Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Learning at Home: Part 7 of 9

What on earth is unschooling,  you might ask?  And it would be an excellent question.  My dictionary assures me that unschooling is not a real word and each time I write it I get those little red squiggles beneath the word that further assure me that I've used a non-word.

Unschooling is a variation of h/schooling, I suppose, though one might say that those h/schoolers with routine and daily structure and curriculum to follow are at one end of the spectrum and those who are unschoolers are on the less common end of the spectrum.  The definition of unschooling is, frankly, all over the map, and depending on who you talk to, you'll get a different explanation.

From my perspective, unschooling is learning at home without the use of much/any formal curriculum.  Unschoolers typically learn mostly through natural life experiences, including play, games, household responsibilities, personal interests, books, travel, mentors, and social interactions.  The idea is that children find learning more meaningful when it is either self-directed or via hands-on, real-to-life experience.  Unschooling parents often find that they are better equipped to adapt to differences in how children learn, and would suggest that, just as children reach developmental milestones at different times and ages (eg. when a child begins to walk), children also learn things differently and at different times.

For example, traditional education requires all children to begin reading around a certain age/time; whereas unschoolers (and many h/schoolers, for that matter) would suggest that some children might be ready to learn earlier than that specified  age and others later.  How unschoolers define what they do has a continuum all to itself - I've certainly learned this in speaking with many people I know who do school this way, to some degree or another.  Some are radical in their approach, where kids are provided no structure whatsoever regarding their schooling and left rather to their own devices.  I've met a few amazing teens in recent months who have grown up this way...it's utterly fascinating.  Other unschoolers are more eclectic in their approach, utilizing some curriculum along with a broad spectrum of life experiences to teach.

One commonality amongst unschoolers seems to be a more interest-based approach to learning - which is often more child-directed than otherwise.

Now, before I move on, I think it's important to note (at least to myself!) that I am not a h/schooling mom who believes that her child's education should be child-dictated.  Although I have met some utterly amazing and radically unschooled children over the past while, and although I have huge regard for unschooling parents who enable their children's education largely through self direction, this precise approach won't work for me.  It's hard enough for me to believe that all things will come together for my kids as they get older, that their development will be spontaneous and natural if provided the right environment...I'm not, by nature or by parenting choice, someone who can leave this entirely up to the children.

I still see myself too much responsible for my children's overall education and I still see myself as needing to take the lead role in providing it.  Whether my kids are in the public system, the private system, or being schooled at home, I believe that Geoff and I are responsible for their education.  So as we move in the direction of unschooling, and as my children express interest in areas of learning that they would like to pursue, the responsibility will still be mine and Geoff's to determine the appropriateness of that learning direction and how it will be pursued.  Where we see holes in their development over time, it will be Geoff's and my responsibility to provide what's needed to fill those holes.

We are going to land a little more on the eclectic (rather than the more radical) end of the u/schooling spectrum this year, which for us means mostly non-curriculum based but not entirely without.  I still panic a little when I hear other h/schoolers talk excitedly about the plethora of wonderful curriculums they're using this year, and there are many that I wish I could use because that's still my comfort zone, but I'm going to stick with the new 'plan' for this year.  There might be smaller curriculums I incorporate if the kids have an area of interest that would be well served by them, but there's really only one curriculum we'll be using regularly.

The only curriculum I'm not abandoning is a Math curriculum....though I've changed that up, too!  I've experienced the least resistance to Math teaching and so I'm going to go with that.  I have changed the Math curriculum that I use with Matthew and, for the first time ever, I have now also started Seth and Lizzie on a Math curriculum.  I'm hoping that I've chosen well for each of them...but time will tell whether they will work or whether I'll need to find ones that work better.

The kids will also each be engaged in a number of extra curricular activities, some that Geoff and I require of them and some that are purely of interest to them.  Here's the list of what they're going to be involved with:


Matthew:
  • Swimming;
  • Skating;
  • Piano lessons;
  • Gym class;
  • Hip hop dance;
  • Real foods cooking;
  • and possibly curling (we're on a wait list)

Matthew is less enthused this year than any year so far about our h/school gym class (he likely needs a break after four years) so we've said to Matthew that on days when he really doesn't want to participate, we're ok with that and he'll have the option of listening to an audio book on his ipod or doing some reading with me during that time.  The three items of huge interest for him on this list are:  Hip hop; real foods cooking; and curling.



Seth:

  • Swimming; 
  • Skating;
  • Group music class;
  • Awana (mid-week Bible program)
  • and Soccer.

Seth is very interested in, and excited about, every one of these activities, though mostly about soccer!


Lizzie:

  • Swimming;
  • Skating;
  • Group music class;
  • Gym class;
  • Awana.

Lizzie is enthused about all of the above, and would love to add a gymnastics class to the mix, but because she's only six, we're holding off for just a bit...maybe in January.

This may sound like a lot of extra curricular activities.  It is.  But we're at home during the school day and therefore have flexibility and time to take on these kinds of activities.  Most of these activities will take place during the day, and my chauffeuring is aided by the fact that they will all three be in the same skating class, have swimming at the same time, have music and piano lessons at the same time, have gym class at the same time, and so on.

So, we're on board for these outside activities as well as with a Math curriculum.

Beyond that, well...our learning program for the year is a little on the loose side!  AAHHH!

I'm going to continue to read out loud as extensively as I can, which all of the kids enjoy now.  To date, I've focused mostly on reading fiction out loud...and that's been great to cultivate imagination and a love of listening to stories.

I will also now be incorporating a lot more non-fiction reading, and in this reading I want to pursue areas of interest to the kids.

Focusing on some of the kids' areas of interest is a primary way we're going to pursue schooling this year.  Whether it involves project work, my reading out loud, doing crafts or science experiments around an area of interest, getting involved in initiatives outside the house, or whatever, I want to help the kids explore things that are interesting to them, hoping that the more they engage in learning about something that fills them with curiosity and questions, the more they will learn all of those facts and skills they will need as they get older.

The more I intentionally try hard(er) to listen to what my kids are saying, the more I realize how easily and unintentionally I by-pass many of the little things they talk about as being interested in.  Instead, I've focused, with the best of intentions, on teaching them, and what I've concentrated on teaching them has had far more to do with what their like-age peers are learning at school than what they really need and want to learn.  Rather than cultivating their natural interests and pursuing them with the things that engage their minds and attention, I've been preoccupied with teaching.

That's going to change.  Despite my terror, I'm prepared now to make changes in how we learn at home.  In fact, we've started already.

It's going to take time to get into a groove.  I have three very different children with very different and unique interests, and this will be both challenging and more labour/time intensive for me.

But I'm beginning to feel a little excitement in the air about the whole thing, and the look in Matthew's eyes when I told the kids that we were going to be doing things a little differently around here...well, that look said it all...surprise, relief, excitement, intensity.  I'd barely finished talking before the ideas started to come...from all three.

That look, that conversation, were what generated my own excitement.

After all, there's something in this for me, too...


(to be continued)



17 comments:

  1. Hi Ruth, this is an interesting concept! Pardon a dumb question, but what does the research say about unschooled kids making the transition to a college setting where they have mandatory classes outside of their area of interest? By then, are they grown up enough to take a class because the program says so? I'm also curious whether unschooled kids tend to work for themselves as adults because of the freedom that gives them compared to fitting into a corporate structure with a certain amount of "must-dos" required by the organization. Looking forward to your next post...Heidi

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    1. Hey Heidi -
      OK, I had to laugh when I read your comment...you've been at the back of my head as I was writing these posts a couple of weeks ago and I have been waiting for these questions from...YOU! Love it!

      There's no dumb question here, trust me...and if there are, I've asked them all, so they seem pretty normal to me.

      Unschooled kids, when surveyed, are lumped in with other h/schooled kids and so the stats represent both...though keep in mind that u/schooled kids (esp the radically u/schooled kids, which is what I suspect you're really interested in) are a small percentage of h/schooled kids.

      Most of the research comes out of the U.S. at the moment. Currently, the ivy league universities, including Harvard, are rolling out the red carpets for h/schoolers, and the biggest reason generally given is that h/schooled kids tend to come into the university setting being able to think extremely well for themselves and are self motivated, by comparison to many publicly schooled kids who are taught according to text books and more by rote. I know several, and know of many, h/schooled kids who enter university on full scholarships based on meeting entrance requirements. How kids actually get into universities depends on the university - some universities simply look at transcripts that parents prepare and track in the last few years of high school (supported by a letter of completion from the government h/school rep). Other universities have entrance exams that a h/schooled student might take. Others have fewer requirements than these, even, and/or look to other contributions the kids have made over the course of the past few years. It's really all over the map. The big thing, from my perspective, is the importance of tracking what your kids do in the last few years of schooling at home.

      Good question re: entrepreneurship. Based on the stats (which I don't have on hand at the moment, but I might dig them up some time soon), h/schoolers are slightly more inclined towards entrepreneurship in their adult life - not because of the 'must-dos' within a corporate setting but because they are simply the kinds of people who can often think outside the box a little more readily than some. It's pretty common, actually, to hear of teenage h/schoolers who are already running their own business or who are able to gain a significant amount of work experience elsewhere, simply because they have the time to do it and are developing their interests.

      Being an entrepreneur yourself, Heidi, and a very creative one at that, you may want to wait around for one of my kids to work for you!

      Being h/schooled doesn't necessarily mean that kids, when adults, will have a harder time meeting the 'must dos' of an organization. I imagine some will and some won't - though I can pretty much bet they'll be at an advantage when out-of-the-box thinking is required. Many h/schooled kids have lots and lots of opportunity, during their teen years, to work with adults and mentors - whether through employment or volunteer work. It's similar, in a way, to the assumption that most people have that h/schooled kids won't be properly socialized b/c they haven't gone to school - the reality is that most h/schooled kids spend a lot of time with other people, including a lot of adults, so by the time they themselves are adults, they're pretty well used to working with adults. This is why you tend to find h/school teens markedly different than their schooled peers b/c h/schooled kids tend to have good relationships with parents and other adults and talk to them and look them in the eye, etc etc....all those things you tend NOT to associate with teenage behaviours. (just wait, though, maybe my kids will prove the exception!).

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    2. (continued from above)

      A slight aside...my observation is that h/schooled kids in general tend to seem a little immature in comparison to their schooled peers, at least in the pre-teen years. H/schooled kids tend to be a little more dependent on their parents, might be inclined to tantrum, etc, for longer, and simply aren't quite as 'worldly wise' as their schooled peers. Then the teenage years hit and my observation has been, over and over and over again, that these are the years when the roles are reversed...that's when the h/schooled kids are the ones more likely to be engaged in adult conversation, willing and able to share independent thought and ideas, etc etc etc. I know it's meeting a bunch of h/schooled teens that heavily weighed in on our decision to h/school.

      OK, one more thought in a second!

      Ruth

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    3. As part of my homework this summer, I had a chance to meet and sit down with a number of unschooled kids, including two who are being radically unschooled...no curriculum, no structure whatsoever.

      These kids were amazing. Absolutely amazing. I walked out of those afternoons thinking that if my kids 'turned out' half as well, I'd be thrilled.

      One kid in particular stood out to me...a radically unschooled 17-year-old boy who spent a couple of hours talking with me. This is a guy who'd been busing himself around the city since he was about 7 years old, always taking himself to things that interested him. He's very, very involved in the theatre and in acting, and hopes to make a living at it soon. I asked him all kinds of questions about the future, including what he would do it, 10 years from now, the acting wasn't working out for him and he needed a university education in order to do what he next wanted to pursue. He looked at me a little blankly and asked me (very genuinely) what I anticipated the problem to be. I suggested that it might be hard, at that point, to get into university without necessarily having the requirements. He said, "well, then I guess I'd have to get the requirements met." He went on to say that if this were to happen, he'd have already spent the past 10 years doing something that he absolutely loved to do and that during those years when others were trying to 'find themselves' through taking degree after degree, he'd already have been living his dream. He then said that if he wanted to change course, it was simply a given that he would then have to work at whatever was required to meet whatever expectations the university had to allow him to do what he wanted to do. He said that he knew how to learn, and that he was entirely comfortable in the knowledge that he might want to change course some day. Huh.

      I thought about the years of post secondary schooling that I've done and how it took me until I was in my mid/late 30s to really discover what I loved and what I was good at, and I closed my mouth. In my view, he was absolutely bang on, but in all of my preconceived notions, I'd never thought about it like that.

      Food for thought.

      Ruth

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  2. Hi Ruth - just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this series of posts. I'm very interested in h/schooling, and unschooling, while a new concept to me, fits pretty closely with how I always envisioned the ideal learning situation for my future children. My background is in education and a lot of the theories as well as practical work I've done in the area seem to support this concept. It's funny how difficult it can be to wrap our heads around something outside of the system, while as you pointed out, the system is still relatively new (and, in my opinion, at times very broken for so many students). Just a bit of a ramble to say I can't wait to read the rest of these posts and see how this plays out for you. Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. Hey Christine, and thanks for commenting! I'm glad something is resonating for you...how awesome that you're thinking through this stuff now already, pre children...and how great that you have an education background. Both of those things will be of assistance to you when you're at the point of diving into the crazy and wonderful world of schooling at home.

      Seriously, my single biggest obstacle to any of this stuff is myself - the public system and its requirements are so deeply engrained in me, added to which most of the population surrounding us is still immersed in the system as we know it...those things combined make it really, really hard (for me) to broach something so different.

      But try I will...and I sure hope you do someday too.

      Thanks again Christine!

      Ruth

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  3. Oh I laughed when I read your comment about me in the back of your head. I'm in the back of my head too and sometimes it's scary! :)

    Good info and thanks for taking the time to explain it. I would accept applications from your crew with gladness!

    Heidi

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  4. Wow! So many thoughts to process. Even in your responses to comments you have continued answer some of my long time questions.
    I have to admit now, that when my sister announced that she was switching her kids from a Waldorf school to h/schooling, I was quite vocal in my concerns. That was pre-kids. I am still not ready to be a 100% convert, but I have greater understanding and appreciation now. I do still have concerns (I have vivid memories from being 7 and her being 13ish and witnessing nightly battles with her not understanding middle school math). But, I do get why many feel it is best. Now, with your education of me, I believe she now falls into the unschooling category. Please keep writing so that I can continue to grow in my support as a sister and aunt. I want to learn... I need to learn...
    Ellen

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  5. And if you have other questions, Ellen, just ask...I may not know the answers but I'd love to try!

    Speaking as a h/schooler who is regularly judged and criticized for what we're doing, I can tell you that the best support you can give your sister is to try to suspend judgment...at least on the outside. :) It is hardest when those closest to us aren't supportive of our decisions about h/school.

    Anyway, I'm so glad that something is resonating, Ellen, and that it helps you to look with new eyes to your sister's situation. And we don't all have to agree with things to the point of doing something ourselves - but maybe understanding more leads to compassion and empathy.

    Hugs,

    Ruth

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    1. I know, and I do try. My choice of words probably was not the greatest above, so probably needs clarifying. My"vocal" was actually rather quiet, but that is why it seemed loud. My sister knew I had concerns and that I did not want to actually say them out loud once the decision was made that it was so quiet between us that it felt to ME as if I were screaming my disagreement. She knew I had concerns and knew I did not want to voice them for her sake. I guess it comes down to wanting what is best for my nephews and not understanding the approach. Now, and for a while now, I accept. Yes, with reservations, but I do about public school, private school, and all others 'cause nothing is perfect. Actualy, I think I am realizing that I am enjoying your current series as much as I am because YOU are answering many of the questions I have had for HER but have never asked for fear that my response to her answers would be judgemental. And as I said, pre- and post- kids my thoughts are definitely different.
      Clearer?
      Ellen

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    2. Have no time here, but I'm so glad to be able to answer questions you may wish you were able to ask your sister! Ask away as they come up!!

      ANd yes, there's no one perfect system, is there!?

      Hugs,

      RUth

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  6. Hi Ruth,
    I wonder.... maybe the people who require the most 'unschooling' is us? This seems to be describing what you say is happening to you, in order for you to 'school' your children differently... this experience feels very familiar to me.
    I have a further comment and thought about Reggio pedagogy/curriculum. One of the interesting and inspiring (to me) things that Reggio education does... they have several important questions to ask of any pedagogy: 1) What is the image of the child that guides this pedagogy? 2) What is the image of the school/schooling that guides this pedagogy (you wrote a few posts ago about the purpose of education. 3) What is the image/role of teacher and parent in relation to this? ... These questions come far before any 'outcomes' or 'curriculum'... They also refer to the 'environment' (ie. classroom, location learning is taking place, etc) as the "third teacher" (the first two are teacher and parent... in your case you are both). They carefully consider what the environment is 'teaching' children about themselves and what matters. So Reggio learning environments tend to be stunningly beautiful, full of nature and interesting things to study, and light, and high quality art supplies, etc. They tend to change a lot over time as different projects are worked on. What is obviously absent in them is any pre-manufactured stuff that is so prevalent in schools and actually so hideous and really just part of the consumeristic impulse. Also absent are things like worksheets, standardized textbooks, etc. What is evident in these environments is the extremely high quality, scholarly quality, to and in children's learning and work. It often holds a wisdom and aesthetic beauty that far surpasses what we often have come to expect in children's 'products'. One of the interesting things they emphasize, which you children might enjoy, is creating multiple representations of learning... so many you build something... to actually learn about and articulate what you (the child/children) have done, more representations are possible, like writing about it, building it again with a different material, photographing, drawing, etc. In this way, teachers and learners stay meditatively with (leisurely with!) their work and learning, they focus, instead of running from one thing to the next as fast as possible. I think they learn poise and grace, and to do work that matters, for themselves and with others.
    The actual Reggio schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, do not have prescribed curriculum either. They create curriculum based on their inquiries with children, based on listening to children's ideas and interests, and then carefully document the process and children's learning so that their next pedagogical decisions flow forth from that. As a home schooler you are very fortunate to be in the position to create curriculum with and for your children. Of course this also comes with great ethical responsibility. But it also does with prescribed curriculum... no matter what, as adults, we bear the terrific responsibility to usher the young into the world.
    : )
    jackie

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    1. My goodness Jackie - yet again, you've given me so much to think about...there are at least 3 or 4 things here that capture my interest - for example, creating multiple representations of learning - what a novel approach and one that I've never (deliberately, anyway) applied before. Also, the idea of work that matters - that's something very much in keeping (but much more well stated!) with what I'm hoping to do with the kids over the coming years. Also, the role of the environment, the use of quality materials (which is something I also considered recently when buying art supplies for a number of projects I have in mind for the kids in the coming weeks - and ended up buying acrylic paints that are more adult oriented and high quality paper to go with it...simply b/c I wanted them to enjoy the aesthetics of what they were able to produce with high quality mediums).

      Etc etc..must run...trouble brewing. Thanks so much Jackie...huge food for thought.

      Ruth

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  7. i've never seen any research on it, but it seems to me now that i think of it, that creating multiple representations, or multiple 'tellings', would be very helpful for ELL children's language development. Actually any children's language development, as their brains would have a chance for repetition that is meaningful and connected many times in a row, a chance to try to explain things and think about things in different ways. Have you read "Proust and the Squid: The story and science of the reading brain" by Maryann Wolf. Really brilliant and enlightening. She's a neuroscientist and has two children of her own with dyslexia. It's part pedagogical book to teach us mere mortals and non-scientists about what happens in the human brain when we 'read', and also a lament about schools and how little they/we pay attention to some of this new science, especially about how our brains work. It seems likely to me that this kind of science is going to transform curriculum and schools. Sooner or later it has to.

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    1. All I can say, Jackie, is that I'm glad you're my teacher!! Sooo much food for thought.

      Ruth

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  8. Hi, Ruth!
    I have been wanting to comment on all your very exciting homeschool/unschool thinking for ages now (long before you started this series, to be honest) but I seem to be much better at composing messages in my head rather than actually writing them down. Even now, I am sitting at my work computer with only ten minutes until the bell goes (yes, I am a teacher) and I am not sure how much I will get written before lunch time is over...but still, something is better than nothing, right?
    I guess the first thing I want to say is that even though I know you feel very "out there" in terms of what you are trying to do in terms of the education of your children (and after all you have written, I think "education" is a much better term for it than "schooling" - so much broader, bigger, more open...), you are definitely not alone - so much of what you have written over the last few weeks has reminded me exactly of the kinds of conversations that my colleagues and I have here at the public school where I work (in your very own city, in fact.) There are so many different ways to teach, and different ways to approach the question of "what is curriculum" - and the reality is that (in my humble opinion, at least) the most effective teachers are the ones who are responsive to the students in their classrooms (their needs, interests, abilities, stories) and shape their "curriculum" around them, rather than try to shape the students around what is laid out in a provinical document. At my school, the provincial curriculum is viewed as a valuable tool for teachers' teaching and planning, but it isn't (by any means!) considered the last word in what will be explored in a classroom in a given year. We know that no two students are alike and are going to develop in the same ways, in the same time, at the same pace - and more and more teachers are approaching teaching in ways that reflect that reality. It's really very exciting and liberating, although also terrifying (especially if you are a product of a more traditional system). Mulitage classrooms, inquiry-based learning, and classroom structures and enviroments which encourage emergent curriculum (you will see the Reggio Emilia theme that Jackie has been mentioning emerging here!) are all ways that teachers at my school are working to create productive, purposeful learning communities which encourage, nurture and challenge children's unique interests and learning styles.
    Anyway, I have much more to say but my time is up for now - just know that you are not alone, and also that the idea that kids in public school are all learning the same thing at the same time is more and more a myth.
    You have a very exciting year ahead of you! If you're ever interested in talking to some like-minded teachers, I think we could have some very interesting conversations!
    Sonja

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  9. Sonja, thank you for the lovely comment! You wrote a lot in just ten minutes!!

    I also have just a few moments, but needed to respond at least a little. I was thrilled to read what you wrote about the changes in your school re: curriculum and beyond - what school do you teach at?? It sounds pretty awesome. I love what you described, about multi-age classrooms, inquiry-based learning, etc etc. And from what I'm learning about the Reggio Emilia theme since Jackie first wrote about it, this aspect sounds awesome too!

    And you're right - it DOES help me feel not quite so much 'out there.'

    I'm sorry I have to run, but thank you so much...and maybe there'll come a day when we CAN sit down and have one of those sure-to-be interesting conversations...that would be awesome.

    Hugs,

    Ruth

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