unschooling

[binny]

OP, given the responses here you can see why your SIL doesn't tell people she is unschooling.

I first heard of unschooling about 6 years ago when we moved and discovered that the family next door was unschooling their children.

Like a PP mentioned though, there are those that unschool well and those who don't. Unfortunately, those that don't do it well are usually the focus of these types of stories. Our neighbors took their children's education very seriously and they were thriving. The youngest did have some problems, but it was due to a disability and not the education he was getting at home. If done correctly, it is actually quite a bit of work for the parents. For example, their dd was very intetrested in the African Savannah. It is easy to see how you can fit in science and geography. It is also fairly easy to get some history in there as well. They read a lot of great historical and non-historical novels. Their art projects centered on different animals in the region, etc. The parents, however, had to make up their own math problems, etc. Some of it involved calculating area, distance, etc. Others were more involved.... How many areas equal to the state of Florida could you fit in the African Savannah? Driving 60 mph, how long would it take to drive across the Savanah? Things like that. Now these were sometimes done during a family game time or something, so they were often playing games, but they were definitely learning -- and learning a lot.

We are a homeschooling family. We prefer a more structured method of schooling, but also incorporate some unschooling ideas during slower parts of the year. Even then though, we don't stop our math. For example, the girls will pick and animal or a country or a time in history, and we will study it for as long as it holds their interest.

See to me that isnt unschooling. Thats homeschooling without a solid currirulum. The parents still teach and make up problems. The kids may have chosen their interest but the parents are still involved and still guiding them. No way is a kid going to sit down and say "Today I want to figure out the calculation of how many miles we have to travel" or whatever. Especially if they dont they have guidance.

The family that was featured on GMA let the children do whatever it is they wanted to do and were darn proud of the fact that they usually chose nothing.

 

[robinb]

Here is the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/video/extreme-parenting-radical-unschooling-10413158

I knew someone who "unschooled" her son after he quit school because of bullying. He just sat around the house all day and played video games and surfed the web. I wonder what ever happened to him. I think I'll ask a mutual friend but I don't expect things to have changed too much now that he's an adult.

 

[luvmy3]

My neighbor claims she homeschools, but I'm pretty sure she is unschooling. The saddest thing is is that she doesn't seem to see any difference between the two, or care.

 

[BigEeyore]

This sounds like child abuse IMHO. Kids are too young to know what is best for them, it is the responsibility of the parents to guide them on the right path. I think homeschooling is wonderful when done right, unschooling is just being a crappy parent!

 

[marcyinPA]

It seems to me that unschooling, or kids who learn what they want when they want to, is going to make for some very poorly rounded kids. If they only learn what they want to, how will they be able to grow up and lead productive lives as adults? I don't get it....

 

[C.Ann]

I saw a show about this either on TLC or the Discovery Channel.. The particular family they showed did seem to be doing a fairly good job of it - lots of trips; educational experiences; etc. (not sitting around watching tv or playing video games) - but the rest of their parenting style was what really caught my attention..

The children and the parents were considered "equals" - in that there were no established rules, unless it involved a very dangerous situation.. The kids decided when they wanted to eat, what they wanted to eat (which they prepared themselves), what time they went to bed, what time they got up, etc..

Not sure how well that would work out when they became teens, but intelligence-wise, the kids seemed to be pretty smart and well informed..

I'm all for home schooling - if that's what one chooses to do - but "unschooling"? I think the verdict is still out on that one..

 

[binny]

exactly! "I want to learn about how to commit a crime!" if this is all your kids wants to learn about and you dont step in to save them from themselves theyre going to learn a lot of things that you might not want them to learn about.

Or "I want to learn about video games" again... parental guidance. If given a choice between math and facebook, my 15 year old will probably choose facebook, isnt that what most kids would do?

 

[itsheresomewhere]

True unschooling is a wonderful thing but like homeschooling there is always one who makes the idea look bad. My neighbors unschool and they pu education first. One child is interested in space and its theories. The lessons they make out of it include math, science, history but make it so the child really throws himself into his education. The other child is into building things and the lessons they make out of that are great. Now, down the road is a family who makes homeschool look bad. They believe that you only need two hours of school a day and they only cover what they think is really important.

 

[MiniGirl]

See to me that isnt unschooling. Thats homeschooling without a solid currirulum. The parents still teach and make up problems. The kids may have chosen their interest but the parents are still involved and still guiding them. No way is a kid going to sit down and say "Today I want to figure out the calculation of how many miles we have to travel" or whatever. Especially if they dont they have guidance.

The family that was featured on GMA let the children do whatever it is they wanted to do and were darn proud of the fact that they usually chose nothing.

That is the key!!! My neighbors would tell you that unschooling is NOT the absence of parental involvement as many believe. You're right. No child will voluntarily sit down and calculate distances, etc. However, things like basic math facts still must be learned, so the parents step in try to make it as much like a game as possible while still getting the job done. Using things that currently interest the child helps to keep the child's interest.

Parents that unschool the way the family does on GMA are, absolutely, doing their children a huge disservice.

I should also add that our neighbor's children are older, and there probably were a lot more games played when they were younger than when we were neighbors.

 

[bettymae1121]

Not to mention kids often don't know if they'll like something or not until forced to try it once or twice. A high school student with solid basics, disapline, and motivation could probably self direct their studies for the most part for the last few years of school, but allowing an 8 year old to do the same? I don't think so!

Most parents that home school do a good job of it. And there is nothing wrong with taking a non-traditional approach to it, like the example that Minigirl gave. Unschooling sounds like an excuse to let your kids basically run wild.

 

[bumbershoot]

Essentially, it's parents who can't be bothered to educate their children.

...but unschooling is letting the child do whatever they want, whenever they want, for days and weeks on end.

So if the little darling wants to play video games or watch TV or play on the computer for days on end ~ well, he can.

This.Is.Not.True.


Head over to mothering.com's forums for the unschooling threads. There you will learn more. That's to everyone in this thread who thinks that whatever GMA chose to show about "unschooling" IS unschooling.


It's what I would have done, but DS likes structure more. He doesn't notice how much he learned in the 4 years before we started with workbooks and such...he picks things up like a sponge, and knows quite a bit without having been formally taught it.


There are lazy people who make everything look bad. That's what makes for good TV. Don't decide that good TV is an accurate depiction of something.

 

[Deb in IA]

Unschooling sounds like an excuse to let your kids basically run wild.

The second family that was interviewed on the GMA piece had younger kids, I think around 4 or 5. They let those kids basically decide everything. The mother said that the last thing they "let go" was hygiene. So, these kids were allowed to get up whenever they wanted, eat whatever they wanted for breakfast, and afterward, mom just "suggests" to them, "Do you want to brush your teeth?", but apparently, nothing happens if they don't.

 

[Deb in IA]

This.Is.Not.True.

I guess unschooling doesn't teach proper punctuation either.

 

[C.Ann]

The second family that was interviewed on the GMA piece had younger kids, I think around 4 or 5. They let those kids basically decide everything. The mother said that the last thing they "let go" was hygiene. So, these kids were allowed to get up whenever they wanted, eat whatever they wanted for breakfast, and afterward, mom just "suggests" to them, "Do you want to brush your teeth?", but apparently, nothing happens if they don't.

I believe this was the family that I mentioned in my previous thread.. Parents and kids were equal - no one was "in charge"..

 

[SaraJayne]

This.Is.Not.True.


Head over to mothering.com's forums for the unschooling threads. There you will learn more. That's to everyone in this thread who thinks that whatever GMA chose to show about "unschooling" IS unschooling.


It's what I would have done, but DS likes structure more. He doesn't notice how much he learned in the 4 years before we started with workbooks and such...he picks things up like a sponge, and knows quite a bit without having been formally taught it.


There are lazy people who make everything look bad. That's what makes for good TV. Don't decide that good TV is an accurate depiction of something.

You think reading MDC will change my opinion??

I know all I need to know about unschooling.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

The second family that was interviewed on the GMA piece had younger kids, I think around 4 or 5. They let those kids basically decide everything. The mother said that the last thing they "let go" was hygiene. So, these kids were allowed to get up whenever they wanted, eat whatever they wanted for breakfast, and afterward, mom just "suggests" to them, "Do you want to brush your teeth?", but apparently, nothing happens if they don't.

And someday we (taxpayers) are going to be paying for their rotten teeth, bad health, and inability to get a job. Ugh.

Wasn't that 7 year old girl, with the flaky mom, who was trying to break the record for the youngest person to fly around the world, and then crashed and died, unschooled?

My son (17) came charging out of his room the other night, saying "Did you ever hear of unschooling???" (Of course I did...I DIS.) He had seen the video online and was shocked. He said that as much as he doesn't LOVE going to school, he'd much rather do that than be like those kids.

 

[pigletgirl]

I can't believe anyone would even consider this for their child.

 

[tink_lover]

I believe homeschooling can be a great option but also believe that children need structure. Part of the job of a parent is getting your child ready for life as an adult. What kind of job will they be able to get with an unschooled education?

 

[pilesoflaundry]

You think reading MDC will change my opinion??

I know all I need to know about unschooling.

That was awesome.

I was thinking that on MDC I used to see plenty of unschooling kids that did who knows what what mom was on the internet all day. I stopped reading there a few years ago, it got to be a bit too much.

I think any kind of schooling can be good or bad depending on how it is done. Letting the kid play video games all day is not unschooling.

 

[AshleyW]

This.Is.Not.True.


Head over to mothering.com's forums for the unschooling threads. There you will learn more. That's to everyone in this thread who thinks that whatever GMA chose to show about "unschooling" IS unschooling.


It's what I would have done, but DS likes structure more. He doesn't notice how much he learned in the 4 years before we started with workbooks and such...he picks things up like a sponge, and knows quite a bit without having been formally taught it.


There are lazy people who make everything look bad. That's what makes for good TV. Don't decide that good TV is an accurate depiction of something.

Kind of like how you decided that a Marilyn Monroe movie accurately depicted measles?