Unschooling

[Pilgrim]

Has anyone heard of this?? Every time I think it's becoming more fashionable for the inmates to run the asylum, something like this pops up to confirm my opinion; you just can't make stuff like this up.

"They're at home all day, but they're not being homeschooled. They're being "unschooled." There are no textbooks, no tests and no formal education at all in their world.
What's more, that hands-off approach extends to other areas of the children's lives: They make their own decisions, and don't have chores or rules.
Christine Yablonski and Phil Biegler of Westford, Mass., are self-described "radical unschoolers." They allow their teen daughter and son to decide what they want to learn, and when they want to learn it..."
When asked how their children learn things like math, she said, "If they need formal algebra understanding, then they will, they'll find that information."
Asked by "Good Morning America" about how they could parent without any rules, Phil Biegler said, "We find that we don't need a whole lot of rules."
"They might watch television," Yablonski said. "They might play games on the computers."
"They might read," her husband added.
Most children will always choose television over reading every time, but Yablonski said that "the key there is that you've got to trust your kids to ... find their own interests."
She isn't worried that her daughter stays up all night, because "she's getting everything done that she wants to get done..."

Unschooling: Homeschooling Without Books, Tests or Classes - ABC News

These "unschoolers" also have their own website: www.unschooling.com

George Orwell would absolutely love this - so would William Golding (Lord of the Flies).

Having raised two daughters, I simply can't imagine anyone in their right mind endorsing this concept; no rules, no structure, no goals, no challenges - let the kids do whatever they want from day one. These idiots have taken a good thing like homeschooling and completely trashed it.

 

[greg334]

Pilgrim,
Yep heard a lot about it, think it is a bit over the top but I look at how other systems work and they are just as bad.

 

[AMonger]

Has anyone heard of this?? Every time I think it's becoming more fashionable for the inmates to run the asylum, something like this pops up to confirm my opinion; you just can't make stuff like this up.

There's only one thing worse than unschooling, and that's government school AKA the public fool system. Homeschooling and private school are both far superior.

 

[Pilgrim]

Up until now I would have agreed wholeheartedly with the concept of home schooling, but this "unschooling" nonsense is just too far around the bend. The idea of allowing children to run their own lives without the benefit of a reservoir of knowledge and life experiences is a recipie for a chaotic lifestyle during their childhood and a disfunctional lifestyle when they're adults.

Naturally the adults that advocate this nonsensical system have all kinds of examples of how wonderful the experience is for their children, and I'm sure everything is peachy keen so long as they stay in their bubble. I can even imagine some instances where they are successful in college, given that still places them in the protected confines of academia.

However, dealing with real world challenges will probably be traumatic and disastrous to these sociopathic young adults who have been indoctrinated with the concept that they can do or not do anything they want whenever they feel like it. I noticed an article that mentioned a recently self-declared graduate of unschool had decided he was going off to Canada to work on an organic farm. Hopefully, the owners of this business won't mind if he sleeps until noon and doesn't show up for work whenever he's not in the mood. After all, productivity is secondary to one's self esteem.

Of course all this nonsense begins with weak, unrealistic parents who correctly identify the shortcomings of public schools, but are not equipped or not willing to make the hard decisions that come with raising children. These people are avoiding the confrontations and the hard choices that are incumbent with the discipline and structure that prepare kids for the real world. Instead, the let the little angels do whatever they want because they want to be friends to their kids - not parents.

 

[greg334]

However, dealing with real world challenges will probably be traumatic and disastrous to these sociopathic young adults who have been indoctrinated with the concept that they can do or not do anything they want whenever they feel like it.

A number of months ago I pointed out that a lot of problems within the military with PTSD has been based on the problem of kids not growing up with real challanges and dealing with real life problems. I caught h*ll for it but it seems to be more true than not and even some in the military who handle substance abuse programs seem to also think this way.

But stepping away from the military for a moment, here is an example that I am still laughing about but even though it is funny, it is equally sad.

My wife's nephew goes to Michigan Tech in Houghton. It snows up there and he is driving some rice burner that his parents 'leased' for him as a graduation present. Never mind the fact that he went to Montessori school and has no common sense because a lack of a challenging school life, he is just utterly incapable of dealing with real world problems. So in the winter a few years ago, he was messing around while skipping his classes and "hit" a snow bank. He got his car stuck and couldn't get out of it (maybe because he is fat may have something to do with that problem). Instead of calling his friends or calling AAA to get help, he calls his mommy and tells her to come up there and help him. Now mind you she is in a meeting at work, 700 miles from his location and asking her that he needs to be rescued. I won't go into the crying session he had on the phone or the $3000 worth the damage to the car but will say he is unequipped for the real world.

Of course all this nonsense begins with weak, unrealistic parents who correctly identify the shortcomings of public schools, but are not equipped or not willing to make the hard decisions that come with raising children. These people are avoiding the confrontations and the hard choices that are incumbent with the discipline and structure that prepare kids for the real world. Instead, the let the little angels do whatever they want because they want to be friends to their kids - not parents.

Yes it does begin with weak parents who for some unknown reason want to be friends with their children which is the worst thing for anyone to do. I think it is because they lack both guidance from their parents and want to relive their childhood through their kids.

 

[LDB]

Utter nonsense and stupidity. I'm surprised child welfare doesn't take the kids away from the morons. I guess they're too old to take away. Adds to the argument for forced sterilization.

 

[Poorboy]

Utter nonsense and stupidity. I'm surprised child welfare doesn't take the kids away from the morons. I guess they're too old to take away. Adds to the argument for forced sterilization.

C-Mon Leo, Don't Hold Back, Tell Us How you Really Feel

 

[AMonger]

Utter nonsense and stupidity. I'm surprised child welfare doesn't take the kids away from the morons. I guess they're too old to take away. Adds to the argument for forced sterilization.

Where would this stop? Would you take kids away from parents who don't feed them a balanced diet? Who don't make them get 20 minutes of cardio exercise 3 times a week? Who have views on medicine that differ from yours? Who give them funny names? Who raise them in a religion considered unusual?

What, then, when some group who considers your child-raising choices?

No one is guaranteed a successful outcome in life, and many children will be raised by parents who cripple their chances for success in life. While it's sad, we can't have the gummint yanking kids out of homes unless it's really egregious, like molestation or physical abuse, or else we run into problems like any majority yanking children away from any minority. I'm sure you're aware that the lunatics are running the national asylum now, and the lunatics like Pelosi, Reid, Obama, et al, would love to retrain your children to think the way they do.

Understand your feelings, though.

 

[AMonger]

Up until now I would have agreed wholeheartedly with the concept of home schooling, but this "unschooling" nonsense is just too far around the bend.
...
However, dealing with real world challenges will probably be traumatic and disastrous to these sociopathic young adults who have been indoctrinated with the concept that they can do or not do anything they want whenever they feel like it.
...
Of course all this nonsense begins with weak, unrealistic parents who correctly identify the shortcomings of public schools, but are not equipped or not willing to make the hard decisions that come with raising children. These people are avoiding the confrontations and the hard choices that are incumbent with the discipline and structure that prepare kids for the real world. Instead, the let the little angels do whatever they want because they want to be friends to their kids - not parents.

Ever seen the TV show Wife Swap? They frequently pair two families with child-rearing philosophies that are diametrically opposed to each other, one family being too regimented and the other being looney un-schoolers that let their children do anything. As you watch, you'd invariably think, "If these two families would both just come toward the middle..." And you could pick out the kids who are virtually doomed to failure.

Private schooling and home schooling, of course, are different things.