Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you!
We’ll start things off with two related questions from the comment section of last week’s Q&A post.
How do you feel about taking destination vacations? Like trips to Disneyworld?Disneyland? NYC? Is that something you would ever consider doing with your family?
-Wanda
Ooh, good question! And here’s a 2nd part for you – what about trips outside the USA or outside North America? I haven’t heard you talk much about those. Is it something you’re planning for one day? With a family of 6 it would certainly take a while to save up for.
-CB
Destination vacations aren’t something we’ve ruled out entirely…it’s just that we never felt the urge to do stuff like that while we had babies/toddlers/preschoolers. Going to the beach is hard enough with 4 small kids!
Also, since destination vacations are fairly expensive and we couldn’t afford to do them often, we’ve agreed that we want to take trips like that when the kids are old enough to remember them (for instance, for us it would have been silly to take our babies to Disney. We’d only be able to afford that once, and we want them to be old enough to really enjoy it.).
Zoe’s five now, which means that traveling has gotten to be much simpler than it was even just 3-4 years ago, so we’re pondering what trips we might like to take before Joshua’s off to college.
As far as the second question goes, I myself have actually never been outside of North America (I’ve been to Canada and I’ve traveled quite a lot of the United States). I think it would be neat to go see another country, but if we can’t ever manage to get the six of us on a plane, I won’t feel like I’ve failed (I think I’m pretty happy and well adjusted despite having never left North America).
I will say that both Mr. FG and I feel like the most valuable part of a vacation is not so much the destination but the company. Relaxation and relationship-building are what matter most to us, and we can provide those things for our family no matter where we can afford to vacation.
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I have 2 reader questions for you:
1) How do you determine the curriculum used for your children’s education?
2) Have you heard of “unschooling”? I know that you don’t pursue unschooling with your children, but as someone experienced with homeschooling, what’s your take on the unschooling and the value that it’s principles can bring to a philosophy on educating children? (If you’ve heard of it/think about it at all, others may not think about unschooling as much as I do!)
Context – from reading your blog and others, I have become fascinated with non-mainstream formats of education. I personally have only experienced traditional education through public schools and love hearing about these things from someone with different experiences.
-CB
Curriculum
I’m not sure if you’re wondering how I decide what subjects to cover, or how I choose which particular books to use for those subjects. If it’s the former, that’s pretty standard, and our state laws require us to provide education in the subjects that would normally be taught in our public schools.
As far as particular curricula goes, I base my decisions off of my own experience as a homeschooled child, recommendations from family and friends, and research of my own.
Unschooling
I have indeed heard of unschooling. My hesitations about it stem from concern that I myself wouldn’t be disciplined enough to do a good job with it…unschooling actually does require a fair amount of work on the part of the parents. I also feel like keeping up with unschooling four children would be a little tricky for me and I worry they’d end up with educational gaps in some areas.
Also, (and of course, do keep in mind that I’ve not tried or experienced unschooling) I feel like there is some value in making my children do schoolwork that they’re not especially interested in. There are quite a few life situations that require you do to work you may not be inspired about, and you just have to do it anyway. So, though I do indeed encourage them to follow their interests and research things they like to learn about, I also am not at all uncomfortable drilling them on math facts (no one but Zoe really loves that!).
I’d say that we do some unschooling-style learning…we check out books and videos from the library on topics the kids are interested in, we looks things up on the internet when we wonder about them, and so on. For example, I’d say that almost all of Joshua’s knowledge of the animal kingdom has been obtained through unschooling methods (he’s read a bit about animals in his science books, but the information in those books is usually stuff he already knows).
And the same goes for Zoe’s fish knowledge…she reads fish books for fun, checks fish magazines out from the library, puts fish puzzles together, and watches educational DVDs about aquatic creatures just because she’s interested.
I think this sort of learning is great! Helping kids follow their passions and interests is wonderful, but I’m just not at the point where I’m willing to put their passions and interests in charge of their whole education. So, we read fish books AND do handwriting books, and we visit reptile shows AND use grammar workbooks.
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Readers, what are your thoughts on destination vacations and on unschooling?
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Today’s 365 post: four shirts
unschooling blogs says
Article written on your teaching style and your child learning style, what kind of hours of work and play, what are the your vacation plans. Some families plan a small vacation a week different times of the year.
Nice blog, thank you for the share issue.
Thank you. Stumbled!
STL Mom says
We went to Disney last year, and it was great. That said, I might have preferred to wait until our kids were older. They were seven and ten years old, and we could only stay in the parks for about four or five hours before they became tired and overstimulated. That was fine for us because the adults were tired too by then, and we could go back to our rental house and let the kids play in the pool. But I think my kids would have gotten a little more out of it a few years later.
In terms of international vacations, my kids have been overseas a few times to visit relatives. I like to think that they learned something, but when my eight-year-old talks about our trip to Turkey, he doesn’t talk about the ancient city of Ephesus, or the historic sites in Istanbul. Instead he talks about a resort we stayed at, and how much he liked the swimming pools.
Basically, I think that travel is good for children, but not necessary. And if I had more than two kids, I’m not sure that I would ever get out of the house!
priskill says
She is amazing! I confess I had no idea what one was until I saw her cake!
priskill says
Well, as a chronic school-schooled daughter of a special ed. teacher who is also a special ed. teacher ( yikes — was clear diction not in the curriculum at my elementary???) I had many preconceptions about home-schooling which your blog and the thoughtful comments that always attach to this issue here have quite dispelled. I can see that public school is not for everyone, and that home schooling can be a fabulous option — just look at your creative, smart, imaginative kids!
I agree with your approach to “unschooling” — moderation in all things, including learning. Yes, kids may require some drill & kill but there’s plenty of room for pursuing the stuff that is really interesting, as well. Hearing that 5 year old Zoe reads up on and investigates her great love — Fish! — is just about as inspiring as anything I’ve heard. I have to imagine that if you hadn’t forced some issues — letters, etc. — her amazing literacy might not have happened. You helped her build the skills she needed to become an independent learner. And most of us need a nudge in those areas at first — it’s the rare learner who just intuits reading or math.
I do hear people’s frustration with public education and i share some of these thoughts. But i think we are all after the same thing — whether parents or school teachers: we really want to help kids learn. It has been a revelation to me that it can be done so well at home — your blog & reader have helped me see that. Bravo!
Kristen says
The really funny thing is that she’s been “researching” fish for a number of years already. When she was 3, she pointed out a mola-mola to me in a Nat. Geographic movie (I had no idea what a mola-mola was before that!).
Shannon says
One note on unschooling…whenever I’ve seen media coverage (like morning news programs) talking about it, it seems they pick the laziest looking families with jerk kids. This was how I first heard about unschooling and I remember thinking “what a bunch of dummies, who would do that?” Since that time I’ve learned via the internet that there are a lot of tremendous homeschooling and unschooling families. I wonder if the media goes looking for the worst possible examples; maybe to discourage people from leaving the traditional institutional education system.
Cortney says
I’ve noticed this too, Shannon. It’s not “sensational” enough to show a bunch of happy, well adjusted kids
I also find it interesting (Kristen, I’m not saying/thinking you’re doing this on this post, I’ve just seen it in online debates) that traditional homeschoolers are so quick to defend the quality of the education they’re giving their children, they maintain it’s just as good as public school, etc… and yet so many traditional homeschoolers are so quick to turn on “un-schoolers” on forums and web sites and blast the education the “un-schooled” kids are getting. Seems like a bit of cannibalism to me. Like anything, homeschooling or un-schooling are as good as the people doing it. If the parents are working hard and involved, I’m sure the kids will turn out great
Kristen says
Yep…from what I’ve read, parental involvement is the key indicator of success in education no matter what the method.
I think unschooling can work well with the right parent and the right kid. I just think I’m not the right parent to use that method exclusively.
Heidi says
You captured my own thoughts on homeschooling and unschooling. It seems like the ideal homeschool atmosphere teaches discipline and freedom, core skills/knowledge and pursuit of individual passions all at the same time. There’s a hint of unschooling in homeschool parents who know their children so well that they can encourage their kids to delve into a loved subject endlessly without neglecting basics like grammar, spelling, math, etc. Fusion! Public school teachers often have that same desire, but are so limited by schedules, class size, and state requirements – particularly, dare I say it, No Child Left Behind – that it’s nearly impossible to give that kind of education to every child.
HOW the basics are approached at home seems to be the fuzzy line between homeschooling and unschooling. My choice? Cooking with Mom addresses math, writing personal letters covers grammar and spelling – but not at the exclusion of time spent learning the fractions we use to measure flour or discussing WHY we use “their” instead of “there,” etc. I really admire the passion many unschooling parents show for their children’s happiness and love of learning. I hope to have that same passion in the future if we are able to homeschool our young children. But I’m tough. They WILL have time daily when they MUST sit still, have their pencils sharpened, read and write what they are told they must read and write, and be able to show me clearly that they comprehend even the subjects they don’t “love.” How else can I call myself a teacher? My kids need to be prepared to face even the mundane with courage and cheerfulness.
And just like their rather talkative and energetic Mommy did, they need to learn how to keep ye ol’ bum in the chair for a while every day. Life skills.
Alice says
Homeschooling and holidays! You’ve made a post that combines two of my favourite things! We homeschool, with some unschooling tendencies. We do math with a curriculum, some language workbooks, and everything else is done with unit studies. We love to study a location, and then go there! We have done this with Hawaii twice. Once we studied the islands, ecology, and economy. The next time we studied ocean life and did a lot of snorkelling. The learning from these experiences is amazing!
I see educational opportunities in daily situations. (I think every homeschooler does, as do most parents!) Sometimes we take advantage of these, sometimes we don’t. I am inspired by the trust that true unschoolers have that their children will learn what they need to know, when they are ready. For me, that commitment is one I’m not quite prepared to make though!
We have taken our boys to Disney twice. The first time they were a bit young, 3 and 4, the next time was much better, 6 and 7. On our second visit we spent 2 days in Disney and a week in Hawaii. The kids couldn’t stop talking about Hawaii. Disney? Yeah, that was good too.
We have also had the opportunity to take the kids to Europe and that was an incredible experience. I am in the planning stages for our next exotic adventure, as I love to travel, and I love to show my boys glimpses of this fascinating world we live in. I think any trip can be wonderful if you truly want to be there.
We also like to explore our own backyard… literally and figuratively. There are so many local places to explore and it would be sad to overlook these! On Friday I took my kids for a ride on the nearest subway and they thought that was a wonderful adventure. We camp, take day trips, and try to enjoy our surroundings as much as we can.
I’m glad these questions were asked, and answered, as I also am curious about the way other families educate and choose to spend their vacations! I’m enjoying reading most of the comments. There is not one way to educate a child, and there is certainly not a ‘right’ way to do it. I love hearing other peoples educational successes and holiday adventures! Have a wonderful day!
Jinger says
Kristen…you are a teacher after my own heart…Kudos!
EngineerMom says
When I was young, we always lived pretty far away from extended family. The closest was 3 hours when we lived in North Dakota and my dad’s parents owned a house on a lake in northern Minnesota. I visited family in upstate New York, NYC, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Minnesota as a kid. Those were our “destination vacations”, and they were actually very important in helping me see different subcultures in the US.
The one time we did a vacation of just my immediate family, we went to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota for a 3-day trip. That was amazing, much better in my opinion than dropping a ton of money at Disney World. No technology (there are no cell towers in the area) and you can’t even use a motorized boat – pretty much only canoes. We camped for the two nights we were there, cooked out, and had a blast just spending time together.
Later, when I was a senior in high school, I went to Disney World in Orlando with my high school marching band over Thanksgiving break (great time to go, btw – not too hot, and the park is practically empty). That was fun to go with my friends, but given that my youngest sibling (my brother) is 8 years younger than me, it’s hard to picture how my family would have had as a good a time with such disparate ages.
I think vacations are what you make of them. Disney World is an overpriced theme park. King’s Island or Six Flags would be equally entertaining if you’re looking for a theme park experience (rollercoasters, rides, costumed actors posing for pictures). Finding something you can do as a family that is truly enjoyable and forces you to spend time with each other goes much further towards forming lasting wonderful memories for children. My best memories of family vacations are of canoeing on the Minnesota River with my aunts, uncles, and cousins (usually about 20 of us total), going fishing on the lake by my grandparents’ house, and eating picnics at rest stops when doing all that driving with my immediate family.
Shannon says
I totally wish I could coral my siblings and their spouses and kids into being interested in a big summer meetup at a campsite. I think that is one of my dream vacation ideas!
Jennifer says
That does sound like massive fun! Sadly, most of my family are wusses and don’t like the outdoors. Luckily, my friends are willing to do this.
Gretchen says
Regarding overseas travel…We are a military family and everyone always RAVED about overseas assignments. I really thought, eh, I could take it or leave it. It sounded like a huge hassle to me. But now we’ve been in Germany for 2 1/2 months and I am amazed at how broadening it is for our kids! From simple things like learning how a flush toilet works in Germany to seeing the remnants of the anti-tank defenses from the Battle of the Bulge, I am in awe how their world is opening up. Of course an overseas “vacation” is an entirely different matter when it comes to cost and budgets compared to a 3 year tour, but I wanted to put a plug in for the value of this kind of adventure!
Cortney says
Gretchen, I agree! I was an incredibly independent kid, had a job from 14, bought my own school supplies/first car/computer, worked full time and went to school full time during college on a full scholarship, and supported myself partially from 14-18 and then fully from 18 on. I secured a job teaching English in Japan before I graduated college in May, and 3 months later in August I was off.
It was life changing, no exaggeration. I never realized how much more I could grow and expand. I can’t even describe ( and I probably don’t even realize) how much it changed me and broadened my horizons. I’m so glad your kids (and you!) are getting such a great experience. And thank you for the sacrifices you and your family are making in service to this country!
Bellen says
Altho my kids are now in their early 30s our vacations were limited to time and money so we chose a variety of places that were no more than a 3 hour drive.
Among those places were a mine where you rented a small pickax, shallow pan and canvas bag and mined for gems – they mainly found sheets of mica but we literally had to drag them out when it got dark; a park called Lost River where you followed a dry river that went above and below ground; private campgrounds with lakes, trails and no TV; we also camped in a variety of state parks that offered hiking, swimming, nature trails, and guided trips for bird watching, etc.
It wasn’t until 2 years ago that one son, his wife, 2 yr old son and 8 yr old daughter went to Disneyworld – what did the kids like best? The airplane trip!!
While we did not home-school as the primary source of education, we did spend lots of time helping/guiding them to learn ( on what they thought was simply happenstance but was planned on our part) local history, geography, map reading, identifying trees & wildflowers, building, repairing plumbing, cooking, sewing & mending. We used library books, the newspaper (actual printed), and purchased workbooks, donated worksheets from school, etc. I made fill-in-the-blanks worksheets for history, gave them topics to write on, made treasure hunts to teach following directions. As it was not the primary source of education, I did not have to follow a particular program – however, my sons’ teachers, from kindergarten on thru high school, said they far more educated than any kids they knew and far better educated than the school system could have produced. So, if homeschooling is not for you, perhaps, the supplement homeschooling would work.
Lindsey says
I don’t know how to say this in an upbuilding fashion, but here was my first thought when I read the question the woman wrote on unschooling: if you don’t know the correct use of its versus it’s, then perhaps you should not be home schooling or unschooling your children.
Katja says
This is so funny.. (sorry) ;-)) and true.
amy says
i have home schooled my children with emphasis on unschooling. Sandra Dodd is great resource for unschooling, she has a website and a book. I believe in child-led education… BUT you need to be a very involved parent, unfortunately I have read unschooling blogs which in my opinion seems like nothing but lazy parents. Children thrive on routine, so I do not like the idea of some of these unschooling parents allowing their children to make their own bedtime, stay in their pajamas all day and play video games endlessly. A combination of homeschool/unschool works best for me…balance is the key. I really love Montessori method.
Sarah says
What about special education? Do any of your children require it?
Kristen says
Nope, mine haven’t, but I know those types of services are not just available to public schoolers.
Kristen says
Disneyworld does not have to be too expensive, especially if you homeschool and go during their Homeschool Days. We went last fall and might go again this year. It is usually offered in September or October and then again in January. The tickets are a bargain compared to regular prices. Here are the current ticket prices: http://www.disneyyouth.com/home-school-days/wdw/pricing/2011 . You just have to make sure you plan to be there when they have the homeschool program which is October 3rd this fall. Registration is not open yet, though.
Jennifer Lissette says
My husband and I are lucky enough to have family close to a couple of vacation destinations. Primarily NYC and Barcelona. My parents have never left the continent, but my grandmother took me on an international trip when I was 14 and it gave me a bit of a travel bug.
Personally, I greatly desire to take my children on destination vacations. Right now they are two years old and two weeks old (and napping on mama as I type); we’re saving hard to pay off our mortgage so that when they are around Joshua’s age, we can afford some cool trips. Particularly, Spain, Italy & Egypt.
As for unschooling, I don’t think I could do it. I’m a schedule person, I like routines and checklists. Just trusting that my kids would pick up on things would be a great struggle for me. I have been considering homeschooling after reading your blog, but we will definitely be following something closer to your approach!
Jennifer says
My husband and I purchased a DVC membership- which is a timeshare program for Disney- several years ago when I was 25. My parents always took us on an annual vacation and it was important to me to be able to continue to do that. Growing up, we did go to Disney World a couple of years, but we also went to Hawaii to visit the volcanoes, San Francisco to visit Alcatraz, and the Bahamas to scuba dive in the Caribbean. When I was 5 I spent a month in Japan with relatives and I STILL remember a significant amount from that trip. They were all amazing experiences and gave me a true appreciate for different cultures. I want to give my children those same experiences- and I plan to. For us, travel is also very important because my BIL and SIL live half-way across the country. By committing to spending vacations together at places like Disney World, catching up and spending precious time together is all the more magical. We’re going to Disney next April for my niece’s 1st birthday and nothing will make me miss it- not even the possibility of bringing along our own 4-week old.
Most people have a limited amount of income and there are always ways to spend it. Travel is like anything else- if you make it a priority, it will happen.
Kimberly says
Kristen, you expressed my exact thoughts about unschooling. We try a mix of Classical, Charlotte Mason, and traditional. Our kids “unschool” themselves in their spare time. In fact, my son, 8, knows way more about carnivorous plants and mechanical gears than I care to know…
Shannon says
We took our boys on two trips last year, one to Disneyworld (for us the one time wow trip) and later in the summer we went to a cabin for a week which is our usual vacation. Yes, Disney had a certain wow factor, but I couldn’t help but notice the high level of whining and complaining during our Disney trip (3 days in the park, five total counting arrival and departure) versus the absence of whining during our stay at the cabin. We canoed, built fires, swam in a lake, and even did a very challenging 5 mile hike one day, and our 4- and 6- year olds were just fine. (The same boys complained about how hot and tired they were one hour into our first day at the Magic Kingdom.) Interestingly enough, their favorite park at Disney was Animal Kingdom (truly it is mine too, was amazing.) I don’t want to knock Disney; for us it was a really fun one time experience, and we are glad we went. I think we hit it at a good age for our boys to enjoy and remember. That said, I doubt we’ll go back for another decade or so—we’ve set our sites on at least one rambling Western American Road Trip, plus we want to take the kids to Austria to meet relatives and to see Europe.
Oh, and this year we are doing nothing but tent camping our Ohio state parks and forests…have to save our money after handing it over to that mouse in Florida last year
Sharon says
If I could have a do-over, I would definitely homeschool my kids (at least the younger two). School systems, even good ones, waste time. We could complete so much more in a shorter period of time without the kids experiencing the foul language, teacher burnout, drugs, alcohol, etc. Because of the incredible homeschooling network in my area, they still would have socialization with others, but it would be better directed.
You are smart to avoid Disney World with toddlers and babies. I found the
BEST time to do that trip is when they are between 10 – 13.
Karen S. says
Is unschooling legal? As Kristen mentioned, she has particular education requirements that are mandated by the state. And as far as I know, children are required to have an education that meets those requirements.
My son attends public school; he’s a year younger than Kristen’s Joshua. And he, too, does his own “unschooling.” He loves architecture, and for that reason he loves to watch HGTV, we’ve visited many model homes where he loves to get the floor plans as well, he’s “designed” his own homes using architectural software he’s found online, and he just got a subscription to architectural digest. I guess he also “unschools” by bowling on parent-child leage with my husband, taking tennis lessons, and playing basketball. Yesterday, he had a friend over who loves cartooning, and who watches the Cartoon Network and analyzes how the programs are made, as well as designing his own cartoons. So, I think every curious child “unschools” regardless of where they actually go to school.
adventuresindinner says
It’s legal here and some people swear by it. I remain unconvinced but I’ve also been very wrong about a number of things in the past.
There is a NaturalLiving magazine that talks about it fairly often. They have a page on facebook but here is also the link to the magazine.
http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/
Jane says
Karen,
Each state has their own homeschool laws. I live in MO and our laws are pretty simple, 1000 hrs of school per year with 600 hrs being in the 5 core courses (reading, math, social studies, language arts and science). You can choose how and what you want to teach with in those parameters. There are other states with stricter laws and others that are more lenient.
Gareth Rae says
My girls (now 17 and 19) never expressed any desire to visit Disneyland, for which I am exceedingly grateful as I feel sure I would have hated the experience. We’ve travelled all over Europe but our best holidays have been of the traditional British seaside variety – paddling/swimming/body boarding in the the waves, building sandcastles on the beach, crabbing along the harbour wall, eating icecream and Cornish pasties, walking along the coastal footpath, putting on the green … The simple pleasures are invariably the best. Happy days!
Lori says
I mentioned this in the comments last week, but ITA about unschooling well taking a lot of work. More work than I think I’d be able to put in, honestly. I don’t have the kind of personality that makes me ready and willing to just drop everything when an educational opportunity arises during the day, and turn it into a lesson. I’m much happier and more comfortable having formal lessons so I know I’m covering the basics, and then letting my kids have a lot of time during the day (which homeschooling allows for) to explore their own individuals interests. As I mentioned in the comments, homeschooling takes significantly less time than traditional classroom education–my son is doing second grade, and we spend about 90 minutes a day on formal lessons, and cover at least as much as he’d be covering in a traditional classroom–which means that kids have a lot of time to devote to what they are interested in.
adventuresindinner says
Admittedly we will likely be taking the wee one to Disneyland at some point. My best friend loves it there and she’s the Godmother so her vote counts
We’ll also likely be in Britain a few times but to see my husband’s family and some school friends of mine.
However, when I was a kid my family camped during holidays and our travelling was limited to a few jaunts to the states.
My sister and I didn’t really travel anywhere “big” until we were adults and I don’t think that we were irreparably harmed.
Carmen says
Disney theme parks are fun places, but don’t need to be somewhere to base an entire vacation. I think there are far better places to go for family vacations, but it really depends on what experience/s someone wants from their holiday. Whilst I consider them to be a theme park and thus good for a 1-2 day family outing, others may prefer spending longer in that kind of environment. The experience is definitely magical for most children, but so are watching animal migrations across Africa, turtles being born in the Seychelles or the Northern/Southern lights. I guess I’ve never quite understood how they could be considered a “destination vacation” in the way that an African safari, elephant trek in Thailand or pyramids experience in Egypt can. Hopefully it’s simply a matter of personal preference, but for some reason I wonder if Disney marketing reaches people who don’t consider it alongside the plethora of options out there.
Travelling is a high priority in our life and I’m lucky enough to have visited many places, as have our children. I think that whilst the company is definitely a key component in enjoying vacation time, overseas travel is something I’d encourage anyone to do if they can afford it. It can be contagious though! Kristen, it might also challenge your contentment thinking, haha!
Alison says
I would also like to plug the value of overseas travel for parents and children. I’m an American living in Britain and we take most of our vacations in Western Europe (and we’d like to go further afield as the kids get older). My children are 3 and 6. Even at their young ages, learning about different cultures, languages and how different people have different ways of doing things and looking at things has been incredibly enriching. It has also taught all of us the value of flexibility, tolerance, and an interest in the customs and morays of others. Of course, it is a massive expenditure, but if you can do it, I’d really recommend it! I’ve not gone into debt for travel, but I almost would be willing to:)
reese says
Maybe I missed it… but what on earth is unschooling??
Carmen says
Essentially it’s child led learning. They choose what they learn, how they learn and when (if!) they learn. I’ve read a lot of literature about it and true unschooling respects the child fully so that if they wanted to watch TV all day, every day, they would be ‘allowed’ to. Obviously in practice, many parents guide learning based on their children’s interests.
Lori says
Most true unschooling families I know don’t watch TV. So while in theory a child could watch TV all day if unschooled, most unschooling families who take it seriously (instead of just not educating their child and calling it “unschooling”) severely limit or totally disallow things like TV and video games, and “seed” the house with all sorts of educational toys and games, books, and other enriching activities, so that the kids really won’t have any choice but to learn.
Elaine says
I followed an “unschooling” blog for a little while, but it made me sick to think of these kids “learning” only what they wanted to, when they wanted to. It’s kind of like the movement to teach “whole English” which involved NO teaching of phoenics, spelling, grammar, or punctuation. They expect kids to read what they want to, and eventually they will pick up reading and writing skills. The kids do not learn what they need to know to be able to function in the world. And really, isn’t that the whole purpose of education? Kids should not be allowed to run the world.
I still remember my mother drilling us on vocabulary, spelling, arithmetic, and religious catechism. Rote learning *works* for kids who don’t have learning disabilities. It’s tough on people who never learned the basics to expand their knowlege on their own (how can you build on something if you never learned the basics of it?).
Fraulein von E says
If you’re going to pass judgement on all unschoolers based on one blog, then let me pass judgment on you: you’ve misspelled “phonics” and “knowledge”. It looks like you have your own educational deficiency.
Kristen says
Here’s a Wikipedia on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling