Quote From: purplepenny(I know you just showed us what you found, so this isn't directed at you, it's just a comment in general)
"Unschooling begins with a child's natural
curiosity and expands from there, as an extension of his/her own
personal interests and needs."
What parent DOESN'T do that regardless of whatever education path they choose for their kids? I was in public school. Mediocre public schools. My parents were not home schoolers (except for one year for my little brother) my parents were not "unschoolers"...they were just normal parents, like I AM, who enjoy showing the world to their child.
This is NOT unique to "unschool" parents. I was encouraged to learn on my own, explore on my own, ask questions and embrace my natural human curiosity. I think this is simply what good parents do. I do this. My daughter is only 2 and a half but I certainly teach her everyday.
But there are somethings that every child simply needs in order to live in our society. They aren't naturally going to learn everything. Some things must be taught with real effort regardless if the child wants to learn it or not.
We didn't say this was unique to unschooling parents, not at all. Many parents see the world as a fascinating place and explore it with their children. When you spend time doing fun things with your 2-yr-old, you can see how she's learning, even if you're not giving a 'lesson.'
What's different is that we also saw these things when our kids were toddlers, with their natural, insatiable curiosity. We also saw that 'school' would get in the way of that exploration. Natural learning doesn't stop when a child is five.
People here seem to be most concerned with reading. The written word is all around us. On TV, newspapers, magazines, computers, games, toys, etc. It's natural that kids will want to learn to decipher the words and learn to read. An involved parent will naturally read to their children, answer their questions regarding 'how to spell, what does that say, what letter does house start with' etc. And as they get older and start to make friends, and want to e-mail, they have a built-in motivator for learning to spell and write. Just last night my 12-yr-old and I had a nice discussion of there/their/they're and your/you're. Kids want to learn to read and write and participate in their world.
People are also concerned with math. Numbers are all around us. We use algebra every day. What is it, exactly? Equations with x and y? Only in notation. What we use it for is to figure out what we want to know from what we do know. Same with division. Naturally occuring examples. My daughter asked me why someone would write 1000K instead of 1 Million. Out of the blue. But apparently she was relating to something she'd read, seen, or heard.
Kids in school aren't going to learn everything, either. But kids who haven't had their love of learning squelched (like I did) will be able to learn anything at anytime. A recent unschooler we know wanted to attend a particular college but found she needed a math credit. She spent time with a friend who is a math genius, and in 3 weeks she met the prerequisite. 3 weeks as opposed to a semester or two.
Unschoolers tap into the internal motivation inherent in children. Our goal is a lifelong love of learning. And if you apply yourself, they can accomplish anything.
