Homeschooling Discussion & Experiences #1

[Loveinamist]

I am frantically searching for an article I read about unschooling. Has a bit in it about reading that is inspirational...well was to me!

And just as a final note Shanti, I totally agree with you on the socialisation...will explain in a PM probably or is it safe to talk openly now?

BRB with this article hopefully!

[Phteven]

It's always safe to talk openly

[Shanti]

I am frantically searching for an article I read about unschooling. Has a bit in it about reading that is inspirational...well was to me!

And just as a final note Shanti, I totally agree with you on the socialisation...will explain in a PM probably or is it safe to talk openly now?

BRB with this article hopefully!

Yes you can put it here I would love to read it thanks!!
This thread is only about HS stuff after all
I believe somebody already started a 'school' thread so those discussing school can head over there.

[Rouge]

Moderator Message »
Ok enough with the petty jabs. Not ok. Please do not make a mockery of the mod team by continuing to be disrespectful to those who do not share you POV, and have left this thread so that you can have a safe place to discuss your topic as requested.

Any further comments like this will be dealt with as per forum guidelines. If you wish to discuss this further you can PM me directly.

[Loveinamist]

Can't find the article but in short it had an anecdote of a mother who decided to 'unschool' both her children. Her daughter was really motivated to read so picked it up quite easily but her son was still not showing any signs of even wanting to read at 7ish (I think) and she was beginning to doubt her choice to unschool. Anyway one day she was looking at something on the computer for a family trip or something and he was over her shoulder and just read something out off the screen. She was surprised of course and mentioned it. He just casually said 'oh yeah I forgot to tell you I can read now' and then ran off to play. Then of course he started to read more and more widely and was on his path to learning.
I am in two minds about unschooling as there will always be the teacher in me that wants some structure but I totally agree with waiting for when they are ready and believing in their ability to learn themselves. I have always believed that once you can read anything is possible and a whole world opens up regardless of whether someone is directing you or not. I have sometimes found the expectations in schools fairly low. There was always talk of how all reading material must be within the children's frame of reference to make them interested and not turn them off. So boys were given hundreds of books about football etc. However I totally disagree with this. I grew up in suburban Brisbane but devoured the library collection of Enid Blyton, Anne of Green Gables etc. I had never seen snow, a proper Autumn, squirrels, robins, hedgehogs, 'lashings of ginger beer' ancient castles, a fireplace etc but I still managed to read and enjoy those books and learnt from them. I didn't need to go to school to be taught about them. However I had parents who talked to me and could explain anything I didn't understand. I also grew up with only a handful of kids from other cultures. My child is going to meet more culturally diverse people just walking down the street these days without having to be in the same classroom to experience diversity.

Anyway on socialisation. I just think it is ironic that we spend 12 years of our life being taught to get on with our classmates regardless of who they are (the boofheads, the bullies, the morons etc ) and then the next twenty years trying to get rid of their influence on our decisions, lifestyles etc! I know it has taken me that long to truly be myself and not worry about what my peers will think. And if you are bullied you also have the lifetime emotional scars. I do. I don't think a child has to be thrown into an unnatural setting like a school and sit in the same room as a bully for 12 years to learn the skills to handle them. Wouldn't it be nicer if they could meet these types of people in a more natural setting with the guidance of their parents?

[Shanti]

That last sentence ~~ I totally agree

I agree with your entire post actually and you think along my lines of thought! Are you a primary or high school teacher?

I have come across so many blogs where the homeschool parents used to be teachers and they pulled their kids out of schools as a change of lifestyle among other things....

The number one reason I want to homeschool, is for our family's lifestyle and BONDING as a family. I love how HS offers that. A slower pace of life, less rushing, more quality time spent with your kids
BBL

[Loveinamist]

That last sentence ~~ I totally agree

I agree with your entire post actually and you think along my lines of thought! Are you a primary or high school teacher?

I have come across so many blogs where the homeschool parents used to be teachers and they pulled their kids out of schools as a change of lifestyle among other things....

The number one reason I want to homeschool, is for our family's lifestyle and BONDING as a family. I love how HS offers that. A slower pace of life, less rushing, more quality time spent with your kids
BBL

Gee pity we are in different countries or we could start our own HS group!

My choice is for lifestyle as well and bonding. I remember watching a programme about the Amish and this family had calculated the hours they wouldn't spend with their children if they sent them to school and it really struck a chord with me. Having been a teacher as well I remember thinking it was mad that I spent more waking time with other people's children than they did with them. I thought it was really sad because I didn't love their children. I liked them but it is not the same. And to be perfectly honest there were some kids I didn't particularly like. I am only human! Of course I would never act like I didn't like them (but unfortunately I have met quite a few teachers in different schools who make their dislike of a pupil quite clear!) Though isn't that sad that that child could be spending all day with someone who only shows a professional respect for them or is trying to like them. I have often heard other teachers describing their relationship with a certain child to that child's parents as 'we have a bit of a personality clash'. Now I finally have a child of my own I can see how heartbreaking that would sound to a parent.

Anyway in answer to your question I was both a primary and secondary teacher. Secondary and Primary in Australia and only Primary in the UK. About 4 years teaching in Aust and about 9 years here in the UK. I was trained as a Secondary teacher in Australia and then retrained in the UK as a primary teacher.

[Shanti]

That's so true about how you said how the teachers don't or can't love our children, it's more a like relationship.
It breaks my heart when I hear my mum say how some of the kids in her class (yr 3) are little sh*ts and are terrible to deal with, she finds them so difficult. I mean, I can understand it would be hard as a teacher dealing with that as so many parents seem to put the schools and teachers in charge of their kids when it doesn't work that way.

I worry that if my DD1 goes to school that the teachers would find her loud, talkative, too sociable, ask too many questions etc and she's super confident and talks like a 4-5yr old!! Everyone she meets is shocked when they find out she's actually only 3. What I am saying is that I feel teachers at school would want her to "quieter down" and "stop talking so much" etc which would dampen her spirit. These are all wonderful qualities she has!! School would try to make her conform to their expectations. I don't want that for her....

I think school teachers would like those kids that are naturally "quieter" and "sit still longer" as they would help the flow of the classroom... does that make sense? I get all of these impressions from talking to my mum as a teacher AND from thinking about my school days and how the teachers labelled me as a "class distraction" are you kidding me??? I am a social butterfly.... nothing wrong with that