The approach has taken on different forms that include "radical unschooling," which extends its philosophies beyond education to such areas as mealtime and bedtime.
"You take the trust you have for a child to learn organically and you branch it out into other areas of parenting," said radical unschooler Dayna Martin of Madison, N.H., whose new book, "Radical Unschooling - A Revolution Has Begun," is in its second printing after being released in July.
"We don't punish our children. We don't have bedtimes," Martin said. "We don't live by rules; we live by principles. Our philosophy is respect for children's equality in the home."
You are raising a child that will have extraordinary difficulty adapting to society. Which might be fine for you, because you'd have to be really well off to actually educate a child for eighteen year this way. Training them to be subsistence farmers would not be the act of a loving parent.
From home schooling to 'unschooling'
Parents believe in letting children set the pace
By Joe Burris | joseph.burris@baltsun.com
September 3, 2009
Many parents consider Patapsco State Park a leisure destination. Suzy Provine of Millersville views it as a classroom.
As children headed back to local schools this week, she and her four sons explored the park's craggy earth and tossed large and small rocks into standing water to test the laws of gravity. Venues such as Patapsco are why Provine, 38, has never sent her children to traditional school, opting instead for an eclectic approach to learning known as unschooling.
A byproduct of home schooling, unschooling incorporates every facet of a child's life into the education process, allowing a child to follow his passions and learn at his own pace, year-round. And it assumes that an outing at the park - or even hours spent playing a video game - can be just as valuable a teaching resource as Hooked on Phonics.
"It's different from sitting in front of a desk all day," said Provine's oldest son, Marcus, 8, adding that his friends in traditional schools say they would rather be unschooled.
Zoa Conner of LaPlata, co-organizer of the Enjoy Life Unschooling Conference to be held near Frederick this month, said the approach is about helping children discover what they're really interested in.
"If most [people] think back to their own school experiences, how much of the information you were expected to learn do you know today?" added Conner, an unschooling parent. "We cannot know beyond the shadow of a doubt precisely what our children will need when they are 10, 20, 30 or 80. We do all want what is 'best' for our children and we want our children, now and when grown, to be poised to accomplish whatever they may decide is important. This is where unschoolers excel."
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You say a lot of smart things...
But this isn't one of them. Learn what unschooling actually is before making such an ignorant statement.
Also, farming is our future. It absolutely is an act of love for a parent to teach their child a real life skill as we ride through the coming crises.
Learn what unschooling
Radical homeschooling technique where knowledge and skills are taught using activities that emerge from following the child's interests.
So you just parrot what the
So you just parrot what the article says? Seems out of place for the rigor you give most topics here.
"We don't punish our
Why do I get the feeling that this society is always looking for the easiest rout to child rearing?
So you just parrot what the
Is unschooling something other than that? If so, enlighten me. If not, tell my why you think my objections are invalid.
Radically Uneducating Children
The entire purpose of education derives from the fact of natality. Children are born into a world that is much older than them. Consequently, they have to be introduced to the world. It is impossible to have equality in the home if parents take seriously their responsibilities to prepare their children for being introduced to the larger world. These folks are actually proposing to uneducate children in the sense of adults removing themselves from their roles as mentors and guides. I don't know if humans or any species of mammals are hard wired in such a way that we would or even could remove ourselves from this process of education.
It is impossible to have
Could not have said it better myself. But why is it that this society, in my mind, is afraid to be parents? It is as if many in this society feels that they can just pandor children into adulthood, as if the proper lights automatically turn on - absent of true parenting and teaching - by virtue of turning 18, 21, or even 30. I don't get it; what is going on with todays parents that make them believe that less parenting - i.e little to no rules, expectations, punishments, and this silly ass idea of "respect for children's equality in the home" - is or will be more effective?
I think discovering what
I think discovering what your children are interested in and encouraging their interest is important. Good parents do it all the time. A major part of the problem is that our children are thrust into school systems that are still largely wedded to the factory-driven assembly line process. The prinicipal purpose of these schools is to produce a certain number of widgets every year. This requires a highly routinized process that, unfortunately, can ignore or miseducate those children who don't function well in these kinds of environments.
I understand what Suzy Provine and parents like her are trying to accomplish and I wish them well. On the other hand, I think people like Dayna Martin are just spouting nonsense and, unfortunately, it is nonsense that will come to define and frame the work of parents like Suzy Provine. Children don't need equality in the home because the home is not a political institution. There are times, for example, when my wife and I seek out the opinions of our children and we try to develop a consensus on certain matters. We will not, however, allow our children to decide when they should go to bed or whether they should be allowed to drink an entire case of IBC Root Beer soda in one day. No way.
Your response is exactly the
Your response is exactly the annoyance that "education" invokes in me... it's MY job to educate you. Wrong. Learning only comes from a personal search and the experience that brings. When someone comes to me and says, "hey, I think your perspective is wrong", it's then become my issue to find out what that person means. It would be incredibly lazy, disrespectful and superior of me to say, "prove it."
Although I don't like the fact that it's an expensive private "school", it is an exemplar of many things about unschooling and is a good start for your own search. http://www.sudval.org/
...it's MY job to educate
I don't know who your response is directed to but it is my responsibility to introduce and guide my children into the world. It is not a job. It arises from the fact of natality.
Your response is exactly the
I expressed an opinion. You called it ignorant. Your job is not to educate me, it is to support your own statements or actually challenge me in some way. Insults are insufficient. You been here long enough to know that.
Not mine. If anything, my first response would be to ask "Why?" If I don't, it's because I chalk it up as another opinion.
And why is it "lazy, disrespectful and superior" to say someone who says you're wrong must explain themselves? Why is it not "lazy, disrespectful and superior" to expect to simply say, "I think your perspective is wrong" and NOT have to explain yourself?
Then it's not an "unschool", right? What's the difference between this school and unschooling?
Let me suggest a difference. They have a hierarchy the students must respect. THAT is what is missing in pure unschooling, and it results in a adult with a near absolute sense of entitlement, and an inevitable head-first collision with reality.
I don't know who your
Me. He wants me to attack his assertion so he can "counter-punch".
Just pointing you along, no
Just pointing you along, no need to punch or counter-punch.
You realize you've given me
You realize you've given me no reason at all to reconsider my position, right?