Homeschool News and Muse

Newsweek: Why Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Education

2012-01-30T19:04:00.000-06:00

Why Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Educatiion
Jan 30, 2012 12:00 AM EST

They raise chickens. They grow vegetables. They knit. Now a new generation of urban parents is even teaching their own kids.

Many of these parents feel that city schools—or any schools—don’t provide the kind of education they want for their kids. Just as much, though, their choice to homeschool is a more extreme example of a larger modern parenting ethos: that children are individuals, each deserving a uniquely curated upbringing. That peer influence can be noxious. (Bullying is no longer seen as a harmless rite of passage.) That DIY—be it gardening, knitting, or raising chickens—is something educated urbanites should embrace. That we might create a sense of security in our kids by practicing “attachment parenting,” an increasingly popular approach that involves round-the-clock physical contact with children and immediate responses to all their cues.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/01/29/why-urban-educated-parents-are-turning-to-diy-education.html

Thousands of parents illegally home schooling

2012-01-29T12:14:00.001-06:00

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008

By Ian Townsend for Background Briefing
Updated January 29, 2012 13:59:08

As a new school year begins, more than 50,000 Australian children will be home-schooled and in most cases, their parents are doing it illegally.

It is compulsory to send children between the ages of six and 16 to school, or register them for home schooling, but more parents are opting out of the traditional school system and keeping their children at home.

However, thousands of parents across the country are not registered and that means they potentially face prosecution.

Governments have been reluctant to take legal action, but in a landmark case last October, Bob Osmark from the Home Schooling Association of Queensland was prosecuted for not registering with the Home Education Unit to home school his 13-year-old daughter.

Mr Osmark had home-schooled his nine children.

He was charged under the Queensland Education Act that says parents have to enrol children of compulsory school age in a school, or register them for home schooling.

Mr Osmark was found guilty and fined $300 plus costs.

"I didn't register with the Home Education Unit. I refused to do that because I see education as something of a parental right," he said.

"We as parents know and love our children best. It's not some cold faceless bureaucrat in the education department that knows what's best for your child.

(...and there's more)

In Praise of Homeschools

2012-01-16T19:01:00.000-06:00

http://mises.org/daily/5866/In-Praise-of-Homeschools

In Praise of Homeschools, by Aaron Smith

Positive article on unschooling in Quebec

2011-11-14T11:32:00.001-06:00

Faire la classe à la maison - «Il faut réinventer l'école»

And interview withSonya Olthof in Montréal

Click above to go to the article.

A Google translate-to-English link (when it opens, click "translate")
http://translate.google.com/#fr|en|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ledevoir.com%2Fsociete%2Feducation%2F334967%2Ffaire-la-classe-a-la-maison-il-faut-reinventer-l-ecole

The google page for others: translategoogle.com

A situation in France

2011-11-14T05:47:00.001-06:00

English summary:
http://rodriguez-martin.horsdesmurs.com/rodriguez_martin_presse_version_anglaise_horsdesmurs.pdf

Updates, in French:
http://rodriguez-martin.horsdesmurs.com/

Videos in French and English appeared in this blog in March:
http://unschooling.blogspot.com/2011/03/sylvie-martin-rodriguez-on-unschooling.html

Canadian article on unschooling

2011-11-12T09:29:00.000-06:00

Unschooling: Legitimate pedagogy or foolish fad?
Why some scholars are adopting an educational philosophy that eschews formal lessons and any form of structure – and why others think it could be dangerous.

by Tim Johnson

http://www.universityaffairs.ca/unschooling-legitimate-pedagogy-or-foolish-fad.aspx

This article is critical and a bit alarmist, and some of the examples they gleaned from the parents they interviewed are lame, but unschooling is difficult to understand even for those who want to, and easy to MISunderstand for those who want to revile it. —Sandra

Two other TV interviews of the Bentley family

2011-11-07T09:38:00.000-06:00

KGUN9 (Tucson, AZ) Interview on Radical Unschooling, July 2010

Unschooling Bentley Family on The Today Show, October 14, 2011

Unschooling Bentley Family on KTVU FOX 2 Unschooling segment, November 4, 2011

2011-11-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

Unschooling Bentley Family on KTVU FOX 2 Unschooling segment, November 4, 2011

Lisa Cottrell-Bentley's family:

WomanMagazine, U.K.

2011-11-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

For a larger image, click (and then click that one again):

Fox Carolina article

2011-10-31T23:07:00.000-05:00

"More parents choose to 'unschool' kids"
by Diana Watson

Posted: Oct 31, 2011 9:29 AM MDT

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/15914475/more-parents-choose-to-unschool-kids

The article quotes Kelly Lovejoy and refers to Jeff and Kelly Halldorson's family, but I wish it had been edited better.

Unschooling: A natural way to learn

2011-10-04T12:53:00.000-05:00

September 30, 2011, Portland Family:
Unschooling: A natural way to learn, by Carisa Brewster

http://www.portlandfamily.com/posts/unschooling/

Survey needs homeschoolers' responses, please

2011-09-30T22:42:00.002-05:00

Roya is Pam Sorooshian's daughter. Please help her out with this! Pass it on. (The photo is Roya and her mom.)

Note: The survey is set up for U.S. families only. Sorry to the many others who will come by here!

Dear Homeschooler,

My name is Roya Dedeaux. I am currently working on my Master’s degree in Counseling at California State University, Long Beach to meet my goal of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). I was homeschooled from the age of ten, when my mother removed me from the public school system. From that time, I have been interested in how our alternative education has impacted us as a culture.

As I began my studies in the Counseling field, I became more and more aware of how many therapists are unaware of the diversity that the homeschooling population includes. I also heard many anecdotal stories of homeschoolers who felt they could not go to therapy because they were afraid that the therapist would not understand their lifestyle.

I decided to use my current studies to benefit the homeschooling culture that I grew up with. The purpose of my study is to measure adult homeschooler’s mental health needs, and their attitude towards seeking therapy. The results of my thesis will hopefully be used to benefit the homeschooling population by providing much needed information to the mental health profession. If there are any significant barriers for homeschoolers to seek therapy, this survey will isolate those as well.

I found your homeschooling organization’s email address from an online search. To qualify to take this survey, you need to be over the age of 18. Additionally, you need to have EITHER been homeschooled yourself, OR homeschooled your own children. Any types of homeschooling methods, religious affiliations, or mental health needs are welcome. It should take approximately 25 minutes, is completely anonymous, and at the end you are qualified to win one of 2 $50.00 electronic gift certificates to Amazon.com!

Please feel free to pass this survey along to any other adult homeschoolers you know. I have two goals: 1st, to get 1000 responses, and 2nd, to get responses from every state!

Thank you in advance for your help and support of a fellow homeschooler.

--Roya Dedeaux

THE SURVEY:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/homeschoolerssurvey

Unschooling — Is This A Cure For Our Failing Education System?

2011-09-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

Unschooling — Is This A Cure For Our Failing Education System?

http://www.courant.com/features/parenting/hc-unschooling-parenting-pelham-20110930,0,3987396.column

The beginning of the article:

If we were to start from scratch, how would we create the best possible learning environment for our children? Would we organize children in neat rows of uncomfortable desks and chairs, segregated by age and alphabetized? Would we try to squeeze seven diverse subjects into a six-hour day? Would every child be forced to learn the same information at the same time and then get tested immediately to make sure it stuck?

Obviously, no. But the factory-style school system is the system currently in place, and many families are deciding that they want something different, something more natural for their children. A few leaps beyond homeschooling is unschooling, a concept with a definition that is different for every unschooled child. Perhaps one-third of the thousands of homeschooled children in Connecticut are unschooled.

Indiana article on unschooling/eclectic homeschooling

2011-09-25T22:36:00.000-05:00

Parents turn to 'unschooling' for learning outside the home

http://www.jconline.com/article/20110925/LIFE/109250309

HoltGWS.com

2011-09-14T10:39:00.003-05:00

Pat Farenga posted this moments ago:

Today is the official opening of the revised www.holtgws.com site. All the back of issues of Growing Without Schooling are online for free, as well as many articles, videos, and recordings by and about John Holt. I've also added lots of books, research and support for unschooling teens (including college admissions) and children.

HoltGWS Home
www.holtgws.com
Growing Without Schooling magazine, unschooling and homeschooling information, and the learning advocacy work of John Holt and his associates are here. Documentation and support for self-directed learning.

St. Louis Kids Magazine, February 2011

2011-09-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

This article isn't new, but it seems I didn't link it here or on my site, so today I'm adding links. Michelle Cox wrote the articles (is credited for the third one, but I think she designed them all).

In February 2011, St Louis Kids Magazine (online and I'm not sure whether on paper) did a three-part series. Their local featured-family mom was Valorie Helt. In the bottom of the first part, Ren Allen was interviewed. The second section was an interview with me (Sandra Dodd), and the third was about state law, Valorie's family, and the opinion of an expert (who was largely supportive, and they let me respond to the dismissive ideas).

Unschooling in St. Louis
http://www.stlouiskidsmagazine.com/story/unschooling-st-louis

Why a Former Teacher Kept Her Own Kids Out of the Classroom
http://www.stlouiskidsmagazine.com/story/why-former-teacher-chose-unschooling-her-own-kids

Debating How Kids Learn
http://www.stlouiskidsmagazine.com/story/unschooling-part-3

The end of the third part of the series:

Basically, it is a method of education that doesn’t use curriculum or formal lesson plans, but rather lets children learn based on what interests them. (Read more about what unschooling is in Part 2 of our series.)

Not surprisingly, the method has its critics.

Dr. Keith Sawyer is a professor of psychology and education at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a well-published author and leader in the field of learning sciences and a regular speaker on school reform and how people learn.

Sawyer said that some of ideas behind unschooling have merit. “It’s true that most students are bored in school, don’t like it and don’t find it motivating. Even talented students - not just drop-out students - report being pretty bored in school,” he said.

“One of the unschooling premises is that children shouldn’t be made to learn something they don’t want to learn, and research does support the idea that kids learn far better when they are intrinsically motivated (motived by the love of doing it) versus being externally motivated (by grades or money).”

Additionally, Sawyer said that research supports the idea that more effective learning occurs in authentic and situated learning environments - environments in which individuals are learning to use knowledge in a real world setting.

“Classrooms are detached from a real world context, so I can understand how unschooling has the benefits of learning in a project-based, real-world settings,” he said.

However, he said that while there is research to support some elements of unschooling, the fundamentals are misguided.

“The whole purpose of schooling is to create a learning environment which will accelerate and support the most optimal kinds of learning. It is true that people can learn by themselves, but they will learn more effectively where the goal of the learning environment is to help them learn in the most effective and efficient way.”

Sawyer said that is why societies developed structured learning environments, which have been around since the onset of reading, writing and literacy. “Even before we had formal schools, we had apprenticeships and religious instruction so that people could learn to read and teach the Bible,” he said. “The notion that people will learn best when completely removed from any designed learning environment isn’t valid.”

Sawyer acknowledged that there are significant issues with school settings today and that reform is necessary. “I have no problem with parents who are working to find alternative designed learning environments, but to say we don’t need ANY kind of designed learning environment is ridiculous,” he said.

Dodd disagreed, saying, “Our entire life created a learning environment for our children, every day, at home or out in the world.”

She added that there was a time when only scholars had access to tablets and writing, so a student needed a scholar to share those materials in order to learn. “In 2011, access to the written word is everywhere,” she said. “In a family with books, magazines, a library card and the Internet, that is a world of literacy unprecedented in any time before this.”

On the practice of “radical unschooling,” where the methods of unschooling are more of a lifestyle and are also applied to parenting practices, meaning no bedtimes or limits on access to media, Sawyer said that’s a completely different topic. “That’s not just unschooling, it’s unparenting,” he said. “It’s a huge leap from unschooling to unparenting.”

Dodd countered that it takes more parenting to be with a child directly as he lives and learns, no matter what time it is, than it does to parent by the clock and tell a child to go to bed regardless of what he’s doing.

“I understand that it’s difficult to understand unschooling,” she said. “Even for those who want to understand it, it takes awhile. I would never speak of something I had never seen, nor write about a country I had never visited, nor review a food I had never tasted.”

Catholic Unschooling

2011-08-31T08:23:00.001-05:00

A Little Way of Homeschooling, a book by Suzie Andres, with stories of a dozen families, eight of whom are unschoolers.

The link above leads to an interview which is in itself very informative, and here is the link to the Amazon page with reviews and an image of the book (with "look inside" option): Amazon listing for A Little Way of Homeschooling [Paperback]
(Goofing around with the search, I see I'm mentioned in there three times. Wow.
And not a link to my site, which is what I expected might be in there. —Sandra)

'Unschooling' Gaining Popularity, Allows Children Alternative Learning Tools

2011-08-29T17:18:00.001-05:00

'Unschooling' Gaining Popularity, Allows Children Alternative Learning Tools

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/unschooling-gaining-popul_n_940770.html

Several families quoted, positive article on unschooling in the Huffington Post.

Blake Boles, on "The Unschooling Mindset"

2011-08-16T07:35:00.000-05:00

Blake came to unschooling from an unusual angle, studying it in college, and fixating on John Taylor Gatto, who wasn't involved in unschooling, but Blake is bright and personable and deeply interested in the subject!

http://vimeo.com/21249033

The Unschooling Mindset - Blake Boles from Blake Boles on Vimeo.

Blake's blog: http://www.blakeboles.com/

Crazy and sane, just sitting there.

2011-08-14T13:02:00.001-05:00

The 6 Dumbest Things Schools Are Doing in the Name of Safety

My niece, Gina, who was unschooled and is now grown, sent this link. It's at Cracked.com, which is a humor site, but this article isn't very funny. There are links directly to news reports of new, surprisingly not-meant-to-be-funny, controlling and limiting rules in some real American schools and school districts. THIS is where unschoolers come from.

Brie Jontry, who is the unschooling mom of an artistic young daughter, sent this, and I'll keep the note in which it was delivered:

I just read a timely piece in the New York Times titled, "Our Plugged-In Summer." It was timely for two reasons: this post and the general on-going conversation among new-to-unschooling, and the not-so-new, about all the learning that happens as a result of ALL kinds of media and, I recently commented on another list that seeing kids as "plugged-in" isn't helpful for teasing apart concerns about TV and computers. After all, kids (and adults) aren't machines that need an external power supply.

Anyway, here's that article....
"instead of avoiding the Internet while we were on vacation, my family and I made good use of it, and it rewarded us in many ways"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/fashion/this-life-a-plugged-in-summer.html?_r=1

......and, because I often hear Sandra's voice in my head, commenting on my thoughts, here's a link to her page on "Balancing in the Middle Ground"

http://www.sandradodd.com/balance

Brie

Those who sent the links are involved with unschooling. Those who wrote the articles are not (as far as I know). —Sandra

CNN article on Unschooling and Sudbury schools

2011-08-03T10:12:00.002-05:00

Unschoolers learn what they want, when they wanthttp://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/03/unschooling.sudbury.education/index.html?hpt=li_c2

By Jacque Wilson, CNN
August 3, 2011

This is same-old article, and equates Sudbury school with unschooling. They have asked a professional who knows nothing about unschooling to comment, as usual.

This is wryly interesting:

Calls to the National Education Association for comment on unschooling were not returned.

(Thanks to Keith Dodd for sending the link.)

School’s Out...(forever)

2011-07-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

Cover story on Good Times

Homeschooling and unschooling. A look at the alternatives in Santa Cruz, by John Malkin

http://www.goodtimessantacruz.com/good-times-cover-stories/2765-schools-out.html

European Home Education Conference 31 August - 4 September, 2011

2011-07-17T09:44:00.000-05:00

I was invited to speak here and can't go (they offered partial airfare, but I just go back from Europe, and I'm speaking in San Diego in early September).

European Home Education Conference. There are English-language speakers, and French, and Spanish. The message I had said in part:

Some information can be found here in English http://aleenred.blogspot.com/2011/06/european-home-education-conference.html We're going to record a documentary of the gathering and conference and have talks about forming a European and International home education organisation.

31 August - 4 September, 2011

Unschooling Media: Participatory Practices among Progressive Homeschoolers

2011-06-20T11:02:00.001-05:00

Unschooling Media: Participatory Practices among Progressive Homeschoolers

By Vanessa Bertozzi

Master’s of Science Thesis in Comparative Media Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology May 12, 2006

This copy of the report is hosted on a page by a science educator in India. I got to meet him last fall in his "lab."

The interviewer is more artist than researcher, and we had fun interacting with her.

The study is not new, but I didn't know of any online site for it before. Something there might be of interest to someone. :-) The "informants" credits are:

All the Informants: Eva Kendrick; Pat Farenga; Carsie Blanton; Rob & Lizette Greco; Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko & Randy Kay; Sage, Garrett, Bella, & Emily Adderley; Matt Hern, Selena, Sadie, Daisy Couture, Ashley Doman, & The Purple Thistle punks; Susannah Sheffer & Aaron Falbel; Sue, Marc, Eli & their Jamaica Plain coop; Mary, Mike, Peter, & Richard X; Sandra, Kirby, Marty, & Holly Dodd; Ken Danford, Vlad Blanton, Sphennings Stephens, & North Star; Jason Marsh; Clayton & Vernon Dewey, Danilo X; David Friedman & his family; Denise Perri; Derek Davis; Dan Roy & his mom; Gabrielle Anderson; Heather Cushman-Dowdee & her family; Jeremy Merritt & his family; Jon Shemitz; Joyce & Kathryn Fetteroll; Katie Shuflin-Febuary & Evyn; Katrina Cornell; Loretta Heuer; Nika & Ed Boyce; Roland Legiardi-Laura; Tiara Shafiq; Doug Healy; Billy Upski Wimsatt; & Grace Llewellyn.

Hindustan Times articles on homeschooling

2011-06-20T02:18:00.000-05:00

June 19, 2011:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/tabloid-news/mumbai/Home-truths/Article1-711140.aspx

June 14, 2011:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Home-is-school/Article1-709315.aspx

(The image was lifted from the facebook page called India Group for Homeschoolers & Alternative Education, and I don't know how to find a larger copy of it or the other articles on the site. If others come by who can help, please leave comments with links.)

"Unschooled" on National Public Radio

2011-06-07T04:21:00.000-05:00

Pam Tellew wrote:

My oldest son Sam's radio story "Unschooled" will be airing today (his 17th birthday) on NPR's All Things Considered the last 10 minutes of the hour. It's up online in print (audio later) on the All Things Considered web site http://www.npr.org/2011/06/06/137009154/unschooled-how-one-kid-is-grateful-he-stayed-home

This is something Sam decided to do all on his own. I only got to read it just now and still haven't heard the audio.

With summer on the horizon, many teens are looking forward to a break from school and tests. But for Sam Fuller of Albany, Calif., not much is going to change. Fuller is part of a rare minority of home-schoolers who call themselves "unschooled" — a more unstructured, self-directed form of home schooling. There are about 2 million registered home-schoolers in the U.S., a number that grows by about 10 percent a year. Sam's family can keep Sam and his brother home by registering their house as a private school.

"Wonder Room"

2011-06-03T03:28:00.002-05:00

Schuyler Waynforth sent a link to an article on a school in the UK that created "a wonder room." Below this link and quote, I'll link a couple of pages from my unschooling site.

A Wonder Room – every school should have one
The Nottingham University Samworth academy has a room packed with curiosities and puzzles that stimulate pupils' imaginations, and generate a sense of wonder

Chris Arnot
The Guardian, Tuesday 31 May 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/31/wonder-room-nottingham-university-academy

He firmly believes the idea should catch on. "I think every school should have a place where wonder can be celebrated. Being interested in seeds, literally and metaphorically, I'm keen to see this idea germinate and spread."

There seems little reason why it shouldn't at a time when schools are said to be cutting visits to museums and galleries because of the cost of supply teachers to cover staff absences.

"Your House as a Museum": http://sandradodd.com/museum

Wonder: http://sandradodd.com/wonder

Rather than visiting a wonder room on occasion, unschoolers can have the whole world as their wonder room.

Spain

2011-05-31T03:50:00.003-05:00

Earlier this month I had an e-mail with some commentary and details on the home education situation in Spain.

From Lisa E Mitchell, with permission to share:

I wanted to clarify the situation in Spain, where I live.
Our situation in Spain, fortunately, is not the same as Germany, where they have Hitler's law prohibiting homeschooling.

There are no laws in Spain that specifically prohibit homeschooling, so it's not that we can't homeschool in Spain, it's that it's in a legal void for lack of previous experience.
It's Alegal (not illegal) = one cannot prohibit something that has not, in law, been prohibited.

However, they are still at the stage where they equate school absenteeism to parental neglect,
hence the current persecution of a number of homeschooling families in different parts of Spain.

The Pat Farenga blog post about Spain, in reference to the "Constitutional Tribunal" Ruling last December, 2010
http://patfarenga.squarespace.com/pat-farengas-blog/2011/1/19/homeschooling-is-officially-illegal-in-spain.html fails to include the fact that in weeks following that ruling in reference to the Spanish Constitution (a ruling that was highly criticised by many, including Madalen Goiria and another homeschooling lawyer mom in Spain, Laura Mascaró, for being highly incoherent, that the legal language in itself was hard to follow, and contradicted itself)

There were several cases of homeschooling families that were found "not guilty", and the judge ruled in favor of the families. Of course the media fails to diffuse this news!

The Clonlara liason in Spain's comment in the comment section underneath the post is correct.

And I now see that Pat corrected his post and acknowledged he had made an error in his statement that it was "illegal in Spain" in this later post: http://patfarenga.squarespace.com/pat-farengas-blog/category/spain

In Cataluña, where I live, they passed a reform on the education law in 2009 that recognized "non-presencial" education, saying that it was up to the education board to set up a "regulatory body" to deal with that, create a register of homeschooling families, etc, and we are still waiting for updates in that regard.

I just read on one of the homeschooling blogs last night that in September there will be some movement from the education board in this regard (setting up a register).

Interestingly enough, I also came across a link to one of the Spanish political parties, the "Partido Popular" election information documents (we have national elections at the end of the month), which I am attaching that states on page 85, under the title "Strengthen the relationships between families and schools,"the following "commitment":
"The introduction of the possibility for education in the home, providing a guaranteed appropriate legislative frame and rigurorous follow-up on the contents, socialization and advances of the students that are in this schooling modality"

"Potenciar las relaciones entre las familias y las escuelas
• La introducción de la posibilidad de la educación en casa garantizando para ello un marco legislativo adecuado y un seguimiento riguroso de los contenidos, de la socialización y de los avances de los alumnos que estén en esta modalidad de escolarización."
Of course reading things like "rigorous follow-up" makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck,but I find it interesting that the PP has specifically included this reference to homeschooling (and therefore obviously is seeking votes from homeschooling families....!)

I am relieved that we have people like Madalen Goiria and Laura Mascaró (who was recently voted president of the Spanish Asociation for Homeschooling and then only a few days later resigned over the "can of worms" she encountered (she had been given due warning but thought it was worth giving it a shot just the same). A true shame to lose her input and proactive effort, indeed) ...both lawyers and homeschooling advocates...

A follow-up, also from Lisa:

Here's a link to a blog in Spanish in Spain dedicated to sharing information on the issue in Spain.
and a link that makes specific references to the legal parameters in Spain that would be the ones cited by homeschooling families to support their legal right to choose:http://homeschoolingspain.blogspot.com/search/label/Legalidad

Unschooling School

2011-04-25T16:35:00.002-05:00

Maureen Downey: Unschooling school

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:03 AM PDT

New Hampshire Public Radio article, April 29

2011-04-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

The New Trend in Homeschooling: Un-Schooling.
By Sheryl Rich-Kern on Tuesday, April 19, 2011

You can listen to the article or read the transcript here:
http://www.nhpr.org/new-trend-homeschooling-un-schooling

in Spain: El 2º Festival Internacional de Homeschoolers

2011-04-16T16:50:00.000-05:00

El 2º Festival Internacional de Homeschoolers se llevará a cabo los próximos 20, 21, 22, 23 y 24 de abril en "La Chopera", Ugena, Toledo.
Ugena, Toledo, Spain

El 2º Festival Internacional de Homeschoolers se llevará a cabo los próximos 20, 21, 22, 23 y 24 de abril en "La Chopera", Ugena, Toledo.
http://fihoo.org/
______________

Deseamos que el sábado, 23 de abril, por la tarde, nuestros niños puedan disfrutar su propio "Talent show" dentro del programa de actividades del Fihoo 11. Para ello os poroponemos que en cada casa preparéis alguna actuación, para que cada niño muestre alguno de sus talentos, desde trucos de magia, baile, teatro, malabares, música, demostración científica, recitación, lectura, etc.

Cuando sepáis que van a mostrar vuestros hijos, mandadnos un mail a info@epysteme.org para que podamos organizar todo. El ensayo general lo realizaremos el mismo sábado por la mañana en el escenario de "La Chopera".

Para más información:

secretaria@epysteme.org

News from India

2011-04-13T14:54:00.001-05:00

I have a note from Urmila Samson. So that no one else has to google anything, I've hotlinked it.\

The conference Hema mentioned was at Deer Park Institute, Bir, Himachal Pradesh. You may want to google that. It's up in the mountains, with snow caps as a back drop. Some brave folks went para gliding. There were numerous monastries (I didn't realize we have so many Tibetans studying years and years in the style of ancient Indian universities like Nalanda University started in way back BC). You may find Shikshantar worth googling too. They have an unschooling attitude to Development issues, and have started Swaraj University which is an unschooly college. Another fellow associated with them named Claude Alvares, is putting together a Multiversity, which is a sort of unschooly university. All these people are worth meeting on your next visit to India. Grown unschoolers from the US usually find them and then find us through them! This was an 'un conference' around the themes: Compassion, Courage, Contemplation and Creativity. The Prime Minister of Tibet in exile, Prof. Rinpoche himself addressed us on the 5th and last day. There was meeting of head and heart, community cooking, stuff for children to do and places to visit. Multi generational, multi cultural, multi socio economic...A guy from Egypt who lived on the street overlooking the recent action...You'd have enjoyed being there!
Love

Urmila

AN ADDITION, forwarded by Urmila, who wrote "Here's a link that describes it more clearly. I think Tana and Warren come from Canada.

Hello everyone,

Here is a blog post that Rennie and I wrote for Organization Unbound on our experience of the Learning Societies gathering:

http://organizationunbound.org/expressive-change/the-un-conference/

We'd love to hear your thoughts, insights...

Cheers from Chandigarh,
Tana'

This is a video of Claude Alvares from another conference:

The paper to which he refers is (I think) this: Launching the Multiversity

More information in French

2011-04-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

Je vis donc j’apprends – Une vie unschooling, a translation by Claire Rakotonimaro in France, of Pam Sorooshian's I LIVE THEREFORE I LEARN: Living an Unschooling Life."

From Quebec, Journal JOSE La Vie ! has several posts on unschooling.

Some other translations are saved or linked here:
http://sandradodd.com/french

Sylvie Martin Rodriguez on Unschooling in France

2011-03-10T17:07:00.000-06:00

French homeschoolers fight to defend their... by Sylviemartinrodriguez

French original:

Des parents menacés par l'éducation nationale by Sylviemartinrodriguez

Class Dismissed: Education and the Rise of Homeschooling in America

2011-01-10T07:18:00.000-06:00

Trailer and press release below:

Just Released!
First Look at the Groundbreaking Documentary Class Dismissed: Education and the Rise of Homeschooling in America.

Announcing the first look at the upcoming documentary, Class Dismissed : Education and the Rise of Homeschooling in America, which will shatter preconceived notions around homeschooling and the families that choose to educate their children outside of the traditional school system. Visit www.3StoryFilms.com and be one of the first to view the preview trailer, read more about this compelling new film, and find out how you can be involved.

About the film:

Class Dismissed will be the first full-length documentary devoted to exploring homeschooling as an alternative to the industrial school model. This film will show how homeschooling is not only rapidly growing in popularity, but how it crosses all social and economic boundaries and covers a wide spectrum of the population. It will answer the questions that many people have about homeschooling and break down the myths that surround it.

From home study and kitchen table math, to perpetual recess and park days, Class Dismissed follows the stories of three ordinary American families in their quest to educate their children outside the school system.

As they each struggle to discover what path is best for their children, the social ramifications of their choices come to light, family dynamics are revealed and they come to realize that homeschooling is not just an educational choice, but also a lifestyle choice that affects the very heart of the American family.

Class Dismissed will challenge its viewers to take a fresh look at what it means to be educated, and offer up a radical new way of thinking about the process of education.

About 3StoryFilms:

3StoryFilms, was founded by long time film editor Jeremy Stuart as a vehicle to bring compelling, untold stories to the screen. Jeremy has been working in the film and television industry for over 20 years; editing and producing hundreds of music videos, commercials, award winning documentaries and corporate projects for many notable clients, such as National Geographic and Lucasfilm.

The Unschool Bus (Halldorson family) in Georgia recently

2011-01-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

RadioFreeSchool

2011-01-03T10:48:00.000-06:00

I wanted to catch up with Beatrice Ekoko, of RadioFreeSchool.

Beatrice, tell me about your grown unschoolers series, please, and about what's new on your site.

I'm always interested in hearing from grown unschoolers and so exactly a year ago, I started a focused, ongoing piece on the subject for the radio free school project.

I've had the opportunity to interview or receive guest posts from at least 18 grown unschoolers/ parents of grown unschoolers and have more lined up for the new year.

You can read the interviews on the blog by clicking on the Grown Unschoolers link under Popular Posts.

Most recently I've spoken with Kate Fridkis of http://un-schooled.net/ and you can read the interview at the blog at
http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/2010/12/grown-unschooler-kate-fridkis-embracing.html
or listen to it at
http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/48260

I have interviewed quite a few and always looking for more!

What are you learning from these grown unschoolers?

That they are mostly all pleased with their education; that they continue to love learning; that they are not afraid of being different or weird, that they are as 'well rounded' as anyone else is, that they are passionate about what they do and that they continue to be self-directed in their lives.
I've learned that many of them are deeply engaged in their own communities—in creating community and basically living lives that they feel are full and interesting and pleasurable.

Tell me about your other projects. What's new on your site?

Radio Free School:
Tantrum space for people who eschew factory learning in favour of unschooling, open source learning, community based, learning without school.

Our family produced this weekly radio show ('for by and about home based learners') for seven years. After a year's hiatus, we are back every so often, but using a 'strictly interview' format only now.

You can listen to up to 220 past shows etc at http://radio4all.net/index.php/series/RADIO+FREE+SCHOOL

Radio Free School blog was started by the un-schoolers at radio free school. We continue to blog about all things pertaining to freedom in learning. http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/

Please continue to visit our blog and add your voice to the comments that help spark new posts that we can all learn from, on our journey to make life and learning one.

Here's an interview Beatrice did with me in 2005: http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/11724—Sandra

Spanish Constitutional Court says "No."

2010-12-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

Home schooling is not legal, rules Constitutional Court

The ruling states that "the right of parents to choose for their children an education outside the compulsory education system for reasons of pedagogy does not fall within any recognized constitutional freedoms."

I think there will be
another gavel coming.

The article reports that the children in question "spoke five languages, knew music and were taught math, science and language, and ethics education."

Part of the ruling: "The court added that the exclusion from the formal system can generate in minors "serious problems in their future development" both in academia (in reference to the difficulties of access to university) and in the social and integration with other children their age."

That was a tactical error on the court's part, to clarify. Their "clarification" can be refuted pretty easily, with statistics from other countries, if they'll accept any outside information.

No doubt this will be overturned before long, but for now Laura Mascaró, the author of Educatíon y libertad (lower right on this page) wrote "I'm thinking of moving to another country or something..."

Laura's article on this ruling is here, in Spanish: El TC contra la libertad educatvia

Links from Laura's notes:

La verdad siempre vencerá, por Julian Assange en La Jornada

Controlar a los controladores, por Francisco Capella en Expansión

Pero qué malo es Google, por Antonio José Chinchetru en Libertad Digital

Beneficios de educar en casa (XXIII edición del carnaval de blogs de homeschooling), por Ketty Sánchez en Mariposas Multicolores

The most dangerous place in the world, por Priscilla Hill en Preserving the torch

Update on Christer, en Friends of Domenic Johansson

A homeschooler's commentary on six weeks in high school

2010-12-05T20:43:00.002-06:00

One of the unschooling moms on facebook posted this introductory note:

Here's a video by one of the unschooled boys in our homeschool group. He talks about his six weeks of high school and explains why he stopped going. It's definitely worth watching!

A little story with big meaning

2010-12-05T07:28:00.000-06:00

Hazel Mae Donovan wrote on facebook:

On our first midterm, there were only 4 As in our class of about 40 people. 3 of the 4 As belonged to homeschoolers (myself included). Surprising? I think not.

These stories are heard quite often. I have a son taking his first college classes. English 101 (which he tested into without preparation, after unschooling) isn't going as well as the math, but he's like his dad, who also had some English 101 problems, after 13 years of public school.

Study finds no advantage to early reading

2010-11-24T08:55:00.000-06:00

Unschoolers (and others) have known for decades that late reading has no effect on learning, nor does it show when they're older, but now those who prefer statistical analysis to anecdotal evidence can share this as needed:

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/research-finds-no-advantage-learning-read-age-five/5/33888

"At the end of the study, the data was analysed using Hierarchical Linear Modelling, which is commonly used in longitudinal studies, and a particularly robust way to analyse data, and estimated the point at which the early starters and later starters of learning to read met - and it came up with 10.89 years - between 10 and 11 years of age," he says.

"It was very exciting and unexpected - one of those science moments. The results concurred with the results of the other two studies and there were no differences in the abilities of the early and later readers by 11."

Unfortunate title, but decent article

2010-10-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

'Unschooling' Lets Children Dictate Their Learning

'Unschooling' Lets Children Dictate Their Learning
CBS4 Miami Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:53 PM PDT
Who needs textbooks and lesson plans? Some parents say children should decide what they learn, not teachers. That's the basis of a controversial educational philosophy known as "unschooling", a movement that's gaining traction across the country.

Changing Paradigms

2010-10-18T10:08:00.002-05:00

Wonderful animated illustrations to Sir Ken Robinson's talk:

"Creating your own curriculum"

2010-10-12T13:15:00.000-05:00

Creating your own curriculum, article by Kelly Loeper, Queen's University The Journal, September 21, 2010.

Unschooling, self-teaching or life learning—an educational philosophy where children don’t attend school but “learn through life”—is growing in popularity as an alternative to traditional blackboards and books

(The link was going around facebook, from Wendy Priesnitz, and I snagged it. —Sandra)

"No wonder there is resentment of life learners!"

2010-09-30T13:07:00.000-05:00

For years people have said "It's jealousy," or "it's resentment" when someone is complaining vaguely about unschooling being "not fair." Wendy Priesnitz of Life Learning Magazine has explained it very clearly and taken it one level further, into economic realities and the changing world.

Learning Happens
Wendy Priesnitz
28 September 2010

I’ve been having a discussion with an intelligent and open-minded critic of unschooling life learning. She keeps insisting that these kids “aren’t doing anything”…or at least not anything they couldn’t be doing on the weekends and going to school too. For awhile, I was stuck on trying to convince her that the school part is harmful, that there’s not much real learning goes on there, etc., etc. But the more she insisted, the more it seemed like she was whining! And that’s when I realized that her criticism isn’t based on facts, but on emotion – in this case, on resentment. Sadly, she agreed with me.

Read the rest:

http://lifelearningmagazine.com/blog/2010/09/28/learning-happens/

Effect of homeschooling on ADHD-labeled kids

2010-09-29T09:13:00.004-05:00

Experiences of ADHD-Labeled Kids Who Switch from Conventional Schooling to Homeschooling or Unschooling
These kids and parents manage ADHD better without conventional schooling.
Peter Gray, Psychology Today
Published on September 9, 2010

Several weeks ago (see post of July 20, 2010) I posted a call for stories about children who have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and have been homeschooled, unschooled, or "free schooled." I received 28 such stories and subjected them to a qualitative analysis.

My analysis of these stories suggests that (1) most ADHD-diagnosed kids do fine without drugs if they are not in a conventional school; (2) the ADHD characteristics don't vanish when the kids leave conventional school, but the characteristics are no longer as big a problem as they were before; and (3) ADHD-diagnosed kids seem to do especially well when they are allowed to take charge of their own education. In what follows I will elaborate upon and support each of these conclusions primarily with quotations from the stories. But, first, here are some numbers concerning whom the stories were about and who wrote them....

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201009/experiences-adhd-labeled-kids-who-switch-conventional-schooling-homeschool

"Two Thoreaus of Sakwa County"

2010-09-27T20:37:00.003-05:00

The iJourney.org link below was sent to the Always Learning list by Aravinda. An Indian couple with PhDs moved from a city to the small village of Sakwa, where they have farmed and homeschooled two sons.

Looking at both them, it's hard to believe that they were both professors at an Engineering College in Ahmedabad. Or that he has a degree in Engineering and she studied Physics and Space Science in college. The story of why two PhD's dumped a city life for tribal one, traded in their teaching careers for a shovel and a hoe, and opted to live on 12,000 rupees ($300) a year is an inspiring tale...

. . . .

Raising Children

The two Soneji sons were both born after they moved to Sakwa. Vishwain is 17 and Bhargav is 14 today. Arguably, the biggest challenge for the Sonejis came when Vishwain became of elementary school age: do we home school or send him to an institutionalized school?

http://www.ijourney.org/story.php?sid=20

Sam Fuller, unschooled teen, interviewed

2010-09-24T13:14:00.002-05:00

There is a transcript and a photo, and a place to comment, at the KQED radio site here:
http://www.kqed.org/a/perspectives/R201009090735

TV interview in Spain, Laura Mascaró

2010-09-23T10:20:00.004-05:00

Laura Mascaró was interviewed on TV in Spain:

More information on Laura is here: http://www.lauramascaro.com/, and her book is linked in the lower left, there.

New documentary: Learn Free

2010-09-17T19:21:00.001-05:00

A video by Lillian Mauser-Carter:

Learn Free from Lillian Mauser-Carter on Vimeo.

"Learn Free" is a documentary about unschooling which is a educational philosophy that states children learn best by not attending traditional school, but rather through their own interests and by living life.

Made for an 11 week Documentary class.
Further edited in Advanced Editing.

Filmed on Panasonic DVX
Edited in Final Cut Pro
Motion Graphics in Adobe After Effects

More families are deciding that school’s out – forever

2010-09-11T17:22:00.002-05:00

More families are deciding that school’s out – forever

Kate Hammer
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, Sep. 10, 2010 5:00PM EDT
Last updated on Saturday, Sep. 11, 2010 5:46PM EDT

It has been Saturday in the Laricchia household for nearly a decade.

The family's three teenagers, Michael, Lissy and Joseph, have known nothing of alarm clocks, races for the school bus, arguments over homework or report-card angst since their parents started “unschooling” them in 2002.

The small but growing movement the Laricchias have joined is known by many other names, including deschooling, life learning and edu-punk. At base, unschooling is home-schooling returned to its postwar progressive roots, far from the Bible-thumping mould that has come to dominate the modern image of home-schoolers. . . .

Homeschooling is legal in India

2010-09-09T12:13:00.003-05:00

Until earlier this year, there was no compulsory education law in India, and as school was not required, homeschooling wasn't illegal. The pressure there was from grandparents, because of the emphasis on professional degrees as a mark of success.

This week there is a clarification of the law. It will require each state to provide education, but not require every child to attend those schools.

—Sandra

From Homeschooling in India – An Education called Life

Homeschooling – Legal in India as per RTE act 2009

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

In addition to the half page feature on homeschoolers in India in today’s Times of India Pune edition, there is an important legal article too on the front page titled – RTE: Homeschooling too is fine, says Sibal

Here is what it says -
RTE: Homeschooling too is fine, says Sibal
But States Must Ensure Education For All: Minister
Neha Madaan | TNN Pune

Homeschooling parents can continue to educate their children at home now that HRD minister Kapil Sibal has clarified the ministry’s stance.“The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 wants every child to be in school,but if somebody decides not to send his/her children to school, we are not going to interfere. The compulsion is on the state, not on the parents. Parents are free not to send their children to school, but teach them at home. We cannot be micromanaging,” Sibal told TOI on Tuesday.

The Act stipulates eight years of formal education for all children between 6 and 14 years of age. Homeschooling parents believe in individual skills and want to nurture them in their children at home rather than in schools. The Act, outlining the duties of the parents,says,“It shall be the duty of every parent or guardian to admit or cause to be admitted his or her child or ward, as the case may be,to an elementary education in the neighbourhood school.”

The 25-odd city-based homeschooling families and scores from other cities have been looking at the implications of the Act and seeking clarifications over whether it is a punishable offence. Educational expert Alok Mathur said homeschooling is not punishable under the Act. Mathur, the director of teachers’ education at Rishi Valley school in Andhra Pradesh, which imparts alternative education, was part of a group which met Sibal a few weeks ago in Delhi. The meeting was initiated on behalf of a Delhi-based homeschooling parent. “I accompanied him for the meeting since a group supporting alternative schooling had sent a letter to the minister along with the homeschooling petition. I was among the signatories,” said Mathur. According to him, the minister, at the meeting, had said that the purpose behind the Act is to make it obligatory for the government to provide reasonable quality education to all sections of society, especially the poorest and deprived sections. In the minister’s view, if parents wished to and had the means, they can homeschool their children.

A Delhi high court division bench in April 2010 heard a PIL which said that the Act infringes on the freedom of parents and should be amended for homeschooling. The petition was dismissed, but the bench asked the petitioners to make a representation to the HRD ministry seeking its views on homeschooling. The homeschoolers group’s letter to Sibal asked him to accommodate homeschooling in the RTE Act or clarify its stand on homeschooling and alternative education. At the meeting, according to Mathur, Sibal had said that he did not feel that the government should enact or provide any special provision to cater to the specific needs of ‘gifted and talented’ children. “The minister associated these children with the betteroff sections of society who are already empowered to provide specifically desired education for their own children in the manner they wish to,” Mathur said. Nyla Coelho, coordinator for the Goa-based Taleemnet, a facility to support meaningful and alternative education, said, “The Act is more about giving the masses a chance to literacy. The government would not intervene if parents wish to homeschool their children. I have wanted to convey this to the parents of homeschoolers in Pune to allay their doubts about the Act.”

RTE: Homeschooling too is fine, says Sibal

Christian Unschooling

2010-08-26T12:17:00.003-05:00

I've been working on web links and updating Christian resources. This seemed a good place to mention that.

Imagine being a homeschooler and getting pressure from relatives, friends, schools...
Imagine being an unschooler, and getting pressure from relatives, friends, schools and homeschoolers.
Imagine, then, being a Christian unschooler, and getting pressure from relatives, friends, schools, homeschoolers and other unschoolers.

It can't be easy. It is NOT easy. If anyone has resources in addition to these that promote gentle, natural parenting for Christians, please leave a comment with a link.

The pages I was working on:

Overcoming Pressure from Conservative Christians to Spank

Unschooling in the World

Links I've added or spruced up:

Christian Unschooling: http://christianunschooling.com/

Christian Unschooling (facebook page): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=93561561941

Parenting in Jesus' Footsteps: http://www.parentinginjesusfootsteps.org/

Parents for Nonviolent Parenting: http://www.nospank.net/cnpindex.htm

A yahoo group I had listed has disappeared, but here is a search page for Christian unschooling groups on yahoo; this is not a recommendation, just a resource: http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=christian+unschoolers&sort=relevance

Problems from early daycare

2010-08-24T22:08:00.002-05:00

Family under the microscope
Avoid putting the under-threes in daycare if you can

Oliver James

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/08/oliver-james-daycare-under-threes

The article came to my attention in this paragraph:

In an op-ed for the Guardian, James described a study measuring the amount of cortisol, the stress hormone linked to our flight-or-fight response, in babies left at daycare facilities. On the first, fifth, and ninth days, the babies’ cortisol levels doubled from their home levels. Five months later, the levels, though no longer doubled, were still significantly elevated. And these effects appear to be long lasting, he says: “When cortisol is measured at age 15, the longer a child was in daycare when small, the higher its levels. As high cortisol has been shown many times to be a correlate of all manner of problems, this is bad news.”

...which appears at the end of this blog post at BigThink.com: http://bigthink.com/ideas/21812

It's #16 in a series called "Month of Thinking Dangerously." This one is called Parents Don't Matter, and has a pro and con (quoting studies and articles). Oliver James was quoted in the rebuttal section, why parents DO matter.

Deciding to Home-School

2010-08-21T19:34:00.002-05:00

I've never seen a more beautiful description of a decision to homeschool a young boy as this, by Chandra Hoffman:

Why would someone decide to homeschool?http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/deciding-to-home-school/

Long interview in Spanish

2010-08-17T13:03:00.001-05:00

EDUCAR EN CASA – Homeschooling. Entrevistamos a la experta Laura Mascaró sobre todos los aspectos de esta opción educativa

Continuar leyendo en El Blog Alternativo: http://www.elblogalternativo.com/2010/08/16/educar-en-casa-homeschooling-entrevistamos-a-la-experta-laura-mascaro-sobre-todos-los-aspectos-de-esta-opcion-educativa/#ixzz0wt5riiCX

Twenty-two pages of interview!!!

Unschoolers: an interview and a report

2010-08-15T12:10:00.004-05:00

A Massachusetts article and video:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20100810/NEWS/100819960/-1/massmoms&TEMPLATE=MASSMOMS

Beth, the mom in the video, sent me a note and said, "We recently were interviewed (for over an hour and a half!) and he squished it into 2.5 minutes....but I really think the overall story was very favorable to unschooling."

A quarterly summary by Shannon Burton, of learning activities sorted roughly by subject. (Most unschoolers don't take notes that way, nor need to, but Shan is in New York State and keeps a portfolio.)

Reasons NOT to send kids to college

2010-08-05T10:22:00.001-05:00

Seven Reasons Not to Send Your Kids to College
By JAMES ALTUCHER
August 2, 2010

You can read the first six reasons, which have to do with finances (because it's a finance/investment article) at the link below, but here's the seventh item in the article:

7. Alternatives to spending $200,000 per kid so they can waste four years of their lives:
Give them $20,000 to start one to five businesses. Most businesses fail but that's ok. The education from the process lasts a lifetime and the network you build when you start a business will lead to many future jobs and possibilities.

Travel the world. That would be an education that pays many dividends and is much cheaper. Your kids can then go to college with a much more mature view of the world.

Work. They won't get the best jobs but they can make money, network, get a "hands-on" education, learn the value of money and go to college in their 20s when they can afford it—and make every dollar worth it. Plus your kids will have a more clear idea of what they want to do in the world.

Volunteer. Let them see a side of life that is harder and where they can add value. An education like that is invaluable.

Do nothing but read. Get the benefits of a college education without paying the $200,000. I'd be happy to support a child that wants to home school a college education.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/seven-reasons-not-to-send-your-kids-to-college/19572537/

Research Finds No Advantage In Learning To Read From Age Five

2010-08-04T22:06:00.002-05:00

Research Finds No Advantage In Learning To Read From Age Five

Unschoolers knew this well. :-)

For those who only believe "scientific proof," though, here it is:

A University of Otago researcher has uncovered for the first time quantitative evidence that teaching children to read from age five is not likely to make that child any more successful at reading than a child who learns reading later, from age seven.

The ground-breaking Psychology PhD research, conducted by Dr Sebastian Suggate, has been placed on the University's "distinguished list" of doctoral theses for 2009. Dr Suggate has also been awarded a prestigious Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Humboldt Association in Germany to the University of Wuerzburg in Bavaria to further his studies into childhood education.

Starting in 2007, Dr Suggate conducted one international and two New Zealand studies, each one backing up the conclusions of the other; that there is no difference between the reading ability of early (from age five) and late (from age seven) readers by the time those children reach their last year at Primary School by age 11.

Comparing children from Rudolf Steiner schools, who usually start learning to read from age seven, and children in state-run schools, who start learning to read at five, he found that the later learners caught up and matched the reading abilities of their earlier-reading counterparts by the time they were 11, or by Year 7.

read the rest: http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/research-finds-no-advantage-learning-read-age-five/5/33888

"I Have Completed This Period of Indoctrination"

2010-07-25T22:30:00.003-05:00

(the beginning of the article "When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost?"
Sunday, July 25, 2010 - Helping to Homeschool by Amie Beal):

Among the congratulatory plaudits and cliches passed out at the annual commencement ceremonies, one valedictory speech was delivered this spring with a refreshing twist.

"I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. ... So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it?"
Enter one Erica Goldson, valedictorian of Coxsackie-Athens High School, class of 2010.

"I Have Completed This Period of Indoctrination"

You may have come across the text of Goldson's speech - it's been making the rounds on the internet.

Forsaking the typical "first day of the rest of our lives" quotations and Dr. Seuss, Goldson chose instead to fire a clear shot across the bow of public education, a deliberately incendiary projectile from a departing star member of the ranks.

More of the article at the Washington Times site:

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/homeschool-highlights/2010/jul/25/school-not-all-it-can-be/

HSC Conference SOON!!

2010-07-13T08:43:00.001-05:00

Online Registration Deadline Extended through July 18th!
http://www.hscconference.com/

Spanish TV coverage of homeschooling

2010-07-05T10:07:00.009-05:00

From July 4, 2010, on laSexta TV network, in Spain. It was on TV Sunday night, and is on the web, too.

http://www.lasexta.com/sextatv/vueltayvuelta/completos/vuelta_y_vuelta__domingo__4_de_julio/280193/1

Knoxville TN online article

2010-06-29T16:44:00.002-05:00

Alternative form of homeschooling offers little structure, free-spirited learning
By Jessica Boyd
Posted June 29, 2010 at midnight

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jun/29/alternative-form-of-homeschooling-offers-little/

Part of the interview is with a school-at-home family, and it's not very long, but it happened and I'm announcing it!

Times of India (Marathi supplement)

2010-06-20T00:28:00.004-05:00

Hema Bharadwaj, from Pune, in India, has sent a note and link to an article (in Marathi) new this week:

A few of us from our Pune Homeschoolers group were interviewed recently. The journalist Karuna did a good spread about Homeschooling and Unschooling. She interviewed me for over 2 hours and has written candidly and clearly. I was nervous about being misrepresented and quoted out of context... as has happened in the past (a few months ago). But Urmila assured me that this journalist came across differently. And after reading the article i can see that she was right.

Its for a Marathi supplement paper that is part of the Times of India Group. I will get a translation from a friend within a few days and post that link back here.

. . . .

~~Then you click "next" at the end of the article twice~~ to get to the 3rd page.... where our individual interviews are.

the original link no longer worked; these should:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1wrvsCWtMr5rlGwJMzdm04FYlXEpyAgaqcUxcwn94tB9g1LnKMdDxzfcnlQsf&hl=en&authkey=CMD00Y8N
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1wrvsCWtMr5rlGwJMzdm04FYlXEpyAgaqcUxcwn94tB9g1LnKMdDxzfcnlQsf&hl=en&authkey=CMD00Y8N

Zoë Bentley wins 2nd place in NASA competition

2010-05-06T20:44:00.002-05:00

"Thirteen-year-old unschooler, Zoë Bentley, has won the $1,000 second place prize in the NASA No Boundaries National Competition, in competition with high school students."

Unschooler won 2nd place in NASA No Boundaries national competition
http://www.examiner.com/x-10046-Unschooling-Examiner~y2010m5d6-Unschooler-won-2nd-place-in-NASA-No-Boundaries-national-competition?cid=email-this-article

Zoë's website, Exogeology ROCKS!

The contest described: http://www.usatoday.com/educate/nasa/index1.html

Unschoolers in the News (again)

2010-04-29T20:06:00.004-05:00

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/04/how_do_unschoolers_learn_what.html?wprss=checkup

Very brief article in the Health Section of the Washington Post online. As it might not always be available, I'll quote it here. If it's still at the link above when you read this, that has live links to several mentioned lists and sites.

How do unschoolers learn what to eat?

A segment aired on Good Morning America last week raised a buzz over "unschooling," the practice of keeping your kids out of school and allowing them to live an unstructured life without offering any formal academics -- or really much guidance at all.

The idea is that kids freed from the fetters of formal schooling (or even traditional home schooling) can explore the world on their own terms, learning what they need, when they need it.

That philosophy applies to all aspects of the unschooled life -- including what kids eat.
Of course, parents buy the groceries. But according to the unschooled way, kids are allowed to make their own food choices about what and when to eat.

Proponents argue that kids left to follow their own compasses are likely to make (mostly) sound food choices and, better yet, they won't be saddled with the weight of the food- and diet-related anxiety that plagues so many of us.

Sandra Dodd, a New Mexico mom who runs a Web site and blog devoted to unschooling, maintains a page on her site featuring anecdotes from unschooling parents about their kids' eating habits. Not surprisingly, most of the tales are of kids' making good choices.

I'm not eager to leap into the fray over the merits of unschooling in general. But it has me thinking about whether following our natural instincts would lead us all, kids and grownups alike, toward a more healthful diet. Or do we really need to be told what to eat?

It's a compelling question, especially as we await delivery of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. That document, the product of myriad meetings, discussions and hearings, will be full of information about how we should manage our diets, and Americans will be urged to follow its advice. Of course, the guidelines are one of the weapons in the battle against the food industry's incessant advertising and other efforts to convince people to eat their products, whether they're good for us or not.

But before 1980, when the first Dietary Guidelines were issued, we somehow muddled through without them. And, as I blogged last week, it's increasingly confusing to sort through all the food-related advice that's floating around the world these days. I find myself wondering whether there exists a purely instinctive, natural approach to eating that I've completely lost touch with? If so, it sure would be great to connect with it.

Maybe those unschoolers are onto something, after all.

The Good Morning America article to which they referred was a video shown Monday, April 19 with a follow-up live interview Tuesday, April 20. Ronnie Maier made a collection of links to those her favorites of the subsequent writings on her blog here:
http://zombieprincess.blogspot.com/2010/04/unschoolers-respond.html
(And in case Ronnie's blog disappears, here are those links; notes are Ronnie Maier's:)

The original Good Morning America piece
The follow-up interview with the Bieglers this morning

Unschooler responses to the GMA content and to the subsequent huge wave of negative comments about unschooling:

Good Morning America: Don't You Love Your Children?
Jeff addressing the "they're lazy" theme.

Unschooling on GMA
Child's Play point-by-point rundown on the original piece.

Unschooling Stephanopoulos: Good Morning America Fail
Heather explaining what unschooling is rather than what it isn't.

Unschooling: How Good Morning America Got It All Wrong
Filmmaker Lee Stranahan cuts through the hyperbole.

Inspired by the Good Morning America piece
Ren talks about her priorities.

Unschooling Gets Publicity...In a BIG Way
Idzie on what all this publicity might mean.

23 Facts About Unschooling
Brianna lays it all out.

Good Morning America - Featuring Unedited Unschoolers
Humans Being commentary on how the second piece today may have been too little too late, plus general commentary on the short attention span of your average American TV viewer.

The Uproar Over Unschooling
Tara theorizes about why people are freaking the hell out.

My Thoughts on the Recent Unschooling Hub Bub
Amy writes about why quickie descriptions of unschooling don't cut it, and more.

Tori's response to the comments on the GMA feature
Grown unschooler Tori shares her opinions.

And my personal favorite ;-) ...
A Modest Proposal (a la Swift but not as draconian)
Frank suggests better use of the word "unparenting."
Bad Press
Holly talks about why unschoolers should speak out.

Wild Week
Sandra shares some quotes from the continuing flow of ooze and joy the GMA piece has spawned.

So Today I Hear I'm a Neglectful Parent
Kelly advises gentle discourse and keeping things in perspective.

Unschooling and Unjournalism
Media analyst and homeschooling dad Peter J. Orvetti critiques the original GMA piece

Online Chats in French, and in English

2010-04-25T10:58:00.002-05:00

chatzy.com/unschooling
Password/le mot de passe: goodidea

Upcoming chats:

en français

Discussions en ligne en français sur le thème du unschooling
les lundi de 9h à 10h heure du Québéc (15h à 16h heure de France)
et les mercredi de midi à 13h (18h à 19h heure de France)
Beatrice Mantovani

In English:

Monday 3:00-5:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight time
Friday 10:00-noon Mountain Daylight time
SandraDodd.com/chats/regular

New Book in Spanish

2010-04-18T18:38:00.003-05:00

Educación y libertad
Una defensa del homeschooling como máxima expresión de la libertad educativa

By Laura Mascaró Rotger

Product Details

Copyright Standard Copyright License
Published April 16, 2010
Pages 176

Binding Perfect-bound Paperback
Interior Ink Black & white
Dimensions (inches) 5.0 wide × 8.0 tall

U.K. proposals dropped; good news

2010-04-07T12:37:00.002-05:00

Balls Bill shrunk in the wash-up
http://www.home-education.biz/news/24/15/Balls-Bill-shrunk-in-the-wash-up/

Government forced to drop home ed registration system from CSF Bill www.j.mp/awades #WeLoveHomeEd #csfbill
http://www.education-otherwise.org/

Statement on the Children, Schools and Families Bill
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/news/index.cfm?event=news.item&id=statement_on_the_children_schools_and_families_bill

East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp

2010-04-07T09:53:00.005-05:00

Note from Laura Bowman, April 7, 2010 at 7:15am
Subject: still space!!

We still have spaces left for camp!!! we hit our "must have" mark but would love to have even more campers!!

http://etusc.com/

Join us for our very first year of camp

August 8-14, 2010

Buffalo Mountain Camp location

what is ETUSC?

ETUSC is a 6 night summer camp for approximately 80 unschoolers ages 13-18. There will be many activities, camper run workshops, jam sessions, bonfires, swimming, kayaking, counselor mentoring, dancing every night, and much more.

At camp we want to stay true to the unschooling philosophy that learning takes place everywhere, all the time...especially when you're having fun! But above all, we want to encourage and be an example of a lifestyle built on the idea that our children are to be respected and trusted.

ETUSC is a non-denominational, non-religious camp. We strive to honor each person's religious beliefs or lack thereof. We welcome campers of all races, ethnic backgrounds, genders, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, economic backgrounds, political affiliations, and physical capabilities.

It is our hope that our campers will learn more about themselves, make lifelong friendships, and discover new interests...all while having an amazing time in a beautiful setting.

This being our first year, we have a lot of learning and growing to do together. There will be bugs to work out as we go but hopefully not too many big ones!!

Join our Yahoo Group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/etusc/

Dragonfly Kaizen

2010-03-01T13:46:00.003-06:00

Ronnie Maier, the mom of unschooled teens, has a directory of her unschooling blog posts, grouped by topic.
http://sites.google.com/site/dragonflykaizen/

Well worth exploring, and there are trails and paths to other people's ideas, photos, writings in and among those.

Two positive studies of homeschooled adults

2010-02-19T03:34:00.002-06:00

HOME-SCHOOLING: Socialization not a problem

This article cites a study in the U.S. (funded by HSLDA) and a longitudinal study in Canada.

An excerpt:

The results are a great encouragement to all home-schooling families and to parents thinking about home-schooling. Home-schoolers, typically identified as being high academic achievers, also can make the grade in society.

Both "Homeschooling Grows Up" and "Fifteen Years Later" amply demonstrate home-school graduates are active, involved, productive citizens. Home-school families are leading the way in Canadian and American education, and this new study clearly demonstrates home-school parents are on the right path.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/13/home-schooling-socialization-not-problem/

The father of a six year old changes his mind

2010-02-18T13:47:00.002-06:00

Waterpark, Educational Development and A Wake-up Call

It was snowing just about everywhere this week. I know because I watched the weather channel a bit and I could see the snow pile up outside of our hotel. Yes, we had the the good fortune of being snowed in at Kalahari, "America's Largest Indoor Waterpark." We had planned the trip almost six months ago and my focus was to enjoy a week with my bride and best buddy playing in the water. I had no real intention of participating in the "Unschooling" conference that was the reason we got such a good deal on our vacation. I figured that I would interact with a few parents and watch the parade of what I what I assumed would be socially challenged people from afar, but my focus was on my family and fun in the water. Needless to say, the experience was much different than I expected.

I found a group of people who were passionate about their children, who put family first (far beyond their career) and made the time to help their children follow their interests in creative ways. They were not the mere spectators that many parents have become, as they completely outsource educational development to the school system and athletic development to volunteer coaches. I arrived this week halfway thinking this would be the tipping point that convinced Marianne and me to put our son back in school (he attended public school for kindergarten, but he has been spending his first grade year at home), and things did tip, but in the other direction.

Read the rest here: http://seanheritage.blogspot.com/2010/02/waterpark-educational-development-and.html

(and before you comfort yourself with the idea that he's some kind o' hippie, he's a Naval officer; just saying'...)

April 1-4, Ugena, Toledo

2010-02-11T23:09:00.003-06:00

FIHOO Festival Internacional de Homeschoolers

First International Festival of Homeschoolers

http://fihoo.org/

Hola,

os invitamos a participar en el FIHOO:

http://fihoo.org/

Fechas: del 1 al 4 de abril de 2010

Lugar: "La Chopera", Ugena, Toledo.

Tarifas distintas según se vaya en cama de albergue, tienda de campaña o casa rural.

En la página web del Fihoo podéis pinchar en la sección de Festival y ver los distintos precios según edades y necesidades.

Si queréis participar con alguna actividad concreta en el festival indicadlo en info@epysteme.org y si los niños preparan alguna actuación o demostración para el show infantil del sábado también.

Para inscripciones: secretaria@epysteme.org

Saludos,

Azucena

Supportive Spouses, and The Mahogany Way

2010-02-11T09:56:00.006-06:00

There's a new blog carnival (a collection of links to posts on the same topic) called "Parenting with Support". It appears on the blog http://themahoganyway.blogspot.com, owned by Darcel Harmon, who also has created a ning network, very nicely furnished already, although it's fairly new:

The Mahogany Way
A Place for Mothers of Color to discuss Natural Living

Though Darcel is an unschooler and her blog reflects that, and there are unschoolers on the ning, there will be other parenting philosophies there too.

There's a page of videos, with baby wrapping instructions and other great things:
http://themahoganyway.ning.com/video and that's accessible without joining the site.

Sleep, TV and obesity (probably not what you think)

2010-02-06T16:30:00.002-06:00

Abi Fuller sent this:

I found this article from last week's Guardian Family section interesting regarding the tv-watching-equals-obesity myth. You may have seen it but if not here's a link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/23/children-sleep-obesity-nurtureshock

The descriptions in the article about the effect of lack of sleep on children also fit with the differences in energy / enthusiasm I
have observed recently between my son (5 1/2 - who goes to sleep when tired & gets up when he wakes up) and his peers who began school last August. They all seem so tired and their mums have tales of having to peel them out of bed in the morning.

Before any jump to what's in that article (an excerpt from Nurtureshock), I want to say that energy and enthusiasm also have to do with happy anticipation, and not just the number of hours slept. If there's something wonderful going to happen, people can wake up energetic and enthusiastic for it. I don't think there are enough hours in the year for a teenager who is beat down by school, and tired of school, to wake up with energy and enthusiasm for another schoolday.

The article is about lack of sleep contributing to obesity, rather than TV. It's interesting. It's supportive of what unschoolers do. It is NOT supportive of anything it suggests will help, really. The "fixes" mentioned in the article reminded me of a story I can't find now. I thought it was AEsop, but it might be someone else.

A farmer had a garden, and the birds kept getting in. He watched, to see how to keep them out. He noticed that when they entered the garden, they barely skimmed the top of the garden wall. So he added one more row of bricks to the wall to keep them out.

What will help is not starting school half an hour later, or an hour later, or trying to make teenagers go to bed an hour early. Making school really useful and exciting might work, but that's not going to happen.

What helps with all the things mentioned in the article is letting children and teens sleep until they wake up naturally.

Sandra

SandraDodd.com/sleep

Northeast Unschooling Conference

2010-01-24T10:15:00.002-06:00

August 26-29, 2010
Wakefield MA

Note received from Jean Dorsey:

Help spread the word...

The NEUC site is up and running at
http://www.northeastunschoolingconference.com/index.html

Kathryn has already outdone herself... lining up Peter Gray as a speaker for 2010!!!

Head over and take a look at what is already planned, and check back often for updated info.

Early bird registration has begun, so sign up soon for a great price.
Can't wait to see you all there!

The value of fun

2010-01-22T13:52:00.002-06:00

Julie Daniel sent this. It's about an experiment on how many people would use stairs instead of an adjacent elevator if the stairs were made more fun.

New Unschooling Search Tool

2010-01-21T21:19:00.001-06:00

HomeSchool Association of California (HSC) conference video

2009-11-23T21:34:00.002-06:00

From the HSC conference this year:

If you have relatives who doubt the value of homeschooling, this will help them understand why so many people think it's a great idea.

Conference in Spain

2009-11-03T12:53:00.002-06:00

ALE - Asociación por la Libre Educación
November 5-8, 2009
Pabellón de Cristal, Casa de Campo, Madrid

If you're on facebook, you can follow their discussions by becoming a fan of their association. click here.

Otherwise Instructed: Issues in Education

2009-10-21T18:11:00.004-05:00

Two articles by Nicky Hardenbergh of Massachusetts, stored on her site http://www.otherwiseinstructed.com:

Validity of high stakes standardized test requirements for homeschoolers: a psychometric analysis (.pdf copy of the 2008 paper)

From the paper:
In this paper, I demonstrate, through reference to the extensive psychometric literature, that the psychometric tool prescribed in current high stakes homeschool policies, a norm-referenced standardized test, is invalid for use in a high stakes testing policy. Norm-referenced test scores may not validly be used to determine if a student meets a given standard of performance.

I go on to examine another testing tool proposed by some policymakers: the state-specific high stakes criterion-referenced tests administered to public school students in every state. While theoretically valid for determining a standard of performance, such tests would be problematic for use in the homeschooling context. I end by reviewing the setting of cut points on high stakes tests, showing that, to a very large extent, the entire controversy of high stakes testing can be reduced to the question of the validity of the cut point.

After considering the psychometric evidence, I conclude that current and proposed high stakes standardized requirements for homeschoolers are baseless. Policies based on such requirements are a waste of taxpayer dollars and a needless imposition on homeschooling families.

Through the Lens of Homeschooling: A Response to Michael Apple and Rob Reich (.pdf copy of the September 2004 paper)

From the paper:
Michael Apple and Rob Reich speculate that the practice of homeschooling will have negative consequences for our society. Apple contends homeschooling contributes to the “withering” of our “very sense of public responsibility,” and Reich speaks of “the civic perils of homescholing.” Michael Apple is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin, and Rob Reich is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Ethics in Society at Stanford University. Both men were scheduled as participants in a panel discussion held at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association. The session was entitled, "Educational Choice versus Civic Responsibility: Are Home Schoolers Embracing Their Responsibilities or Fleeing from Them?” I wrote this article in anticipation of their participation on that panel. The other two panel members were Scott Somerville, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), and Brian Ray, founder of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI).

A copy of this paper, with minor revisions, appeared in:

Homeschooling in full view -- a Reader
Edited by Bruce S. Cooper, Fordham University

How Video Games are Good for the Brain

2009-10-18T16:18:00.002-05:00

Steph, an unschooling mom, sent this and wrote, "It doesn't come right out and say they make you smarter, but scientists at MIT are finding some games do have a positive effect on brain development. It is nice that people have finally started to see that when a kid is playing a game, he might be 'in the zone,' but he is not 'zoned out'."

How Video Games are Good for the Brain, on the Boston Globe site

"Video games are hard,'' said Eric Klopfer, the director of MIT's Education Arcade, which studies and develops educational video games. "People don't like to play easy games, and games have figured out a way to encourage players to persist at solving challenging problems.''

The games aren't just hard - they're adaptively hard. They tend to challenge people right at the edge of their abilities; as players get better and score more points, they move up to more demanding levels of play. This adaptive challenge is "stunningly powerful'' for learning, said John Gabrieli, a neuroscientist at MIT.

Adult Illiteracy in the U.S.

2009-10-04T09:23:00.004-05:00

CBS Sunday Morning (an American news magazine on CBS television) ran a piece on illiteracy.

I was out of the room without a pen, but there was a quote close to this (maybe just this): "They take on an enormous burden of guilt."

"They" (illiterate teens and adults) do not "take on guilt." They have it heaped and poured and shoveled onto them from the first time they fail to sound out a word to the time they're branded "slow" or "non-reading."

I was thinking that the article didn't say anything that unschoolers don't discuss regularly (at least in the discussions with which I'm familiar), but that's not so. What unschoolers don't know is the *very* high statistics on non-readers among those who have grown up and graduated from school.

One of their main examples was a man with grandchildren who has succeeded in life, had a house, raised kids, did well, but when they talked to him about memories of being ashamed and belittled, he said he still hears those voices, and he cried. He has learned to read, and can read books to his grandchildren.

Schools really need to stop ruining people's ability to read. If they could accept that happy kids can and do learn to read at later ages than six or seven or eight, they could improve their stats and countless lives.

The video isn't on the site yet; I'm not sure if it will be. If someone sees or finds it, please leave a link below, or links to the stats they cited. I didn't take notes, hoping it would be on their website.

I know of no unschoolers who failed to learn to read on their own, with help and encouragement. I was surprised by the statistics on the number of schooled kids who could not read as adults, and who get tears in their eyes just thinking about it.

From home schooling to 'unschooling'

2009-09-03T17:17:00.006-05:00

September 3 Baltimore Sun Story:

From home schooling to 'unschooling'
Parents believe in letting children set the pace

Several people were interviewed, the negative "balance" isn't too bad, and it's well done. I wish the editors had let the writer, Joe Burris, go on at greater length, because it seems a lot of prep was done for it.

As usual, some of the online comments are hostile and goofy.

Note from the day after, from my friend Leon:

Hey Sandra,

You've probably already been forwarded this, but just in case you haven't:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/parenting/bal-md.pa.unschooling03sep03,0,7747410.story

I'm a devout Slashdot reader, and their commentaries are often more insightful than the original article (or at least humorous). I haven't read the Slashdot commentary yet, though.

http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/04/1511238/Schooling-Homeschooling-and-Now-Unschooling

"What About Qualifications?"

2009-08-29T05:33:00.001-05:00

Education Otherwise (U.K.) video:

Your Baby Is Smarter Than You Think

2009-08-16T08:45:00.004-05:00

Joyce Fetteroll sent this:

There's a very unschool friendly article in the NY Times today— that isn't even about unschooling. :-)

Written by a researcher, she's discovering what we already know but with the added patina of science to give it more weight.

Your Baby Is Smarter Than You Think
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16gopnik.html

(At one time you needed to register to see articles. Not sure if that's still true.)

Excerpt:
Babies and young children are designed to explore, and they should be encouraged to do so.

The learning that babies and young children do on their own, when they carefully watch an unexpected outcome and draw new conclusions from it, ceaselessly manipulate a new toy or imagine different ways that the world might be, is very different from schoolwork. Babies and young children can learn about the world around them through

Informal Learning: An Interview With Dr Alan Thomas

2009-08-14T13:34:00.004-05:00

This is the second in the series of videos commissioned by Education Otherwise.

Dr Thomas is a developmental psychologist, author and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Education. Interviewed at HESFES, Dr Thomas explains about his research into how children learn and his investigation into autonomous, or informal learning.

Visit http://www.education-otherwise.org for more information and subscribe to our channel http://www.youtube.com/EducationOtherwise

"...a Soviet-style government-run monopoly "

2009-08-13T10:30:00.003-05:00

U.S. 'Soviet-style' education system not cutting it
by Clark Howard, CNN.com

While this article is not about homeschooling, it does make points of which homeschoolers have long been aware. It's brief, it has grace and humor, and it has truth.

One quote that takes it beyond unschooling, homeschooling OR school, to tax expenditure, is:

Do you think this whole issue doesn't affect you because you don't have kids? Think again. Huge amounts of your taxes are still spent to support schools that are failures.

"Yes," and reading, and thinking

2009-08-11T10:10:00.002-05:00

"Yes"
Joyce Fetteroll on Logic (and unschooling)

Brenna McBroom, on video

2009-08-05T18:43:00.002-05:00

Children 'should sleep with parents until they're five'

2009-07-12T16:21:00.002-05:00

by Sian Griffiths, TimesOnline

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1083020.ece

The article is not new, but it was brought to an unschooling discussion by Marina Deluca-Howard, who had the following comments (and more)

There was an interesting stat in this article on co-sleeping about nursery schools. An English study shows that children's stress level goes up in nursery school. *for more than 90%, cortisol rises when they go to nursery. For 75%, it falls whenever they go home.

Note the article also points to a *neurological study three years ago showed that a child separated from a parent experienced similar brain activity to one in physical pain*

Kind of makes one wonder about all those pre-school/nursery school advocates! Where I live there is a move to start full day kindergarten. I am guessing nobody saw the studies Margot Sunderland, director of education at the Centre for Child Mental Health in London, seems to have found!

A collection of unschooling notes and comments on sleep and sleeping:
http://sandradodd.com/sleep

"Grow Thyself," Urban Tulsa Weekly

2009-07-08T16:35:00.003-05:00

Grow Thyself

The pupil becomes the teacher as children activate the self-directed form of education called unschooling

BY ERIN FORE

I didn't make my kids learn anything," Leslie Moyer explained as she nibbled nonchalantly on a scone.

"Pardon me?"

"Well, I did make suggestions. For example, multiplication tables seem to be the question that always pops up. My son is one class shy of a math degree and he doesn't have his multiplication tables memorized." Her son, Matt, is 22.

This methodology, called "unschooling," is considered perhaps the most radical approach to homeschooling—yet it is one of the fastest, if not the fastest growing concept within alternative education.

and the rest of it

Books about Change in Thought

2009-06-29T09:34:00.008-05:00

In a discussion on the Always Learning list about choosing what is natural over what is false or constructed (grey hair for older people; natural learning for anyone), some books have been discussed. I thought to bring them here so that those who would like to consider unschooling (or the role of homeschooling in the greater culture) could read some more direct, more basic ideas.

The authors aren't homeschoolers or unschoolers, but they're writing about ways in which a culture can adopt and nurture ideas without really looking at them.

How did so many people for so long believe the earth went around the sun even when evidence to the contrary was available?

The books named thusfar (with some of the descriptions from the list, so those descriptions have to do more with this particular angle than about the book in general, and so I will link them to the Amazon site where there will be other reviews and comments):

Chaos James Gleick: This is talking about revolutionary new science but could refer to many things. newer edition; fewer reviews

p38.: To some the difficulty of communicating the new ideas and the ferocious resistance from traditional quarters showed how revolutionary the new science was. Shallow ideas can be assimilated; ideas that require people to reorganize their picture of the world provoke hostility. A physicist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Joseph Ford, started quoting Tolstoy: "I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to othes, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives"

This really reminded me of the reaction of many to unschooling when I read it.

The more I deschool, the more clearly I can see this, even with close friends and family who feel threatened by change.

If I recall correctly, Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is all about that, about scientists/thinkers being invested in certain belief systems, and how that affects their abilities to think and to do research, and to evaluate the research findings of colleagues. And so, progress is very, very incremental. Great big, new, different ideas are just too difficult to accept.

It's hard to consider that the earth goes 'round the sun if you are absolutely convinced the other way around.

That sounds like an interesting book that would go along with what I am reading now–Agnotology [The Making and Unmaking of ignorance] edited by Robert Proctor and Londa Schiebinger...What we don't know and why we don't know it. It's not one of those books about what you should have learned in school and didn't but more the control of information and the manipulation of information to create doubt and change history etc. It discusses military secrecy, Native American paleontology, female orgasm, global climate change, racial ignorance etc. Just finished the section on the tobacco industry. I'm getting into the military stuff. The military had information that it withheld from the public that would have helped confirm the theories on plate tectonics. It took some years for that information to become available for researchers. That was mentioned in Kuhn's book description that I just found on Amazon. Guess Kuhn's book needs to be next in line for me to read.

I haven't read that book, but it fits my view that science advances through attrition. Death. The old scientists defending their beliefs/worldview die and new beliefs are allowed to sprout in the minds of younger scientists.

I can see that being somewhat true, but as I read Agnotology I think it is even more complex than that. What areas get funding for research.... what is the monetarily favored areas to grow knowledge..... What falls out of fashion.....Who controls information.?I know some very complex knowledge of the people that lived before us is essentially lost. I'm think of some of the agricultural practices that worked very well in the Amazon mentioned in the book 1491:New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann. Some of this knowledge is being rediscovered, but I'm betting a lot more has been lost. I'm not sure that "science" is always advancing. It seems as if we are always losing previously well know information as we learn the new.? Our brains can only hold so much knowledge/information but I think our collective brains only hold so much knowledge/information to.

By the way 1491 made the history I learned in school seem like some weird
fabrication of reality and I think Agnotology will explain some of that.

The discussion is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning/message/46054

Amie Coomer, in Ode Magazine

2009-06-23T12:25:00.003-05:00

In the June/July 2009 issue of Ode Magazine, there is a small piece on unschooling and on Amie Coomer's blog. Either image below can be enlarged with a click (and then again with another click).

OdeMagazine/coomer

A New Blog-Carnival

2009-06-18T20:05:00.006-05:00

These online "carnivals" are sets of related writings. The monthly listing itself becomes a destination and jumping-off point.

This one is being organized by Susan Gaissert.

New York and Connecticut

2009-06-18T11:32:00.002-05:00

Unschooling Playgroup in CT and Western Mass ;)

We are hearing a bunch of people say they would like an unschooler's
playgroup formed here in CT. We would be happy to organize this. Since it's
summer, let's start with outdoor places and find somewhere indoors later in
the year. (We have a few options in mind.)

How about everyone emails us privately and says what days do and do not work
for them? We will pick a day that works for most people. We would love to
make it a weekly or biweekly thing.

Also email where you live and we can pick a nice playground/park in the
middle of everyone.

We can't wait to get our kids together. Our kids have gotten so much out of
being with other unschoolers at conferences. We would love to have that on a
more regular basis.

Peace,

Esther and Jean Elizabeth
and Ethan (age 9) and Ryan (age: 1 week until I'm 6!!)

NYC show "Snoopy" - All Homeschooled Cast!

laurie.marg AT gmail DOT com wrote:
My daughter and some of her friends are in this Off-Off Broadway Homeschool Production. Ticket prices are reasonable and you may be able to find parking on the street.
West End Theatre at Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew
263 West 86th St.
New York, NY 10024

Show Opens:
June 23, 2009
Show Closes:
June 27, 2009

Running Time: (includes 1 intermission)

Ticket Price: $10.00; $15.00 Opening Night

Tickets by Phone: 212-352-3101
866-811-4111(toll free)

Tuesday 6:00pm
Wednesday 7:00pm
Thursday 7:00pm
Friday 7:00pm
Saturday 12:00pm & 6:00pm

Help fund this video, please.

2009-06-14T18:57:00.001-05:00

"Badman Report" in England

2009-06-11T17:19:00.004-05:00

Jude sent this from England:

UK
home educators are currently threatened with the draconian recommendations
of Graham Badman's report to the government - link below

Included are compulsory registration, monitoring including automatic right
of entry into the home on pain of criminal charges, and the enforcement of
a 'suitable education' (whatever that's supposed to mean). And the
recommendations are particularly short-sighted and plain ill-informed with regard
to autonomous approaches. Worse still is the conflation of home education
with child welfare issues - we're all being smeared as abusers, and the
onus seems to be on us to prove our innocence.

I wonder if the delightful (!?!) Mr Badman might appreciate an invite to
the London Unschooling Conference to hear some properly informed debate.

This is not the link Jude sent; this is a summary from the government press release site:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0105

What Jude sent is a PDF of the entire "Report to the Secretary of State on the review of Elective Home Education in England by Graham Badman"

http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/8318-DCSF-HomeEdReviewBMK.PDF

These seem to be still at the level of formal recommendations, but if people have follow-ups, please do leave comments. Also, clarification of whether this will affect other parts of the UK or just England itself would be good. —Sandra

The gradual demise of SAT requirements

2009-06-08T13:49:00.002-05:00

Loyola College Latest to Dump SAT

Loyola College in Baltimore is the latest of over 800 four-year institutions to make their admissions criteria SAT (and ACT) results optional. The change comes about six months after Monty Neill of Fair Test submitted invited testimony to the Maryland Board of Education on the "Limits and Dangers of High-Stakes Graduation Tests."

FairTest's testimony on graduation tests to the Maryland Board of Ed.

Better assessment methods are needed if high schools are to develop higher level skills students need for college and work. Unlike standardized exit exams, the use of assessment methods such as performances, exhibitions and portfolios has been shown to promote the development of skills, knowledge and disposition actually valued in college and employment (Wood, Darling-Hammond, Neill and Roschewski, 2007; Darling-Hammond and McCloskey, forthcoming). Employers have said they are more interested in examples of student work and problem-solving, such as portfolios, than they are in test results [or grades] (Peter D. Hart, 2008). Similarly, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (n.d.) has outlined a range of knowledge and skills students should acquire, much of which clearly cannot be measured with traditional paper-and-pencil tests – but can be assessed using other means. Only with a range of strong and flexible assessments can students or schools be fairly and comprehensively evaluated and learning outcomes improved

These links were sent by Kathryn, an unschooling mother of four. Thanks!