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Great, I'm glad that works well for you. I'm saying that kids don't have to attend school in order to learn.
And I, and most others, believe they do. Scratch that. I think we believe that children need to be schooled, whether it is home schooled or brick and mortar schooled. Unschooling sounds like lazy, hippie, coddling.
I was pointing out that kids don't have to go to school and sit in a classroom made up entirely of their peers in order to learn how to socialize and relate to other people. Kids who are unschooled or homeschooled have plenty of opportunities for socialization because they are living and actively engaging in society everyday.
The point I was trying to make there is that that at whatever point the child decides to join the "real" world - high school, college, job, whenever - his peers will talk about growing up, going to school, maybe living near and going to school with the same kids their whole lives. they'll talk about the kind of teachers they had, what they did with their friends at school, after school, on weekends, the classes they took, etc. An unschooled person will not be able to relate to any of this. That's only one of the issues I have with unschooling, but that's what I was talking about.
Well, I'll jump in here on the college aspect. There is a vast amount of difference in homeschoolers and unschoolers. Colleges expect certain subjects, and certain grades, for acceptance. All of them without exception I believe. ACT scores, SAT scores. Now the ACT and SAT in theory you could pass unschooling, but I have to question if your completing the required classes for acceptance by unschooling.
Most homeschoolers do seperate from unschoolers. I homeschool three boys. I suppose there are some unique children who would master all of the classes required for colllege without direction, but I do wonder. No college is going to allow them in though. You have to have a transcript, albeit from the homeschool, but if your truly unschooling I must question if this mandate would be met.
I'm not say unschooling is a bad idea just wondering how they would fill out a honest transcript for college? I don't have that answer. I teach all the recommended subjects for my kids, but I spice it up in the electives. My kids like Robotics, so we have a class in robotics etc. I guess that's a bit like unschooling in that my kids take their own direction. Not every kid would do that though. If my kids don't like it or their not good at it they won't do it without direction. My kids are gifted in robotics though and like to work on it for hours, so as I said this won't be the story for all kids and all subjects. But hey if your kid is focused, thorough and can self plot throgh their education. Well, I guess that makes you very lucky.
In 1996 the National Center for Home Education, a division of HSLDA, conducted a nationwide college survey: a sampling of the homeschool admission policies in all 50 states. National Center’s liberal definition of “policy” includes colleges that take into account homeschoolers’ unique capabilities and circumstances. Only 44% of the responding colleges had verbal or written policies for homeschool applicants. Course descriptions or portfolios are accepted in lieu of an accredited diploma or GED by 93% of the schools polled. Nevertheless, 96% of the colleges polled had at least one and sometimes over 200 home-educated students enrolled at their college. Several colleges had homeschoolers excelling in their honors programs.
The Wall Street Journal confirms that many colleges are adjusting their admissions policies to homeschoolers:
Many colleges now routinely accept homeschooled students, who typically present “portfolios” of their work instead of transcripts. Each year Harvard University takes up to 10 applicants who have had some homeschooling. “In general, those kids do just fine,” says David Illingsworth, senior admissions officer. He adds that the number of applications and inquiries from homeschoolers is “definitely increasing.”2
The following article talks about Stanford's special interest in homeschoolers. Many of the homsechoolers that they describe are actually unschoolers. The description of "self education" is unschooling.
MICHAEL BUTLER WAS NEVER TARDY to his high school homeroom. He never left an assignment in his locker. He never earned a disappointing grade--or any grade, for that matter. He didn't get a diploma.
He did, on the other hand, raise honeybees, train with an army and study modern Hebrew. And he managed to get into Stanford.
<snip>AMONG HOMESCHOOLERS who end up at Stanford, "self-teaching" is a common thread. Parents usually teach in the early grades, assigning and correcting work, but later shift to a supervisory role, spending more time tracking down books and mentors. <snip> A few, like Becca Hall, '03, pursue a free-form, follow-your-heart sort of home education known as "unschooling." During high school, Hall did an hour of math and an hour of writing each day, but filled the rest of her time doing crafts, taking nature hikes, apprenticing with an herbalist and studying labor history through old folk songs. Along the way, she picked up enough knowledge to earn a 1,480 on the sat (including a 750 out of 800 in math, a subject she once feared).
The point I was trying to make there is that that at whatever point the child decides to join the "real" world - high school, college, job, whenever - his peers will talk about growing up, going to school, maybe living near and going to school with the same kids their whole lives. they'll talk about the kind of teachers they had, what they did with their friends at school, after school, on weekends, the classes they took, etc. An unschooled person will not be able to relate to any of this. That's only one of the issues I have with unschooling, but that's what I was talking about.
You are so right. I dropped out at a VERY young age and when I was 16 got my GED. To this day it's uncomfortable for me when my friends, husband, family members talk about their high school years and I have nothing to relate to.
The point I was trying to make there is that that at whatever point the child decides to join the "real" world - high school, college, job, whenever - his peers will talk about growing up, going to school, maybe living near and going to school with the same kids their whole lives. they'll talk about the kind of teachers they had, what they did with their friends at school, after school, on weekends, the classes they took, etc. An unschooled person will not be able to relate to any of this. That's only one of the issues I have with unschooling, but that's what I was talking about.
But those same issues could be applied to homeschoolers. Homeschoolers don't have the same education experiences like you describe, but they go to college and out into the "real" world without issue. My children and I all attend college with various young adults who were homeschooled. They aren't socially strange. They fit in very well socially at the college level because they are more adult-like than many students who recently graduated from high school. Since college is filled with people of all ages and maturity, they fit right in. If they didn't tell you that they were homeschooled, you wouldn't know it. But they are proud of it. They do tell people they were homeschooled. That's how my children and I know people attending college who were homeschooled. When making public introductions in class, they usually share that they were homeschooled.
Regardless, people who are homeschooled do have social lives and memories of childhood friends to discuss. It's rather irrelevant that their memories aren't classroom related. I don't know many people who graduated college who sit around talking about their high school days. That's usually the type of conversations had by the the washed up football players whose high point of their lives was high school. For most people, elementary and secondary school is not a big deal once people get into the adult world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kel6604
You are so right. I dropped out at a VERY young age and when I was 16 got my GED. To this day it's uncomfortable for me when my friends, husband, family members talk about their high school years and I have nothing to relate to.
Being homeschooled isn't a guarantee that a child will grow up uncomfortable, lacking confidence about themselves and/or their different upbringing. There's also a huge difference between making the decision to drop out of school and not attending school because parents chose a different type of education. Homeschooled adults simply share how their lives were different because they were homeschooled. There's nothing wrong with people living diverse lives and taking paths less traveled.
What about sports? What if one of your children is a gifted athlete that has been completely stunted?
Kids can do sports through parks and rec, the YMCA or other programs. If there is a school in the child's area that has an excellent sports program and that sport is important to that child the child may choose to attend the school. Some schools allow homeschoolers (unschoolers) to take one or two classes at the school (it's a good idea for schools to allow this as they get funding from the student being enrolled even on a PT basis) an the child could then participate on the sports team.
Kids can do sports through parks and rec, the YMCA or other programs. If there is a school in the child's area that has an excellent sports program and that sport is important to that child the child may choose to attend the school. Some schools allow homeschoolers (unschoolers) to take one or two classes at the school (it's a good idea for schools to allow this as they get funding from the student being enrolled even on a PT basis) an the child could then participate on the sports team.
In my state, homeschooled children have complete access to all school district sports and activities regardless of where they attend school. They can join any school district sport. It's the law because all residents of a school district pay taxes, even if they send their children elsewhere for education. And for those who think it would be weird for them to do, it's not. Any student who lives within a school district can participate regardless of whatever school they attend. The school district sports teams are comprised of students who attend all sorts of different schools (charters, Catholic, homeschooled, internet). Teammates are used to playing on teams with children who don't attend the same school.
But those same issues could be applied to homeschoolers. Homeschoolers don't have the same education experiences like you describe, but they go to college and out into the "real" world without issue. My children and I all attend college with various young adults who were homeschooled. They aren't socially strange. They fit in very well socially at the college level because they are more adult-like than many students who recently graduated from high school. Since college is filled with people of all ages and maturity, they fit right in. If they didn't tell you that they were homeschooled, you wouldn't know it. But they are proud of it. They do tell people they were homeschooled. That's how my children and I know people attending college who were homeschooled. When making public introductions in class, they usually share that they were homeschooled.
Regardless, people who are homeschooled do have social lives and memories of childhood friends to discuss. It's rather irrelevant that their memories aren't classroom related. I don't know many people who graduated college who sit around talking about their high school days. That's usually the type of conversations had by the the washed up football players whose high point of their lives was high school. For most people, elementary and secondary school is not a big deal once people get into the adult world.
Being homeschooled isn't a guarantee that a child will grow up uncomfortable, lacking confidence about themselves and/or their different upbringing. There's also a huge difference between making the decision to drop out of school and not attending school because parents chose a different type of education. Homeschooled adults simply share how their lives were different because they were homeschooled. There's nothing wrong with people living diverse lives and taking paths less traveled.
In my case it wasn't a "decision" to drop out really.
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