Unschooling?

[Ozzieshunni]

I'm watching this show called Radical Parenting. They are talking about unschooling, which is basically letting the kids decide how they want to learn with limited guidance from the parents. I don't know. I'm not trying to be judgmental or anything because to each there own. What do you guys think about this? Is there anyone on here that does this?

 

[gemabee]

i saw this nd god did it make me angry!
what made me laugh is they were playin with a dr's or vet's kit nd all i could think was - 'how ironic... ur playin with that yet denyin ur kids the opportunity to do that as a career because they'll have no formal qualifications'.
bein a parent isn't jus about lettin ur children have a good childhood... its disciplinin them, preparin them for the future, nd allowin them every opportunity u can feasibly give them!
gah... makes me mad.

 

[SAglas]

MM read about somrething similar before but I am with Gamabee, they need an educaion.

 

[marley2580]

I was mostly unschooled and I use bits of it with my own children. If it's done correctly then it can work really well. A lot of home educators use it successfully.

 

[marley2580]

i saw this nd god did it make me angry!
what made me laugh is they were playin with a dr's or vet's kit nd all i could think was - 'how ironic... ur playin with that yet denyin ur kids the opportunity to do that as a career because they'll have no formal qualifications'.
bein a parent isn't jus about lettin ur children have a good childhood... its disciplinin them, preparin them for the future, nd allowin them every opportunity u can feasibly give them!
gah... makes me mad.

I had no formal qualifications yet I still went to university. I did this by deciding that I wanted to study at a higher level (at the age of 15) and so I chose to go to further education to get qualifications and entry into university. I actually believe that home education served me extremely well by encouraging a love of learning and supporting autonomous study. My brothers and sister also have no formal qualifications and they all have successful careers.

 

[freckleonear]

I didn't see this particular program but I have several friends who do unschooling. I think the important thing to remember is that children are naturally very inquisitive and with unschooling their love of learning isn't spoiled like it is in schools. Plenty of unschooled children do have formal qualifications, because when they get older they decide that they want to take some exams to open up further study or a chosen career path. Formal qualifications aren't always needed anyway, I have absolutely no GCSEs but went to university when I was 16. I think it can work very well if done properly.

 

[gemabee]

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly. Unschoolin (nd a lot of other styles of parentin shown in the program) I will never agree with, nd frankly I find ridiculous. My son will get a formal education, with formal qualifications, nd I'll discipline him... AND I'll give him a happy childhood - it is possible! Imo anyone who's done ok with unschoolin is the exception - not the rule.

 

[marley2580]

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly. Unschoolin (nd a lot of other styles of parentin shown in the program) I will never agree with, nd frankly I find ridiculous. My son will get a formal education, with formal qualifications, nd I'll discipline him... AND I'll give him a happy childhood - it is possible! Imo anyone who's done ok with unschoolin is the exception - not the rule.

But what would you define as 'done correctly'? There are a lot of people that use unschooling and their kids do very well.

 

[buttonnose82]

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly. Unschoolin (nd a lot of other styles of parentin shown in the program) I will never agree with, nd frankly I find ridiculous. My son will get a formal education, with formal qualifications, nd I'll discipline him... AND I'll give him a happy childhood - it is possible! Imo anyone who's done ok with unschoolin is the exception - not the rule.

But what would you define as 'done correctly'? There are a lot of people that use unschooling and their kids do very well.

I was going too ask this, because lets face it, there are some schools (formal education) where it is done incorrectly also

Surely if a child is learning, then regardless of the method, it is being done correctly

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Very interesting! Marley, I did like aspects of it, like learning through experiences because that's the way we taught when I taught preschool. It was formal, but informal, iykwim? I hope I didn't ruffle feathers.

 

[buttonnose82]

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore F. Roosevelt
Florence Nightingale
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Charles Dickens
C.S. Lewis
Benjamin Franklin
Venus & Serena Williams
Dakota Fanning
The Queen

All people that were home schooled

 

[gemabee]

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly. Unschoolin (nd a lot of other styles of parentin shown in the program) I will never agree with, nd frankly I find ridiculous. My son will get a formal education, with formal qualifications, nd I'll discipline him... AND I'll give him a happy childhood - it is possible! Imo anyone who's done ok with unschoolin is the exception - not the rule.

But what would you define as 'done correctly'? There are a lot of people that use unschooling and their kids do very well.

I was going too ask this, because lets face it, there are some schools (formal education) where it is done incorrectly also

Surely if a child is learning, then regardless of the method, it is being done correctly

i wholeheartedly nd 100% disagree... i'm not debatin it with anyone so don't bother tryin to entice me into an argument.
its my opinion that the parental styles in the programme are detrimental to childrens future nd not somethin i would EVER wish for my children. period.

nd home-schoolin isnt whats under discussion... un-schoolin is.

 

[gemabee]

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore F. Roosevelt
Florence Nightingale
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Charles Dickens
C.S. Lewis
Benjamin Franklin
Venus & Serena Williams
Dakota Fanning
The Queen

All people that were home schooled

again... i thought we were discussin unschoolin.

 

[buttonnose82]

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly. Unschoolin (nd a lot of other styles of parentin shown in the program) I will never agree with, nd frankly I find ridiculous. My son will get a formal education, with formal qualifications, nd I'll discipline him... AND I'll give him a happy childhood - it is possible! Imo anyone who's done ok with unschoolin is the exception - not the rule.

But what would you define as 'done correctly'? There are a lot of people that use unschooling and their kids do very well.

I was going too ask this, because lets face it, there are some schools (formal education) where it is done incorrectly also

Surely if a child is learning, then regardless of the method, it is being done correctly

i wholeheartedly nd 100% disagree... i'm not debatin it with anyone so don't bother tryin to entice me into an argument.
its my opinion that the parental styles in the programme are detrimental to childrens future nd not somethin i would EVER wish for my children. period.

nd home-schoolin isnt whats under discussion... un-schoolin is.

I wasn't trying to entice you into an argument, I was just asking a question

and the reason homeschool was brought into it is because unschooling can be seen as a subset of homeschooling

 

[Lyndz]

i saw this nd god did it make me angry!
what made me laugh is they were playin with a dr's or vet's kit nd all i could think was - 'how ironic... ur playin with that yet denyin ur kids the opportunity to do that as a career because they'll have no formal qualifications'.
bein a parent isn't jus about lettin ur children have a good childhood... its disciplinin them, preparin them for the future, nd allowin them every opportunity u can feasibly give them!gah... makes me mad.

I agree and whilst i didn't see that programme, i have read about unschooling and i don't agree. I think school is important for a child to gain a formal qualification and for the social aspect. I have to agree also with if you have done well from home schooling, you are an exception.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Again, my intent was NOT to start a debate on what was better. I can see how aspects of each are good. I do not however believe that childhood is all about disciplining your children and preparing them to be good little adults. Kids should be able to be kids. That's what childhood is for!

 

[Serene123]

Each to their own

I think people who choose that method probably have done a lot of research and don't just wake up one day and think, hey you know what, my kids don't need to learn anything

 

[marley2580]

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly. Unschoolin (nd a lot of other styles of parentin shown in the program) I will never agree with, nd frankly I find ridiculous. My son will get a formal education, with formal qualifications, nd I'll discipline him... AND I'll give him a happy childhood - it is possible! Imo anyone who's done ok with unschoolin is the exception - not the rule.

But what would you define as 'done correctly'? There are a lot of people that use unschooling and their kids do very well.

I was going too ask this, because lets face it, there are some schools (formal education) where it is done incorrectly also

Surely if a child is learning, then regardless of the method, it is being done correctly

i wholeheartedly nd 100% disagree... i'm not debatin it with anyone so don't bother tryin to entice me into an argument.
its my opinion that the parental styles in the programme are detrimental to childrens future nd not somethin i would EVER wish for my children. period.

nd home-schoolin isnt whats under discussion... un-schoolin is.

But it was you that said -

I think home schoolin is ok done correctly.

I was simply asking you what you mean by this.

 

[marley2580]

i saw this nd god did it make me angry!
what made me laugh is they were playin with a dr's or vet's kit nd all i could think was - 'how ironic... ur playin with that yet denyin ur kids the opportunity to do that as a career because they'll have no formal qualifications'.
bein a parent isn't jus about lettin ur children have a good childhood... its disciplinin them, preparin them for the future, nd allowin them every opportunity u can feasibly give them!gah... makes me mad.

I agree and whilst i didn't see that programme, i have read about unschooling and i don't agree. I think school is important for a child to gain a formal qualification and for the social aspect. I have to agree also with if you have done well from home schooling, you are an exception.

Well I can certainly point you in the direction of hundreds of these 'exceptions'. If school is all about formal qualifications what about the 30,000 young people that leave school in England every year without any qualifications?

 

[Ozzieshunni]

My DH was literally kicked out of school at 16 and told he wasn't able to take his final exams because he hadn't done his assignments in his classes. School for him was a discipline based, overly structured environment. There were lots of other circumstances surrounding his upbringing as well that probably contributed. He wants to get a high degree and has the intelligence to do so. Thing is, in this day and age, you can be the smartest, most adept person in the area you're looking to work in, but if you don't have the paper to back it up, it means nothing. It's very unfortunate.