Unschooling Media: Participatory Practices among Progressive Homeschoolers

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

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

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"

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.

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"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.