Yet More Navel Gazing

Spent!

Any Austin Power fans out there?

Thank goodness December is almost over is all I have to say. Hanukkah, Christmas, my birthday, gifts to buy and events to attend...I'm done.

It was really nice looking back. My dad bought the uniqe gift of a travel bar. For those 35 and under, it is a oversized briefcase that carries bottles of alcohol and mixing appratus. Along with fondue pots, the were terribly chic when I was a child. So far I've learned to make Southern Comfort Manhattans and Sex on the Beach drinks.

School wise there were some interesting developments. We discovered the Disney Bill Nye DVD series of videos at the library. Also my dad bought him the Snap Circuits Extreme which has also been a big hit.

We've also been spending time up at the Museum of Science and Industry in the city quite a bit. In helping Ben learn, I've discovered that rather than try "age appropriate materials" I've been using stuff allegedly beyond his grade leve (which is second grade) The Nye videos are supposed to be for 4th graders and up but Ben gets them. Also at the museum, reading the advanced signs and display information has really moved his reading forward.

There is a strong school of thought in education theory that if something is beyond the student, the student shouldn't attempt it because it could be discouraging. I get it. When Ben was in a more traditional education atmosphere, he was discouraged when asked to do something beyond his skills. But in a situation where he now feels totally safe? He's eager to reach and struggle. Is it because he knows there won't be someone there to make fun of him? He knows that he has a partner in this journey? I don't know.

Debby

There has been a recent rash of articles and shows on unschooling. And of course the blog world has responded..

One of my regular morning reads Flea has read a few sentences and then goes on to say some of the DUMBEST things.

Some of my faves?

• Unschooler say that kids will handle money and that will teach math
• That his kids are "naturally learning" in their schools all day...uh..dude..hate to break it to you but sitting at a desk and having a teacher lecture on what they're supposed to do is not natural!
• Kids won't learn about something like history unless they love history.

I'll give an example. My 7 year old loves science. So, I'm using science topics (bugs, human body, outer space, chemistry) to teach everything including math and *gasp* history. Yesterday (on a Sunday!) I set out a magnetism kit. (I do something called strewing..I place things, like books, educational software, kits or videos, around the house to catch his interest) He wanted to check it out so we did a couple of the experiments (reading the directions) . The 7 year old had to do somethings like measuring several times and write down the results (writing and reading). When he was done with the experiments we charted the measurements. This somehow lead to a conversation about how magnets are used and what technological advances came about because of them (history) which took us into a discussion about discoverers like Columbus and the Vikings. My favorite moment during that conversation was "Why didn't they just use GPS?"

I don't know *any* unschoolers who are not totally engaged with their children and educating them. Usually if a parent cares enough to do the research to find out about unschooling they're already committed to educating their kids.

Many of the critics are really getting excited (and not in a good way!) about unschooling. Why aren't these people more upset about how many of the public schools that are failing? Why aren't they thinking of ways to help their own kids?

In general, its amazing to me how little people who profess to be professionals ("I'm a teacher and I'm appalled at unschooling") actually *know* about unschooling. They read a blurb or hear what some know-nothing talking head has to say on the subject. Or they read one article by someone who views himself as the "head" of unschooling.

Here are some facts:

1. Unschooling is a spectrum. There are those in the community who wish to claim that there is a pure version...but there isn't. It's about being child led
2. Some unschoolers use textbooks or worksheets....if there children are interested or motivated in that direction....OR IF THEY FEEL THEIR KIDS NEED IT
3. Unschooling parents are really involved with their kids
4. Unschooling doesn't have one look....our version of unschooling is different than someone elses
5. Assessment is a current educational fad as a result of the No Child Left Behind debacle. "How do you know what your child knows?" I'm with my son so much and engage him so much that I have a very good idea of what he knows....my level of knowledge is certainly better than that of a 20 question test.
6. Unschooling a younger child looks much different than unschooling an older child. But unschooling a younger child can open up so many doors to unschooling an older child. You don't have to deal with issues that schools can cause (self-esteem, dislike of learning).

Anyway...feel free to argue with me!

Yes, that's what someone from Australia typed in to get to my blog.

The yucky stuff came from the interrogation of my husband regarding the free Thanksgiving turkey (that turkey was total crap for anyone interested)

What's even funnier is that my blog was the *second* one in the list. The first one was an article from educationworld.com. Now THAT is funny!

My 7 year old gave me some other ideas of things to put in my blog to drive strange traffic here:

I eat toe jam

Sometimes I pee out my butt

That should really drive the freaks here!

Not that kind of coming out....what a dirty mind you have! ;)

I'm an unschooling mom. I am not a radical unschooling mom...just a garden variety unschooling mom. My usual answer to "What kind of homeschooling do you do?" is "Constructivist" because unschooling has become such a loaded term.

Some background might be necessary. Growing up I attended a private constructivist school. It was a *strict* constructivist...we didn't have teachers, we had helpers. The helpers assisted (and guided us) in developing yearly goals, monthly goals and weekly goals. They then put together materials to help us in our journey. Skills were gained within some sort of context. Math and language had *meaning* and were more than just worksheets. It was great.

Imagine my surprise years ago when I read some of John Holt's stuff. 'Da man was recreating the wheel by creating the word "unschooling" It's simply constructivism without the edu-speak.

As I take more ed classes at the local university, I realize more and more that unschooling (or constructivism) is a philosophy not used much in schools not because of a lack of resources but because people are scared of it. People that feel themselves to be unempowered (teachers under Every Child Left Behind?) do not have the tools to empower children to be self-directed learners. It's easier emotionally and physically to hand out a drill worksheet on addition than to sit and direct a child in the usefulness of addition or help children find uses for addition that are meaningful to them.

I believe constructivism as an educational philosophy works. It takes time to teach a child how to be self directed but it pays huge dividends. In our future economy it is going to be more important to be able to

• retool skill sets (self-directed learning)
• find information (ability to research facts)

than to memorize a lot of facts. But our drive to standardized testing forces teachers to focus more on facts than skills.

This is why we homeschool.

This is why we "unschool"