another lisa

There is an interesting post by Kim at Catawumpus about Unschooling and her views on whether it suits all children. She gives a pretty good definition of what unschooling is/isn't and describes it in terms of being "hard core" or "an integrator". There are also links to various resources on unschooling there.

I think I am an integrator... mostly because I do not feel extremely strongly about any approach, so I could never be "hard core"! Apparently hard core unschoolers believe you should NEVER follow a curriculum, use workbooks or make kids learn anything they are not interested in. I don't mind using curriculum in terms of allowing the educator to organize themselves or as a way to get good resources, especially for parents who have no teaching background. Finding a good curriculum (ie. that is "fun") can be wonderful if it fits your child's style. But an unschooler can take what they want from a curriculum and deviate, adding any resources or ideas that come along. They are also ok pitching it when it becomes obvious that it isn't working for their child.

I think a really good balanced approach would include brainstorming with your child what they want to learn about for each time period, whether it is monthly, quarterly, yearly. Then, the educator goes out and finds the material on those subjects. The child has made an agreement with you to pursue these subjects, so they must follow through. This "cooperative" type of learning would have to be age appropriate, so that a 6 year old might plan a week or month at a time, while a 10 year old might do quarters. If you included some type of feedback or evaluation (even if it's just you writing little notes about how certain approaches went well or didn't), it would help you figure out the approaches that work best for your child.

Another tip I have seen is starting each day with a "must do" list and an "optional activities" list. Each child knows that sometime that day they must complete the must do list. And, they will be more motivated to do it if they have had some input into the curriculum up front. Instead of saying they have to do the "must do" things before they can do the optionals, ask them when they will do the must do list. Let them plan their own time and learn together about time management and planning. This type of cooperative planning can work even with young children, especially if you make sure the must do list isn't too big each day.

For me, being an unschooler means facilitating a love of learning. I think there is no point in forcing children to learn things they are not interested in. I believe that as long as there are no learning disabilities, all children will learn the amount of reading and math that they need for their futures eventually. It does not worry me if one of my kids hates reading and hardly ever reads. It also doesn't bother me if they aren't strong in math. So far, each of my kids has been strong in at least one subject (usually several) and in the long run, it all works out.

It is pretty easy for me to feel less anxious about this, because two of my kids are 21 and 19 now. I can happily admit that when they were young I worried alot more than I do now about my third and fourth children.

For example, Dorothy loved reading from an early age, so I thought her behaviour (voracious reading) was "normal". But then Sarah always hated reading. She would do anything to get out of reading and I am pretty sure she never read a whole novel until she was about 15. Then something happened. She discovered the Vampire Chronicles and Shakespeare. She loved them both, with makes sense given her melodramatic nature. So now, even though she doesn't read much, she does love certain genres. Meanwhile, Sarah has taken the Teaching English as a Second Language and is planning on teaching English in another country in September! Which sounds weird, when you realize how much she hates reading. But, Sarah loves writing and excels at it.

Zoe also hates reading, and at age 14, she has developed a serious interest in math and science. So for next year, we have registered her in every course possible in this area. She thinks English as a subject is stupid, but I have been helping her to see how you need good writing skills for pretty much any job, as well as to do well in university, and she is improving at it.

In the end, I am much more interested in a holistic approach of education. Education should include topics such as values, human rights, law, health, social justice, travel, culture, anthropology, theatre, music, art and of course spirituality. There is so much to share with kids, it is an amazing adventure.