Unschooling - We don't need no education.

[Enclave Supremacy]

"Let a child do his or her own thing". Sweet; I love pre-industrial education systems. Which is basically what these people are.

I'm torn, I don't want to let the government demand what you can do with your children (because people have being doing this for literal most of human history) but it seems unhealthy and contrary to building a functioning society for this whole thing to be so unregulated or policed.

 

[The Great Chandler]

The last time we had kids not receiving education was the child labor days.

I'll let you note that the child labor kids really wanted that kind of education.

 

[King Kong... with wings?]

"Let a child do his or her own thing". Sweet; I love pre-industrial education systems. Which is basically what these people are.

I'm torn, I don't want to let the government demand what you can do with your children (because people have being doing this for literal most of human history) but it seems unhealthy and contrary to building a functioning society for this whole thing to be so unregulated or policed.

sometimes there has to be a sacrifice of freedoms to benefit everyone like with education

 

[Bugaboo]

These people should switch places with families in Africa where they either can't afford to go to school or there's no schools nearby, they'll love it and I'm sure the poor African kids will love going to school.

Now I know a lot of first nations communities have a lot of distrust and fear of the Canadian education system because until a few decades ago Christian churches had funded schools where first nations children were forced to go to and weren't allowed to speak their language and forced to learn english and were often beaten and abused in various ways. After they graduated they didn't fit into their old society and wouldn't be accepted into the rest of Canadian society so they were pretty much fucked. Anyway they're still pissed about it and I wouldn't be surprised if some first nation parents practice this form of "education" because it's the way their ancestors did it. On reservations the government pretty much lets them do whatever and have their own educational system seperate from the rest of Canada, also lots of poverty. That's fun

 

[fcgh vgcf]

the entire concept of unschooling in america just seems like regular swedish education tbf

 

[Dr.Research]

Dr. Phil had a pair of "radial" unschoolers on the show years ago.
I think it was more that the parents were butthurt over their own failing in school. Like, the father said he was a C student and while he excelled in math and science, he sucked donkey dick at things like English and dropped out of high school.
Now I don't want to shit on for people who dropped out and earned a GED, but high school English isn't that fucking hard unless you have a learning disability or don't speak English. If this guy was so frustrated by a single subject difficulty he has a real problem. Almost everyone struggles with a subject or two, that's what tutoring and practice is for.

The parents said that instead of reading about things like history they do things like go to trips to those living history museums or other related things. And because they didn't put limits on things, the kids weren't inclined to hoard or stick to one activity. So the kids didn't spend all day watching TV because they knew anytime they wanted to, the option was there. Another thing was that the mother said they learned things like money skills because when they went shopping she would give the kids some money to buy treats. So? You can do that with kids who go to school. That's one of the ways kids learn about money anyway.

Sheeven said "My unschooled child will hire you're honor student".

Umm- no. That's completely delusional. Your unschooled child might work at McDonalds. Maybe, I don't even know what kind of GED or diploma you'd get with unschooling. The parent's also talked about instilling ingenuity and entrepreneurship to their kids. How? By going to the park instead of learning math? Go figure, the father said he was an entrepreneur too. You can't develop ideas if you lack basic math, writing and critical thinking skills that you learn in school.

Now traditional school is not perfect. Evolutionary, humans are not meant to sit at a desk for 6 hours and listen to someone talk. But we do it. And the vast majority of people can do it successfully. And there are genuine criticisms about curricula, quality of teachers and other things, but it's better than just playing with your kids all day. If you have a problem with your school system, fucking move. Obviously the Dr. Phil family mentioned above could seeing as how the father was an "entrepreneur" and the mother could, apparently, just stay home unschooling the kids.

Dr. Phil even called them on some things like deadlines. How can your kids be competitive and hire-able if they never have had to deal with assignment deadlines? The parents basically said that as the kids grow up they'll get the idea. Again, no. You learn how to work with deadlines by actually having them. An adult who never had to budget their time and work against the clock will probably fail spectacularly when their boss says 'I need the papers proofed by Friday at 3 and that presentation ready to present Monday 8 am.' Imagine if you, never having worked with deadlines, suddenly had adult time constraints on you.

I think unschooling and even homeschooling are completely ridiculous. I think it's just breeding grounds for religious fundies to brainwash kids and/ or leave them massively unprepared for the real world.

 

[Kartoffel]

I personally think that children will profit the most be some kind of mixed education; make sure that they have all the important basics and give them besides the opportunity to learn something they like and desire (and help them to push trough tough points, it'll be worth it). The wish to master a certain subject/skill is a very powerful catalysator for learning; unfortunately normal school fosters more the opposite style (learning to be good enough to pass a certain test/not to fail compared to others), but it's so important to learn to use the mastery style if you want to be successful in your later life, instead of just good enough.
Learning stuff that annoys you is actually healthy in that it teaches you to bite through when stuff is shitty, which is an immensly important soft skill.

Also children are incapable of successfully manage their own learning in the long run. The prefrontal cortex is the structure in the brain that's regulating executive functions which are what you to be a self taught person; and this part of our brain is the one that takes the longest to mature, adults differ from children not only in size and sexual maturity.
Also like every one of you with at least two working brain-cells can attest; you're only able to appriciate certain things taught in school long after you learned then, because it takes some broader knowledge to see the big picture.

 

[Splendid]

But OP, they don't need no thought control from those public schools.

 

[Zim]

If she finds out about us. I'd say 100 pages.

Make it so.

 

[Mason Verger]

This is our next generation of lolcows right here. Poorly socialized, Internet raised with unhealthy connections to their parents, parents who will make these kids believe that they are sooooo special.

No doubt public schools have significant issues and failings, but none of these kids seem like inner city youths, those kids who probably have a legitimate reason to not go to school due to gangs, bullying and poor curriculum. These all seem to be white kids that have the luxury of one bread winner parent and one stay at home pal. The ONLY way I could see this working is if the parent has a farm or a trade that the kid could be absorbed into.

I've never met a homeschool kid that didn't grow up to resent it a little.

 

[Slowboat to China]

Man, this and the Sudbury/Waldorf/Free School threads are hitting me right in the feels. Education is one of the great levelers in society. I mean, sure, America's kinda fucked up right now, but we still have a proud tradition (however apocryphal) of the self-made man, who rises out of the sphere of his birth thanks to hard work and education. Unschooling is hobbling these poor kids right out of the gate.

 

[IwegalBadnik]

Worse than unschooler parents are unschooler teachers. (Yes, I suppose I am appropriating the title--bear with me please).

In my time, I have heard and seen stories of teachers who feel their sole purpose at their job is to sit on their asses and do nothing while the kids teach one another. Unlike unschooler parents, whose reach is generally limited to less than a handful of kids, unschooler teachers can quickly effect upwards of three dozen or more.

One teacher who I knew practiced a style that is unschooling in everything but name is an utter train wreck when it comes to actually educating kids. Rather than being concerned with the children she was charged with educating, she would put the work in front of them and direct them to solve it for themselves while she sat on her ass, ate yogurt and browsed the web. (Because the subject was math--a building block subject--most of the kids found this new material to be a substantial leap, with many being unable to make the jump with the total lack of assistance from the supposed teacher). Beyond not doing anything, she also took it upon herself to be absent for extended periods so she could travel to collect awards. (Substitute teachers were tasked with filling inShe practiced this strategy for years before admitting that it failed. (Of course, the moment the tide of angry parents left with the graduation of the previous class she promptly recanted her admission, resumed her antics and blamed the students and parents for the poor results.)

Now if you are upset that a do-nothing like this person could be damaging educational prospects, relax--you haven't even heard the clincher yet: this unschooler wants to be put in charge of writing curricula--the agreed upon topics a school will work to teach and what standards they set around them. Her ideas regarding this entail that she would: dictate precisely how teachers teach and students learn, with no regard for the different needs that can and do arise in classrooms; specify that all tests be open book and that students would not be given explanations or even be told about the process by which to search for answers.

Similar to other unschoolers, she likens herself as the messiah of education and that she's the first person to turn up who truly knows how to educate children. Paid by taxpayers for sabotaging the education of dozens of children--what a life.

 

[Mason Verger]

but we still have a proud tradition (however apocryphal) of the self-made man, who rises out of the sphere of his birth thanks to hard work and education. Unschooling is hobbling these poor kids right out of the gate.

But that's the sad delusion these parents are clinging too. "My 16yr old toddler loves playing Goat Simulator all day, so I'm sure he'll find his way into become a tech billionaire!". That's not how that shit works, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein had focus. You don't attain focus and drive by doing whatever you want all day.

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

This is our next generation of lolcows right here. Poorly socialized, Internet raised with unhealthy connections to their parents, parents who will make these kids believe that they are sooooo special.

No doubt public schools have significant issues and failings, but none of these kids seem like inner city youths, those kids who probably have a legitimate reason to not go to school due to gangs, bullying and poor curriculum. These all seem to be white kids that have the luxury of one bread winner parent and one stay at home pal. The ONLY way I could see this working is if the parent has a farm or a trade that the kid could be absorbed into.

I've never met a homeschool kid that didn't grow up to resent it a little.

It's bad enough that the current generation and prior are making fools of themselves even as we speak. But the thought of future generations being almost exclusively lolcows makes me die a little inside.

Say what you want about the education system, at least they wouldn't fuck up as badly as these parents would. Makes you wonder if they themselves went to school. Or if they did, paid any attention.

 

[Mason Verger]

It's bad enough that the current generation and prior are making fools of themselves even as we speak. But the thought of future generations being almost exclusively lolcows makes me die a little inside.

Say what you want about the education system, at least they would fuck up as badly as these parents would. Makes you wonder if they themselves went to school. Or if they did, paid any attention.

TFW Chris-chan is actually right about the Internet turning everyone into autistics. Hell, look at Japan. Their youth would rather stay in their rooms and dress like cartoon cats then actually socialize and breed. Their hottest games are friggin dating simulators. Dating simulators featuring pigeons..

 

[The Grimace]

I knew this kid back in the day who was homeschooled, and he seemed like the biggest sperg. Like over the various years where I had to hang out with him because he went to the same kiddie playgroup as us, he never really seemed to improve mentally.

I dunno if he actually had something wrong with him or if the lack of socialization from homeschooling fucked him up that bad.

 

[NG 070]

Eh, I was homeschooled and I can tell you right off the bat: it wasn't entirely bad (and it wasn't for religious reasons, that much I will say), but you need to have your shit together to do it right. There's groups and organizations out there that have pseudo-classrooms and ensure socializing with other kids. And keep track of progress, etc.

And most people I know who homeschool, only do it for elementary to middle school. When the kids hit high school age, then they send them back to actual school, be it public or private. That, I think, is fair.

But unschooling? ughhhh... no good can come from that.

 

[IwegalBadnik]

Eh, I was homeschooled and I can tell you right off the bat: it wasn't entirely bad (and it wasn't for religious reasons, that much I will say), but you need to have your shit together to do it right. There's groups and organizations out there that have pseudo-classrooms and ensure socializing with other kids. And keep track of progress, etc.

And most people I know who homeschool, only do it for elementary to middle school. When the kids hit high school age, then they send them back to actual school, be it public or private. That, I think, is fair.

But unschooling? ughhhh... no good can come from that.

Homeschooling can certainly work--provided you have stated goals and standards to work to.

Unschooling has none of that and that is the critical difference that dooms it.

 

[Cosmos]

How does a person get to the point they feel standard education on basic subjects is immoral? Yeah, the school system in any country has problems and it's great to think of a child's welfare and autonomy. But, how does someone wholeheartedly come to the decision the only honorable recourse is no formal education at all?

This kills me, because there's a really simple solution to this. If you feel like your child isn't being enriched enough by the school system, you can do supplemental activities with them. Like, for example, little Billy learns about adding and subtracting during the week, and then mom takes him to a museum or some kind of exhibit during the weekend. You don't need to abandon the school system entirely, you can just supplement it with hands-on learning or other activities.

But no, I guess the better option is just yanking your kids out of school and letting them run around.

 

[Cubanodun]

Now we know that the supply of lolcows in the future will increase a lot