Wonderful piece on unschooling in the Calgary Herald

[dressage mom]

Finally! Some good press, lol.

I was raging at the Nightline segments... now, after this, I think, Phew, this is good! I liked this piece because instead of focusing/highlighting on the criticisms and giving them so much merit, (thereby painting unschooling parents as lazy and run-over by their kids), it debunks them.

'Unschooled' kids call shots

[Ana]

What a great article, DM! Its so nice to hear it said by yet another voice, especially when the parents interviewed have older kids who've proven it does work. Its a whole lot more real life than where the parents are shown as irresponsible and stupid and the kids bratty and out of control, which admittedly makes for more entertaining viewing, but isnt really representative.

[laurensmom]

That is a good article. I am definately NOT an unschooler but I thought it was a really interesting and informative read.

[dressage mom]

Originally Posted by Hecate

What a great article, DM! Its so nice to hear it said by yet another voice, especially when the parents interviewed have older kids who've proven it does work. Its a whole lot more real life than where the parents are shown as irresponsible and stupid and the kids bratty and out of control, which admittedly makes for more entertaining viewing, but isnt really representative.

“Entertaining“, perhaps. Skewed, is more like it.

I know the Nightline piece that featured the Martin family in New Hampshire was a complete misrepresentation of THAT family, not just unschoolers in general. That's what gets me about the mainstream pieces -- they are twisted to suit the mainstream agenda and to say, “See how screwed up this really is?“ Not to mention, it just feeds the trolls. Gah, the commentary on ABC's website alone!

Cyndi Bablitz (she and her three boys are featured in the CH article above) mentioned to me today that she has spoken to a few interviewers now about unschooling, and her caveat is that she will only do so if unschooling is portrayed realistically and positively. I think this article hit the mark.

[Ana]

Originally Posted by dressage mom

Cyndi Bablitz (she and her three boys are featured in the CH article above) mentioned to me today that she has spoken to a few interviewers now about unschooling, and her caveat is that she will only do so if unschooling is portrayed realistically and positively. I think this article hit the mark.

How do you know her??

[momx2]

Thanks for posting that!

I had a friend of mine the other day say “you should read this article on unschooling“. It was in a parenting magazine, I think the majoirty of the time the media puts a negative spin on unschooling, so I said “no thanks!“ and didn't even read it.

[forestenchanted]

I liked the article. As an unschooler I really appreciate perspective from families with older children. I really believe the “benefits/results“ of this approach take time to manifest. It is hard if you are looking for a concrete example of how it works, but it requires looking at success and achievement from a different lens.

[doulamom]

That is a really good article and a perfect one to read as September approaches and the 'back to school' hype ramps up.

[strongmommy]

I enjoyed reading the article because its examples reinforce to me the power and impact of trusting your kids to find all of those things they enjoy and are interested in all by themselves. I'll qualify this by saying our family doesn't homeschool or formally unschool ... but after reading through this I'm thinking we do subscribe to the concept - in the afterschool hours

Thanks for the link - I'm going to pass it on to a few I know will enjoy it.

[threeforme]

Thanks for this! My sister has been thinking about unschooling and my mom is giving her a hard time so I just sent it to her and told her to show it to mom!

[lhastie]

Thanks! I saw someone had posted on one of the lists that they were looking for someone in Calgary to interview regarding homeschooling, wonder if this is the article they were writing?

No kidding about the NightLine stuff! Reading what Dayna posted about what really happened, the full conversations, etc and then what is actually in those segments makes you never want to trust anythign you see in the media!!

[threeforme]

Originally Posted by lhastie

Thanks! I saw someone had posted on one of the lists that they were looking for someone in Calgary to interview regarding homeschooling, wonder if this is the article they were writing?

No kidding about the NightLine stuff! Reading what Dayna posted about what really happened, the full conversations, etc and then what is actually in those segments makes you never want to trust anythign you see in the media!!

Hearing stuff like that (what's seen on TV vs how it all really went down) make me want to cringe. But trust me, not everyone in the media is like that!

[lhastie]

Originally Posted by threeforme

Hearing stuff like that (what's seen on TV vs how it all really went down) make me want to cringe. But trust me, not everyone in the media is like that!

But you don't know who's who is the issue and it doesn't seem to be uncommon!

[lhastie]

Ooh, liked this quote:

She also wonders if unschooled kids would learn bits and pieces of knowledge, but perhaps never integrate the strands of education into a cohesive whole. As a former teacher and school principal, she argues children often need an educated educator to help link everything together so they are prepared to go out into the world.

Um, how is learning the real world going to give you bits and pieces of disconnected knowledge....?

[dressage mom]

Originally Posted by lhastie

Um, how is learning the real world going to give you bits and pieces of disconnected knowledge....?

Yeah, it's quite the opposite, isn't it? I mean, that's what school does -- decontextualizes, takes things apart, and feeds it back to kids in a piece-meal kind of way.

I found that quote so funny, myself.