Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want

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amdhunter

Lifer
May 19, 2003
23,332
249
106
Most kids brought up this way are in very wealthy families, so it doesn't matter if they are educated or not.
 

CRXican

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2004
9,062
1
0
school is pretty overrated, how much of what you learn is really used in "real life" anyway

grammar and spelling are key for any profession

as mentioned, science and math are going to require in depth study at some point
 

TridenT

Lifer
Sep 4, 2006
16,800
45
91
That father is more than likely going to be enrolling her in some form of schooling later if he wants her to be anything.

There's just no way to learn all the math and science 'organically' unless you live in a research lab.
 

metalfacepc

Member
May 10, 2011
41
0
0
I like the fact that there is an alternative to the current education system, but I can't say I completely agree here
 

mattpegher

Platinum Member
Jun 18, 2006
2,203
0
71
The problem is there are a bunch of parents out there that just have no concept of the value of challenge. They claim the kid has a milk allergy the second he spits up a little. They find 14 different food allergies without ever taking the child to an allergist. They isolate there child from having to conform, sit still, behave, or interact with anyone but themselves. They create little monsters that are never told no. They allow infantile neuroses to blossom into an inability to function unless everything is done their way. They all claim it is because their child is special, a genius, and he must be allowed to follow his own path. In reality, these children are nothing more than infants, kept as infants until they are infantile adults. They have learned nothing but how to manipulate their parents.
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
Education requires direction. My brother and numerous librarians provided direction and perspective as I educated myself in HS.
 

MagickMan

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2008
7,460
3
76
I attended a Montessori school until 8th grade, then we moved and I had to attend a public school. I was bored out of my mind until I graduated high school, because I'd already learned almost everything the public high school was teaching before I was 13.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
It's possible that parents could become lazy and detached from their child's growth, but it seems like the idea with this method is that the parents are supposed to support the child's interest in things. In a way, this seems more like the "good ole days" where you focus more on a specific path.

The problem is early on 'we' learned a structured school system was important if everyone was to work together after school was over. That's the real purpose of elementary and middle schools with high school being more of preparation for college.

However, due to laziness across the board we lost our way.

Except for some child progeny, there is no fucking way a <10 year old knows what the best course for their personal development and not setting the stage for guidelines creates today's beliefs of "I can do whateva I want, you ain't my boss!".

Look at even high school term papers, instead of books you have to read; you can do them on magazine articles. Instead of 1000 words, you can do it in 200 or so. There is no shop classes, no drafting/graphics, etc...instead they add in all this low level math and science courses that are a waste compared to what you'd get at the high school level and beyond.

When one kid fails instead of being honest, we just dumb everything down to that common denominator.

IMHO school should get more competitive and college should not be made an extension of high school. No free rides for B's, less aid for total financial reasons, etc. Make is so getting into college is tough again.

In today's world everyone acts as if their kids are going to be CEO and expects them to be treated that way.

Sorry, someone has to be in charge of the fries and even then some can't hit that level.
 

AreaCode707

Lifer
Sep 21, 2001
18,447
133
106
I homeschooled from 6th grade through end of high school, with community college classes thrown in to cover anything my mom couldn't teach me.

I had the chance to meet families who were doing unschooling and almost universally they were either lazy as fuck or super hippie liberal, not just in schooling but in other ways of life too, to a noticeable extreme. There were a few rare ones that were unschooling their kids because the kid was a prodigy-genius but in those cases the kids were consuming knowledge faster than any parent or teacher could dish it out, and it was the kid driving the situation, not the parent.

Homeschooling can be legit when done for the right reasons and done with true attention to making sure all educational requirements are met, but unschooling is pretty much never justifiable. Kids simply are not that driven naturally; human beings tend to turn away from effort.
 

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
It is perfectly valid. It worked throughout history for millions of people. I see a lot of people graduate that can solve a math problem, but those same people can't live on their own when they get a job because they lack living skills or independence often looking for someone to teach them how to be self dependent. I think public education misses the mark because they focus so much on grades and subjects that the child doesn't have time to develop interest in things naturally.

Here we have a local family that has children that have never attended school. They run a local farm and the parents said they need those kids home during the day to keep the farm running. The mother taught them all to read, the dad taught them math, and all those things come into use during the daily work on the farm so the kids actually apply what they learn. Their son just got a paid scholarship and is going to college to study agriculture.

It seems like you have some valid complaints about the education system but you are bringing them up in unrelated arguments. Yes, kids in traditional schools tend not to learn life skills like getting the electricity hooked up in a new apartment or doing their taxes. But they also know things like statistics or how to program, things that you don't just learn "naturally" or "by living."

What you potentially get with unschooling is kids who are street smart but have no marketable skills. I know plenty of intelligent people that really have no major skills so they just bounce from job to job. Like hippies. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe you are happy running a food co-op or being a barista at the local coffee shop.
 

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
27,111
318
126
It probably works for some people, I can't imagine that most children really give enough of a shit about their education at that age without some guidance. I was homeschooled, but in my family it worked that we had a given set of classes every year (always including the standard math, science, English, etc to avoid potential problems in getting into college) and aside from some math taught by my dad, I taught myself everything. They didn't let me learn it by watching television or cooking, however, and instead I studied and stayed on a flexible yearly schedule under the threat of punishment (no computer :((((( ) if I didn't not finish everything. That is about the extent to which I think self-learning works, and even personally I often wish that I was given more direction.
 

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,591
5,994
136
IMHO school should get more competitive and college should not be made an extension of high school. No free rides for B's, less aid for total financial reasons, etc. Make is so getting into college is tough again.

if every kid had had the opportunity to post in alky threads, they'd have gotten all the schooling they need