Playing (Andre Stern)

Short, profound video (French with English subtitles of Andre Stern talking about the importance of play, for learning (and the frivolous nature of "education"):


http://journaljose.blogspot.ca/2013/05/andre-stern-in-english-lifelong-playing.html

And a link to an interview, there.

Accuracy in Academia, small article on homeschooling

Homeschooler uprising in America?
Spencer Irvine, May 3, 2013

http://www.academia.org/homeschooler-uprising-in-america/


WASHINGTON – According to researchers, disgust, dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the U.S. public school system is on the rise, so much so that the number of homeschoolers is on the rise.

“Since 1999, the number of children who are being homeschooled has increased by 75%,” Julia Lawrence reports in Education News. “Although currently only 4% of all school children nationwide are educated at home, the number of primary school kids whose parents choose to forgo traditional education is growing seven times faster than the number of kids enrolling in K-12 every year.”

. . . .

Australian family on video

Pros and cons of home schooling
au.tv.yahoo.com

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/ccfb7e2c-bc5b-3cfe-acef-b4df073bb86f/pros-and-cons-of-home-schooling/

Don't spoonfeed babies

Avoid Obesity and Let Babies Eat With Their Hands

"Babies who feed themselves with their fingers chose less sugar and were less likely to become obese than spoon fed babies, according to a study in the British Medical Journal Open.  It was a small study based on recollection, but the findings were still interesting and give us clues about how children self regulate food."

More:
http://healthwise-everythinghealth.blogspot.com/2012/02/avoid-obesity-and-let-babies-eat-with.html

What this has to do with unschooling is that it's a match for all of this:   The Full Plate Club

The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning

from the site:

This journal seeks to bring together an international community of scholars exploring the topic of unschooling and alternative learning, which espouses learner centered democratic approaches to learning. JUAL is also a space to reveal the limitations of mainstream schooling. JUAL understands learner centered democratic education as individuals deciding their own curriculum, and participating in the governance of their school-if they are in one. Some examples of learner centered democratic possibilities are unschooling, Sudbury Valley , Fairhaven , the Albany Free School , and the Beach School in Toronto. In terms of unschooling, we view it as a self-directed learning approach to learning. Free, open access Current issue

Archive

Hacking your Education

Hacking Higher Education: Dale Stephens and Unschooling

Forbes, March 18, 2013

Book review/article by Anthony Hennen.

Apprendre sans l'école, Interview in French

Lafamille Laferrière-Meloche wrote:

Voici une entrevue que j'ai donné sur notre quotidien d'unschoolers. La journaliste a simplement rapportée mes propos et son introduction est très positive!

Here's an interview I gave on our life unschoolers in french)! The introduction of the journalist is very positive! Apprendre sans l'école
http://ecoleurbania.ca/apprendre-sans-lecole/
Ne pas envoyer ses enfants à l'école. Certains le font, dont Stéphanie et Alain, et on a jasé avec eux.

Home, sweet school (Australian article)

Home, sweet school

Sydney Morning Herald, February 9, 2013
by Catherine Keenan

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/home-sweet-school-20130204-2dt7h.html

World of Warcraft in the classroom

Teamwork, interpersonals, vocabulary...

Teacher ditches books for video games AmericaNowNews.com

Part of the article:

Words like "quest," "guild," "story," and "epoch" comprise the game's key vocabulary.

"I didn't think language arts could be fun, but this actually makes it really fun," said Cheyenne, a student in the class.

Cheyenne is the only girl in the class, but she says the class is a team and the members are now her friends.

"Since I've been in here, we have been doing quests together and, in a way, getting to know each other better," she said.

http://www.americanownews.com/story/16954437/one-teacher-ditches-books-for-video-games

Unschooling truly in a class of its own

Unschooling truly in a class of its own

Andrew Taylor
Arts reporter, Canberra Times

Interview of Lauren Fisher, about her family in New South Wales, and some quotes from Beverley Paine and Penny Lewis.

---

Sandra Dodd comment: Either this is missing some context, or the professional he interviewed for balance (those professionals never know anything about unschooling) totally contradicted himself. It seems disjoint to me:

A senior lecturer in Monash University's Faculty of Education, Dr David Zyngier, does not support any form of home schooling because the vast majority of parents are not capable of teaching their children to read, write or be numerate.

"Children on their own without external intervention will never learn to read and write or do mathematics, the three most difficult things that any child will ever learn," he said.

"That is why we leave these things to well-educated professionals. That is why we no longer go to witch doctors for medical issues or try and fix our cars, fix faulty electrical systems ourselves."

Dr Zyngier said there is no robust evidence that unschooled children are capable of the same academic achievement as measured by year 12 results. Unschooling has laudable aims, but Dr Zyngier said "powerful learning like these approaches need to be offered in all schools to all children". "But such learning approaches if taking place outside of the school will only be possible in middle-class families," he said.

Very many people can repair their own cars and do minor electrical repairs. I wish journalists didn't feel that it created balance to embarrass a professor or psychologist that way. Nearly every article gets some "professional" to embarrass himself or herself that way.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/education/unschooling-truly-in-a-class-of-its-own-20130122-2d59r.html