Radio Free School

The Muddle-and getting out of it.

2012-01-28T17:11:00.004-05:00

'Never Wonder!'

'It's a muddle,' is the way Stephen Blackpool puts it in Charles Dickens' Hard Times-as he tries to make sense of the injustices of the world he lives in. That dim and weighted world of back breaking labour -overseen by greedy, callous Masters.

In this world, the 'self made' men exemplified by Mr. Josiah Bounderby, a manufacturer, mill owner and tyrant believe that the poor deserve their poverty. Faceless 'Hands' complain because they expect to be "set up in a coach and six, and to be fed on turtle soup and venison, with a gold spoon, as a good many of ’em do!’

Poor Blackpool, a weaver in Bounderby's employ doesn't stand a chance at happiness in this muddle of a life. He has no hope of ever being with the woman he loves, is ostracized by his co-workers and sent packing by the boss.
Blackpool dies with the lingering feeling that it doesn't have to be a muddle if only others had a stab at shaping the works they live in.

The novel itself starts with a classroom scene where what is wrong with the world of work is equally wrong with the world of schooling.
"Now what I want is, Facts," says Thomas Gradrgrind, instructing the new teacher at his school. 'Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will be of service to them.
The children are warned that they should 'never wonder.' Sissy, a new student is told she is stupid and fanciful because she can not describe a horse factually. Louisa, daughter to Gradgrind and future wife to the far older Bounderby, and Tom junior her brother are wrung through their father's educational system- a system which demands that they not have feelings at all.
They end up emotional cripples; ruined by their father's system.

It's a hard, hard time.
The book was written during the Industrial Revolution, and the introduction of compulsory education. This is when the 'muddle' is created.
150 years later, despite our advances in technology, health and social and ethical rights, we are still living that muddle.The gap widens between those who have and those who don't.
Stephen's words still ring true today:

"Look how we live, an’ wheer we live, an’ in what numbers, an’ by what chances, an’ wi’ what sameness; and look how the mills is awlus a-goin’, and how they never works us no nigher to onny distant object-‘ceptin awlus Death. Look how you considers of us, and writes of us, and talks of us, and goes up wi’ your deputations to Secretaries o’ State ‘bout us, and how yo are awlus right, and how we are awlus wrong, and never had’n no reason in us sin ever we were born. Look how this ha’ growen an’ growen sir, bigger an’ bigger, broader an’ broader, harder an’ harder, fro year to year, fro generation unto generation. Who can look on’t sir, and fairly tell a man ‘tis not a muddle?"

When it comes to education- we still don't get it.'Schools are failing,' is the refrain. 'Pour more money into schools,' they say. 'Schools kill creativity,' we hear.
But the cycle continues and the students get the blame. If you fail it is because you didn't work hard enough- you weren't good in school.
And like Stephen the 'losers' go through life feeling that something doesn't add up, but not knowing what.

But many of us are extracting ourselves from the muddle. When it comes to schooling, we are beginning to understand educational independence
We don't believe what we are told-that you can only get educated at school and that is the only valuable education you can get.
We challenge that notion. We discover that what you learn by your own initiative has more worth than what is imposed on you in an institutional setting.
We start by believing in ourselves. Trusting in ourselves means giving up beliefs we have about ourselves and what we can or can't do.
We must go into it wholesome, clear about our goals, and extricate ourselves from the muddle that is other people's beliefs.
Today, more than ever, education means taking charge of your learning and how you want to act in the world.

Taking care of number 1

2012-01-20T09:42:00.001-05:00

What a fantastic response RFS received from women who shared their thoughts on the previous post, 'I unschooled my children and got burned.'

I think the important lesson to take away from this discussion is that it is unwise and unhealthy to suspend our own lives (as unschooling mothers) because we're unschooling our kids. By this, I mean 'put it all on hold'-whether it's creativity, work, relationships with others. Nurturing ourselves.

Many times, my kids have said to me, "be more selfish mom. Go out and get something new (like a new sweater) instead of putting yourself last all the time."

I am not materialistic but I'm glad my daughters remind me to do something like this.

She knows I'll usually buy at the used stores - as many of us do who prefer to use that money for lessons for the kids will do.

And that's just the 'frivolous bit,' right? But I think there is something to that. I suppose if you can buy yourself something nice, or do something for yourself, then you're honouring yourself.

And your kids see value in that.

I read comments saying that unschooling is not about revolving your life around the kids and I can't agree more. You do your thing. Sometimes you can include them in your work or interest, other times you won't be able to. That's okay.

I've seen unschooling moms doing everything- the cooking, the cleaning, the running the kids around, no time for themselves, let alone their marriages.

But to me, doing everything for the kids is the antithesis of unschooling. Rather, it's mum being the family maid.

Unschooling,as we all know is a lifestyle that requires creativity, spunk and resourcefulness. We get good at it by doing it; by continuously evaluating where we are at, by challenging ourselves, by seeking and giving support to one another.

Keep that discussion rolling! I'd like to hear how unschooling mums nurture themselves!

I unschooled my kids and got burned

2012-01-16T16:32:00.000-05:00

"I unschooled my kids and got burned," my friend tells me as we talk over the phone. "I recall my father telling me, 'Karla, what about your career?' But did I listen?"
At the time, she says, she was young. Unschooling was fulfilling and rich and she didn't feel like she needed more. She was poor, her husband didn't make much but she was happy being with her kids and helping them direct their learning.

But now, although she does not regret having unschooled, she has to admit that she is in a "rotten place."
With a divorce in the works, and still one child not yet grown (now at high school) she admits that she should have seen this coming. She wishes she had been more prepared. "I'm getting older and jobs aren't falling into my lap," she worries.
"It's not like I didn't work at jobs though," she continues. She worked on projects, did some writing but she didn't take the time to nurture her own interests and career. "A big mistake," she warns.

I agree. When I was in the throes of unschooling when my kids were little, I made sure I worked on my own interests. I always took a course- whether it was photography or 'word' or singing. I called it taking care of my mental health. I volunteered a lot (and my kids came along with me) and created a group against the use of pesticides for cosmetic use. I produced a weekly radio show (for free), I wrote for little pay or for nothing- but that helped build up my resume and gave me confidence to move forward when the time came to seek employment.

Many other women do the same. Or they work part time or in the evenings or in the morning. Or they have a small business. I think it is very dangerous to NOT keep this in the fore when you decide to unschool.
It sucks that you can spend all your life doing the most important thing in the world, raising the next generation and in the end, end up with nothing.

Ultimately, you must take care of yourself because if you don't, how can you take care of your family? I am interested in reading your comments.

Unschooling 101. Take this Quiz.

2012-01-03T17:12:00.000-05:00

Okay so you think you know what unschooling is all about?
Test yourself with this multiple choice quiz.

1.Who is credited with coining the term 'unschooling'?
a. John Holt
b.George W. Bush, Jr
c.Oprah Winfrey

2. Unschooling means
a. No schooling
b. Un educated.

3.Unschooling is
a. illegal
b. legal
c. legal depending on where you live.

4.Unschoolers are
a. hippies
b. irresponsible parents
c.parents who come from a wide range of backgrounds but who believe that they can do a better job than a school can do.

5. Unschoolers
a. are all artsy and can't do math
b. have no socialization skills
c. can't get jobs when they grow up
d. grow up and contribute to society as much as any one else and more.

6.Unschooled kids sometimes
a. sit at home and play video games all day
b.can't read sometimes at age 12
c.learn from the community as well as from their interests
d. none of the above
e. all of the above.

7. Natural learning is another term for unschooling. It means,
a. learning in nature
b. learning from nature
c. Learning according to your own rhythm and at your own pace.

8. True or false
Unschoolers don't go to college or university because they can't get in
Unschoolers know that 'well roundedness' is a myth and so they don't concern themselves with trying
Unschooling means you will only have a few interests.

9. Unschooling is
a. freedom to learn
b. freedom to not learn
c. None of the above.
d. Both of the above.

10. Unschoolers
a. stay away from structure
b. stay away from academics
c. Avoid multiple choice quizzes like this!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T09:05:00.001-05:00

Happy new year y'all!

Just want to let you know what I have lined up for in the new year.

The book that we worked on last year based on interviews with unschooling/natural learning advocates is scheduled for publishing and we can't say more than that- but stay tuned.

Also, I am planning the launch of a new blog on education that will extend beyond the unschooling audience and be helpful (I hope) to parents, educators and self educators a like. I am working on a name for the blog which is is in itself a very revealing exercise.

I would also like to say that I have started an informal study of what people talk about. Drop me a line or two if you'd like to share what you talk about with people -be it your sister, a co-worker, the lady at the coffee shop. Why am I doing this? Let's say it is my curiosity for now. Okay fine. I will give you a clue. It relates back to what we think people need to know to get along in the world. And what we think is 'educated.' Should be fun!

The nature of unschooling

2011-12-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

Feminism and Unschooling

2011-12-20T21:49:00.003-05:00

Ever had people ask you, "How can you be a feminist and stay home all the time?"
I have. Here is an interview I did with Becky Ellis in March 2008 for the Briarpatch Magazine.
What do you think the public perception is of homeschoolers, in regard to women and family structure?
The response I often get from people is"Wow! you're brave!" This can mean that they genuinely think "I admire you. I wish I could do that." This response, I think, is derived from an awareness of the negative aspects of school, it's not necessarily coming from a place that honours authentic learning- learning that honours the passionate interests of the leaner.
Or the response might mean, "You must be crazy; or stupid." Seriously, I actually had a guy say that to me.
Then they're thinking "Why the sacrifice lady? Why would someone actually want to hang out with their kids for such a large hunk of the day? Weird. Give up your freedom and your chance at a career?"
They forget that there are many ways to have a full and satisfying life. That children can be a significant part of that satisfying life.
From a feminist point of view, do you feel that homeschooling provides benefits to mothers and/or children? Please explain:
If feminists care about a good future for women then looking at institutions that oppress and degrade women and children ought to extend into looking at the places where some of these have their beginnings; namely the school.
If, as a facilitator of your child's education you're modelling self-directedness and initiative to your child, and if you are encouraging your child's curiosity, inquisitiveness and questioning of all that they see, then I think you can raise some pretty tough minded feminist children - female or male.
From a feminist point of view, do you feel that homeschooling provides any challenges for feminist mothers or to feminism?
The challenge for many women who have taken this route is that often the family has to live on less-money, as often they are full time at homeschooling or working part time hours (often from the home). In our society where worth (including self worth) is measured by how much money you make you can see that homeschooling poses a problem.
Also if you are at home you tend to be making more messes and those messes need to be cleaned up. Who cleans them? The woman. Sadly, doing chores still does not inspire admiration. So you certainly don't get an overabundance of positive strokes.
Is there tension within the homeschooling movement between feminist homeschoolers and more conservative homeschooling families? How do these manifest?
I don't know. I tend to have my own group of people my family and I do things with and they tend to be more of the unschooly type. I think the same can be said about conservative homeschoolers. So there is a fairly distinct divide, two largely separate spheres of influence driven largely, I'd venture, by isolationist and/or ideological parents, rather than the children.
Have you received (or heard of) critcisms from non-homeschooling feminist or other progressives about homeschooling? What are they and how did you respond?
I have heard this criticism: that the idea that it is an unfair situation since not ALL families can benefit from this kind of education (either they are economically disadvantaged, or there is illness, or less educated, etc), so why should only some?
The concern is that it is only an elite that can do this - and where is the social equality in that? But I respond "it's like saying free people shouldn't have helped those escaping from slavery because not every enslaved person could be helped." That makes no sense at all!
Please share any other thoughts, ideas, and experiences:
Homeschooling or unschooling are just one way of getting educated, there's a lot of choice out there. It's great to have many alternatives available because we all learn differently and at various stages of our lives we might need a different approach. So that flexibility is great to have in the way culture approaches learning.
What I like best about unschooling is that my kids really have the freedom and the time to engage in meaningful ( to them) learning. For example, my nine year old has just come up to me asking me to help her with a campaign to alert residents of our town about the plight of species facing extinction due to climate change. They are curious and confident and not afraid of trying out new things. I think that's a pretty good way to be in this world.

Un-academic Unschooling

2011-11-26T10:28:00.010-05:00

You can not 'make' someone un-academic or 'non-academic' because you unschool and do not follow standardised curriculum.
People who gravitate towards the academics do so whether or not they are following a curriculum. Just as following a curriculum does not make you academically inclined-as 'school-thinking' relentlessly proclaims.
Just as ramming kids into day care does not prepare children to be more successful in school- that is 'improve school readiness.' The notion currently being bandied about in the news that hammering kids with facts at earlier and earlier age will have the positive effect of making them more academic, and as a result, do better in school, and go on to earn more money and... happiness-I guess.

But what about preparedness for actual life- of which school severs kids from-cutting them off from the ebb and flow of the day to day world?

Take my poor little nephew. Did I say little? My mistake. He is four; twice as old as the school pushers say kids should start school. In his school, they get homework. Empty pitchers all, these children are ordered to comb through newspaper size print and circle every letter 'a' those unfortunates can find.

Rather than being busy at their play, making little games up, drawing, painting, kicking a ball around, singing, dancing, doing nothing, they not only have to do tedious busy work at school, but they must take it into their homes and do more of it.

I am reminded of the wonderful book I am reading with my daughter-Charles Dickens' Hard Times. I can't help thinking that all we have gained about children and how they learn-and how they are people too with rights and wants- all that is slipping back into that era so well described with Gradgrind and the Bounderby in two simple words: "Never wonder." Not when you are two, nor when you are twelve. Not when you are five and seventy. Just don't do it.

Of course this type of thinking can't understand that unschooling can produce an academically minded person- if that is what the person wants. And if that person is growing up unschooled, it is likely that they are not even bothering with the distinctions between academics and non academics. They simply go where they are interested in going.

This means that you can develop an academic interest where you might never have had such an interest before. Just as you can develop a non-academic interest when you are more inclined towards academics. One is not better than the other.

We are creatures of learning and thankfully, we have more opportunities today to explore and to discover our interests like never before- in spite of all this craziness going on with respect to early childhood education.

I look forward to a time when what will matter will be the individual's interest and that, like unschooling already does, what will be fostered in children is their passion -and not a label assigned to them.

Quality over Quantity in Education

2011-11-13T10:02:00.001-05:00

Schooling. It's quantity over quality isn't it? Like mass produced shoes, shirts, furniture, sheets, cups and saucers. Make it as cheap as you can and sell at maximum profit.

That's okay. Mass production has its place but does it have to be that way with education? As for me, I am always going to aim to get the best made shoes, the best tailored coat, the most carefully crafted bowls. I prefer to have one pair of well made boots then 10 poorly made, 'slave' laboured ones any day. I prefer to seek out that well made jacket in a used clothing store. I prefer to go without. And so it is with education.

I will pick a kid who knows one subject in depth- whose love and attention to the subject matter is evident. Whose careful and caring research into the topic reflects a depth of understanding-linking this knowledge to the wider context of the world around her.

They are making connections and evolving relationships with that interest as a starting point- their authenticity can not be dismissed.

I would pick that kid over one who has no love for anything. Who has a smidgen of knowledge on this and on that but cares nothing about anything much. That's the kind of kid that schools churn out everyday-ruining natural ability regularly.

Look at the comments from this article to the question (posed to 13 year old kids) "would you want to homeschool?"

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/would-you-want-to-be-home-schooled/

Notice the similarity in response to the question.

This is mass thinking at its worse.

These kids have no experience with home schooled or unschooled persons. They have no context whatsoever and yet here they are, voicing ignorant and hasty opinions- worthless half thought out ideas, non truths.

It is shocking to see the way these kids respond.

There was only one kid who was honest enough to say: "I don't know. Let people just do what they want to do."

This is a kid who was not afraid to say that the emperor had no clothes on.

What We Gain: Empowering Unschooling

2011-11-10T15:50:00.001-05:00

There's all this chatter about the academics that are lost when kids unschool; "This kid can't write worth squat. He's 12!" A valid concern for those who are worried that unschooling ways will drag the country back into the Dark Ages. I hope they are as worried for those kids that go in for 12 years of public education and still can't read.

The chatterers have no idea of the context this child is growing up in. If they were to wait a few years and revisit the child they might see another picture all together.

In the mean time it might be worth reflecting on the following: Who is this child? How is he? What is he doing? What interests him? Is he happily pursuing his interests? Is he getting out there and growing that interest and taking time to nurture it? And equally important, is he confident and giving and kind?

Take my friend's son. He is 11. He enjoys playing sock puppets and stuffed toy animals with his younger sisters (9 and 7). By the way, the sisters sew these well crafted toys entirely by hand.

The nine year old has just launched a little business of her own.

Together they have enlightening games and stories that they continiously develop. He then takes these to the computer and creates animation videos.

His sisters in turn draw constantly. They tell complicated stories through art. Their work is sophisticated and detailed and beautiful.

How many 11 nearly 12 year old boys do you know who enjoy playing with their younger sisters?

Both sisters are at the stage where they are breaking the reading code.

So okay- they don't know grade 3 or grade 5 math. Yet. And I am sure that with her business venture, the 9 year old will grow her math sense at lightening speed.

In fact, as with my own daughter (who is working on her piano pieces for an upcoming recital as I write this)- now that she has decided she wants to try out high school next year, we have started working on math together. It's going well because she is motivated.

Aside from a few workbooks here and there over the years, she has done very little formal math-there was very little interest. I have always been aware of this but have kept the 'mat' door' opened- be it in making sure there are math opportunities (yes- even flash cards), math games, chess which she loves, art that has a mathematical component and even literature and ideas that are math based.

So what do we gain when we unschool?

We gain and retain a strong sense of individuality. Our kids need not hide who they are nor what they are interested in.They are free to be. This is empowerment at its purest.

Halloween is for all ages!

2011-10-31T09:21:00.001-04:00

"I hate Halloween," my sister says from across the miles,over the telephone. "It's all about sweeties and candies and sugar."

I use to lean more towards that opinion myself but my kids cured me and taught me to think otherwise. "Halloween is a time to dress up and no one stares at you because it's normal," says my nearly 16 year old.

Ever since she could talk and understand stories, she has gone around everywhere on regular days, dressed up in costume-role playing a 'character' from a book. So of course, she'll embrace an occasion where people can do this without getting funny looks and rude yells like "Halloween is in October!"

For her, it's exciting to see the costumes, going door to door for candy with friends and having a fun time.

Yes, she still goes out.

You might wonder what a kid this age is doing trick or treating. At some point they have to stop right? I suppose so. But as she says, "We have a hard time, we 'teens'. We are not adults- we can't even vote. We can't do 'adult things.'

"And yet, when we go out to trick or treat, we are considered too old. But really where is the harm? We dress up and with the rest of the community take to the streets for a night of celebrating the mysterious, the thrilling, the scary, the spooky."

They certainly contribute to the ambiance.

How about the little 'ins? Isn't it too scary for them?

I remember when one of my kids was two and when I took her out with her older sisters, she was terrified of the costumes. So we went home and the older two continued with their daddy.

We gave out candy in the safety of our home.

So Halloween? I ended up going with the flow and not stressing about the outrageous amounts of sugar they were eating. After all, it comes only once a year so why not indulge and go a little crazy with the rest of them?

Unschooling: When Couples Don't Agree.

2011-10-25T11:36:00.001-04:00

You know what is right for your children and school isn't it. Your partner disagrees. S/He insists that school is were they ought to be.

A friend of mine says, "He never agreed with my unschooling philosophy. I did it anyway."

Joanna's children are mostly grown up now. The three oldest are gainfully employed and the youngest, opting to go to highschool is in grade 10.

I ask her how it affected her relationship with her husband. "He didn't agree of much of anything I did. Unschooling was just another area. We hardly saw eye to eye on anything," is her response.

Yet she stayed in the relationship because of her strong belief that unschooling would benefit her children.

"My husband blamed me for our lack of income. He thought I should be contributing."

Now that the kids are older, she has started the divorce process.

Does she have any regrets?

"I still believe in unschooling as the best learning strategy for my kids. Inspite of our compromised income, our stressed relationship, it was worth it."

Today she is working towards certification as a massage therapist. She cautions, "Make sure you have a way to make an income. I didn't and it was a hefty price to pay."

Another friend tells me that because of the respect her husband has for her, he agreed to give unschooling a try.

He read the materials she gave him, watched videos and even met with some of the "weirdos and freaks," that unschool.

He had to admit that the kids were normal-"bright and confident for the most part," my friend laughs.

When he met a family of grown unschoolers, he was sold on the idea. I think he just wanted to be reassured."

In the end, families will make decisions based on what they can tolerate. I'm lucky in that I never had the problem of an unwilling partner. I should say though, that I was very strong in my position. I never had doubts that unschooling was right for my family. I think that confidence in what I believed, backed up with evidence, made it easier for my husband to be open minded about the idea.

There is always a sacrifice, a price to pay, though. That could be quitting a day job as some have done to work at a home office so that they could be with their children during the day. Some work at night. Some do with less income.

When couples are not on board, it becomes difficult to unschool with one undermining the other.

As one father says, " Unschooling is life changing. It's effects are far-reaching-encompassing all areas of ones life. I couldn't imagine unschooling if my partner didn't support my thinking."

I'm back

2011-10-19T15:35:00.001-04:00

Wow! Things have been so crazy that I have had no time to do some of the things I like best- like blogging. But I'm back now and plan to get more posts out more regularly.
For now, I want to share this video on a grown unschooler that I really enjoyed watching. Of interest to me was the question he asks," What would the world look like if every person was allowed to become a master in their area of interest, instead of average at everything." Well, it's not exactly worded that way but- you get the gist. I am obsessed by that thought and have been for years. What would such a society look like? I'm guessing it would be very vibrant; definitely exciting-never boring.

John Taylor Gatto: Send John a get well message today!

2011-10-06T08:27:00.000-04:00

Are you kidding me? Jerry Mintz over at AERO sent on the Gatto update and here is what he writes in his newsletter;

Janet Gatto called to express John’s thanks for sending them over six dozen get well and appreciation messages that were emailed to the AERO office. She said it really made a difference and cheered him up since his recent stroke.

Are you KIDDING me people? Over six dozen get well and appreciation messages? Why isn't there over 60,000 messages urging him to get well soon?
This is the man who gave many of us courage to educate our children without schooling. Something doesn't jive with this picture. Jerry goes on to report from wife Janet:

He is improving day by day but still his great weakness in his left arm and leg. His handwriting is coming back to normal, and his voice is improving. The messages we received were very heartfelt and sometimes emotional, expressing the impact that John’s work has had on so many lives. People can send more messages to us if they want and we’ll see that they get them. Email to jerryaero@aol.com.

So do it today for John.

What am I doing to get there?

2011-10-05T20:31:00.004-04:00

Here's an example of how a self-directed kid not only identifies her dreams, but acts responsibly by taking steps to realize those dreams.

My daughter (age 12) sat down one morning and on her own accord wrote up her goals and what she is doing to get there.

She identified who is helping her and what kind of support she needs in areas that are lacking the support. I've reproduced the original list here.

Soccer-What am I doing so far to get there?

Trying out for rep soccer.

Things to help me get into the rep; Practice everyday.

Singing: I sing a lot. Things to help me get there; take singing lessons.

Dog Training:What am I doing to get there so far? Fostering dogs. I have been picked out by someone who trains dogs and she says I'm very good with them. She wants to show me how to train them. She will even pick me up.

Modelling/acting
I'm getting an agent. Ideas to help me get there: Practice my smile and rock the auditions.

Ethology: What am I doing to get here so far? Nothing. Ideas to help me get there -study animal books and movies.

Writing: what am I doing to get there so far? I wrote a story for the power of the pen competition. Ideas to help me get there: Keep writing and then try to get a book out.

Idle Unschooling?

2011-09-22T09:14:00.001-04:00

You have a comment from "Is Unschooling for You?" to thank for this post.
Referring to becoming an unschooler, the comment reads, "It's clear that I still have work to do. I'm much less capable of idleness, leisure, and enjoyment of things for their own sake than I thought I was."

The way I see it, it's not so much "idleness, leisure and enjoyment of things for their own sake," as it is being moved to discipline by the pursuit of your own interest.
To a child, play is work. They don't make a distinction. They don't go around saying, "I'm going to lie around doing nothing."
This is true of creative/inventive people. They get caught up in what they are doing... and time goes by in concentration and focus.. for the love of it.
Some times, the love of a thing translates into doing work that is unappealing, that is difficult, that is frustrating but they'll do it because there is a bigger vision that is guiding the effort.
This is the spirit of interest-driven learning.

Of course, this also means that there will be lulls, changes in rhythm and pace, days of what on the surface seems like nothing much is going on- all good.

The comment also talks about having to "fight my own inclination to be a joiner when it comes to all of the extracurriculars."

My reply to this is that you don't have to fight. There is nothing wrong with joining others in a worthy event/class/situation.
We all need community and learning in community is one of the joys of being a human being. When I was unschooling all three of my daughters, they all loved going to 'extracurricular' classes.

Being unschoolers, we didn't think of the classes as 'extracurricular.' They were just again, interests we were following: 'art class, or girls guides, of swimming, or basketball.'
My one remaining unschooler enjoys many different activities- especially soccer! Thank goodness she is a 'joiner'!!
So, I'd say to anyone who is starting off, read more about unschooling, meet other unschoolers, go out join activities in your community that you find interesting, bring your children with you!

Our John

2011-09-20T23:04:00.000-04:00

By now most of you might have heard- John Taylor Gatto has suffered a serious stroke. Here's a message from Jerry Mintz at AERO:

I talked to his wife who told me that John was in the hospital for a week and has been in a rehab center for three weeks. He has speech problems and problems on his left side. But she said he can walk 40 steps now and his speech is getting better. We need John to return to full health! If you would like to send some good words to John you can write to me and I’ll put them together and get the messages to him. Send to JerryAERO@AOL.com

I've been thinking about John these past few weeks-actually since school started. And I've been thinking about all that he has given me."Genius is as cheap as dirt." "You don't get an education. You take an education."
"Really educated people favor love, curiosity, reverence, and empathy rather than material wealth."
"Really educated people think for themselves; observe, analyze, and discover truth without relying on the opinions of others."

John is funny. I really appreciate his sense of humor in the discourse on growing without school (which can be become preachy or over-zealous at times). "Would you give your TV set to a person you know nothing about? Yet that's what we do with our children."

John tells it like it is: "if you weren’t earning money and adding value to the town by the age of seven, you were considered a jerk. I swept out a printing office daily, sold newspapers, shoveled snow, cut grass, and sold lemonade," he says about growing up in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.

"That was the American dream, that you could write the script to your own life"
Keep writing that script John!

Is Unschooling For You?

2011-09-14T21:56:00.001-04:00

So you've heard about unschooling, read about, read some more about it and now you're wondering if unschooling can work for you and your family. There is only one way to find out. Do it. Take the plunge and start unschooling. Don't get hung up on the word 'unschooling' though, if it makes you feel anxious. You need to simply not do school.

That means to begin with, you will not be giving your kids a curriculum to follow. You may have workbooks lying around for them to scribble over or paste in- or even do the work in them if they wish to do so. But insisting that they complete the content from A to B-or even in any form at all- is out.

Let there be tools: paper, paint, measuring cups and spoons, shovels, spades, brushes. Let there be music and dance and song, and nature, plenty of nature. Let there be lots of reading or reading to. Let there be lots of cooking and baking and raking,and sewing and growing, and pouring and digging, and building and taking apart and organizing and reorganizing. Let there be outings, and let there be staying at home, and let there be jumping and twirling around and let them be sitting staring at the wall. Let there be. let them be.
Instead, focus on unschooling yourself. It can take years -depending on how you've been schooled.
You're worried about income? I hear you. But that is the price you have to pay. You will have to do with less because you can't have your cake and eat it.

But you can still earn money. You can have a small business, or work part time, or work in the evening or in the morning. The key is flexibility.
Be flexible in your thinking and in getting your goals met.
Remember, you only have them for a little while. All too soon, they are off and away.
If you've considered all this and still do not feel sure about unschooling- then you can still adopt the unschooling philosophy to how you educate your children. Simply encourage their interests, give them lots of time to think and be alone ( avoid over-scheduling them).
Don't think twice about taking them out of school for a day or two to go on an exciting outing or to simply stay in bed that morning. The school will not burn to the ground because your child was absent.

Check out Grace Llewellyn and Amy Silver's Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Child a Read Education With or Without School. I reviewed it on this blog a few years ago and I still think it's one of the best books on education around.

September. Oh No! (School again)

2011-09-04T10:14:00.000-04:00

"School starts on Tuesday," my 15 year old announces. Say whaaaaaat?
How can this be? Mostly, why is she (as well as my 13 year old) going?
I thought that after their three year stint in institutionalized education they would have had enough. I thought that they would have had a taste of compulsory schooling to make them come running back to personalized learning. But no, something keeps them going back for more.
Routine? Predictability? 'Normalcy'? A sense of solidarity/needing to identify with the peer group? God knows but it sure is a damper. I was just getting into the holidays. I can't fathom that just as the weather begins to cool down, and the breathtaking colors of fall will be there for the looking at, they are heading to classrooms. Luckily, I still have one at home who has no intention of warming the school bench.
She will be reading on the couch, researching at her computer, playing soccer, volunteering in the community, training dogs and making art.Maybe when they see how much she achieves, how rich her life is, they might want out of schooling. Here's hoping!

Learning, learning everywhere! (Open source learning)

2011-08-26T09:53:00.001-04:00

Free online courses on computer science are being offered at Stanford. This, people is what I am talking about. The idea that education-higher education can be free is a reality. The face of education is changing and nothing, but nothing can stop the tide.
Here, I thought I'd include excerpts from a piece I wrote for this blog in 2009:

We have heard of the concept 'open source' in internet circles; anything can be learned over the internet. There is a new openness to educational resources; for example MIT (Open CourseWare) is now offering up to 1800 on line course materials for free - their motto being "unlocking knowledge, empowering minds."

Open source learning as coined by John Taylor Gatto is based on extending this idea to all learning, to everyone. The underlying premises of open source learning is that learning is available everywhere in life and not restricted to 'places of learning'-namely schools. Open source is happening everywhere. How can it not, with the internet as accessible as it is!

Resources of all kinds are every where to be found in the day to day world; people, art galleries and science centres, businesses, professional schools, museums, community centres, libraries.

Of course, much learning happens incidentally and by doing; through games, work, and living. You learn fractions by cooking, history by watching movies, writing by reading books.

Think of it as the newest, most cutting edge vision of the pursuit of knowledge and education. Much deeper than simply another novel way of doing business, it is a different business all together. Open source learning is a shift in consciousness- a fresh wind that is sweeping out the old ideas of what, how and when one should learn.

Questions arise that challenge the entire concept of education at it's roots; whose education anyway? Do we even have the right to impose on another human being our own ideas (the State's ideas, the religious establishments ideas...) of what another person should learn? Crazy? Going too far? Still it goes to the roots of freedom. And it's happening the world over.

As Gatto says, "Nobody can give you and education. You have to take an education." And that means taking here, there everywhere from the world around us, according to what we are interested in, passionate about and not what some one prescribes for us.

"We suppress our genius only because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves."Gatto

The Uncluttered Mind.

2011-08-13T21:14:00.001-04:00

My mind, these days is like a sift.Forgotten appointments, half thought out plans, a gazillion 'to dos' racing around my brain and I wonder what it would be like to have a silent mind; to not always be thinking about this that and the other useless thought. I want to stop the internal talking to myself and suspend all interference with that inner knowledge; that wisdom that comes to us when we allow ourselves to stop. Just stop.

To unclutter my mind. It is a challenge I have set myself. Amidst my crazy busy-ness I will carve out tranquil moments- five minutes here, another ten there. I will pause and not. I will not reflect. I will not fret. I will not plan. I will not worry. I will not hurry. I will remain still. What can be more important to well being than conserving energy?

And so with kids who are growing up with out school, I see in many cases that they already have the upper hand on being closer to the 'uncluttered mindset.' There is a clearness of intention because they are less encumbered by the thoughts and intentions of others. This means that they can get to their thing more smoothly; they can hear dissonance quicker; they can cut out the crap faster.
They can be who they are sooner
.
Here's a nice quote from Elder's Meditation of the Day:

"Everything I know I learned by listening and watching." Vernon Cooper, LUMBEE

Great Spirit, help me this day to slow down. Help me to listen - quietly. Help me to watch carefully. Help me to listen to my inner voice. Let me listen and watch only the thing You would have me observe. Guide my eyes and my ears to be focused on You. Grandfather, love me today and teach me to be quiet.

Natural Hierarchy?

2011-08-07T12:37:00.000-04:00

I'm watching a group of kids play. The older kids take the lead. They can do things better, more competently. The younger children look up to them, admire them and want to be like them.

I think of my four year old niece. She's in awe of her five year old cousin (another niece). The five year old has excellent fine motor skills, can ride a bike, can read a little, can draw amazingly and can hula- hoop to boot. She's just... better as far as the four year old is concerned.

I notice the scorn displayed on a child's face when the younger, less competent kid "can't do it," or "doesn't get it."

I see the dismay, or the befuddlement but also the respect that the younger displays for the older.

Watching the interaction of the group of children, I start to wonder about natural hierarchy.

It is not that the more competent child (or adult for the matter) is a 'better person, or that he has some superior value as a person; it is simply that he can do things better at that time and is therefore the leader in that situation - as that situation dictates.
At another time, in another situation someone else will be better, or more competent and then her leadership will be called upon-naturally.

So what I think I'm noticing and what I think I'm saying is that hierarchy is not necessarily a bad thing, nor wrong. It needs to be flexible and give way gracefully to the next person-as kids (and grown ups too!) become more competent; rather than hold on and become domination.

My daughter says, "Little kids should respect older ones."

"How do you figure?" I ask her (herself the youngest of three is eagerly moving into leadership roles in the family).
"Well, they shouldn't be coddled by their parents. They should be out there, trying to keep up with the older kids in the group. It keeps them in line."

She refers to an unschooling family we know of whom she approves of where the youngest- aged four-has more free range than most kids we know and who fiercely tries to be included and be part of his older siblings' action.

On a hike, the older kids will race ahead while he struggles to keep up. That's fine with the older kids. They don't tell him to go away but at the same time, aside from a backward glance or a "hurry up," it's up to him to keep up. Hard for him, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He is so proud when he manages to keep them in sight.
" It toughens him up," B insists.

Of course, I've seen it happen that when he needs help they will stop and help but as soon as he is okay they are back to their thing. These kids give no more help than is asked for. They do not try to control or belittle the younger kid, or boss him. They get annoyed only when the younger kid gets in the way of their activities-maybe because they just don't want to be interrupted.

"Otherwise they get too big for their britches and act like brats, " B says.

I find it fascinating. Maybe we all need another pair of eyes, someone we respect and who actually likes and respects us too, to slap us across the hand when we are 'out of order.' Even the thought of someone we respect and admire hearing or seeing us act a certain way isn't enough to stop us acting out and think twice before we let ourselves go.

I am large. I contain multitudes. Children already know this.

2011-07-24T11:58:00.002-04:00

The world is vast. It is large.Out there, eternity surrounds us.
These were my thoughts as I gazed into the waters of Lake Simcoe a few weeks ago. In the early morning, the lake was so still I could see fish coming out to feast on the insects that had landed in large numbers over the water.
The fish moved in and out of the weeds and into the sand hollows, disappearing, reappearing, darting here and there.

We called the little children over to see. They gazed intently, whispering with intense voices, marveling at their discoveries, trying to identify what they were witnessing.
My thoughts turned to the aquarium the four year old has back at home with its sole occupant, blue fighter fish, Starbright. The tiny aquarium has nothing organic in it (fish excluded) and only a pink plastic castle and plastic weeds to embellish it.How unnatural!

Aside from the sadness that poor fish must feel, I think of the experience of viewing such a solitary fish in an artificial environment. What does that sort of setup have to do with how fish behave;-what a fish is? How can the paucity of both this aquarium and of the experience of viewing serve learning or understanding of what a fish is? Can a fish, without it's natural habitat be a fish? Doesn't it need the habitat to be a fish?

Even when the aquarium is bigger as it is at the public library where children and their parents can see bright coloured tropical fish-again these fish are exhibiting only a fragment of their 'fishness' because they are not interacting with what should be their habitat.

We can argue that the aquarium is better than nothing. But there is a great deal that is wrong with putting creatures into drastically transformed environments and spaces that they do not belong in and then congratulating ourselves on giving kids a glimpse of 'nature.'

Instead of showing the child the vastness of things, the complexity of interconnectivity that their minds thrive on, we pretend that we know the answers and that the limits are fixed. When of course they are not.

Kids already know this. Instinctively, they seek bigger, wider, taller. (Could this be why so many young children have an attraction to dinosaurs?).

They seek out the externalization of what they already know about themselves: "I am large. I contain multitudes." (Walt Whitman).

We give children a sand box to play in when what they should have is the experience of the entire beach..as far as the eye can see. What should be there are the clouds shifting shapes in the great sky overhead; the beginning of rain; the shrieking of sea gulls; the wind on arms as you dig deeply into the yielding sand newly dampened by the timeless ebb and flow of waves.

We put children in 'places of learning' when we should be letting them experience the whole spectrum (not only the parts that we carve out for them); when they should be experiencing their world.

You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions
of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through
the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.
Walt Whitman
1819-1892
Song of Myself

Toronto. Where are your children?

2011-07-20T22:07:00.003-04:00

You know your city is a friendly place to live in when you see kids walking about.

I've been going to Toronto fairly often these last few months and it has dawned on me as I walk the crowded streets that there are hardly any children in sight (and it's even summer time!!!).

Toronto. Where are your children?

Maybe it's the location I'm going to-that is,the down-town business district.

But the other day, I was accompanying my sister who had business in the city to attend to and could not bring her two month old baby in the room.

The idea was for me to be in the vicinity with the baby and alert her to when he needed to nurse.
So on boarding the train at Newmarket (near where we were cottaging) heading to Union station in Toronto, we attempted to get the stroller on board. It turned out that the wheels were too wide for the extremely narrow door ( which was divided down the middle by a metal bar).

As we struggled to pull it in, my sister loaded down by her baby and a bag, me with the diaper bag and back-pack, the announcement was made that the train was about to depart. "Just toss it," my sister yelled. "We have to stay on this train." I refused.
While disgruntled morning commuters looked on, or continued reading the paper or doing make up (no one bothering to see if they could help us) I managed to fold it and get it on the train. Clearly, the GO isn't designed for parents with young kids- or maybe there is a secret way to get on that I don't know about.
The other thing I noticed was that people in Toronto hardly glanced at our beautiful bouncing baby which was unbelievable to me-a dotting auntie.

This busy, high energy city while welcoming young, working hotshots has no room for children, As much as I like Toronto I can't feel at home in a place that does not welcome children. What's up with that TO?
How about your city? Is it kid friendly?

Unschooling didn't start with my children. It started with me.

2011-07-11T11:28:00.001-04:00

I just realized that I am the original autodidact. Unschooling didn't start with my children. It started with me.

I can recall the first time I ever questioned the opinion of an author. It was an epiphany for me. I was about 13 when I found myself in disagreement with what the writer was arguing (can't even remember what it was).

I was awestruck that I could disagree; that I could challenge the authority of the printed word ("it's printed so it must be true.")

When I understood the power this gave me I got really heady. I was off.The feeling of audacity, of daring that came to me was unequaled in my experience. What else could I challenge? What else didn't I agree with?

But even before this, I was already on my path to self directed learning.

At age 12, having moved from Britain to Africa and determined to go to a French speaking school instead of the anglophone school, I spent all summer studying verbs in my Becherelle-although in the end I did not end up going.
Instead I was made to go to an awful school that I regularly avoided going to.

It was a sketchy affair. I attended infrequently and unwillingly-being traumatized at the conditions I found there. With well over 70 people per classroom and the classroom at that being nothing more than a mud hut with a corrugated roof and an enormous hole in the wall where the red dust of the dry season swept through. Let's just say that going to the toilet didn't happen too often either-horrifying as it was to my tender British sensibilities!

Instead, I spent a lot of time at home taking care of my baby sister while mother worked.

Suffice it to say that I spent many, many an afternoon pondering about the ways of the world. I read religion trying to find answers there. I studied mathematics and physics and at high school dropped out of organic chemistry failing to understand it . At that point I was expelled for poor attendance.

Not a problem. I was used to doing my own thing anyway. I studied math and my mother hired a tutor to help me with further maths for my 'A Levels.' In short, I think I always have been self directed learner so no surprise that here I am encouraging and promoting self direction for my daughters and for others.
What about you? When did you become an autodidact?