Unschooling: the new class of learning
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- čas přidán 22. 03. 2012
- www.euronews.com/ Many parents are taking their children out of the formal school system in favour of a freer way of learning.
It is not home schooling, where the standard curriculum is taught by parents or tutors. They call it unschooling, where youngsters are encouraged to explore the things they want to learn about or for which they have a specific talent.
In Berlin, we meet a young American who turned his back on school by the time he was 11-years-old. Dale J. Stevens is writing a book that he describes as "a practical guide to learning the skills that school doesn't teach but are requisite for success in the real world". It is based on his experiences as an unschooler but also incorporates the stories of other people who found success in non-traditional ways.
In Paris, we meet the Stern family. André Stern is a well-known name in the world of music but he never went to school. He was raised in a household where passion is considered to be the perfect learning medium and the secret behind competence.
In New York state, the Emerson family are also embracing unschooling. They shun a formal curriculum in favour of encouraging their 12- and 9-year-old children to follow their passions and interests.
The Albany Unschoolers:
"albanyareaunschoolers":groups.yahoo.com/group/albanya...
Other webpages
"naturalchild.org":www.naturalchild.org/guest/ear...
"sandradodd":sandradodd.com/unschooling
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We have successfully homeschooled and unschooled our kids who are now in their 30s and responsible, engaged adults. It was an awesome experience for all of us.
Ironic. I didn't realize I was unschooled. We didn't have a name for it. My mom allowed me to choose my subjects, what I wanted for it, and left me alone.
That's exactly what it was when I was growing up. :) I think the term can really throw people off but I came to have such a passion for learning and it's never stopped and it didn't stop me from college or a social life; a "normal" life as some are apt to think home education does.
Couldn't disagree more! I unschooled our boy, who thrived without structure, but the girl hated unschooling from day 1 and craved structure in her life. I realized they had very different learning styles and she thrives with direction. She's a cadet officer, started part-time school in 10th grade (age 13) and part-time college at age 14. Dogma aside, the flexibility of meeting our children's individual needs is what is most important. Success on their terms-not society and not ours.
I teach so many students that would truly excel in "unschooling". These students are bright, motivated, disciplined, mature and have 1 or even 2 parents at home who are willing to speak to them on a daily basis. This is a fabulous idea! It would really free up the 1:40 ratio and allow teachers to work in smaller class sizes to help students who need extra attention. I would love to be able to give more time to struggling readers.
Oh how I truly wish more teachers felt the way you do. What you say makes perfect sense, but unfortunately most teachers are vehemently against homeschooling of all kinds. You're a credit to your profession :-)
Wow - it's so cool to see unschooling gaining popularity all around the world! I am a mom of two college students who were unschooled and benefited tremendously from the freedom to pursue their interests and learn in their own ways, in their own times.
This is the first objective news review I've found on unschooling. All the US news outlets have a clear agenda.
When I grow up I want to do unschooling but with a little more structure. I believe having a good foundation in mathematics and learning calculus is extremely important especially in this day and age.
enjoying and becoming an expert is cool but if I had done that I would NEVER have learned to read, If I could not have learned to read "because you have to" I would not have the incredible joy I feel when I've found a new series of books I love! I would not be writing my own books either. I would never have learned math either. I still hate math, but I use it all the time and need it. I agree with most of this stuff, but some is just crazy because kids DO need some sort of structure, NOT public school, but some sort of structure.
I really like the theory of unschooling (learning via your passions and life experience)...I feel I should have been unschooled. I spent so much time doing things in school that I wasn't interested in (possible reason 4 rebellious behavior?) though I did get some focused classes they didn't feel long enough. I don't think we should take a "poll" on whether we as a society are for or against it. This is a family by family choice, whether we understand it or not. I'm on the boat with this one.
My unschooled daughter learned to think for herself and, believe it or not ;) her life was filled with what she liked as well as what she did not like and she learned tolerance, as well as a plethora of other 'life tools', along her unschooling path.
Excellent video!
This is great!
Armis is perfect a Playducation game!
My son went to a small conventional public school where he learnt all the basics - the 3 R's, basic history, science and french (being Canada's second language) up until grade 6. He pretty much did his own learning in grades 7 and 8. The teacher would give out assignments on Monday and the kids had until Friday to get them done. My son was usually done by lunch time on Tuesday giving him 3 and a half days to do his own thing. He loved being able to work at his own pace. But when he started grade 9 in high school, he was forced back into the standard slow class - where the teacher teaches to the slowest student and the smart ones are not allowed to read ahead. My son was soon VERY BORED. He dropped out of grade 9 in the second semester to be homeschooled and is now doing his high school years as an unschooler. He is now back to Self Directed Learming and loving every minute.
While I went through the conventional high school like most parents, I did a LOT of reading after I left high school. I was forced to take subjects that I detested, and I had also some very boring teachers, so I did not learn much and I barely passed my exams. After I left high school, I began reading voraciously to catch up with everything I felt that i had missed out on. I now realise that this catch up reading was my version of self directed learning. I have been out of school now for 30 years and I am still a life long learner.
Great argument for unschooling!
i know that i went to public school however ive been wondering for long time if that was right for me. i just feel like knowing me and onowing that having me sit in class room was bad thing
A hybridized version would defeat the purpose of unschooling. It would be saying, in essence, "I do not trust you to know what you want nor to learn what you are ready for". My daughter excelled with the 100% unschooling. We are thrilled with how it worked for her. My only regret is not knowing of this option for my older children :/
I'm in medical school and I went through the rigours of schooling. If there's something that school doesn't teach a lot of until you're older is the ability to think for yourself. The concept of unschooling is quite interesting in the aspect of thinking for yourself, but at the same time, life is filled with what you like and don't like, and you have to learn to tolerate the latter (I had to put up with English class but enjoyed my math and history classes, as an example)...
Hi, Partially agree but, who says you have to do things you dont want. Try to remember were you learnt this saying and why do you they said it.
It really depends on your definition.
If you define home schooling by the venue, you could keep your kids at home and link them to public school via video link.
If you define it as the method of setting goals, and learning, then the two are very different.
Unschooling allows children to set their own goals and priorities.
The thing some parents miss, is that their own lifestyle influences their children's choices. Example: Parents who never read are more likely to have illiterate children.
I only care about my grades for 2 reasons:
- They make me feel good (like drugs make some people feel good).
- The post-secondary schools look at them.
If none of these were the case, I would not care at all about grades. Although I only got 75% in grade 11 anthropology, I may have actually learned more than what my report card says. Knowledge is not the same as grades.
Im thinking of taking a hybridized approach with my little girl. Do you think you may have benefited from a structured approach to learning the basics, reading, writing, arithmetic, and logic while gradually transitioning more and more into an "unschooled" environment? Or do you think it would have been better to have been "unschooled" 100% right from the beginning?
Did anyone notice the folder that said total crap?
yea i did!
Since germany does not allow any kind of home schooling or unschooling for children under the age of 18, WHY would germany then allow any kind of "Self directed" learning for those young adults once they have turned 18? That does not make sense to me.
of course i am FOR
In my opinion thats a really strong argument. I guess the best approach is probably to make what ever you are trying to teach interesting enough that she would rather be engaged in your structured environment than playing on her own. If you fail than its probably because she would be better off not participating in your structured environment. However if you will allow me to play the devils advocate, do you know what a skinner box is?
One of the original unschooling books - children went to Harvard after their education - Homeschooling for Excellence, by David & Micki Colfax
Excellent book. I loved it.
Thank you for putting out a video that really shows what unschooling really is! Not something chalked full of crazy parents letting hyper kids run wild which only gives home educators a bad name.
quick question: does "witch" in your user ID hold any meaningful insight into who you believe you are?
How come most unschoolers are Mac user.
Does that mean anything?
I'm not.
This presenter gives me the creeps. Otherwise, good report.
This is all wonderful, but think about how much money you'd need to put into "unschooling" your child. They would need to have some sort of homeschooling which would need an educated parent teacher. Homeschooling doesn't bring in finances so they'd need both parents. The less financially refined and those of divorced parents are immediately handicapped by this ideology.
Unschooling is fine as long as kids study math. The current education system is very flawed. Where was this new age shit when I was a kid?
I noticed his folder said crap. He looks like he's very cocky and arrogant. I wouldn't give him 75 cents.