I just finished reading John Holt’s book, “Teach Your Own.” In the Unschooling circles, he seems to be the go to man on how to unschool children. He’s written several books, and I’m planning on reading another one as soon as I can get to the library.
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Overall, it was a good read, but I have to say that it’s really dry, and a bit boring, at times. I was able to benefit a lot from certain aspects of the book, though, especially the end, when Holt talked about “how” to unschool. He said that the whole point of unschooling and homeschooling is that you have the freedom to do as you please with your own children. It’s not all about throwing out the textbooks, and traditional classes, but it’s about letting the child learn whatever it is they want to at that time. If your son or daughter really wants to learn algebra, go ahead and get him/her a textbook and start the lessons. If they get bored with it, put it away for a time, until the interest comes up again. By doing this, you are truly allowing your child to learn the material.
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How many things did people attempt to “teach” you in school, that you remember nothing about now? A lot, if you’re like most. But, remember when you went on a trip with your dad or mom, and they showed you the different types of leaves while hiking? It’s likely that you still remember all of those leaves. The reason? It’s because you were interested at that time. You weren’t being force fed information by teachers that you cared nothing about.
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That’s one of the troubles with school. Some do well, others don’t, and you get graded accordingly. I really cannot see the fairness in this. Some of the kids may be interested, some may not, and it’s probable that the interested ones will do better.
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I think the problem stems from the fact that someone high up gets to decide what all of the kids should accomplish in compulsory schooling. That’s a load of dung, if you ask me. Kids don’t learn things at the same pace, nor do they comprehend each lesson at the same rate. I could care less about how to diagram a sentence, but I’d love to learn how to grow vegetables. Who’s to say that what I want to learn is any less important than what someone else does? This is what is being done to most children nowadays.
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We throw them in a building with a bunch of kids their age, and we demand that they perform a certain way, within a certain time frame, and with a good attitude. Everyone is always talking about how kids are bored with school, and acting out because they are lazy, or just bad “seeds”. Well, I’m here to say that the kids are bored because they aren’t interested in the work.
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Take, for example, a kids who is failing math, science, and english, but is doing excellent in history. Soon teachers and parents are getting together, discussing why little Tim isn’t trying harder with his failing grade classes. Everyone is concerned, and worried he won’t get into a good college, or ever graduate high school. There ends up being a whole lot of fuss over nothing. Maybe, instead of being so negative, they should start to encourage his history studies, and take him to museums, famous historical sites, and other things related to history. That way they are nurturing what he is good at, and what he is interested in. (I realize that the boy couldn’t ignore the other subjects, as he wouldn’t receive a passing grade in the traditional school setting, but I think that the point of focus for his studies should be what he is intrigued by.)
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It seems that the only reason kids are forced to all learn the same thing is so they can all graduate, and all get into college, and all go on to have a job requiring a degree, regardless of whether or not they are happy doing it. That is the society we live in. It’s all about keeping the kids busy, so they don’t get into trouble, and so they can pass a state mandated test. (They haven’t done so well thus far, might I add.)
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Apparently, we’re just here to go to school, get a slip of paper that deems us more intelligent, and work at a job that pays a lot of money. So much for personal satisfaction, and further more, so much for trying to honor God with the talents and gifts He’s given us. We weren’t all made the same, and we can’t expect our children to thrive when being forced to be just like everybody else. They are individuals, just like adults, except that they haven’t yet had their dreams crushed. Let’s do our part and allow our kids to truly learn outside of a school building, or at least pay more attention to what is going on inside of them.
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hey my dear…i totally agree with this post, as most people would…i think…of course with the exception of those who control our schooling. the funny thing is…i always seemed to actually be smarter than many of my teachers and principals, etc. i couldn’t tell you how many times my dad corrected moronic letters written by teachers and other authoritative school figures, and actually sent them back to them…haha, and i couldn’t even begin to tell you about how many education majors i know who are complete idiots, but will be “teaching” our children someday…it’s quite sad. Most of the people who run our schools are honestly the dumbest people i’ve ever met, yet they control our educational fate, and we wonder why the gene pool is degenerative and humanity is becoming more stupid by the minute.