The internet is buzzing with unschooling discussion...and not in the usual places either. A "report" on Good Morning America has brought radical unschooling to the attention of mainstream America...and not with the best results.
The story itself was very negative and showed obvious bias...and the comments posted following the story have been awful to say the least. People just cannot seem to wrap their heads around the idea that you can NOT BE SCHOOLED and still come out the other end in one piece....which leads me to the realization that education is not unlike childbirth.
Okay, let me explain...in the US giving birth "needs" to happen in a HOSPITAL and be attended by HIGHLY TRAINED PROFESSIONALS. Education, likewise, "has" to take place in a SCHOOL and be facilitated by HIGHLY TRAINED PROFESSIONALS. Similar, yes? What's also similar is the poor results this has gotten us. When it comes to infant and maternal mortality we rank at something like 39th worldwide (might be 29th...but it still sucks either way!)....and our schools aren't ranked very highly either! So obviously something is WRONG with both systems...but we ignore all that and cling to the "knowledge" that THIS IS HOW THINGS ARE DONE.
Hate you break it to ya...but that ISN'T how things are always done. Some people are willing to push past the fear and misinformation and make their own path. No, it's not for everyone....but who does it hurt if some people want to have a homebirth? Or educate their children in a different way? Don't say "the children"...because I think hospital birth and traditional educate can be harmful....so let's agree to disagree on that point. What I'm doing with my kids isn't hurting YOUR kids...and what you do with your kids isn't hurting MY kids. There ya go.
I also found it funny that in the comments so many people brought up how badly the US is doing with math and science as it is, so how dare these people do this to their children....NEWS FLASH: Those numbers have NOTHING to do with homeschooling or even unschooling. Hell, those numbers might be WHY some parents have pulled their children out of school.
So....at this point I will proudly declare that I AM AN UNSCHOOLER. Deal with it.
1 comment:
I totally agree. You as a parent know what's best for your child, not everyone else. Furthermore, things will never never change if people aren't willing to break away from the "norm" and experiment with other ideas. How can we study unschooling better without people actually trying unschooling?! The studies are quite clear that the way things are done now aren't working. Only way to fix that is to do something different than what's done now! Durrrr, lol
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