Unschooling NYC

No, unschooling is not anti-education.

But “Education”?

Education with a capital “E” is used synonymously with schooling.

Not just schooling, but forced compulsory schooling.

Schooling without choice.

As unschoolers it can be difficult to divorce ourselves from the idea of “Education”, since most of us were brought up in the capital “E” system.   Not to mention the constant chatter about getting a “good Education”.   Not to mention the looks we get, the raised eyebrows and the frowns when we admit that we don’t buy into the traditional idea of “Education”.

But seriously, try not to think about it.

Try to … Read more

My last post was something like nine days ago which is a long time when I’m not traveling.  Sometimes it pays to take a break.  In this case, I had nine days to absorb the weird reality that happens when your daughter goes away for the first time, out of range of all communication, and then a few more to absorb what an amazing experience it was for her.    And how wonderful it can be to go to a strange place, only to find that the people there aren’t strangers at all.

To realize you’ve found the tribe.

Not Back … Read more

In less than 48 hours I’ll be heading to Vermont with my Mom and Ben to spend two days on a mini-break before picking up Maya from NBTSC.   In the meantime, I finished the latest episode of Deconstructing Unschooling.

I hope you enjoy it.  Let me know what you think!

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I mentioned last week that Maya was going to Not Back to School Camp.   We went up on Friday to drop her off, and even though I’d read the handbook and knew in advance that things were pretty rustic, I couldn’t help thinking as we stood in the open air cabin after walking past the outhouses and outdoor handwashing stations that this was very far from Maya’s idea of a comfort zone.

Very far.

There was a time, not so long ago,  when a ladybug in the bedroom at night was cause for an all out search and destroy mission … Read more

Posting this next week is going to be sporadic at best (although I do hope to put up my  next “Deconstructing Unschooling” video over the weekend) due mostly to the fact that on Friday I drive Maya to Not Back to School Camp.

It’s kind of a big deal; she’s never been away from home for more than a night or two, and then she was in the company of friends.   No one she knows will be at the camp.   The camp is pretty rustic, and Maya’s  idea of rustic is usually a hotel without a pool.   But when she … Read more

Last summer at the age of 14, the son of a friend of mine started working his way through a Math curriculum.   Until that point he’d never had a math lesson of any sort.   Because of this, he started in Grade 1 to make sure he covered everything from the beginning.   In less than three months he’d done 4 grades of Math.   Not only done the work, but understood it.   A year later he is tackling some fairly advanced concepts.

I tell you this so that on those days when mild panic sets in, whether due to your own latent … Read more

A lot of buzz happening this week in the papers and on line revolving around the monitoring of teens on line activities.  First there was this article on talking to teens about the internet and then yesterday this piece in the Times  about the suicide of a 12 year old girl that may have been prompted in part by cyber-bullying.

The basic premise is that there are too many ways for kids to get into trouble on line and that it is almost impossible for parents to keep up with all the latest social media trends.  The solution?   Monitor your … Read more

The first week of August, my kids and I were in California to attend VidCon, and had a blast.   Then we came back to the city and after another week or so experienced a noticeable “ebb” of energy and activity.  We kind of sat around a lot.   Mention was made of boredom once or twice (or more).   All around us, people energetically discussed high school applications and new curricula for their kids.

We played a lot of Candy Crush Saga.

Then a few days ago, everything changed.   Projects appeared, as though out of thin air.  Motivation went into overdrive … Read more

Remember this oh so optimistic post I wrote a little over two months ago?  In it, I said:

After observing the group for a few days, reading threads and clicking on suggested links, I decided to find out how many chairs were available at this new table of education transformers.  I posted a comment in which I basically stated my belief that teachers (or at least Badass Teachers = BATs) and unschoolers have a common goal and might benefit from working together.   I threw it out there and asked for thoughts and ideas about how the type of change we

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Today I was reminded how differently unschoolers view learning compared to almost everyone else, including many traditional homeschoolers.

Someone on an email list to which I belong posted a link to a project titled “Different Heads”, in which children in school were instructed to fill out two worksheets and then create two pie charts based on the results.  The person who posted it thought that it might be interesting for homeschoolers to try it, as well.  While I’m sure they had good intentions, for me it was a stark reminder that such projects have nothing to do with real … Read more