Unschooling NYC

“The worst thing is that I’ve always gotten self-worth from performance, especially good grades.  But now that I can’t get a job, I feel worthless.”    Lael Goodman 

“I have a lot of regret about going to college.   If I could go back again, I think I’d try…not going to college”–our generation’s ultimate blasphemy.    ‘Sam’

“I worked hard (40 hours a week during most of my education), for what?  Tell me what I need to do to get ahead, because I did everything right!”    Goodman

These quotes are from the cover story in this week’s NY Magazine, “The Kids … Read more

That would be Heather Armstrong of Dooce.com.   Lately she’s been publishing posts that are full of links to neat things she’s found on line.   Tonight I’m doing something similar, except my stuff is related to unschooling.  (Surprise!)

A few weeks ago Maya and I were interviewed by Rebecca Douglas for a radio documentary on DIY – our part being the DIY education.    It was broadcast on Blog Talk Radio last week.   Maya and I are in it only briefly, but overall it is a good piece on unschooling.    It begins with a report on Maker Faire, then the unschooling … Read more

You know we’ve done more than our usual amount of socializing when Maya says, “I think I need a break from seeing my friends.”

The weekend was great, and extended into today.   3 overnights in a row for Maya, one for Ben, art class today followed by playing at Riverside Park and another play date for Ben and then all of us went to dinner at a friends’ house for Sukkot.     My kids’ perfect weekend, but we are all more than a little exhausted as a result.

Because of that, please enjoy John Gatto, telling us a little bit about … Read more

Tonight, as I mentioned on Friday, was our monthly book club meeting.   This month we read Cat Patrick’s debut novel Forgotten, which centers around a 16 year old girl who suffers from short term memory loss.   The book got very mixed reviews in our group, with 4 in favor and 3 against.   I liked it, generally speaking, though I thought it had some holes and problems in the narrative that would have bothered me had I decided to give more attention to them.   The girls didn’t much enjoy the love story in the book and there was some giggling over … Read more

This op-ed piece, “Notes From a Dragon Mom”, was in todays’ NY Times.   It is a profound lesson for everyone but especially those of us, perhaps, whose children are not fatally ill.   It reminds us that all any of us really have is today.   Treating our children harshly now to prepare them for the future is something I’ve always thought misguided;  after reading this article it is nothing less than tragic.

Love your kids.  All the time in the world doesn’t exist.  There is only now.… Read more

This post could also have been titled “Maya’s Most Marvelous Weekend” or maybe “All kids, All the time”;  or maybe even (from my perspective)  “Oh my god I’ve forgotten what being in a quiet room feels like!”   Just kidding.   Sort of.

Today begins the weekend that, a few days ago,  prompted Maya to declare she has a perfect life.   And hey, that’s still a good thing.   But perfect is a lot LOUDER than I expected.    At 6pm we had 9 kids and 5 adults in our apartment, and we adults pretty much relegated ourselves to the kitchen to be heard … Read more

You all know the answer to this one.   Think about it.  It’s your kids’ 2nd Christmas (or Hannukah or whatever you might be celebrating that involves gifts).   I say second because the first is usually more for the parents, but by the 2nd year the child ‘gets’ the whole gift thing.    Anyway, what is every kid’s favorite thing to play with after the initial, “Cool, a new babydoll,”  or “Yay, a dumptruck,”?  Yes, it’s the cardboard box the toy came in.

Nothing beats cardboard boxes for all around fun.    If I could, I would have a jumbo cardboard box house … Read more

The video below is from the Ted Talks site (something I recommend everyone subscribe to) and has been on my list to post for a while now.  Because I doodle a lot.  Especially if I am listening to someone talk, whether on the phone or in an auditorium; pretty much anytime I am sitting and listening to someone speak at length.   My daughter told me just today about a schooled friend whose teacher decided to check their composition books for doodles so that she would know who wasn’t paying attention in class.   In her book, he who doodles isn’t listening.… Read more

So much has been written about Steve Jobs in the past week that I considered keeping my thoughts to myself.   At least until I picked up the latest issue of Time Magazine, which features a 1982 photo of Jobs on the cover holding the type of Mac on which I first learned to use a computer.

But nostalgia is not what motivated me to write this post.   Not entirely, anyway.

Most people, I think, know that Jobs didn’t finish college.   Most people also wave this fact off as, ‘well, he was different’.   And of course he was, but maybe not … Read more

This is sort of a follow up to last night, but I promise not to belabor the point.    Many years ago I heard someone say that whatever you focus on is what you create in your life.   So if you focus only on the negative, you create more negative.  The obvious answer, then, would be to focus on something positive.   Even if it is a small thing.    And I can say from experience (both with negative and positive) that it is true.   Your inner dialogue and what you choose to focus on creates your reality in many, many ways.

Right … Read more