Mom Is Teaching

The Rethinking Education Conference is coming up soon!

Labor Day Weekend, Thursday, August 30 - Monday, September 3, 2007 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving, Texas. Just 7 minutes from the DFW airport! Register now for special prices. The cost will go up April 28th, and go up again July 15th. Act now to get great prices.

The conference will include: John Taylor Gatto, Ren Allen, Michael Mendizza, Cindy Gaddis, Peter Kowalke, Tracy Liebman, Eli Gerzon, Sheila Murphy, Erin Whitworth, Quinn Eaker, Lisette Blanco Cerda de Abbott, David Niecikowski, and many many more.

At the heart of Rethinking Education is the awareness that children are supremely capable of absorbing and using knowledge from our complex world. There is no need for arbitrary structure in education; the use of coercion, rewards or other behavior modification techniques as motivation are counterproductive. With freedom, respect and nurturing support, children have a powerful drive to self-direct their own learning; the result being children who direct their own education… indeed, their own futures.

homeschool, homeschooling, unschool, unschooling, Rethinking Education, Rethinking Education conference, Texas, Irving

I was doing some blog surfing and found myself at The Lost Girls. Three 20-something women who saved up and decided to take a year off to travel the world. Needless to say I’m very envious. It is certainly something I would love to do, travel the world and see the sites. There are so many places I would love to visit, some that I would love to live in for a few months or more. Of course a world trip like this is easier for three single women that for a mom of two young children, but maybe when they’re older we could plan a great escape. Or maybe when they’re grown and having adventures of their own. Then, as I was reading through their fabulous blog I stumbled upon this gem:

How the trip has changed our lives:
HOLLY: It’s made me realize that the world is both a classroom and a playground. I can learn more about the political landscape of a foreign country by traveling through it rather than by reading about it in the Economist.

I could not help but sit back and smile at this statement. Sure they could have learned about the world from books, but true education comes from going out and exploring it, from getting your hands dirty, from being there as it is happening. How many have tried to learn a foreign language in school only to walk away with at best a basic understanding? But if you were to travel to the country and immerse yourself in the language as it lives all around you you would be fluent in no time. The same applies to politics, customs, geography, history, and more. Sure you can get a feel for it spending your time reading aobut it, but to truely know it you have to be there. In the real world.

Imagine if more children were able to learn about the world by experiencing it all day every day. Instead of spending 8 hours a day stuck behind a desk reading about life outside the walls of the classroom, they could be outside exploring it. What would the world be like if more children were “socialized” by the people in their communities rather than by a group of their peers, peers who know no more about the world as they do? What would society look like tomorrow if we taught children how to be a part of it today?

homeschool, homeschooling, unschooling, The Lost Girls, society, socialization

I don’t know how it slipped right past me, but the 8th Edition of Unschooling Voices is up at A Day in Our Lives. This edition is all about word play, and there is a special treat from Dayna Martin who used the word UNSCHOOL as an acronym for her life. its definitely worth checking out!

homeschool, unschool, blogging, blog carnival, Dayna Martin, Unschooling Voices

LaToya Brown, the unschooling mom from Trading Spaces, is talking about being on Trading Spouses and on her homeschool/unschool life at the Natural Mom Talk Radio show. If you are interested in hearing what she has to say you can listen to it there. If you have a popup blocker you may need to shut it down to be able to run the program.

homeschooling, unschooling, Trading Spouses, TV, LaToya Brown

This week we’re delving into unschooling.

This method is a bit trickier to discribe, because it looks so differetn to everyone! Unschooling, or child-led learning, is style that really isn’t a style. Largely influenced by the writing of John Holt, unschooling is allowing the child the freedom to grow and explore at his or her own drive. There is almost no formal teaching done, no curriculum, lesson plans, work books, nothing. Unless, of course, the child asks for it. It takes a leap of faith. Faith that your children really do want to learn and grow, and that they will in their own time and with their own reasons. With unschooling the families just live their lives and let learning be a natural part of it.

Of course this style does not work for everyone. Some people prefer a structured and controled learning environment rather than the freedom allowed with unschooling. It can be a bit unsettling for those who are used to the planned education found in most public schooling. In fact a period of “de-schooling” is often required for parents and children to adjust.

From HoltGWS.com

This is also known as interest driven, child-led, natural, organic, eclectic, or self-directed learning. Lately, the term “unschooling” has come to be associated with the type of homeschooling that doesn’t use a fixed curriculum. When pressed, I define unschooling as allowing children as much freedom to learn in the world, as their parents can comfortably bear. The advantage of this method is that it doesn’t require you, the parent, to become someone else, i.e. a professional teacher pouring knowledge into child-vessels on a planned basis. Instead you live and learn together, pursuing questions and interests as they arise and using conventional schooling on an “on demand” basis, if at all. This is the way we learn before going to school and the way we learn when we leave school and enter the world of work. So, for instance, a young child’s interest in hot rods can lead him to a study of how the engine works (science), how and when the car was built (history and business), who built and designed the car (biography), etc. Certainly these interests can lead to reading texts, taking courses, or doing projects, but the important difference is that these activities were chosen and engaged in freely by the learner. They were not dictated to the learner through curricular mandate to be done at a specific time and place, though parents with a more hands-on approach to unschooling certainly can influence and guide their children’s choices.

Unschooling has become noticed rescently after radical unschooler Dayna Martin was seen on the Dr. Phil show as an example of homeschooling, though nearly all homeschoolers and unschoolers willtell you that radical unschooling is a rather extreme example of homeschooling. You can learn more about her and how her familiy works with unschooling at her site. http://www.unschoolingamerica.com/

Here are some sites dedicated to unschooling.

http://www.unschooling.com/
http://www.unschooling.org/
http://www.afamunschool.com/
http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/

Here are some great articles on unschooling.
What is Unschooling?
Radical Unschooling
The legacy of John Holt and the unschooling movement.
Unschooling: What it is and isn’t
Unschooling: What is it and is it right for you?

And here are some great groups online you can join to talk with other unschoolers.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysUnschooled/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/
http://groups.msn.com/unschooling
http://www.homeschoolzone.com/unschooling/

homeschooling, unschooling, radical unschooling, curriculum, no curriculum, John Holt, Method Madness Monday

If anyone missed the show and is interested Joanne at A Day in Our Lives has the episode on her blog, in 5 parts. And she has a post from Dayna Martin, the unschooling mom featured on the show.

homeschooling, unschooling, Dr. Phil

I was linked to a new homeschooling forum that has begun especially for unschoolers and anyone interseted in unschooling. http://forums.unschool.info/ They are hoping to become a great resource for unschoolers to talk freely on the web. And even better, there’s a contest.

Education Forums Post Contest - Win $100

The Education Forums just launched this week, and as a promotion we are having a post contest. Whoever posts the most times by May 1 wins $100.00.

On the forums we discuss education, homeschooling, and unschooling.

unschooling, homeschooling, forums