UnSchooling?

[George Wallace]

Did you ever think about asking your kids if they want to brush their teeth?

Parents endorse a 'relaxed' parenting style that includes unschooling. Meaning kids stay home and watch TV, play videos, or read instead of learning from any set curriculum. It sound's like a cambo between Montasori and Truancy?!

http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-15749655/extreme-parenting-radical-unschooling-19218933

[Greg Farra]

Those kids may be shocked if and when they get a job.

[Ryan Scott]

Those kids may be shocked if and when they get a job.

It might not be. I've seen a lot of stories lately about businesses catering to kids like this who come of working age, some even making provisions for their parents to come with them to orientation and help them choose benefit packages.

[Greg Farra]

Well, there's always the government! :smilies0373:

[Ryan Scott]

I'd guess government is the least adaptive employer in the country. I doubt "we've always done it that way" hold more weight anywhere than in Washington. Maybe in Kansas City.

[Greg Farra]

My mother retired from the government, she thought that once you're in, you're in!

[Linda Bechtold]

I have friends who unschool and what you are seeing in the video is "radical unschooling" (and unparenting)! When I think of unschooling it looks more like this- http://zachaboard.blogspot.com/search/label/homeschool?updated-max=2009-10-20T00:07:00-04:00&max-results=20

[Ryan Scott]

I have friends who unschool and what you are seeing in the video is "radical unschooling" (and unparenting)! When I think of unschooling it looks more like this- http://zachaboard.blogspot.com/search/label/homeschool?updated-max=2009-10-20T00:07:00-04:00&max-results=20

So there still has to be some curriculum involved here, right? There just might not be a standard order of education?

[Dana Grant]

There is an excellent book about unschooling written by parents who used unschooling with their 3 boys (I think it was 3 -- it has been a long time since I read it). The boys learned what they were interested in learning. The parents used real-life situations to teach some skills, like math, for example. They lived on a ranch and had to build a wood fence all around their property. So, they used that experience to teach the boys how to figure out how much wood they would have to purchase, how long each section would have to be in order to end up with equal sections, etc. They did have some formal grammar lessons, I believe. However, they had a very extensive library in their home, and when one of the boys became interested in a certain subject, they were encouraged to learn all they could about it, to the extent that they would perform experiments, research public libraries and university libraries, etc., depending on what the subject was. Of course, this type of schooling only works if the parents are able to encourage a love of learning in their children, and it really takes a lot more work and creativity than regular homeschooling does, in my opinion!

Those three boys are now all professionals having graduated from Harvard. It was a very interesting book and changed my mind on unschooling, although we never went that far with our homeschooling to turn it into unschooling. It was still a little too radical for us -- I tend to play it safe. LOL

Dana

[James Johnson]

It might not be. I've seen a lot of stories lately about businesses catering to kids like this who come of working age, some even making provisions for their parents to come with them to orientation and help them choose benefit packages.

True story, My wife had a mother of a young male emplyee come to the workplace and complain about the size of her son's cubical. Needless to say that never happened again!

[Linda Bechtold]

I was trying to remember that book also Dana. That family was my first introduction to homeschooling. I saw them on Donahue and was SO impressed with the family.

[Linda Bechtold]

So there still has to be some curriculum involved here, right? There just might not be a standard order of education?

There is usually some curriculum but it might be more reading and hands on math.

My 2nd grader has been working on money in his math workbook. He recently discovered rare Lego pieces on eBay and has become an expert on pricing, shipping, and what he needs to do to earn the money to purchase these items. Having a real world application has made this lesson stick!

[Ryan Scott]

There is usually some curriculum but it might be more reading and hands on math.

My 2nd grader has been working on money in his math workbook. He recently discovered rare Lego pieces on eBay and has become an expert on pricing, shipping, and what he needs to do to earn the money to purchase these items. Having a real world application has made this lesson stick!

Yeah, I was just thinking that there's virtually no way a kids going to stumble on pre-calculus math. At some point there has to be some checklist of things to make sure they have the right foundation for future education. I think this is a wonderful way for children to learn, although it does require the luxury of having kids who grow up valuing learning and exploration. That's just not true in every situation.

[Linda Bechtold]

Yeah, I was just thinking that there's virtually no way a kids going to stumble on pre-calculus math.

That's where the dual credit classes at the local college come in handy, at least for our family that has been a great option. I wouldn't call it stumbling though, it's more like being shoved in that direction.

[Glenn Messer]

I once taught a kid in a high school math class who was so lazy he wouldn't even open the book for an open book test. I would usually rouse him from his slumber and tell him to at least put his name on his paper before handing it in so I would know who I was giving the zero to. I tried to appeal to his practical side. Once when he told me he didn't need to learn math, I used an example of figuring the total number of squares of shingles needed to cover a roof job. He told me he was going to work for his daddy and his daddy already had someone to do that.

I failed him, but the principle 'socially promoted' him. I didn't teach much longer after that.

The last I heard of him, his daddy had given him the roofing company (one of the largest in the Myrtle Beach, SC area) and I guess he still paid that same guy to figure roof sizes. Made me wonder if maybe he really did know more than I did.

[David Graham]

SOme friends of ours have taken a massive step of faith and sold up their home in North Queensland and are spending a couple of years driving around Australia towing and living in a Caravan (US: Trailer Home). Their two primary school aged children with them, will be doing their schooling using the ACE curriculum ( a little to "fundy" for my liking), which means that they are not abliged to follow a strict regimen of specific hours each day spent in their "class room". They believe that the journey in itself will provide a wonderful education for their children in areas of Australian history, geography certainly, but also in teaching their children practical life skills along the way.

And for prehigh school aged children, I agree.

[Katelynn Scott]

... I've seen a lot of stories lately about businesses catering to kids like this who come of working age, some even making provisions for their parents to come with them to orientation and help them choose benefit packages.

Ridiculous!