The New York Times ran an interesting story today about unschooling, a little-known and often misunderstood offshoot of the home schooling movement. As someone who was raised in an unschooling family, I was thrilled to read such an informative and well-written article on the topic in such a mainstream publication. I urge you to read the article and leave me a comment letting me know your thoughts!Before you go, let me leave you with one of my favorite quotes relating to the deficiencies of school-based learning, by one of the greatest and most famous teachers of all time:
"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less showily. Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of coloured paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experience."
-- Anne Sullivan
photo, Michael Falco for The New York Times
i was very excited to read this article & to know that you & the kiddo will have a community of like-minded folks to connect with as you enjoyably & curiously explore your world! AWESOME!!
ReplyDeleteso great. are you part of a group like that yet? i'm still very turned on by this whole idea, and yet conflicted since i recently decided to get a master's in elementary education! i guess i'm hoping that i will have freedom enough to bring the basic unschooling principles into the classroom. is that insane?! i hope not... :)
ReplyDeleteFascinating article! I really identify with their approach, as I feel that I was raised with a similar hybrid of home schooling and unschooling. Back when I was a child, it was practically illegal to be homeschooled. My mother was always afraid that someone would think her choice was neglectful, and report her to CPS. It makes me sad that some of those same fears are still out there, after all this time.
ReplyDeleteI home school my children, and have to admit that it can be stressful to deal with the pressure from friends and family to 'prove' the validity of my choice. I am constantly asked about curriculum and socializing. But I am a firm believer that children, once allowed to be curious, led to resources, and and given confidence to teach themselves, are superiorly prepared for the world. I also think that it is healthier for them socially, to have the majority of their interactions be with adults or children of various ages.
Anyway, this is long. Thanks for being outspoken about alternatives in both schooling and birth! Both are dear to my heart.
Thank you for the link...I will definitely read it. I am interested in unschooling (I read Soule Mama!), although I know little about it. C-Man is in the Waldorf School, but I'm not sure if it's going to be right long term, so we are exploring other options.
ReplyDeletewow--this is the first explantion I have as to what "unschooling" is and I am digging it. Wondering if that might be a good route for me with Noa in a few years?
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