Replies to '11/24 Great School Debate'

I have actually learned most of what I know on my own. But, I am a grown woman with discipline and I sat down and read on the topics I wanted to learn about.

My kids have this same "discipline". If they want to know something, they might read about it, ask me about it, google it, ask another adult or kid. There's lots of ways to learn something, and I see them learning all the time.

I also learned a lot in school.

So did I. But I would say that the "signal to noise" ratio was very, very low. The amount I learned in school, I could've learned on my own in 1/10 the time, with all of that other time left over for more creative pursuits. I think that's the real benefit of homeschooling in general, with a very low parent-to-kid ratio and lots of individual attention, all of the stuff that kids learn in school can really be learned in a very small amount of time. Even friends of mine who are public school teachers will say that they spend a very small amount of time actually teaching, and even then some of the kids aren't paying attention or learning.

I am simply stating that the "unschoolers" I know are very very very behind in what they should know. Some of the kids have vocabularies that are barely more advanced than my 2 and a half year old's vocabulary.

The hard thing with a message board conversation like this is we don't really know each other and can't see what each other is seeing. Perhaps if I met these "unschoolers" that you know, I too would think they are doing their kids a disservice. Any fringe movement will tend to draw people who take things to extremes, and there is a big difference between child-led learning and helping facilitate your children's interests and simply neglecting them. Perhaps these parents are using the term "unschooling" to describe a totally hands-off policy, I don't know. OTOH, there are plenty of kids in public schools who also are "very very behind". I meet public school graduates every day who can't hand me the correct change unless their cash register tells them what it is, for instance. And perhaps these children would struggle in school no matter what. Perhaps they have special issues that make learning difficult for them - I would guess that is the case if they don't speak with more advanced vocabulary than a 2 year old. Most kids learn to speak well before they are school-aged, so this points to greater issues than just whether or not they attend school. Without more information, I couldn't really tell you whether these people are even unschooling in the way that most of us define that word, or how or why their children are the way you perceive them, or even if your perceptions would match mine.

I can see how you would be skeptical if this is your only experience with "unschoolers". But just as kids who attend public schools come in all types and stripes, from uber-achievers with PTA parents to barely-functional with crack addict parents who aren't even home, I'm sure there is a variety (perhaps not nearly so wide a variety, but a variety none the same) of people in the homeschooling and unschooling worlds. I don't think anyone here has said that unschooling is something every family should do, or is even able to do (thinking of those crack-addict parents, it's not something I would suggest to them). But, if parents are able to give their kids the support and facilitation they need to pursue their own interests and learning, whatever those interests may be, unschooling is a wonderful way for children to continue their lifelong love of learning. And many of us here are telling our stories so that others can see how great it does work, how excited our kids are about the world around them, how their love of learning continues intact, how differently they approach things, each in their own way.

I can't speak to your "unschooling" acquaintances, but I can tell you that in our family it is a wonderful thing!