. Is working for a corporation really a "life"?
Unschooling isn't idealistic, it's how the human brain works.
For example, would you like to regale me with the tale of how you learned to speak?
Obviously your parents sat you down for eight hours a day, lectured you, made you do worksheets on speaking, read textbooks on it, and tested you on your speaking abilities, correct?
@jamiedoer2 well i obviously learned the language through everyday interaction, not schooling. Obviously to learn a second language the best option is not learning it in a classroom setting, but to live in a society that speaks said language. However, to become successful in a respected career path such as a doctor or even a teacher (for example), one must be schooled in the current system. "Unschooling" fails to prepare children for such career choices.
@grux2741 "Well OBVIOUSLY I learned to speak in a completely different, more natural setting. And OF COURSE the best way to learn another language would to be pursue the same kind of avenue. But the BEST way for people to become educated is to go through something completely different."
@jamiedoer2 I'm sorry you fail to see my simple argument. If unschooling is working for you, more power to you. I just fail to comprehend how one furthers a career without education in the traditional setting.
@grux2741 Those of us who are in a space where we have unschooling well intuited, your question can seem ludicrous... but it's easy to forget that when you spend your natural childhood learning that you need school in order to learn, you can't just say to that person, "school is bunk" and expect them to just get it on the spot. Or even if they get it, it will take time to integrate it, time for it to feel right. So we should work on addressing questions like yours, carefully, with understanding.
@grux2741 That's the first thing that came to mind when I heard about this. I've never heard of "unschooling" until yesterday. But, how will they enter the work force with NO education? It's hard enough finding a job without a college degree, let alone NO schooling.
@kelaltieri It's not true that kids who grow up the normal way have "no education". People who spend their natural childhood kept inside of buildings away from real life are the ones with no education. You can tell by their argumentation skills etc. RE finding a job: Should things be that way? Your willingness to go along with things (and insistence that others should, too) cause "that's the way of the world"; it feels normal to you, but it may be the obedience you learned in school?
@kelaltieri They WILL have to go to college if they want certain jobs.Most kids will decide what they want to be in life, and then you tell them, "look, if you want to be X you'll have to learn a, b, and c" so then they will go and find information on those things, often books by this point. They'll read those books and possibly have to pass an entrance exam and get into college they want. And vitually all colleges do accept unschoolers. They'll be new to the way of learning but not to the info.
@grux2741 I agree with you in part, but my curiosity comes from when does that exactly become a barrier? I'm in Canada, and a great number of colleges and universities (well respected ones) offer bridging programs for young adults to get people into their schools. Regardless of this relating to unschooling. I can't see exactly how this type of rearing would hold a determined person back from attaining their goals (and I hope all people in positions that require higher education are).
I am so glad i found this channel! I'm concidering not sending my 6yr old to junior school in spetember. Just letting her finish this last year in her primary, which will give me more time to research unschooling more.
Remembering back to my school days, and i was bullied, and didn't learn much, and anything that was learned has been pretty much unlearned as it never interested me (like history, french etc).
My son will be unschool from the beginning, but deschooling my daughter could be hard.
@hitmanlee I must of missed the part where i cried. :o/
I love it when people have opinions on how other people raise their children. They often only lash out because of something in them that they don't like. So it pretty much doesn't matter what you say about how *i* raise *my* children.
Oh, and its actually *Opportunity* So i guess school didn't really do much for you. =o)
Man, do I love to read and watch Sandra Dodd's work! I don't have children yet, but I'm kind of glad I found her long before I'm ready to be a mom because it means I will start from the beginning, when the time comes. To read or listen to her words of wisdom, I realize it comes from a lifetime of experience and the reflection on three kids raised well. Wow!
I'm sitting up at 4:00am sick with the flu. It's a nice little pick me up to hear you! We're merrily living our lives in the Yukon.
The older kids have moved out and the younger two are going to be running away into the rest of their lives any minute now. We made forts and played computer games and cooked and sang and danced and played with puppies yesterday. Wonder what we'll do today? Maybe a good thought to go back to sleep on.
Sandra you speak a lot of wisdom and this kind of talk about learning is music to my ears. It just feels right when you don't force the kids and feels instinctively wrong to try and make them do workbook type stuff. Great video :-)
this chick is of the influential breed. she doesn't seem to be out to prove her intellectual prowess as much as share her positive experience with the natural learning phenomenon. imagine if we had to teach our stomachs to digest what kind of trouble we would be in.
additional: so, it's like saying, well, some people teach their babies to walk, and some prefer to unschool-walk their babies, but it's not for everyone. No one teaches their babies to walk. That would be just weird. Because *we have no reason to do that*. Imagine how annoyed a toddler would get. Ok, unschooling is not for you, so, what you need is an actual reason for doing anything else. If there isn't a reason, then doing so is kinda nutty.
I disparage the whole, "well, it's not for everybody" line because it doesn't make good sense. It doesn't make good sense because learning isn't something you have to do to someone. Put another way, no one has any reason to think that in order for someone to be educated, they must be acted on in some way. I know that's a hard ghost to let go of - but at the very least we can appreciate that we have absolutely no reason for thinking that we need to act on someone in order for them to be educated.
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This kind of teaching/learning is amazing. In part, I wish I had been brought up in this manor, being able to avoid the horrifying damages that come from public schools. I wish there were a way to school the millions of children out there in this way, but with the lifestyle in North America, that could be next to impossible. Especially with the recession hitting as hard as it has, and the possibility that it's just going to get worse. If my wife and I had children this is how we would raise them
Thanks for posting seeing you here is so cool I have used your website so much . I am unschooling my soon to be 5 year old and just recently started answering the question...will he start kindergarden in the fall....with a NO! Its a declaration and an opening to talk about my not so humble oppinion
I`m fascinated by this type of teaching, but there`s no way millions of kids could be taught this way, is there? It`s a shame because in large classrooms it`s hard to focus on the individual childrens needs.
I think it's impossible, in large classrooms, to focus much on any one child, but some teachers really do try! In any classroom, there will be kids who like the teacher and kids who don't.
The kind of learning unschoolers do doesn't happen in millions. It happens within a single individual. I suppose there are hundreds of thousands of unschoolers, but each learns from what's around him or her.
I don't think it pays to be too dogmatically anti-curriculum. If you don't want to use one, fine (and I didn't) but folks use curriculums with great success, too. And most of the people I knew blended--used curriculums in some subjects, some of the time, while basically unschooling.
-=-I don't think it pays to be too dogmatically anti-curriculum.-=-
None of it "pays," but if one's intent is to foster a life in which natural learning can really, truly flourish, schoolishness doesn't help.
If someone wrote "I don't think it pays to be too dogmatically anti-hospital-birth," and so forth, ending with an assurance that most people had hospital births while basically homebirthing, I doubt you would agree.
It DOESN'T PAY to be too dogmatically anti-hospital birth---when I talk to people about the subject, I note the pluses of homebirth, but I also tell them that if they *feel* deeply uncomfortable with homebirth, they are better off doing what feels right to them. Because if they are too afraid, its just not going to work.
Curriculums used at home tend to be much less schoolish than school, so if that's what some folks need to allow them to homeschool, I'm all for it.
I assumed by your username that you were in favor of home birth over hospitals.
I see your point then, though I really don't like the idea of whether "it" (what it?) "pays" (pays what?).
I think you're assuming I'm in favor of homeschooling over school. I'm in favor of natural learning over a curriculum. I'm not a supporter of taking kids out of school to do school at home.
Good for you for posting this Stranahan! Unschooling is brilliant *for kids*..the big problem is that kids below 8 or so really need to have someone with them, and for parents who happen to be somewhere without a supportive network of family and friends- this imposes a financial burden through loss of income. Homebusinesses? Toddler plus mental concentration doesn't work swimmingly. So freelance writing, etc. DOESN'T WORK, without "babysitting". Can't afford w/o high income.
I have to strongly disagree with this statement. It all comes down to your choice of lifestyle. I am a stay-at-home mom to 4 children and my husband is an over-the-road owner operator truck driver. I homeschool and raise the kids. We are not doing without. We live on 5 acres in the country in a singlewide trailer. We have animals, a computer (quad-core satellite wireless service) dishnetwork, stereos, tv, mp3player, cell phones and take weekly field trips. It's priorities. You can do it.
Hi aimhigh---I think its great you gave your explanation--after you posted this, I thought, uh, "high income" wasn't exactly the right way to put it. And I don't mean to discourage homeschooling, I did it, and convinced alot of other people to do it. My main point was "don't homeschool if you don't have either a husband, or can earn enough to pay for babysitting." And while families can be comfy on one income--these days there is no alimony divorce--homeschooling moms are at risk.
P.S. Thank you for homeschooling your kids. I know what a huge difference it makes to them, and it makes a huge difference to the rest of us too, to have fellow citizens who can think, and love.
I met an 11 yr old unschooled boy from South Dakota yesterday while on tour of an ancient ruin. He was polite, intelligent, and read well above his grade level. Previous to this the family had visited 2 national parks, a Native American museum, and he does math in the car among other places. Now, THAT, to me, is an education.
TheTravelfool 2 weeks ago
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TheTravelfool 2 weeks ago
Unschooling might be a good idea for geniuses. But for kids of average intelligence?? Well, I wonder. Didn't Mahatma Gandhi impose unschooling on his sons and both of them turned out quite badly? Ah, well, however someone's daughters or sons turn out as a result of unschooling is a matter of indifference to me. They are not my children anyway. If they end up as ignorant misfits with no earning power, probably that's just their fate.
tairanotomomori 1 month ago
@tairanotomomori Highly Gifted and Geniuses both learn on their own as long as have books, computers and educational dvd's... I think they should rethink unschooling for kids otherwise. On the other hand who will clean public restrooms? I feel mean saying that though
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
Path to total ignorance.
multitalentino 3 months ago
I like some aspects of it. I think it depends on the child. Unfortunately, I think unschooling is illegal in NY.
TheTravelfool 3 months ago
Isn't it ironic that she went to college but is unschooling her children? I'm all for homeschooling, but unschooling? ._.U
akissy 6 months ago 3
@akissy I don't really see the irony, I'm a college graduate myself and to tell you the truth, that doesn't make me any better, just more prepared in a very specific field. Having been schooled gave me the insight to evaluate the "usefulness" of "schooling" in real life which I concluded is not much (close to none)! Learning is natural, in fact, in childhood is something that "just happens", so there's no need to push it. Besides, in this "digital era" there are BETTER ways to learn things!
Freethinker45 4 months ago 2
@Freethinker45 There is a difference between general education and observation; being an educated person you should have known that. Digital era lol that would be more like home schooling if you actually use tools to teach a child, I learn more outside of school because of books and educational movies. Kids with no rules and no books, that whats messed up in America.
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves I guess you're the one who's mixing terms: when you wrote "general education" I assume you actually meant "formal education" which is also known as "schooling"; as for "observation", let me enlighten you: in "stricto sensu" is an activity consisting on receiving KNOWLEDGE of the outside world through your senses, therefore, it's inseparable of "learning" which is the ultimate goal of education, got it? It's more than obvious that your understanding of the Unschooling principles...
Freethinker45 3 weeks ago
@Freethinker45 No I didnt mean formal education and wasn't talking about school :) but nice guess...I was talking about general knowledge that can be achieved outside of school but with help of parents, something that kids dont like until try(thx to caring parents) "stricto sensu"? are you from mars?Do you even understand what education is? its not just about butterflies or pond in the back yard, its math and science GOT IT?
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves I actually happen to be from planet Earth too, you know? And yes, I do know what Education is, the real question is: Do you??? (apparently not). Anyway, debating/arguing on Youtube is futile...I won't change your mind (wasn't trying to, just in case).....have yourself a good night!
Freethinker45 3 weeks ago
@Freethinker45 google the word unschooling...all the answers there lol Home schooling is great and you can learn at your own pace and it makes sense,even the name does. We learn all the time, you dont need any freaking unschooling and spoiling kids, letting them think this is how it always going to be in life. I learn a lot through music,educational programs and so on but I still go to school and take extra science classes even if I dont need them,school rocks.
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves ...is very limited (or non-existing whatsoever)! Unscooling is not a method but a flexible approach and it states that Learning is innate and just happens all the time. I believe is not for everyone but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. I'm a father myself and I started unschooling my daughter. Regarding your sarcastic comment on "digital era" being for "homeschooling": I learned English through Television, Music and Internet some years ago (my native language is Spanish)...
Freethinker45 3 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves ...I'm sure I would've learned it faster if I'd had the tools we have today, all that by MYSELF. See, Unschooling is about letting the child explore and lead the way while parents (at the same time) offer "tools" (toys, magazines, books, gadgets) to complement the learning process. In this "digital era" (let explain it to you) is easier for ANYONE to learn ANYTHING, technology is really useful for that purpose, don't you think? One can learn MORE in a day than in months at school!
Freethinker45 3 weeks ago
@Freethinker45 you are THE parent so be one, guide them in the ride direction. Some kids can learn on their own, your job is to make sure they learn what they need in the future because you never know what might happen. All those things that you call unschooling is what we do for fun after school.
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves In the end, it's all about following your passions and interests (something that rarely happens at schools). Once again, this path is NOT for everyone but I'm sure it's far more pleasant and rewarding for both parents and children. Next time, do some research (if interested), otherwise, you're prone to make ignorant claims (you're absolutely entitled to do so, though)!
Freethinker45 3 weeks ago
@Freethinker45 its what we do after school, what all educated ppl do. I always do research, besides, already have people saying how ridicules this whole thing is. I am never ignorant, I know about all religions and heredities just so I can understand people, research worth of 4 years.Isn't it clear I would make research aaand watch video on "unschooling". Research was much better looking than videos(isnt it sad?).Homeschooling is the right way to go here!
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves Oh boy/girl, sorry if I hurt your ego; first of all, I did NOT call YOU ignorant (although when it comes to Unschooling you obviously are). I said you made an "ignorant claim". However, there's nothing wrong about being "ignorant": I'm pretty ignorant about Quantum Mechanics for instance; it's not my area of expertise! Now, from your comment "I am never ignorant" I can only say you're just too arrogant and naive! I don't know why your so-called knowledge of "religions" and...
Freethinker45 2 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves ..."heredities" came up in the discussion (won't even bother to ask)! As a freethinker (atheist to be precise) I'm very familiar with Theology, Philosophy and of course Science but I don't go around rubbing it on people's faces, especially when it's NOT the topic in question! Anyway, keep researching but stop trying to be a smartass....you'll just make an ass out of yourself!
Freethinker45 2 weeks ago
@Freethinker45 Saying that someone has made an ignorant claim, is the same as calling that person "ignorant. I am neither arrogant nor naive,trust me. Well, sorry you can't keep up with the way I think. Atheist- to discard all religious believes; no god, no religion(sounds pretty ignorant to me. :P) Its sad how you cant understand the way I think, even my 9 years old sister get it...this is fun :D sry cant help it
LexieDeaves 2 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves Tsk,tsk,tsk...you never cease to amaze me! Ok kid, first of all, the fact that someone had ONE boring conversation with you doesn't make YOU a boring person, so your argument is flawed. Second, I thought you were only arrogant and naive but you are also irrational: I don't have to "keep up with" the way you think, even though I understand your position; I just don't share your views: That simple! Part of being mature is respecting others' beliefs and/or views no matter how much...
Freethinker45 2 weeks ago
@LexieDeaves ...we disagree! I don't recall criticizing your religious beliefs (whichever they are) despite the fact that believing in an "invisible being" who/that lives somewhere in the sky and watches everything you do every minute of every day and also has a list of (ten) things He/It does not want you to do, and IF you do ANY of these, He/It has a special place for you full of fire, smoke, burning, torture and anguish where He/It will send you to live and suffer, burn, choke, scream, cry...
Freethinker45 2 weeks ago
@Freethinker45 sadly, it seems that you might need to... Is there a particular reason why you were arguing with a 9 and 10 years old girls? Isn't there something better that you could do? Maybe something that doesn't involve trying to outsmart two kids?They cant reply, I have restricted their access to my youtube account. If you still have an urge to argue than maybe you should find someone who isn't going to make a fool out of you. I wont bother reading all the comments!
LexieDeaves 2 days ago
@LexieDeaves With all due respect sir/ma'am: first, there was NO way for me to know your daughter's age, unfortunately I don't have any sort of psychic powers; second, if someone posts a comment (especially criticizing a video), it's expected to get a reply by someone else with a counter-argument; third, I wasn't trying to "outsmart" anyone: it was your "curious" child who kept replying and finally, I REALLY think that, as a parent, you should pay more attention to what your children do...!
Freethinker45 2 days ago
@Freethinker45 well I thought you are...how sad :) I am a bit too young to have kids, those are my little sisters fyi...I didnt know that it was logged in at home, I dont have psychic powers as well. I am afraid you sounds as young as they are, perhaps you are older than me, too bad no one can tell. When people reply they should have a reasonable argument, dont you think? well it never happens; I believe they shouldn't waste their time on people like that nor should I.
LexieDeaves 1 day ago
@LexieDeaves ...forever and ever until the end of time....BUT he loves you xD (makes perfect sense)! You should spend more time researching and start using Logic, Reason and Critical Thinking so that you see the bigger picture...but that's your business not mine! I believe you when you say your nine-year-old sister gets the way you think: there's not much to "think" about your thinking. Finally, check your grammar and spelling, they suck big time ;-)
Freethinker45 2 weeks ago
how would one transition from homeschooling, in California, to Unschooling, here?
MusicBoOmBoxXx 7 months ago
@MusicBoOmBoxXx Check the laws on homeschooling to make sure you still follow them and switch your curriculum to more natural unstructured learning outside of text books or computer programs. You really just have to build it around your needs and what you want. The lines between homeschool and unschool are very thin when it comes down to the individual.
angelhatesyou75217 7 months ago
@MusicBoOmBoxXx There's a David Friedman video on YouTube called Libertarian Parenting or something similar. He's a brilliant professor who unschools his kids. He's also in California and speaks about that.
frithar 4 months ago
is it ironic that there are a bunch of books behind her? lol
littleseamstress 9 months ago
@littleseamstress Yes very ironic, because us unschulers don't no how to read.
angelhatesyou75217 7 months ago
@angelhatesyou75217 what is karma? dont look into wiki...where does the word come from? one day someone will use that word and you gonna be like"haaa? I am unschooled" lol sry but this unschooling thing is so amusing.
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
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angelhatesyou75217 2 weeks ago
@littleseamstress unschoolers read many books
TheTravelfool 3 months ago
@TheTravelfool you checked them all? in all the videos about it kids have no clue what a book is lol
LexieDeaves 3 weeks ago
Unschooling doesn't mean a person isn't "schooled." Unschoolers learn - just not in a class room.
MizSaydee 9 months ago 3
Why is it that people are so stuck on the idea that intellectual career equals success and happiness in life? There is so much more to life! In fact, it is that very 'so much more' that we miss out on by being so narrowly focused. The 'pot of gold' at the end of the institutional schooling rainbow contains no guarantee of whole personal fulfillment.
surroundedbyquisling 10 months ago 2
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surroundedbyquisling 10 months ago
hey it's your mother with brown hair.
MattyMattThing 1 year ago
I really want to unschool my kids, but feel I have to do book work. I just worry they won't want to do anything besides play on the X-box or computer games if I just let them go.
GraceAlone71 1 year ago
@GraceAlone71 When I was first thinking about this, there was a transition period before I was also emotionally comfortable with it. I knew intellectually what I knew, but that didn't mean old feelings 'n doubts were automatically switched off. There was still that "if I don't go to school, or if I don't send my kids to school, am I making a mistake?" When you're forced to learn times tables, you're also learning that you need to be forced in order to learn. It's not easy to unlearn that.
ion010101 11 months ago
I have 3 kiddos from a previous marriage, I would love nothing more than to unschool them but my ex-husband won't allow it. I'm still debating whether or not it would be worth it to fight it out in court or just let there be peace for the kids on the topic. (they would love to be unschooled or at least homeschooled) I now am very happily married and have a 5 month old daughter who I am unschooling. Some don't think you can teach her so early on, but now they see her beginning to talk, I win!
ztigerwife 1 year ago
I, and my four siblings, were unschooled" before it even had a name. Those of us who wanted to attended college did so with no problem. Between us we are in the professions/trades of horse trainer/riding instructor, nurse, general contractor, bartender, and the youngest is a carpet tech. Besides our insatiable intrest in continued learning and the tendancy to "think outside the box," you'd be hard pressed to discern a difference between us and public schooled individuals.
DragonflyGlitter 1 year ago 2
I unschool my kids..........my 13 year old son is going to dual enrrolment next year, he passed the college test. He know more than me......I am very proud.
guajira777 1 year ago
i got a qustion. did your son go to collage? cuz i want to go to a preforming arts school for collage. that is my main concern other why's im all for it
happygiver13 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I decided to unschool after 17 years in school.
mexicanunschooling.blogspot.com
007Theeddie 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
mexicanunschooling.blogspot.com
007Theeddie 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
mexicanunschooling.blogspot.com
007Theeddie 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
why does everybody always question people as a member of society and rank them as if being a doctor or a police officer makes you so much better than everybody else. The fact of the matter is the way our society is set up is messed up and those who will stand to try to change it are the only ones to be held to esteem. All that really matters is that you are happy and healthy. Why are people so set in their ways that they can never try to understand where others are coming from?
MonkeyPantz07 1 year ago
why does everybody always question people as a member of society and rank them as if being a doctor or a police officer makes you so much better than everybody else. The fact of the matter is the way our society is set up is messed up and those who will stand to try to change it are the only ones to be held to esteem. All that really matters is that you are happy and healthy. Why are people so set in their ways that they can never try to understand where others are coming from?
MonkeyPantz07 1 year ago 14
It's funny reading the comments because it seems that with unschooling, you're either all for it 100%, or you have absolutely no tolerance for it. Myself, I know that unless they ask me to go, there's no way I'm sending my future kids to school.
saywhat3 1 year ago 17
Are ANY unschooled people health professionals (i.e. medical doctors, veterinarians, dentists, optometrists, registered nurses, etc.)? No, because you have to be educated in school to attain these vital roles in society. The courses required to study the subjects in these fields is predicated upon a strong foundation of science, in which most average parents are not able to teach their children. Parents of unschooled children are just limiting their children's prospects.
jazzmatik 1 year ago
@jazzmatik the only reason they are not health professionals is because they are not allowed to be health professionals without doing it there way: getting a diploma, and going to college to be taken seriously. and that completely goes against the very foundation of unschooling.
iminlov3 1 year ago
I have yet to meet one Unschooled person who doesn't suffer socially later.
(aside from the fact that all 3 were pretty dim as heck)
Life whether we want it to or not FORCES us to do things we hate. When you get a job, you have to do things you don't want. You learn things you don't want.
So, when we allow a child to not learn this fundamental rule of life, we do n't help them at all.
hymanyeah 1 year ago
@hymanyeah I think you should stick to those claims. The earth needs slaves like you, that can be forced by "life". Also you should help your children becoming good slaves. Whom could my children command, if your children haven't learned to obey?
Thank you for your work and your subjection of your children on the masters account. The country needs parents like you. (But not the US, we need free, innovative people)
libreallemagne 1 year ago
i am going to unschool my future children too. my stupid parents won't let me do it ;_;
happybunny1777 1 year ago
@happybunny1777 You're kids ain't becoming doctors of any sort when they grow up.
jazzmatik 1 year ago
Some people have control issues and that is why they invented school for kids. Kids should be allowed to go to school only if they want to and it should never be forced. I believe learning is a natural process and it will all work out in the end.
On the contrary, people who are forced to go to school normally just end up joining the zombie population where they are subsequently brought into the NWO fold.
themalina92 1 year ago
Let me ask one question to all unschoolers. If EVERYBODY went into unschooling, would you say that society would benefit? Yes or No?
meteorologist15 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 Yes. Since coercion isn't necessary for growth and learning, then you have to ask, what does coercion achieve? We know that learning is natural and fun until someone forces you to do it (like anything else), so it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to piece together how children come to find "education" to be a chore. We know that children spend age 5 to 18 being told what to think and when to think it; and it doesn't take Dupin to deduce that this teaches obedience.
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 We know that after the obedience training and busy work of school, there is very little time for normal growth and development, and it doesn't take a Charles Wallace to figure out why teenagers and college aged adults are childish, why so many people don't know who they are and what they want. School is destructive. It doesn't have a leg to stand on. To the extent that is strange to you is a testament to the power of brainwashing.
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 of course. everyone would be less oppressed, and would be more in touch with their instincts and natural interests and passions. a lot of the absurdity in society stems from oppression. there would be less apathy and submission to our current fucked up system and society would be more accepting/ diverse/ creative-- there would be more fertile, productive dialogue... i don't know. i'm not "unschooled," i went to prep school and am at nyu (although at an individualized school)--
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 so i've had a good education thus far but still feel like "unschooling" allows for something that one could probably never find at school-- it seems to allow people to express their natural impulses and interests and cultivates passion. school definitely is oppressive in many ways-- forcing us to conform to a certain curricula and to a ridiculous social code in high school(and perhaps in college if you don't learn to escape the illusion of forced networking/ fake friendships,etc
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 and doesn't allow too much freedom for us to explore what deeply interests us because we (1) are forced to fill our heads with bullshit and have no time to look around for something we are profoundly moved by (2) are so often forced to suppress our natural desires that our natural desires become silenced and we start to loose sight of our passions and fall into a state of anxiety and uncertainty about what truly interests us. perhaps i am taking this too far, and i am barely
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 familiar with "unschooling"-- i've just watched pt 1-3 of these videos/ read the wiki/ facebook pages/ a few articles... but i believe a lot of problems today-- rampant unhappiness, psychosis, apathy... our lack of outrage and action with issues such as poverty, environmental degradation, inequality, etc-- stem from oppression... from being forced to do shit we hate: memorizing things to get good grades in highschool so we can apply to the best colleges and then going to college
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 to continue to memorize mostly irrelevant things, being a slave to absurdity (well, i guess such enslavement only occurs if you're studying something for 'practical' reasons of getting a job, etc-- rather than studying things that genuinely interest you-- which of course, either choice has it's pros and cons, i chose to study what excites me so i will probably be in debt post- college, which is kind of just postponing my enslavement-- but i'm hoping for some kind of money
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 making career to pop up relevant to what i study/ what interests me) for four more years while setting our parents back $200,000, then going into a job to pay off such debt... and eventually kind of giving up on our dreams to sell out to things that used to disgust us as teenagers. mmm, i don't know. it just seems more natural, so i think society would benefit if all parents were able to be as thoughtful as sandra dodd and were able to stimulate a passion for knowledge in
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15 their children (which i feel shouldn't be hard because our lack of passion seems to be a result of our broken education system breaking our will and curiosity).
sorry, that was just ridiculously long but i always just type a lot and usually cut it down, but i don't really feel like editing it-- so, yeah. hopefully it's comprehendable enough.
Katie081990 1 year ago
@meteorologist15, I'm not an unschooling parent but I am (for now) a nonvaccinating one and I suspect the answer is the same for both: NO.
I can choose to delay vaccinations for my child because enough people do vaccinate that the likelihood of exposure to dangerous pathogens is small. My kid benefits from the risks taken by other parents. But if all parents made the same choice, society at large would suffer.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
...similarly, unschooling so far seems to involve a rather intelligent, intellectually adventurous and tiny minority that can make use of the resources developed by formally educated professionals (such as libraries).
But if everyone opted for unschooling, our culture's intellectual life would soon stagnate and decay beyond recognition.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 The library was invented by Ben Franklin. That people who work in public libraries went to school is incidental; those libraries don't exist because the workers in them went to school. It's not logical to say that because those wor work in libraries went to school, unschoolers are relying on schooled people to keep their operation going... You have things the wrong way around. Our culture's intellectual life is stagnating and decaying precisely because we're schooled.
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@prayfertrey,
1 Ben Franklin did not invent the library
2 Human knowledge & libraries are much more complex than they were in 18th century agrarian America
2 I am not talking about part-timers who return books to shelves
3 You seem not to know what an actual librarian's job really entails
4 American intellectual life is thriving (you think modern genetics and the Internet are examples of stagnation & decay?)
5 Formal education is required for many productive professions
6 Most kids need school
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
...because most parents are ill-equipped for regular homeschooling, let alone unschooling, which requires mentoring by someone who's psychologically fit, intellectually gifted & academically informed enough to guide the learner through the maze of disinformation, propaganda & just plain junk that clutters up the landscape.
Sure, not all school teachers are wonderful. But at school, a child will sooner or later come into contact with some who are, who will point the way. At home, who knows?
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 Easy to assert.
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280
1. Ben Franklin invented the lending library.
2. Point?
3. You seem not to know what a h'sing parents job entails.
4. You apparently don't own a television.
5. H'schoolers are seeking it out; college admissions officers actually seek them out (they don't drop out and they "teach themselves").
6. Why do you think that?
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@prayfertrey,
1 Okay, but it's irrelevant to the original debate
2 I've homeschooled myself but am also a certified teacher
3 You are correct, we do not get make use of commercial television
4 Not sure what the "it" you're referring to is here
5 I never claimed they did
6 I explained in my next post
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 I think you mean you "explain" in your next post. I don't see your "next" post. So, allow me to ask you just the one question; why do you think coercion ins necessary?
prayfertrey 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Doper parents creating another hippie generation. These people that unschool seem to mostly all have nice homes. They probably just tell thier kids. 'Don't worry, you have trust fund and are rich. Just smoke dope and do what feels good" America is dooming itself. Of course the unschooler won't be able to post a reply to my statement becouse of lack of reading skills. And Mcdonalds after all will still hire them. I would like a large fry with that coke please. Get used to it.
SCHRUBBE1966 1 year ago
@SCHRUBBE1966, while I don't agree with your assessment, it should be obvious to any fair-minded person that your comment is not spam and has been flagged as such by someone who's just trying to silence dissent. Is that what the unschooling community is about?
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 (first, I didn't spam it) Have you ever heard the expression, obvious troll is obvious?
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@prayfertrey, No, I never heard it. Is that an internet expression, or does it come from something else, like Tolkien?
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
Comment removed
SCHRUBBE1966 1 year ago
Full Disclosure Statement: I make several remarks here defending homeschooling as a concept. However, I have made many more critical remarks on the video featuring this woman's daughter, who seemed perfectly nice but did not (in my opinion) speak very well and did not seem like a good example of how well this approach to education works.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 I watched that video and do not see what you are talking about at all. On the other hand, how often have we seen school kids/adults on the news who are only saying what they think they're supposed to say and/or can barely speak the language of their homeland?
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@prayfertrey, if you can't see what I was talking about, all I can assume is you perhaps don't understand the difference between a well-spoken person and an inarticulate one (I was not even close to being the only commentator to put Holly in the latter category).
As for how school kids speak, I don't understand your point. Sure, there are plenty of public school kids who just babble nonsense. They aren't good examples of that educational approach, either.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 I considered that you weren't referring to her not talking the way she might write... so I watched the video looking for what would be less than every day colloquial speech. The worst I heard was the over use of "like". I didn't get "inarticulate". At any rate, you don't think there's a difference between speaking informally, even saying "cool" and "like" too much, and talking babble, anti intellectual, thoughtlessness?
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@prayfertrey, yes of course there's a difference. But it's not that she uses "like" and "cool" too much (though of course she does that, too). She takes way too long and way too many (albeit very simple) words to say way too little. And does so in a disorganized way.
She's not anti-intellectual per se. I'd say this clip is simply non-intellectual. There's little to no intellect involved. And that would be fine if this were a video about a trip to the mall. But it's promoting unschooling.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 Sorry, I didn't get that from it at all.
prayfertrey 1 year ago
@prayfertrey See the continuation of my reply, below.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@prayfertrey, for comparison, check out the YT video, " looking back on unschooling: Kate Cayley" This woman also uses "like" too much, but not way too much. She is very well spoken and has an awful lot to say. I find her pretty convincing, actually, and might be interested in checking her website out. The difference between her and Holly is exactly the difference between an articulate person speaking informally and an inarticulate person being inarticulate.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
...as I said, I am not at all the only person to make these observations. if you take the time to go through the commentary, you will find those who see Holly as poorly spoken are fairly numerous and handily outnumber the few who see no problem. And among her admirers, I must say, you are the only one who seems to be above average in your writing or thinking skills.
I can't help but wonder if you are being biased by your support for unschooling.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
But I am a nurse. And without formal education I could not have learned the things I know to take care of people the way I do. And without daily disciplines I would not have been able to handle getting a college education and dealing with a career. I still think that some structure and a type of formal learning is necessary.
girlynurse17 1 year ago
For our more "formalized" learning we still learned according to our own pace to a certain degree, and got to focus more one what we wanted to learn, but got exposed to many things in order to find our main interests.
girlynurse17 1 year ago
I was home-schooled my whole life, and much of how I learned was through the 'techniques' found in unschooling. I was raised in my parents mom and pop hardware/feed store. I cemented my arithmetic skills from running our cash register and making change, learned basic skills in carpentry/animal husbandry/plumbing/electrical work etc. My parents used every little thing to teach me basics about life, simple math, science, chemistry, physics etc. It was a GREAT way to learn.
girlynurse17 1 year ago
Hmmmm...I understand the idea behind this, and agree with it in part. But I must agree that in order to be a participating member of this society formal education is required for anything other than basic jobs (such as burger flipping).
girlynurse17 1 year ago
Thanks Lee and Sandra
ruthmagdalen 1 year ago
I see it as this: Before there was school, all children were basically unschooled, and learning only through living. But, after a lot of discoveries, and advancements in the way we live, it became vital to pass this information down and make sure our happy ways of life were sustained. By unschooling at this time, you are basically starting from the beginning again. We need a place like a school to make sure the majority of society isn't left behind and is useless to the growth of humanity.
notanon666 1 year ago
¯\(ºдº)/¯
Set sail for fail!
HARKENSCYLD 1 year ago
Ok but your robbing your kids of the oppertunity to be a teacher or any other profession in which you need to KNOW stuff! This advocate makes me a little upset. Woman your thinking is all wrong...
orourkemon15 1 year ago
@orourkemon15 if they wanted to be a teacher or any other profession in which they needed to know stuff, they'd learn stuff.
TheAmazingImbecile 1 year ago
1 question, how the fuck will these kids get a job. how will they learn world history, algebra, reading. they won't. i wouldn't want to when i was 10. but the end justifies the means. kids need education, all apes need a form of environment learning. to not do it is evolutionary not beneficial. this is crazy, kids need education.
bobbybenjamin 1 year ago
ATTENTION WHORE!
LovelyYTRocks 1 year ago
keeping an optimistic mind, i think that this utopian "unschooling" method has some merits. other than the fact that these kids will generally probably be unprepared for life in society, one thing that sticks out in my mind is that every parent (their own educational background, their parenting, communication, and interactional skills) are all different meaning that while someone's kids turn out fine, other kids just end up being completely useless.
esdicul 1 year ago
What fast food restaurants do your 3 kids work at today?
Or are they all on welfare because they can't get a job because they don't have a diploma?
scorpionkings 1 year ago
you can see a tree outside but you dont know anything about the tree, the inside, the anatomy.... same with everything else. you can see a person but have no clue how a persons body actually works. yeah lame argument
solachristos2 1 year ago
How would you have learned about "unschooling" if you haven't been schooled yourself? Unschooling is just an idealistic utopia, how will these kids maintain a life without having a solid education to get a job. I'm just being a realist, and mean no disrespect, I just don't get it.
grux2741 1 year ago 10
@grux2741 you *are* being a 'realist' and you *do* in fact not [yet] get it.
And you've just demonstrated a major point of criticism towards the 'schooling system': You seem to sit firmly inside the box and do not trust yourself, or anyone else to shape and determine their existence without 'training' by 'experts'.
As Ms. Dodd pointed out: With the internet you can acquire the information needed in one day, easily. Of course it takes much longer to assimilate it and adjust one's belief system.
walteredstates 1 year ago
@walteredstates So basically what you are saying is that if I want to become a dentist I can just look it up on Google and I will magically become a dentist? I don't think so...I would hope that my dentist had some sort of 'training' by 'experts.'
grux2741 1 year ago
@grux2741 Let's not waste any more time by misunderstanding simple statements. I recommend johntaylorgatto's website - a one-stop wealth of 1st hand information from a teacher of 30 years and very perceptive writer and consummate researcher.
walteredstates 1 year ago
While I'm willing to have an open mind about unschooling as a concept, I cannot agree with the assertion that one can become a dentist by surfing the Internet.
Expertise is a very real thing, as anyone who has devoted their lives to acquiring it can tell you. They will also tell you that without the expert guidance of their teachers and mentors, they would not have mastered their field of knowledge.
Here's a challenge. Why don't you try becoming a concert pianist by looking it up on Google?
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@EyeLean5280 : You misunderstood in similar way to grux2741, silly! I never made that or similar assertion. Expert guidance of teachers or mentors is crucial. The point is that this existing schoolsystem is set up to socialize the population in a specific way to be able to be controlled, not to take control of their own lives and/or effectively learn and/or reach their innate potential. I went thru 13yrs. schooling - most of it was waste and incurring psychol. damage in the 'inmates'.
walteredstates 1 year ago
@walteredstates, okay, I appreciate and even agree with your clarification.
However, if two intelligent people misunderstood your point, perhaps they're not "silly" after all. Perhaps you did not make your point clear the first time. Just perhaps?
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@grux2741
She could have learned as I did, by hearing about it from others in informal environments. The first place I heard of unschooling was in a homeschool group, and have learned even more from others since and from the Internet. I, in turn, have told others about it, and show what it is through example and results. The knowledge, once begun, can be shared in many ways. Knowledge is not at all confined to the classroom.
LunaGer 1 year ago
I agree not all knowledge is learned in the classroom. I have learned much from my own curiosity and activities outside the classroom, but I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't had a formal education. I wouldn't trade my education for anything.
grux2741 1 year ago
@grux2741, I agree. I learned an amazing amount of stuff on my own or talking with my parents throughout my school years. But I also learned quite a lot at school throughout it all, too. I learned things I would not have maintained the discipline for if left to my own devices (I still don't sit down to learn more math when not in a class!)
I imagine unschooling can work for a few families. But most people need a balance between externally-directed & self-directed learning.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@LunaGer, actually, Sandra Dodd was a teacher.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
@grux2741, while I don't quite agree that unschooling is "just an idealistic utopia," I do think that it is probably unsuited to most families and must be approached with great care. An unschooling parent should also be willing to constantly assess how it's working for his or her child.
EyeLean5280 1 year ago
Your assertions of your own dogma as being fact is narcissistic and absurd.
PyroChemicals 1 year ago
@grux2741 It's hard to respond in a short amount of space. Counter-examples: I went to public school and my mother tells me that I taught myself to read before I entered kindergarten. My business partner has an honors degree in CS that has never helped him get a job (he's actually been turned down for being "over-qualified!") I never went to college & am in business for myself - 7 years strong. It's a fallacy that you need other people to tell you what you need to know. We learn independently.
garett69 1 year ago
@grux2741: Unschooling could lead to a job as a baker/chef, a farmer, a physicist, a painter, a vet. Children (who haven't been turned off "learning" by school's technique of "memorize a random subject long enough to pass a test, then memorize another random subject") HAVE interests. And they pursue them. My best friend taught himself (and by 'taught himself' I mean "pursued all avenues of learning because he was interested") Chinese and zoology. I taught myself philosophy and Japanese.
bKiwiD 1 year ago
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begsaab 1 year ago
@grux2741 Education to get a job is actually not education but training! That's precisely what's behind this idea of homeschooling... Ken Robinson in a talk with TED was giving the idea of the agricultural model of education where every individual is given personal attention, instead of an idustrial model where students are treated like products in the assembly line...
Unschooling isn't the same as uneducating, quite the opposite actually...
begsaab 1 year ago
@grux2741 It is quite likely that those who are unschooled will become more entrepreneurial and not simply work for a boss.
sthomaslewis 1 year ago
@grux2741 It is quite likely that those who are unschooled will become more entrepreneurial and not simply work for a boss. Is working for a corporation really a "life"?
sthomaslewis 1 year ago
@grux2741 Obviously you don't.
Unschooling isn't idealistic, it's how the human brain works.
For example, would you like to regale me with the tale of how you learned to speak?
Obviously your parents sat you down for eight hours a day, lectured you, made you do worksheets on speaking, read textbooks on it, and tested you on your speaking abilities, correct?
jamiedoer2 1 year ago
@jamiedoer2 well i obviously learned the language through everyday interaction, not schooling. Obviously to learn a second language the best option is not learning it in a classroom setting, but to live in a society that speaks said language. However, to become successful in a respected career path such as a doctor or even a teacher (for example), one must be schooled in the current system. "Unschooling" fails to prepare children for such career choices.
grux2741 1 year ago
@grux2741 "Well OBVIOUSLY I learned to speak in a completely different, more natural setting. And OF COURSE the best way to learn another language would to be pursue the same kind of avenue. But the BEST way for people to become educated is to go through something completely different."
Do you realize how little sense you make?
jamiedoer2 1 year ago
@jamiedoer2 I'm sorry you fail to see my simple argument. If unschooling is working for you, more power to you. I just fail to comprehend how one furthers a career without education in the traditional setting.
grux2741 1 year ago
@grux2741 But why do you think that? Why do Ivy League college admissions officers actually seek out homeschooled kids?
ion010101 11 months ago
@grux2741 Those of us who are in a space where we have unschooling well intuited, your question can seem ludicrous... but it's easy to forget that when you spend your natural childhood learning that you need school in order to learn, you can't just say to that person, "school is bunk" and expect them to just get it on the spot. Or even if they get it, it will take time to integrate it, time for it to feel right. So we should work on addressing questions like yours, carefully, with understanding.
ion010101 11 months ago 2
@grux2741 That's the first thing that came to mind when I heard about this. I've never heard of "unschooling" until yesterday. But, how will they enter the work force with NO education? It's hard enough finding a job without a college degree, let alone NO schooling.
kelaltieri 11 months ago
@kelaltieri It's not true that kids who grow up the normal way have "no education". People who spend their natural childhood kept inside of buildings away from real life are the ones with no education. You can tell by their argumentation skills etc. RE finding a job: Should things be that way? Your willingness to go along with things (and insistence that others should, too) cause "that's the way of the world"; it feels normal to you, but it may be the obedience you learned in school?
ion010101 10 months ago
@kelaltieri They WILL have to go to college if they want certain jobs.Most kids will decide what they want to be in life, and then you tell them, "look, if you want to be X you'll have to learn a, b, and c" so then they will go and find information on those things, often books by this point. They'll read those books and possibly have to pass an entrance exam and get into college they want. And vitually all colleges do accept unschoolers. They'll be new to the way of learning but not to the info.
bcblondie05 9 months ago
@grux2741 I agree with you in part, but my curiosity comes from when does that exactly become a barrier? I'm in Canada, and a great number of colleges and universities (well respected ones) offer bridging programs for young adults to get people into their schools. Regardless of this relating to unschooling. I can't see exactly how this type of rearing would hold a determined person back from attaining their goals (and I hope all people in positions that require higher education are).
k386 10 months ago
I am so glad i found this channel! I'm concidering not sending my 6yr old to junior school in spetember. Just letting her finish this last year in her primary, which will give me more time to research unschooling more.
Remembering back to my school days, and i was bullied, and didn't learn much, and anything that was learned has been pretty much unlearned as it never interested me (like history, french etc).
My son will be unschool from the beginning, but deschooling my daughter could be hard.
Lollyrocker 1 year ago
@Lollyrocker stop crying just because u were bullied doesnt mean you should rob ur child of the oppertunity , u selfish bitch.
hitmanlee 1 year ago
@hitmanlee I must of missed the part where i cried. :o/
I love it when people have opinions on how other people raise their children. They often only lash out because of something in them that they don't like. So it pretty much doesn't matter what you say about how *i* raise *my* children.
Oh, and its actually *Opportunity* So i guess school didn't really do much for you. =o)
Lollyrocker 1 year ago
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glowingdarkmatter25 1 year ago 14
awesome
OHYESx 2 years ago
Man, do I love to read and watch Sandra Dodd's work! I don't have children yet, but I'm kind of glad I found her long before I'm ready to be a mom because it means I will start from the beginning, when the time comes. To read or listen to her words of wisdom, I realize it comes from a lifetime of experience and the reflection on three kids raised well. Wow!
RainShadow2005 2 years ago
Hello Sandra,
I'm sitting up at 4:00am sick with the flu. It's a nice little pick me up to hear you! We're merrily living our lives in the Yukon.
The older kids have moved out and the younger two are going to be running away into the rest of their lives any minute now. We made forts and played computer games and cooked and sang and danced and played with puppies yesterday. Wonder what we'll do today? Maybe a good thought to go back to sleep on.
Nadine
nadineoftheYukon 2 years ago
Sandra you speak a lot of wisdom and this kind of talk about learning is music to my ears. It just feels right when you don't force the kids and feels instinctively wrong to try and make them do workbook type stuff. Great video :-)
onelittlebuffalogirl 2 years ago
this chick is of the influential breed. she doesn't seem to be out to prove her intellectual prowess as much as share her positive experience with the natural learning phenomenon. imagine if we had to teach our stomachs to digest what kind of trouble we would be in.
outerspacebass 2 years ago 3
Thank you for trying to bring culture back to America
splicerhook 2 years ago
additional: so, it's like saying, well, some people teach their babies to walk, and some prefer to unschool-walk their babies, but it's not for everyone. No one teaches their babies to walk. That would be just weird. Because *we have no reason to do that*. Imagine how annoyed a toddler would get. Ok, unschooling is not for you, so, what you need is an actual reason for doing anything else. If there isn't a reason, then doing so is kinda nutty.
99rhetbaboons 2 years ago 2
I disparage the whole, "well, it's not for everybody" line because it doesn't make good sense. It doesn't make good sense because learning isn't something you have to do to someone. Put another way, no one has any reason to think that in order for someone to be educated, they must be acted on in some way. I know that's a hard ghost to let go of - but at the very least we can appreciate that we have absolutely no reason for thinking that we need to act on someone in order for them to be educated.
99rhetbaboons 2 years ago 2
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MrSushan 2 years ago
Thanks for posting such important video testimony.
We read and enjoy learning otherwise (rather than school) and love your website so much. After a year of reading I am starting to get it.
anne0203 2 years ago
I love how this is about removing barriers in your life. Why have play and work be separate? Why call one week "vacation" and one week "real life?"
saysyes 2 years ago 2
This kind of teaching/learning is amazing. In part, I wish I had been brought up in this manor, being able to avoid the horrifying damages that come from public schools. I wish there were a way to school the millions of children out there in this way, but with the lifestyle in North America, that could be next to impossible. Especially with the recession hitting as hard as it has, and the possibility that it's just going to get worse. If my wife and I had children this is how we would raise them
griffinpyros 2 years ago 2
Thanks for posting seeing you here is so cool I have used your website so much . I am unschooling my soon to be 5 year old and just recently started answering the question...will he start kindergarden in the fall....with a NO! Its a declaration and an opening to talk about my not so humble oppinion
anniepdo 2 years ago 3
This is great. give this lady a hug.
morganseathomson 2 years ago
I`m fascinated by this type of teaching, but there`s no way millions of kids could be taught this way, is there? It`s a shame because in large classrooms it`s hard to focus on the individual childrens needs.
fuzzycabin 2 years ago
I think it's impossible, in large classrooms, to focus much on any one child, but some teachers really do try! In any classroom, there will be kids who like the teacher and kids who don't.
The kind of learning unschoolers do doesn't happen in millions. It happens within a single individual. I suppose there are hundreds of thousands of unschoolers, but each learns from what's around him or her.
SandraDodd 2 years ago 3
I don't think it pays to be too dogmatically anti-curriculum. If you don't want to use one, fine (and I didn't) but folks use curriculums with great success, too. And most of the people I knew blended--used curriculums in some subjects, some of the time, while basically unschooling.
givebirthathome 2 years ago
-=-I don't think it pays to be too dogmatically anti-curriculum.-=-
None of it "pays," but if one's intent is to foster a life in which natural learning can really, truly flourish, schoolishness doesn't help.
If someone wrote "I don't think it pays to be too dogmatically anti-hospital-birth," and so forth, ending with an assurance that most people had hospital births while basically homebirthing, I doubt you would agree.
SandraDodd 2 years ago
It DOESN'T PAY to be too dogmatically anti-hospital birth---when I talk to people about the subject, I note the pluses of homebirth, but I also tell them that if they *feel* deeply uncomfortable with homebirth, they are better off doing what feels right to them. Because if they are too afraid, its just not going to work.
Curriculums used at home tend to be much less schoolish than school, so if that's what some folks need to allow them to homeschool, I'm all for it.
givebirthathome 2 years ago
I assumed by your username that you were in favor of home birth over hospitals.
I see your point then, though I really don't like the idea of whether "it" (what it?) "pays" (pays what?).
I think you're assuming I'm in favor of homeschooling over school. I'm in favor of natural learning over a curriculum. I'm not a supporter of taking kids out of school to do school at home.
SandraDodd 2 years ago 2
Thank you, somebody who understands.
gizzie121 2 years ago 2
Good for you for posting this Stranahan! Unschooling is brilliant *for kids*..the big problem is that kids below 8 or so really need to have someone with them, and for parents who happen to be somewhere without a supportive network of family and friends- this imposes a financial burden through loss of income. Homebusinesses? Toddler plus mental concentration doesn't work swimmingly. So freelance writing, etc. DOESN'T WORK, without "babysitting". Can't afford w/o high income.
givebirthathome 2 years ago
I have to strongly disagree with this statement. It all comes down to your choice of lifestyle. I am a stay-at-home mom to 4 children and my husband is an over-the-road owner operator truck driver. I homeschool and raise the kids. We are not doing without. We live on 5 acres in the country in a singlewide trailer. We have animals, a computer (quad-core satellite wireless service) dishnetwork, stereos, tv, mp3player, cell phones and take weekly field trips. It's priorities. You can do it.
aimhighschool 2 years ago 2
Hi aimhigh---I think its great you gave your explanation--after you posted this, I thought, uh, "high income" wasn't exactly the right way to put it. And I don't mean to discourage homeschooling, I did it, and convinced alot of other people to do it. My main point was "don't homeschool if you don't have either a husband, or can earn enough to pay for babysitting." And while families can be comfy on one income--these days there is no alimony divorce--homeschooling moms are at risk.
givebirthathome 2 years ago
P.S. Thank you for homeschooling your kids. I know what a huge difference it makes to them, and it makes a huge difference to the rest of us too, to have fellow citizens who can think, and love.
givebirthathome 2 years ago