What is this stupid thing called un schooling?

[Lady Freedom Returns]

Last edited Mon Aug 1, 2022, 12:08 AM - Edit history (1)

From what I understand is that it is plain out not getting an education.

School teaches boundaries and following schedules. It teaches how society works.

I was Home schooled from grade 7 and up. But I had to follow a schedule. Had a curriculum textbooks. Had to finish schoolwork before anything else. If I was having trouble with a subject I was assigned after school time study.

But this un schooling thing is just wrong. Kids need discipline, a schedule and boundaries. What are these parents thinking? And since when states let parents let kids just run around and not get their rear ends to school.

Maybe this un schooling, free range folly is why Trump got elected in the first place.

Add:

[jimfields33]

1. First I've heard of it.

The kids will pay the price by adults being ridiculous.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

2. IKR!

Kids are kids. Elementary age kids don't know what they need to know.

Just crazy.

[mzmolly]

3. Some of my most liberal friends

unschooled their kids. Many are doing well in higher ed and beyond now.

https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/earl_stevens.html

[stopdiggin]

16. then I suggest there were SIGNIFICANT compensatory efforts

in other directions. And doesn't that really deserve a large part in any discussion concerning .. ?

[mzmolly]

17. I think there is a right way to 'unschool'

and a way that constitutes neglect.

[stopdiggin]

19. well put!

Done well .. I have to think that every bit as much guidance, direction, motivation, etc. (if not more) - go into this mix, as into a traditional curriculum.

[mzmolly]

37. Exactly.

In fact, if done well - it may require more from a parent/teacher than a more traditional approach.

[obamanut2012]

30. Unschooling is a left educational method

I am dumbfounded why the OP thinks that. It is obvious the OP has literally no idea what it is. Especially since she was homeschooled, which is majorly done by those on the Right who can't afford white flight private schools.

[Gaugamela]

4. Education is the foundation of democracy. That's why it's under attack. If you

destroy public education, the only alternative becomes ideological programming, religious and political.

People talk about how the right will go after same sex marriage next, which may well be true, I don’t doubt it. But their ultimate goal is to destroy public education.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

10. I know, you know....

But what are these parents thinking?!

[obamanut2012]

31. You yourself did not go to a public high school

Which helped give less money to that school district.

Unschooling kids do much better than homeschooled kids in college and university. Like Montessori methods, it is considered a PROGRESSIVE/liberal educational method.

[Iris]

5. I honestly don't think parents in the unschooling movement are Trump voters

It is highly unlikely.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

11. No school, no chance to learn civics!

[meadowlander]

15. You do know that books, TV and the internet exist right?

Unschooling doesn't mean playing video games all day.

It means kids follow their interests. And a lot of kids are interested in politics and what it means for their future.

Greta Thunberg is an example of what happens when kids open their eyes on the wider world itself and not just what the teachers at school say you should be reading this semester.

[Celerity]

18. +1

[Iris]

39. Not to mention being an informed citizen is a lifelong endeavor not just a class

[obamanut2012]

32. You were homeschooled

This OP and your comments are astounding to me. Unschooling is a progressive learning method mainly used by folks who are liberal, unlike most homeschoolers.

YOU YOURSELF DID NOT GO TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FOR JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL.

[Iris]

38. Exactly.

[KatK]

6. unschooling is awesome

Unschooling puts the student's interests and passions and zeal in the driver's seat.

Within unschooling, there is a wide range of approaches. Discipline, boundaries, and rhythm (a word I prefer to "schedule&quot are part of many unschooling days. But these most often look vastly different than in a regular school.

When my kids started public school (in grades 7 and 9), they were leaps and bounds ahead of their classmates.

Little humans are designed for learning. If we can get out of their way, whilst providing guidance, resources, and a rich environment, they will learn unbelievable amounts. And NOT rote knowledge, but in the bones, experiential, deep, practical learning. Including math, history, Shakespeare and so on. The kind of learning that builds CAPACITY which is what kids need to navigate unknown territory.

There is a lot of information online about unschooling, in case you're interested.

FWIW, I seldom met any rightwing unschoolers.

Also, FWIW, one of my young adult kids runs their own business and the other is a software engineer. They both appreciate the depth and breadth of their home education.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

8. Kids need discipline!

[meadowlander]

14. Not all kids are the same

and unschooling is about recognising that the same rigid structure applied to every child doesn't maximise the potential for any individual child which they might be able to achieve in a less structured environment.

Take a child with Aspergers who is fascinated by electricity. Allowing that child to follow their passion by reading about, writing about, studying the scientific and mathematical principles behind electricity still delivers on all the core skills and learnings without forcing the kid to change focus every forty minutes because now it's time for a new "subject". Or a kid who is a piano prodigy or poet or painter or is fascinated by forestry or marine biology is going to achieve more faster by being allowed to spend more time on what they love and to have their "vegetable" subjects dressed up in their "dessert" subjects.

And most people who have reached high levels of achievement in their field don't do it by rigidly following structures and rules. They understand the rules and then they forge their own path.

Self-motivation, goal setting, and vision are as much elements of success in life as being able to play the game.

[obamanut2012]

33. You were homeschooled

[3Hotdogs]

9. Reminds me of the book, "Summerhill." About an unstructured school in U.K.

[deurbano]

23. When I started out as a parent (unplanned at 19!), I had read that book, and thought I would

take that approach, since it seemed to fit with my hippie perspective. Then my daughter turned out to be disabled (quadriplegic with a speech disability and perceptual issues as a result of cerebral palsy)...and I had to throw that approach out the window. She needed early intervention (not much of a thing when she was born in 1973), so I moved across country (CA to VT) to enroll her in a school with intensive early intervention and inclusion (mainstreaming then), which barely existed elsewhere. (I had been told I should just take her home and "love" her... which I was already doing, but that seemed at bit inadequate.) Now, early intervention and inclusion are promoted (and assumed), but that wasn't the case then, and doctors seemed to think I was just a dumb, unrealistic young mother for pushing back against the prevailing wisdom. My daughter ended up at Berkeley, and is a disability and domestic workers' right activist, in addition to a Speaker Pelosi-appointed delegate to the CA Dems (among numerous other achievements, including being a great daughter and sister). I'm sure Summerhill (or unschooling) could be the right choice for the right kid (and family), but my daughter never would have learned to read and write if left to her own devices. Basically, I had to take the opposite approach, and bring the world to HER... and keep bringing it and bringing it (and trying different approaches) until things finally clicked. (When she underwent an intensive evaluation at a rehab facility as an adult, the evaluators were shocked she had ever learned to read, given her perceptual issues.) It's funny to look back at how we think we will parent before we have actual children!

[jimfields33]

28. You are awesome!

Thank goodness your daughter had you as a parent.

[deurbano]

40. I meant to thank you earlier for those kind words, and thought I would share this regarding an

event with Speaker Pelosi today:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217049150

[jimfields33]

43. That is so wonderful. Your daughter is special and community oriented.

What a wonderful well deserved experience. Gives me great hope for our future.

[3Hotdogs]

36. What a life story.

I am just sitting thinking about it.

[deurbano]

41. It's been something of a ride! I thought you might like to see the daughter in question, since I

just posted about her:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217049150

[3Hotdogs]

42. Thank you for the update.

--- made my evening.


3H

[CottonBear]

7. Unschooler parents are are left wing hippies in my area.

I would have tried it for my kid, but my work schedule didn’t allow me to do so.

[Raine]

27. Lefties in my area too. It's a big mistake to think they're all right-wing fundies, plenty of left

do it too. THE RW Fundies may have started it but the left see the value in it. I would definitely homeschool myself if I had school age kids.

[obamanut2012]

34. They basically almost ALL are

It is a progressive teaching method, usually done by pretty educated parents. I work with a few people who do this, and they all have more than one degree. Their kids are well-rounded, smart, well-behaved, and one got accepted into all the Ivys and several "public and Western Ivys" like UVA and Stanford. All are publicly enagged, and all do public community service as p[art of teh unschooling (working at an animal rescue, cleaning beaches, mowing laws for elderly not in HOAs, etc.)

[MyMission]

12. My friend's son goes to unschooling

1-2 days a week. He's homeschooled, but this gives him the chance to socialize and participate in activities with other kids. They have a friendship circle to start, and do a lot of physical activities, and a few lessons in stuff they're interested in, and the kids eat their lunches together. There's a term schedule, and school ended for him at the end of June. I think it will resume in September.

So I think unschooling gives them a school like experience, but is not as rigid and kids of varying ages get to interact. It's like daycare for homeschooled kids, with a lot of outside activities. As far as I know, most don't go every day. As I said, my friends son goes 1-2 days. And they get school photos, like regular school.

It's a weird name, unschooling, but better than calling it daycare for homeschooled kids.

A lot of homeschooled kid's are from evangelical Christian families, but a lot are from families with special needs kids, who don't want their kids bullied or pigeonholed or exposed to or influenced by troubled (for any number of reasons) kids. My sense is that unschooling is more for that second group. The christian homeschoolers look to church groups to have their kids socialize.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

13. Is what he does go like this?

[MyMission]

20. Very similar

In terms of philosophy, but as I said he goes to an unschooling program, so there are times that program is not in session. The show mostly discussed it as a way to homeschool year-round. My friend tries to let her son guide his education, but also tries to provide options and enhancement.
And she has arranged for tutors to help in subjects he is less inclined to work on by his own initiative. He will be 12 in October, is very bright and has Asperger's, and has done well with the homeschooling and unschooling. She pulled him out of his charter school 2019 because his needs weren't being met.She was intrigued when she first heard about unschooling, and the program she found works for them.

I worked and taught at a Montessori preschool many years ago. Their philosophy is freedom within structure. The unschooling seems to be unstructured, but some families still provide freedom within structure too, following a curriculum loosely. I'm in favor of that approach, rather than a free for all.

As someone who has worked in education, I can say not everyone learns in the same way.
During the initial Covid outbreak and after, many were talking about kids needing to be in school, and being damaged or disrupted by on line learning. But there was also a portion of kids who thrived doing their work on line, being out of school, away from bullies and peer pressure and competitive learning, able to learn at their own pace. Unschooling works for some kids, while others do better with structure and formal education.

[obamanut2012]

35. Were you homeschooled like the Harts and Erica Parsons?

[joelg]

21. Customers

As an ex-teacher, the main thing that ruined the job for me was the notion that the parents are the customer and the customer is always right.

[SunSeeker]

22. When I was growing up, the notion was the teacher is always right.

I always looked up to my teachers, as did my parents. We saw teachers as the heroes that would get me and my brother out of poverty.

[Raine]

24. I have some friends who took their kids out of school

they are hard core lefties. They're home schooling their children and they're doing better and learning more then they did in school. Plus the mother is enjoying getting to really know her children while they're young and getting to spend more time with them. The children are well behaved and polite.

[aggiesal]

25. This is all a part of the (R) plan ...

They want 2 things,
1) They want public schools to look bad so they can profitized them.
2) They want a stupid electorate they can control easily.

[lapfog_1]

26. Christian Madrassas?

We don't need no edumacation.

[obamanut2012]

29. What is this stupid thing called homeschooling?!

From what I understand is that it is plain out not getting an education.

School teaches boundaries and following schedules. It teaches how society works.

But this homeschooling is just wrong. Kids need discipline, a schedule and boundaries. What are these parents thinking? And since when states let parents let kids just run around and not get their rear ends to school.

Maybe this homeschooling, free range folly is why Trump got elected in the first place.


***********

Oh wait, YOU were homeschooled. Isn't it interesting how things are when you flip them around?

The unschooling system, which depends on how it is done on how effective it will be, is almost totally done by folks on the left, and the parents tend to be educated. It is NOT what you think it is. Your OP shows you honestly don't know what it is. Is that also how you feel about Montessori?

Now, homeschooling? That is supermajority down by folks on the right, using either no real curriculum, or RW curriculum that is literally made for home schoolers. It has no real structure as a classroom would, and also does not teach societal interactions, etc. like school does. It also allows abuse to do on with no one watching, and even children have been murdered and gone FOR YEARS and no one even knows it because they aren't in school Erica Parsons and the Hart family murders are just two examples). I am actually pretty against homeschooling except in certain cases because of lack of accountability.

I think it is chuckilicious you think unschooling is bad and creates Trumpers, when homeschooling is actually the type of "not in public school" system used by folks on the Right who can't afford a white flight private school.