Homeschooling, but not as you know it

[Kate&Lucas]

I wouldn't pay much attention to the way it's portrayed in the DM! But I'm not a fan of the idea of 'unschooling' either.
I can understand some of the reasons for it, but not enough to reconsider mainstream education. I've read a few articles on unschooling (and home schooling in general), and a lot of it is stuff we do already alongside regular school.

I guess it depends on what 'life lessons' you want your children to learn too. My parents were pretty loose with my education, and despite being one of the brightest kids in the class (at the time), and part of the 'gifted and talented' scheme at school, I dropped out at 14 because I didn't see the point. I thought that being smart was enough, I had no work ethic because neither of my parents worked or put any emphasis on my future career prospects.
Not that I believe that's how unschooled children will end up but it's the reason I chose to put him in mainstream school. I've gone back into education (currently studying for a degree) and got myself a job because that's what I want him to see growing up, that we have things because we work for it, that education is important in having a good career. I want him to make better decisions than I did.
It might sound boring and I'm sure it's possible to do great things without a solid education and qualifications, but for me that just wasn't the case.

 

[summer rain]

I think the mother was very naive and a tad bit foolish to agree to this article. The DM are anti home-ed in general let alone unschooling. This is the same newspaper that wrote a caption under a picture of a friend in an article about how she 'converted' to Islam, saying she 'now has to wear voluminous black robes' except she didn't and the picture was of her in western clothing and hijab *snigger*.

I know an unschooling family where all the children did their GCSEs aged 11 or 12 and one was ready for uni aged 15 but due to emotional maturity issues his parents didn't allow him to go until 17. We are semi-structured and aside from Art and a GCSE in English, I have no formal qualifications, yet my children are for the most part working at least 1-2 years ahead in everything. The article wasn't clear on the law as it currently stands as there are further guidelines they didn't quote, stating things such as work doesn't have to be marked or dated, work doesn't have to be age specific, there is no need to study specific subjects, have a timetable or otherwise observe any type of structure. The law has been reviewed in the past and kept the way they are.

My children do go to bed fairly late some nights but so do many school children we know and at least my kids don't then have to wake up at 6am. My children do have a loose routine but on some days it does go out of the window, however generally we do a few hours of work in the morning up until lunchtime or mid-afternoon. They don't play any computer games though their maths curriculum is online. We used to, under unlawful duress from our local council, stick to a timetable, insist the children did all their work in a certain order, and otherwise observe a strict structure. Even after doing all this not only were the children unhappy and becoming resistant to doing their work but the council STILL weren't happy. In the year we did unschooling, in some respects, they learned more than during the whole 2.5 years the council were bothering us.xx

 

[pinkpolkadot]

Don't you just love the Daily Fail, always trying their very best to put a spin on a story to cause maximum outrage!

I think this sounds like a great way to educate kids if it suits your family, for me nothing compares to learning by experience.

I also like that is it encouraging free thinking and creativity, I could have done with a bit more of that during my school years, I slightly resent the fact that it took me so long to realise that taking the traditional route of working for someone else 9-5 wasn't for me.

For those that say this is a lazy way of educating your kids, surely if you were that lazy then sending them to school and letting someone else take care of it would be an easier option? (Not saying people who do this are lazy BTW!)

 

[Pearls18]

I don't like any kind of home schooling for my family, i wouldn't know where to begin nor would I want to do it, I loved school growing up, felt I made the most of it and love being at work now not at home. There are selfish and genuine reasons why I wouldn't home school, but in all honesty as I know it is not something I would remotely consider it's not something I've read into, I know there are some fantastic mums on here who do a hell of a lot of research for home education and I have no doubt their kids will grow up to be very intelligent well balanced people, I don't think I could achieve it myself lol. I'm sure there are some "lazy unschoolers" out there, but tbh I bet there's a hell of a lot more lazy parents who send their kids to school and have no idea what their children are doing, how they are doing or help at home, I don't see how home education could ever be seen as a lazy choice as to me it's a lot easier to send your kids off to school, bring on September 2015

As for the lack of routine that's another thing that wouldn't sit well with me, I like routine, I like bed times, I'm quite traditional in that DH and I are the heads of the house, the kids will do as we say, it was how I was brought up and I had a very stable and happy childhood, not saying it's the only what to successfully parent of course, but it's how we parent. So yeah unschooling just terrifies my traditional routine obsessed mind lol.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I dont really know my opinion? Nice idea for younger ones but I cant help worry about what happens when older as I guess school prepares us for work routine etc?

 

[pinkpolkadot]

I dont really know my opinion? Nice idea for younger ones but I cant help worry about what happens when older as I guess school prepares us for work routine etc?

The lady in the article says she wants to encourage her kids to be free-thinking entrepeneurs which I think is great! Not all work requires routine, personally (in hindsight) I felt pushed into traditional work and routine by school.

 

[omfgski]

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[cat lover]

Hmmm im not anti home schooling but i think structure is important for kids. how will they cope at uni? and im sorry,but how many 'free thinking entrepreneurs' are actually successful? to be honest i dont really see the issue with mainstream schooling, or why people are so keen to do their own thing

 

[pinkpolkadot]

Hmmm im not anti home schooling but i think structure is important for kids. how will they cope at uni? and im sorry,but how many 'free thinking entrepreneurs' are actually successful? to be honest i dont really see the issue with mainstream schooling, or why people are so keen to do their own thing

I don't think uni is the be all and end all, they may decide after being 'unschooled' they don't want to take that route.

Depends how you define success. I would say as long as you're happy doing what you're doing then you are successful.

 

[catty]

If they are not going to be an entreprenuer wont it be hard for them to fit into a structured life with routine and getting up at a set time, set lunch time etc. Afterall I dont believe they can all have theirown businesses. I just think it would be difficult to fit into a 'normal' job after having so much freedom of choice.
The lady on p2 (I cant go back to see your name) I looked on your blog and the things you do I think are great, alot of the things you do seem educational though rather than what this article makes it appear.

Edit- freckleonear, I would hope I could do alot of these things they seem fun but also things they could learn from.

 

[omfgski]

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[Nut_Shake]

I think if you're introduced to a routine, in the most part you'll be able to cope with daily routine later on in life better. Even with self settling at bedtime (which I'm big on with my kids) I've read of several experiences of adults whose parents allowed them to self settle when young who now find it very easy to settle their minds and bodies at bed time. I.e. Not always rocked to sleep or needing some sort of stimulation to fall asleep etc. Please no one jump on me for this, no scientific research has been done on this that I know of and nothing has been proven so i'm not saying AT ALL that this is the way things SHOULD be done! I'm just saying in my head it makes sense to me and it works for us.

 

[Natsku]

Routine is pretty easy to pick up in my experience. I've gone from routine, to no routine at all, to strict work routine, to looser routines, back to no routine at all. Just takes a little while to get used to the change.

I think unschooling could work for the right child (one who is interested in and motivated to learn a varied enough range of 'subjects') but not all kids would do well with it (just like not all kids do well with formal schooling).
One thing from the article though that stuck out to me is the part about challenging the assumptions you've grown up in and how that would be difficult for a child that is homeschooled as you really need to be out of the home environment to truly do that.

 

[Pearls18]

I think if you're introduced to a routine, in the most part you'll be able to cope with daily routine later on in life better. Even with self settling at bedtime (which I'm big on with my kids) I've read of several experiences of adults whose parents allowed them to self settle when young who now find it very easy to settle their minds and bodies at bed time. I.e. Not always rocked to sleep or needing some sort of stimulation to fall asleep etc. Please no one jump on me for this, no scientific research has been done on this that I know of and nothing has been proven so i'm not saying AT ALL that this is the way things SHOULD be done! I'm just saying in my head it makes sense to me and it works for us.

Snap, routine just works for us, I personally like a routine and I know DS does too (but thankfully he isn't a slave to it, he's actually quite flexible as well) there's other ways of doing things, but the way we do things works well for us

 

[Kate&Lucas]

I don't understand why people make such a big deal about the routine thing. Surely people can learn to stick to a routine for work even if they didn't have one during childhood? I mean, I went from routine routine routine at school to suddenly only having 8 hours a week lectures. I adapted to not having a strict routine so why not the other way round?

I can't speak for others but I found it very difficult going from no routine to trying to get into one for work. I didn't have that sort of discipline in me and it took me years (though given the chance I snap straight out of it in days - it is very natural for me to sleep odd hours because it's what I know). But I was nearly kicked out of college for falling asleep and basically being a grumpy bag of emotions because I wasn't adjusting properly. In the end I lied and told them I was an insomniac because it was less embarrassing than admitting I wasn't coping with it.

Lucas only got into a routine when I started work a year ago and he took to it like a duck to water.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I don't understand why people make such a big deal about the routine thing. Surely people can learn to stick to a routine for work even if they didn't have one during childhood? I mean, I went from routine routine routine at school to suddenly only having 8 hours a week lectures. I adapted to not having a strict routine so why not the other way round?

I can't speak for others but I found it very difficult going from no routine to trying to get into one for work. I didn't have that sort of discipline in me and it took me years (though given the chance I snap straight out of it in days - it is very natural for me to sleep odd hours because it's what I know). But I was nearly kicked out of college for falling asleep and basically being a grumpy bag of emotions because I wasn't adjusting properly. In the end I lied and told them I was an insomniac because it was less embarrassing than admitting I wasn't coping with it.

Lucas only got into a routine when I started work a year ago and he took to it like a duck to water.

I totally agree. Ive been a SAHM for 6yrs and I would definitely struggle massively conforming to a work environment. I think routine is important for organisation too!

 

[pinkpolkadot]

It seems clear routine works for some but not others. Personally I hate routine despite growing up with it, but my toddler likes it at the moment and has set her own so I have no choice

I don't think routine is necessary for learning but I do agree it is probably easier for most people to go into a 'regular' job if they are used to routine. We will probably be encouraging our kids to do their own thing though (but not against their will of course) as I think they will greatly benefit from the freedom, enjoyment and satisfaction it can bring. That way they can choose to follow routine or not.

 

[AP]

I actually like the idea (in another life I guess!), but I don't know if it's right or not. I will firmly say though i learnt far more on my own accord even whilst in school, and it frustrated the teachers when I was veering them off their class plans

 

[bookreader]

I think it is fantastic for the right family and children. It is definitely something I will be considering.

As with routine, works for some, not for others. We have no routine and this works well. In regards to my life, my personal/work/education have seen my routine have to change many an occasion, and this has never been an issue for me. But others may struggle with this. As we would with routine.

 

[JASMAK]

My friend does this. Her kids are the same age as my kids....and waaaaay smarter. They are crazy intelligent, polite, and very social...and super mature. If I had the time, patience and dedication...I would homeschool. My friend does the no structure, learn as they live approach....and at first I was VERY against it....but, I cant find a single thing wrong with it. Her kids...age 8 and 5..read adult novels. Its nuts. Makes me realise our public education is crap.