Unschooling NYC

No, it can’t cure everything.  But it can make you feel a lot better along the way.   The week has been kind of heavy, to put it mildly, so on this cold and windy Friday the 13th, some laughter is in order.

These are things that made me laugh today.   Thank goodness for all the clever, funny people out there.

1)  Here she is, Liz Gumbinner, aka Mom-101, with her latest blog post:  Schmolitics.

2)  If you are not yet on Twitter, it would almost be worth it to join just to read the Tweets from @geekblush .  I don’t … Read more

Everyone in New York City lives near a really good school.  Just ask them.

The good school lie is second only to the one where people insist that their house is only a 20 minute commute from Manhattan.  No, really!

Oh please.

If everyone lives near a “good school” (and is there really such a thing?)  in New York City, then why are there so many bad ones?

Today I met a NYC middle school teacher who two weeks ago pulled her son out of school.   She and her husband plan to homeschool him.

You know there’s a problem when … Read more

I’ll make this short.

It is my firm belief that whatever we focus on is what we create.   Our focus manifests itself as reality.

Focus is not the same as observation.   We can observe a thing without making it our main focus.

If we focus only on the negative, guess what we get a lot of?

To change things, we need to shift our focus.

Of course, in order to shift focus, it is often necessary to let go of long held (or even not so long held) beliefs.

Take education, for example.   Headline after headline talks about failing schools, … Read more

Every Monday my kids take Art, and I take myself to the Barnes & Noble cafe to get an early start on the days’ blog post, or to read or crochet – whatever.   Almost every time I am there I see the same two elderly gentlemen sitting at one of the tables, deep in conversation.  I enjoy knowing that they will be there, hearing the murmur of their voices and their occasional laughter.

Today when I walked in, only one of them was there, and the only open table was next to him.  So I walked over, put down my … Read more

Learning is not a linear process, even though it is often treated that way in school.  Years after my school days were over, it astonished me how history, for example, is taught.   American history is taught in linear fashion, as is World history.   Parallel, linear lines that never intersect.   Of course the truth is that you cannot separate American history from World history or vice versa.     But learning is not circular (or elliptical or oval), either.  In fact, it’s kind of all over the place, and if drawn out it might look more like a starburst or an intricate maze … Read more

The new issue of Big Apple Parent is out, with its’ bold headline that reads, “Get Schooled!”  and purports to give parents everything they need to know in order to choose the best school for their child.

Inside, the headline is “Multiple Choice”, (aren’t they clever?) and the first sentence reads “School is a home away from home.”   Really?   Well, that would be sad, if it were true.  Do you know of any homes where 20-35 kids of the same age spend their entire day in one room, or moving about from room to room every 45 minutes or so … Read more

Being New Yorkers, we ride the subway a lot.  My kids are, for the most part,  immune to the eccentricities of some fellow riders;  guys who curse at no one in particular, or panhandlers telling you their story of woe or the mariachi band who plays from stop to stop, then passes the hat around for donations.    Then there are the train conductors;  some of them don’t announce the stations anymore, or admonish people to step away from the doors.   That part of the job is largely automated, and you should hear Ben mimic the recorded voice that says, “Stand … Read more

We spent a good portion of the day today at our friends’ the Spositos apartment.    The kids started out taking a Spanish class, and once they were settled with their teacher, Kristin (Mom Sposito) walked over to where I was sitting with my second cup of coffee, put down a bunch of stuff she was carrying and said, “So, do you have these piles of things in your house?  I hate piles of stuff like this.”

Ah yes, the random pile of stuff.   Not to be confused with the kitchen drawer, which tends to collect things like pencils, nail clippers, … Read more

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!… Read more

Why do people go to such great lengths to avoid responsibility?   Is it fear of being wrong?   I think it is.   Being Wrong is a cardinal sin in our culture, it seems.   Even though, being mostly humans, it would be hard for us to live a mistake-free life.   Unless of course we don’t do anything.  Never make a decision.   Take no….responsibility for anything.

To avoid responsibility, people instead find someone else to blame.   This is an epidemic problem when it comes to education.  And probably everywhere else, too, but since this is usually a blog about learning….

The problem?   Kids … Read more