Unschooling NYC

I’m sitting in the cafe at Barnes & Noble right now, preparing to start writing todays’ post.   Directly in front of me is a young man (I’m guessing he’s a Junior in High School) who is spending his lunch hour meeting with a private history tutor.   He is dressed in a school uniform that includes a tie, and the reason I’m guessing he’s a Junior in High School is that he and his tutor are discussing early American history and the debates that revolved around states rights.  (As anyone who attended high school knows, American History is taught in the … Read more

Arlo Guthrie would probably brush off any mention of his music being a part of the fabric of America as an exaggeration.   He would defer to his father Woody’s influence, or that of his friend Pete Seeger.   And while I would agree that Pete and Woody’s songs are without a doubt an integral part of our history  – think “This Land is Your Land” or “If I Had a Hammer” –  I would argue that Arlo and his family are integral as well.    Sitting in Carnegie Hall last night (talk about a little slice of history) listening to Arlo … Read more

It’s that time of year again.   Tonight Maya and I are headed to that cathedral of great music, Carnegie Hall.  There is a scene in the movie “Music of the Heart” where Meryl Streep’s character is welcomed to Carnegie Hall by Isaac Stern.  He tells her that if you stand on the stage and listen closely, you can hear Tchaikovsky – who played at the very first concert held in the Hall- as well as Sergei Rachmaninoff,  Leonard Bernstein and Jascha Heifetz.  He tells her they are all there, in the walls, to welcome each and every person who comes … Read more

As I was getting caught up on the NY Times (3 days’ worth that had found their way to the couch where I write in the evenings) I came across this article in yesterdays’ Home section about 19 year old Sam Allen. The title in the print edition was “Decorating is his Homework.”   Sometimes all the blog posts in the world cannot effectively convey the message that following interests in the real world is more valuable than sitting in school.   Mostly because the people reading the posts are afflicted with ‘school brain’ and the entire time,  said school brain is … Read more

I had a lot of stuff I thought about writing tonight – Thanksgiving as a tradition and all the ways it is celebrated, but after a day full of food and friends, I find my brain just wants to rest.

When I think of it, the things for which I am thankful don’t change much from year to year.  My family is always first and foremost among them.   Friends are next,  along with freedom;  freedom to live and raise our kids as we see fit, freedom to write this blog and criticize things like our compulsory school system.   As imperfect … Read more

Yes, you read that correctly.  Breaking Dawn.  As in the 4th installment in the Twilight franchise.   Breaking Dawn is the book (and the film) in which the lead characters Edward and Bella marry and while on their honeymoon Bella gets pregnant.  With a half-vampire child.    All hell (ha ha! no pun was intended) breaks loose upon their return, with the baby growing too fast for Bella to handle, the wolf-pack threatening and vampires standing their ground.

What, you might ask, has this to do with life choices?

Good question and one that I am going to answer on two fronts.   … Read more

One of the problems in discussing unschooling with people is that they expect it to be a ‘method by which we educate our children’.   And such an expectation is not unreasonable, because the idea that children can grow and learn without any specific methodology is foreign in our culture, and as difficult for most people to grasp as is the concept of infinity.   You can almost see their minds being blown.

This problem of the perception of unschooling as a methodology is one reason I prefer Wendy Priesnitz’s term ‘life learning’.   Yes, it’s semantics, but it’s one step further away … Read more

Ok, so I now have an explanation for why my friends have been flaking out, my Nook seems to have disappeared into thin air (seriously – like it was part of a magic trick in my apartment; there one minute, gone the next),  and stuff just isn’t working the way it’s supposed to.

Mercury is in retrograde.  (Or almost there, which means this is just the warm up.  Hurray!)

I never used to credit the whole Mercury in retrograde screwing with not only electronics but brain function, but these past few days have made me a believer.

Except I think … Read more

Today was one of those days when nothing happened.

We woke up.

I got coffee.

It was warm.

Spoke to my Mom at length. (hi Mom!)

Went shopping for Christmas presents for Maya & Ben’s friends.

Bought ink for my printer.

Had another coffee.  (Sometimes I need two.)

Discovered yet another invitee cannot join us for Thanksgiving.  (Am bummed.)

No one answered any of my tweets or re-tweeted anything I wrote. (Bummed x2)

Did some data entry on line for our business.

Had a beer.  (With dinner)

And now…Sitting and staring at the screen of my computer.

Started a post.… Read more

Ron Paul is in favor of doing away with the Federal Dept. of Education.  On his webpage, he says that education decisions should be made at the state, local and personal level;  that “parents should have the right to spend their money on the school or method of schooling they deem appropriate for their children.”

There was a NY Times article today that pointed out growing support for Mr. Paul among homeschooling families, in large part, it is stated, due to his stance on education.    In my opinion however, simply saying we’ll do away with the Dept. of Ed and … Read more