Any Unschoolers here who ditched that method?

[YodaGirl]

I beg to differ. I make there, their, they're typos all the time. My brain moves faster than my fingers and my fingers stay on auto pilot and it happens, even though I'm a total grammar nazi. I did it today, in fact, while IM'ing with my mom and she (jokingly) told me that I should ask my 5th grader for some English lessons.

I do the same thing, and it annoys me to no end.

I didn't think that it was possible until I did it, either.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I actually think homeschooling often mimics real life. In real jobs, workers are often interrupted or a schedule needs to be altered to deal with new issues and problems. Being flexible is not the same as not having any schedules or deadlines. You seem to be very against all homeschooling - not just unschooling. Is this true or have I read you wrong?

Completely read me wrong.

Unschooling 100% against. It's abusive.

Home schooling ~ I think very few parents do it well.
If it is done so children truly are the #1 reason it's being done fine.
If it's for a variety of poor parenting reasons I'm against it.

I have a niece is home schooled the last few years because of Broadway.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Just to clarify, I don't suggest anyone allow their children to remain illiterate, just learn when they're ready. For some kids, yes, that means 9-11. It's much easier to teach a motivated older kid to read than a 5-6 year old who isn't ready yet, from what I hear. (mine learned to read at 1,2 and 5, so I'm only going by what I've seen from some other unschoolers, as well as schooled kids). The point is, I don't think anyone, given a positive, nurturing environment would choose not to learn to read at all, people aren't wired that way. Why do they need to learn to read before this if they choose not too and they aren't in the system? It's necessary for kids in the system to learn to read and write as early as possible because writing is an efficient tool in evaluating 30 kids at once. At home, a nice skill to have, but not necessary that early. But honestly the pressure on some ps kids does greater disservice than good.

Wow... It's rare to find somebody defending elective childhood illiteracy, so I find your perspective truly fascinating.

I'll keep the rest of my opinions on this subject to myself.

 

[knitster]

I would think grades are certainly a strong indicator of how your child is doing in an academic arena with their peers.
If a child has a low grade it can certainly raise a flag that either their having trouble with academics, emotional or psychological issues and they can then be addressed.

I would think we could all say sometimes parents are best at keeping their head in the sand.
I believe it does take a village.

Are you insinuating that public school parents don't keep their heads in the sand? Because if you are, you're certainly wrong about that. And grades are frequently not a good indicator of how a child is doing in school. My cousin was passed from one grade to another with B's and C's for years before it was discovered that he was severely dyslexic.

I can tell you from experience that sitting with a child day in and day out as they do their work is an excellent indicator of how well they're grasping the subject.

I can also tell you that I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my child.

I'm typing on an iPad and do understand those occasional errors. Their, there and they're would not be typos that you can make the iPad excuse on. Those would be you don't know the difference. I am not attacking anyone here. Again, I'm relating to my own personal experience and can vividly recall my family member giving my mom a Snapfish book where the words no one were consistently written as knowone. She should not be teaching her children because SHE doesn't know the difference.

Well you can say what you want and think what you want - I know that I know the difference between there, their, and they're and I know that I frequently mis type things on my iPad and don't notice or don't have the desire to go back and fix because its a PITA, so I just leave them there.

I also know that if you're using grammatical aptitude as a means with which to judge a parents ability to educate their child, you'd better be storming the doors of your local public school and demanding to see the emails and forum postings of the teachers there.

 

[Coconut36]

I beg to differ. I make there, their, they're typos all the time. My brain moves faster than my fingers and my fingers stay on auto pilot and it happens, even though I'm a total grammar nazi. I did it today, in fact, while IM'ing with my mom and she (jokingly) told me that I should ask my 5th grader for some English lessons.

I agree. I used to write for a living..detailed technical documents and proper grammar, punctuation..etc was a must.

That said when I type on a message board I do all kinds of silly things that I would not do in formal/professional writing..I do the their/there/they're, I mess up up to/two/too, then/than and the one that I do that annoys me the most is dont'. I darn well know the difference and where the apostrophe belongs but I am typing fast and rarely proofreading what I am posting so it happens because my brain gets "their" but my fingers get "there".

 

[IndianSummer]

I'm typing on an iPad and do understand those occasional errors. Their, there and they're would not be typos that you can make the iPad excuse on. Those would be you don't know the difference. I am not attacking anyone here. Again, I'm relating to my own personal experience and can vividly recall my family member giving my mom a Snapfish book where the words no one were consistently written as knowone. She should not be teaching her children because SHE doesn't know the difference.

So if you've ever made the there/their/they're error, even if you know the difference, you should be, in your opinion, disqualified from teaching children? It would have only taken about 10 seconds for her to learn how to spell no one if someone pointed it out or if she used her spellchecker. Problem solved.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm typing on an iPad and do understand those occasional errors. Their, there and they're would not be typos that you can make the iPad excuse on. Those would be you don't know the difference. I am not attacking anyone here. Again, I'm relating to my own personal experience and can vividly recall my family member giving my mom a Snapfish book where the words no one were consistently written as knowone. She should not be teaching her children because SHE doesn't know the difference.

Whatever makes you feel better about criticizing others.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

To the OP - it sounds like your friend is an amazing mom, and clearly loves her dks and provides a learning rich environment for them. While her kids may not be where most kids their age are academically, I suspect with all the free time they've had they've developed amazing skills in some subject areas. From what I've observed with other unschoolers, they delve deeply into the things that they love which might not be typical school subjects, but still valuable learning opportunities. I highly doubt they will reach adulthood without the ability to read and write. There will likely be things that come up that will motivate them to learn these things.

If she's not neglectful in other areas of their care, then I highly doubt she's refusing to educate them when they request her help in facilitating their learning.

Kids want to learn. Period. Especially kids that arent forced too. They don't want to be incompetent and when it dawns on her kids that reading is a good idea and a necessary part of life, that will be motivation enough, I suspect. I've seen it over and over again without fail. She doesn't sound lazy and uncaring.Many unschoolers learn to read later than ps kids, 9-11 is an age I hear a lot, when they decide they want to.

Her kids are about to hit an age/stage where academics will probably become a higher priority for them. Kids who've had as much free time as hers have had to play, usually get sick of all that play and start to gravitate towards academics in a way most schooled teens don't. It's not something most people in our society are used to seeing.

This one I can't even answer! I would be banned.

I hope it's a joke.
This may be the post where most of us actually agree kids starting to be taught at 11 is wonderful! NOT

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Completely read me wrong.

Unschooling 100% against. It's abusive.

Home schooling ~ I think very few parents do it well.
If it is done so children truly are the #1 reason it's being done fine.
If it's for a variety of poor parenting reasons I'm against it.

I have a niece is home schooled the last few years because of Broadway.

So is it something you approve of or a poor parenting choice?

I ask as many youth actors/actresses are homeschooled.
I don't see that as a bad thing as long as the education isn't being completely neglected for the craft. (which I think may be difficult due to various laws regarding that industry)

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Most people post quickly and probably don't proof their responses. Typos can happen to anyone.

I'm the #1 typo maker! Sometimes I don't even understand what I was saying.
IPads are horrible for typing.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

This one I can't even answer! I would be banned.

I hope it's a joke.
This may be the post where most of us actually agree kids starting to be taught at 11 is wonderful! NOT

I started to respond honestly to that post too and realized I would get banned or fined or points for calling someone a bad name. lol. I thought it might be a sarcastic joke at first then realized she was being serious.

 

[knitster]

I find it ironic that earlier today, on a separate disboard conversation, I was told that my IQ qualifies me to be a MENSA member and now I'm being told that I'm too stupid to educate my own kids because I make homonym typing mistakes when posting from mobile devices. My how quickly the tides change!

I have no idea if my IQ qualifies me for MENSA or not, btw, and I don't care to find out, it's just what I was told by another DISer in a discussion about IQs.

 

[IndianSummer]

There are numerous reasons why a child should learn to read before they are 11. The main one being, what if that MOTHER that is UNSCHOOLING those kids gets hit by a bus and there is nobody else in the family who can stay home and NOT teach them anything. Then they have to be put back into the regular school system. When that 11 year old cannot read and has to go in the first grade what kind of trauma do you think that is going to do to that kid mentally when they are 5 years older than every other kid in the class? You always have to think ahead, about the what ifs in life. Plan for every possible bend in the road.

They wouldn't put an 11 year old in with 5 year olds, that isn't how it's done. The child would likely go into a class with their age mates and get some extra help or be given extra work to catch up in the areas he or she would be behind. At that age, they would likely catch up very quickly (my friends two dd's did, caught up in two weeks and then were at the top of their classes until graduating)

Unschooled kids don't live in a bubble, they are aware of what their peers can do academically and this can be a strong motivator to catch up. The trauma would come from the loss of their mother in a horrific bus accident,not from being behind.

It's good to look ahead and prepare for unknowns, but you cannot possibly be prepared for every bend in the road.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You can disagree all day long. If I misused the words I would probably disagree too. A TYPO is when you mistype a letter, forget to type a letter or misspell a word. Placing there in place of their or their in place of they're is not a typo. If your brain is moving faster than your fingers that just means you typed what your brain was thinking at the time, which was the wrong word. If I say "My friends are over their" That is not a TYPO by ANY definition. That is misuse of a word.

What we are trying to tell you is we ARE misspelling a word.

And if you want to get technical on what the definition of typo is and what it means, you may wish to look it up.

Heck--several of us have typed out what the different homonyms mean and it just isn't sinking in to you that we actually know what they mean.

But again, if it makes you feel superior...by all means insist that we don't know what the words mean.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I can tell you from experience that sitting with a child day in and day out as they do their work is an excellent indicator of how well they're grasping the subject.

I can also tell you that I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my child.

I pity how you feel about most of us out here in the regular world.

Happily we have a terrific school system. Are all teachers perfect? Of course not.
Being involved in a school and having your pulse on all that is going on takes much more effort than perhaps sitting at your kitchen table.

 

[IndianSummer]

Wow... It's rare to find somebody defending elective childhood illiteracy, so I find your perspective truly fascinating.

I'll keep the rest of my opinions on this subject to myself.

Did you read my first sentence? I'm not suggesting anyone allow their kids to remain illiterate. You have less faith in people's natural instinct to learn than I do, that's all.

 

[knitster]

I pity how you feel about most of us out here in the regular world.

Um...ok? I wasn't aware that I was living somewhere other than the regular world.

Happily we have a terrific school system. Are all teachers perfect? Of course not.

I'm thrilled for you - having a terrific school system is awesome. I wish all school systems were great. I don't have a clue how great or horrible or mediocre my local school system is - I haven't checked it out. My decision to homeschool is based on many things and the condition of the local school system is only a very small part of it. But I certainly have no qualms with anyone who chooses to take advantage of the public schools that are available to them. Knock yourself out! I'm sure your kids will thrive and be successful because you seem to be involved with their education, which is the most important aspect of schooling of any kind.

Being involved in a school and having your pulse on all that is going on takes much more effort than perhaps sitting at your kitchen table.

...ok? I didn't know we were having a "which is harder - ps or hs?" competition. I don't have a clue how hard it is to deal with PS, I've never done it. So if you say it's harder, I can't argue with you - I don't have any desire to prove or disprove that statement. Though I think you are equally unqualified to compare the two unless you've also homeschooled at one point, otherwise I don't see how you could possibly make the comparison.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

They wouldn't put an 11 year old in with 5 year olds, that isn't how it's done. The child would likely go into a class with their age mates and get some extra help or be given extra work to catch up in the areas he or she would be behind. At that age, they would likely catch up very quickly (my friends two dd's did, caught up in two weeks and then were at the top of their classes until graduating)

Unschooled kids don't live in a bubble, they are aware of what their peers can do academically and this can be a strong motivator to catch up. The trauma would come from the loss of their mother in a horrific bus accident,not from being behind.

It's good to look ahead and prepare for unknowns, but you cannot possibly be prepared for every bend in the road.

That is exactly what they would do. In my state anyway. It was explained to me when I stopped homeschooling my kids and placed them back in regular school that whatever grade level they tested on is what grade level they would go into. They cannot place an 11 year old who cannot even read into the appropriate grade and expect them to be able to do ANYTHING. I'm not sure how every state does it but I have experienced that situation and know that is exactly what they do. You can't expect a 5th grade teacher to even begin to be able to teach anything to an illiterate child. They would have to go in first grade or into special ed.

 

[knitster]

That is exactly what they would do. In my state anyway. It was explained to me when I stopped homeschooling my kids and placed them back in regular school that whatever grade level they tested on is what grade level they would go into. They cannot place an 11 year old who cannot even read into the appropriate grade and expect them to be able to do ANYTHING. I'm not sure how every state does it but I have experienced that situation and know that is exactly what they do. You can't expect a 5th grade teacher to even begin to be able to teach anything to an illiterate child. They would have to go in first grade or into special ed.

I think they would probably put them in special ed because I can't see the 5 year old's parents being ok with an 11 year old being in their class.

It's a horrifying and sad situation all the way around. And it kills me that it gives real homeschoolers a bad name. I bust my rear making sure that my kids have the best education possible - the thought of screwing their education up keeps me awake at night and drives me to work as hard as I can for them.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

Um...ok? I wasn't aware that I was living somewhere other than the regular world.



I'm thrilled for you - having a terrific school system is awesome. I wish all school systems were great. I don't have a clue how great or horrible or mediocre my local school system is - I haven't checked it out. My decision to homeschool is based on many things and the condition of the local school system is only a very small part of it. But I certainly have no qualms with anyone who chooses to take advantage of the public schools that are available to them. Knock yourself out! I'm sure your kids will thrive and be successful because you seem to be involved with their education, which is the most important aspect of schooling of any kind.



...ok? I didn't know we were having a "which is harder - ps or hs?" competition. I don't have a clue how hard it is to deal with PS, I've never done it. So if you say it's harder, I can't argue with you - I don't have any desire to prove or disprove that statement. Though I think you are equally unqualified to compare the two unless you've also homeschooled at one point, otherwise I don't see how you could possibly make the comparison.

I have done both, with 3 different kids. Homeschooling is way more difficult than just dropping off your kid at school and doing an hours worth of homework every night.

But my kids are now back in regular school because they were lonely for friends. We live in a rural area where there are no kids their age and our local homeschool group was mostly little bitty kids and older teenagers and they rarely met to do anything social. My kids wanted to have back the social aspect of being around other kids their own age again. And I am not going to keep them from having that experience. Kids need to be able to handle themselves in that social situation where they have to interact and get along with a large group of their peers.

But if they ever asked me to homeschool them again I would do it. It wasn't easy but it is a good education if you aren't lazy about it.

But most of the homeschoolers I know of are always BEHIND and have numerous reasons why they are so far behind but "we'll get caught up" Same story over and over.