Yet More Navel Gazing

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!