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Willa
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| Posted: Aug 29 2005 at 4:02pm | IP Logged
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Interesting article
Why You Can't Let Go
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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Marybeth
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| Posted: Aug 29 2005 at 4:31pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for posting this Willa. I am printing it off for my dh to read.
Marybeth
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Taffy
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I couldn't get past the first section.
""We may each have our own list of pros but some of the pros of curriculum for us parents that I came up with are that it:
1) Removes the burden and responsibility of choice so we can feel confident the kids are getting the right information in the right way.
2) Provides feedback that "important" learning is taking place. It eases our worries about whether kids are getting what they need because "academic" knowledge seems artificial, as though it can't be learned from life.
And some of the pros of curriculum for our kids are that it:
1) Builds a framework. They can then fill in the details later.
2) Lays a foundation to build on.
3) Provides a key to unlock understanding to everything else.
4) Filters out the "waste of time stuff" and just presents the essentials, the important stuff.
Now think about something your kids learned on their own like speaking or walking and see how well the pros fit. Do they make any sense?
Now think about learning a foreign language in school. The pros make sense there. And yet which one worked better?
Guess what? For my oldest boy (the autistic one), the school approach is working better to teach him language!
I think that both approaches are necessary and need to complement each other. Pretty much like the phonics versus whole language debate for teaching reading. Use whatever approach your child learns best from!
If I were to rely solely on "unschooling" for Vic to learn language, he'd still be as mute as he was when he was 2. He needed a structured approach to learn how to connect words with objects in real life! Teach to your child and what your child needs, not to a method.
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Susan
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Susan's Soliloquy
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Leonie
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| Posted: Aug 30 2005 at 1:08am | IP Logged
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Hey, thanks Willa.
I really liked the brief description about maths -
<<<You can see that same process with math too. Like with percentages, kids unconsciously file away how percentages show up in real life. They won't understand percentage's use. But they'll get a feel for what kinds of puzzle pieces percent shows up with like the grocery store pieces and weather and sports. They'll get a feel for how it fits into the surrounding puzzle pieces. >>>
<<Picture percent as a chunk of the math area of the puzzle. It's a chunk of pieces that also fits into holes in the real world puzzle. It's a tool. When kids first see the percent chunk in the real world puzzle, it doesn't add much to the big picture. 30% off doesn't make the big picture clearer. Percent is just this big blobby chunk of puzzle pieces with an unclear image that happens to fit in a hole. But kids will unconsciously absorb where it shows up and how it's used.
As they get a feel for the context percentage shows up in, they'll unconsciously add pieces to the percent puzzle. Its picture will start emerging and they'll try it out when it feels like a tool they could use in the situation they're in. >>>
This has made sense for me. Perhaps it also suits the way *some* of our dc learn?
Leonie in Sydney
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Taffy
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I just wanted to apologize for sounding so harsh in my post above. I was feeling a little emotional about this topic yesterday for some reason.  
For what it's worth... I do think that there are a lot of good things to be said regarding the unschooling approach. My negativity stems from having this approach touted as the "best way" to help my oldest when he was going through the special ed system. Vic is an intelligent boy. He taught himself basic reading starting at age 2 (I still have the paper of his drawings of the letter "A" at age 2yrs 3mths). He LOVED reading as a youngster!
But at the age of 5 he still could not answer the question "What is your name?" He knew the answer but didn't have a clue how to answer the question. We got success by writing it out on a flashcard and drilling 
I know that most of you don't have to deal with these kinds of difficulties and I am happy for that.
Again, I apologize. 
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Susan
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Willa
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| Posted: Aug 30 2005 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
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I lost a post I tried to send, Taffy, in response to yours. The short form was that for some reason the unschooling thing makes me emotional too, and I don't know quite why.
In some ways, your "eclectic" homeschooling sounds a lot like some versions of unschooling -- being responsive to the needs of your kids, etc.
I liked the "jigsaw puzzle" metaphor in the article and that's why I posted the link -- seems in accord with my own experience of learning.
But to continue and possibly strain the metaphor, some kids can benefit from "skill clues" at some point -- showing them it's easier to start with the edge pieces and construct the interior part from there, or showing them how to group similar colors in order to find clusters. Have to run, a kid needs to use the computer, anyway, it's an interesting topic and I thought it might help further our discussion of what "unschooling" is about. I do see your point.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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Willa
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Oops and I called you Taffy instead of Liz! Sorry, you know what I mean, I hope -- sorry I know your name is Liz 
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: How "Natural Learning" Works
