Knoxville TN online article

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)

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

"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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/