Dismantling the Criticisms of Unschooling 3

[kozychik]

I am still struggling to develop healthy social skills.  Upon graduating HS, I had the social skill of any prison inmate.

FREE THE CHILDREN!

[BozzyxThexScizor]

I'm home schooled. During the time I was in school, my socialization was shit.

Bullies were a problem for years and ruined my self esteem, now that I'm at home, I do some clubs for my drama and it's far easier to socialize and make friends, in the real world than dealing with obnoxious and egotistic school kids who think school is the centre of the world.

This bullshit about home schooling ruining social skills makes me so angry >.>

[leavesof3]

I think the "no friends" argument against unschooling is just ridiculous. People naturally enjoy other people. We are social animals. Children choose to seek social interaction if given the chance. The real world has far more to teach about diversity than school.

[leavesof3]

School people have come to place a blind faith in the need for someone to shepherd and force behaviors on kids that already come naturally to them. This is the most silly case of that redundancy.

[Orygyn]

I have a question. I'm 20 and I have many younger teenage friends (aged 14-17). Neither me nor them have ever been unschooled and some of their friends think I'm strange for hanging around with them, some even going so far as to call me a pedophile. Would you say that school is responsible for that ageist mindset?

[UnschoolingEagle]

I think school is at least partially responsible. When you have an institution that separates you by age, and most parents enforce this. People think that hanging out with people your own age is the "normal" thing to do. So when they see someone (especially men, women not so much, but that has to do with sexism) hanging out with younger kids they are seen as weird.

It is incredibly stupid and effectively separates people. Everyone wonders why most kids want nothing to do with adults...

[Orygyn]

Thanks.

[UnschoolingEagle]

You are welcome. If you have any more questions I will answer them just as badly as I did the first one lol.

[RowanFortuneWood]

Indeed, it is ridiculous to say that for young people schools are not only a good social environment, but the only good social environment. In the UK there are often news articles on epidemic bullying occurring in the school system.

If I have one minor contention with this video it is the suggestion that bullies necessarily have problems in their home lives. I would say that whilst that can be (and perhaps often is) the case, it is also the hierarchical nature of schools that causes bullying.

[UnschoolingEagle]

Yes, that is true. School creates an environment that pretty much forces peer pressure upon kids. It forces arbitrary social groups based on age/sex/race/money. Especially since the teachers participate by picking favorites.

[DrBakshandeh]

The only bullies I had in School were the teachers.

[UnschoolingEagle]

Yea I forgot about the biggest ones, the teachers. Very few of my teachers were nice. I remember my first grade teacher, she made a girl pee in her pants because she refused to let the girl go to the bathroom. Since she was tenured she could never get fired.

[DrBakshandeh]

Where are you filming this? Can I come to your town and become a pilot that's a dream of mine?

[UnschoolingEagle]

It's in a forest near my house lol I live in the tri-state area so lots of commuting including planes and heli's going on.