unschooling; for me, for you, for the world!

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dancingandflying

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has anybody even heard about unschooling? if you have, if you've been, quote on quote, unschooled, or you have unschooled your children, please relpy here. i'm desperatley trying to get my parents to okay it.
by the way, this is not a thread for your opinions, unless to say how great unschooling is.
thanks,
dancingandflying.

oh... by the way... congrats LJ and CC! :heart::kiss::LilLove: love is a many splendid thing!:e2slap:sometimes...
 

deacon

no! i will not be quiet about this! i am against it. it is bad. it will destroy....something. and it will undo.... you know... something.
what the hell is unschooling?
 

CaroGirl

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Do you mean you want to be unschooled by your parents, or you want your parents to okay you unschooling your own child?

Unschooling must be undertaken very willingly by all parties involved. I have studied many homeschooling options and theories, including unschooling, and both parents and children must make a commitment. It's more than education, it's a way of life, a "learning through living."

You can't make your parents want to homeschool (if that's your situation). If you want to homeschool your own child, do it, no matter what objections your parents might raise. It's your child.
 

deacon

CaroGirl,
apparently, DaF bailed. is she talking about home-schooling?
 

CaroGirl

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deacon said:
CaroGirl,
apparently, DaF bailed. is she talking about home-schooling?
Unschooling is a type of homeschooling wherein there are no formal teaching sessions. Children learn at their own pace, as it's entirely self-directed, and they learn in their own way, charting the course themselves. Part of the theory is that children inherently want to learn and will do so with or without intervention. Unschooling parents facillitate their children's learning by helping them whenever they ask for it.

It's a multifaceted and complex topic, but very interesting. I don't homeschool, or unschool, myself, but am interested in many different learning models.

(I love your sig line, btw, one of my favouritest movies, fer sure)
 

dancingandflying

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i don't have a child. i want my parents to allow me to unschool myself. i have valid reasons, not expanding my creativity fully, not learning in depth, etc., etc., but my both my parents want me to go research more about it before allowing me to do it.
carogirl, are there any resources that i should look into for unschooling? or do you have any arguments that might help me in convincing my parents?

thanks,
dancingandflying.

hey, carogirl, were you talking about my signature?
 
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deacon

CaroGirl said:
It's a multifaceted and complex topic, but very interesting. I don't homeschool, or unschool, myself, but am interested in many different learning models.

thanks, CG
that sounds a little "chancy" to me. home-schooling is a good idea if it's structured. i know some people in my neighborhood that h/s and it's working out fine. keeps kids away from the gangs, which we have a lot. but, i don't know about keeping kids out of school and saying, "holla if you decide you want to learn something"
olskool
 

CaroGirl

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If you're 13, I'm very glad you don't have a child.

Your situation is not one I've come across, so I don't think I could advise you about it. Unschooling is typically undertaken by parents who are unhappy with trying to fit their child into the school mold. Although you're older, I still believe your parents will need to be fully onboard and take an active interest in your learning. For example, they'll need to be willing to drop everything and take you to a planetarium if you decide you want to learn about astronomy.

You'll have a job convincing them that you really want to learn outside school, rather than you just don't want to go to school anymore. A lot of 13 yos don't want to go to school. I was one.

I don't have any specific online resources for you at hand (I'm at work) but if I come across anything, I'll post it or PM you. Good luck.
 

dancingandflying

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Shadow_Ferret said:
You mean Montessori-style schooling?
yes.

Shadow_Ferret said:
Unschooling sounds like you're draining their brains and making them idiots.
and no. unschooling is the exact opposite of what you thought. what unschooling sounds like is what my school actually does. would you like the term self-teaching, learning without school, etc., ect., better than unschooling? they all mean the same thing.

carogirl, truthfully, they're totally okay with me learning outside of school, but they're worried about me not having sucessful social interactions. i'm not the most social person in the world and taking me out of school is limited interactions with my peers even more. i need to:
a) research legal issues with unschooling and
b) show my parents that i can still be social with my peers and have, and i quote, good, succesful social interactions through leadership.
wow. well, i've had them read a book my brother gave me about unschooling -- don't worry, this was my idea and he gave me the book after i asked him about it -- and they aren't 100% against it, but they're not 100% for it, so i just need to do those two things and BAM! they'll say yes.

thanks,
dancingandflying
 
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CaroGirl

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deacon said:
thanks, CG
that sounds a little "chancy" to me. home-schooling is a good idea if it's structured. i know some people in my neighborhood that h/s and it's working out fine. keeps kids away from the gangs, which we have a lot. but, i don't know about keeping kids out of school and saying, "holla if you decide you want to learn something"
olskool
deacon,

Part of the point of unschooling is that it isn't structured, except very loosely, possibly around a single activity per week, like piano lessons or volunteering at the food bank. Otherwise, children are free to pick up a math book, or not. They can practise cursive writing, or not. If Johnny decides he wants to learn about the sun, you go to the library and take out every book on the sun and planets. You buy the materials and help him make a model of the solar system. Then he becomes tangentially interested in shadows and you make a sundial and discuss how the sun's position in the sky makes the shadows on the dial, thereby allowing you to tell the time. He takes an interest in orienteering, so you buy a compass, draw a map and practice in the local woods. You get involved in geocaching (which is v. cool btw).

I mean, you have all day, right? There is no school to interrupt the continuous learning of a curious child.
 

deacon

<snip>
CaroGirl said:
I mean, you have all day, right? There is no school to interrupt the continuous learning of a curious child.

hmmm. i learned something new. thanks for clarifying.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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CaroGirl said:

There is no school to interrupt the continuous learning of a curious child.

Curious child being the main point. I never could have done this because I would have become an even bigger idiot than I am now with normal structure schooling. I'm glad this works for some people, it just seems so foreign to me.
 

My-Immortal

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CaroGirl said:
deacon,

If Johnny decides he wants to learn about the sun, you go to the library and take out every book on the sun and planets. You buy the materials and help him make a model of the solar system. Then he becomes tangentially interested in shadows and you make a sundial and discuss how the sun's position in the sky makes the shadows on the dial, thereby allowing you to tell the time. He takes an interest in orienteering, so you buy a compass, draw a map and practice in the local woods. You get involved in geocaching (which is v. cool btw).

There is no school to interrupt the continuous learning of a curious child.

When I was growing up and going to school - I did both. I learned what was 'required' in school and then in my free time (aka: afterschool, weekends and summer) I read and studied topics that I was curious about but were not taught in school.

But perhaps that's a strange concept nowadays....?

Take care all -
 

dancingandflying

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Shadow_Ferret said:
Curious child being the main point. I never could have done this because I would have become an even bigger idiot than I am now with normal structure schooling. I'm glad this works for some people, it just seems so foreign to me.
how do you know if you've never tried it? school teaches everyone the same thing at the same rate and that's not how i, and most people -- even you shadow_ferret -- learn.
unschooling lets you pursue your interests and possibly find something you really enjoy through doing that, like carogirl's post. and besides, it seems forgien to everyone until they learn about it.

thanks,
danciingandflying.
 

Unique

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Homeschooling & Unschooling

Yes, I do both. How "un" you can be depends on your state requirements. Some states have heavy requirements and others don't. Unschooling is also called self directed learning.

You can do all your classes on line or you can do your classes via CD or you can make up your curriculum as you go along.

If home/unschooling is new to you, a good outline on what you plan to study is a good place to start.

PM me if you'd like some links. I have a boatload. (Especially to free worksheets. I love free) ;)
 

dancingandflying

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My-Immortal said:
When I was growing up and going to school - I did both. I learned what was 'required' in school and then in my free time (aka: afterschool, weekends and summer) I read and studied topics that I was curious about but were not taught in school.

But perhaps that's a strange concept nowadays....?

it's not that strange, but my school schedule is hard to deal with because i have multiple things going on over the week and weekend, and during the summer i have vactions and also things going on. i'm not complaining, just explaining.
unschooling would also be much easier for me to go deep into subjects i like in school while still skimming subjects i don't like as much, and doing things like volunteering for the nearest zoo, and spending hours upon hours at museums and libraries (sp?) and working on my intrests that i can't do after school or on weekends because they're in the mornings or weekdays: yoga, workshops, etc., etc.
thanks,
dancingandflying
 

CaroGirl

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Shadow_Ferret said:
Curious child being the main point. I never could have done this because I would have become an even bigger idiot than I am now with normal structure schooling. I'm glad this works for some people, it just seems so foreign to me.
Yeah, you have to buy into that main theory. The one that says children want to learn. Unschooling is unconventional. You're never going to get a majority to buy into it, and your reaction, shadow, is pretty typical. It's weird and scary to a lot of people. I couldn't do it. I'd be too afraid that I'd miss something. I'm not v. strong in math, so I fear my kids would just never learn it.

And then they'd be just like me. A sad situation indeed. (carogirl fishes for a compliment)
 

deacon

CaroGirl said:
Yeah, you have to buy into that main theory. The one that says children want to learn. Unschooling is unconventional. You're never going to get a majority to buy into it, and your reaction, shadow, is pretty typical. It's weird and scary to a lot of people. I couldn't do it. I'd be too afraid that I'd miss something. I'm not v. strong in math, so I fear my kids would just never learn it.

And then they'd be just like me. A sad situation indeed. (carogirl fishes for a compliment)

well.....at least you have your health
 

veinglory

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Unschooling *must* be a deep commitment from the parents too. You will probably still need to take standardised tests. It is a testiment to the families that commit to this approach that their kids tend to perform well on these tests. But, not to labor the point, it is a testiment to a deep, personal commitment to the appraoch by parents and children--and an understanding that it is not just the removal of imposed structure. There is a careful fostering of form and system in investiagtion but in a child-centred way.

It is my personal beleif that unschooling opens some options and narrows others for children--there must be careful research and communication both with the local schools and unschooling families before deciding to take that path. If you hav to 'talk' someone into it that is a warning sign right away.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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dancingandflying said:
how do you know if you've never tried it? school teaches everyone the same thing at the same rate and that's not how i, and most people -- even you shadow_ferret -- learn.
unschooling lets you pursue your interests and possibly find something you really enjoy through doing that, like carogirl's post. and besides, it seems forgien to everyone until they learn about it.

thanks,
danciingandflying.

Because if I wasn't FORCED to learn I wouldn't have bothered. As it was I tried my best not to bother learning and I fairly succeeded. Given the opportunity to go unstructured I would have just blown off everything. I had no interests, no curiosity about schooling. I had no favorite subjects. I even hated English despite my love of writing.

I'm glad it works for some but I know for certain it never would have worked for me. That's what I mean by it seems foreign. I'm not in any way degrading that it works, I know it works. Montisorri schools are very successful. I just also know it wouldn't have worked for me.

Just as some kids are smothered by structure, other kids NEED it.
 

deacon

A to Z Home's Cool Oklahoma Homeschool page. said:
Oklahoma is the only state in the U.S. where the right to homeschool is provided for in its constitution.

due to the subject, i checked on my state. i did not know this.
 

dancingandflying

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veinglory said:
Unschooling *must* be a deep commitment from the parents too. You will probably still need to take standardised tests. It is a testiment to the families that commit to this approach that their kids tend to perform well on these tests.
actually, the homeschooling law says that the district or state government can not make me take standardised testing or other tests, for that matter.
yes, if i need to talk my parents into unschooling, it's not as good as having them automatically say yes. however, this is the first time they have been exposed to unschooling. before, they thought anyone who dropped out of highschool didn't learn at home or anywhere.
thanks,
dancingandflying
 
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