Wow, Penelope Trunk weighs in on Homeschooling

[justamouse]

I hafta say, as far as my husband and I are concerned, she nailed us.

 

Here

 

1. A huge wave of homeschooling will create a more self-directed workforce.

Homeschooling is going mainstream. We have known for a while that public education in the United States is largely terrible. Yes, there are pockets that are exceptional, but for the most part, we have an education crisis on our hands. But Baby Boomers were too scared to solve the crisis with homeschooling. If you homeschool your kids, you take them out of the typical ways to measure how well kids are doing in the competition. Baby Boomers couldn’t handle that, and they also wanted to work full-time, so instead of homeschooling, Baby Boomers got kids tons of tutoring and extra help after school.

 

Gen X is more comfortable working outside the system than Baby Boomers. Gen X women are fine quitting their jobs to take care of their kids—they have no feminist ax to grind in the workplace. And Gen X parents don’t feel a need to have their kid compete because Gen X is so noncompetitive. So homeschooling among Gen X parents is becoming mainstream. It’s no longer just for religious radicals and problem children. Homeschooling is for parents who know public schools are broken and don’t have $20,000 a year for private school.

 

This means we will have a generation of kids who grew up with largely a self-learning, self-directed model. They are more accustomed to figuring out what they like to do, and doing it on their own. The crisis to figure out what to do with one’s life will not last so long because Gen X will raise more independent and self-directed kids.

 

2. Homeschooling as kids will become unschooling as adults.

We have established that school does not prepare people for work. In fact, Gen Y has been very vocal about this problem because a) they did everything they were told to do and it didn’t help them get a job and b) we have a national crisis because gen y has huge debt from college and little ability to pay it back.

 

With alternative schooling and an emphasis on independent investigation, Generation Z will be the first group of knowledge workers who were trained to do their job before they started working. For example, Generation Z will be great at synthesizing information because they will have been doing that—rather than memorizing—the whole time they were in school.

 

The workplace ramification of this shift in learning is that Generation Z will have no problem directing their careers. They will know how to figure out what skill to learn next, and they will have more self-discipline to do it on their own.

 

When Gen Z enters the workforce, the older people, Gen X and Gen Y, will work to live, not live to work. This will be something Gen X and Gen Y fought hard for. To Gen Z it will be easy to do and self-learning will take center stage in their work day. So, as qualifications for the workplace will rapidly change and older people who don't keep up will be outdated, it will be Generation Z that is best at keeping up. Not because they are young, but because they understand that unschooling is not a movement for kids, but a way to live a life, and it doesn’t stop when you start getting a paycheck.

 

I'm Gen X, Dh, poor Dude hits the Baby Boom, though he acts like an Xer because he's on the cusp. We both are setting our kids up to be entrepreneurs. Matter of fact, we were talking about this very thing yesterday.

 

What do you think? Do you fit in anywhere? Disagree?

[elegantlion]

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I'm Gen X, Dh, poor Dude hits the Baby Boom, though he acts like an Xer because he's on the cusp. We both are setting our kids up to be entrepreneurs. Matter of fact, we were talking about this very thing yesterday.

 

What do you think? Do you fit in anywhere? Disagree?

 

Dude, that's us too. Dh is last segment of the baby boomers, I am Xer. Dh is self-employed. Ds is a non-coformist in so many ways. We dislike jumping through someone elses hoops, and by genetics ds questions everything. WHY? is his favorite word. :lol:

 

If we weren't so gosh darn proud that he is an independent thinker, I might imagine there was something wrong with him. :D

 

I'm fairly sure this kid will grow up to do something completely unique as a job. Entrepreneur would be all right.

[Carrie12345]

I think it's a tad bit over-idealized ;) but, yeah, 2 proud GenXers over here!

[Mrs Mungo]

I hafta say, as far as my husband and I are concerned, she nailed us.

 

Here

 

 

 

I'm Gen X, Dh, poor Dude hits the Baby Boom, though he acts like an Xer because he's on the cusp. We both are setting our kids up to be entrepreneurs. Matter of fact, we were talking about this very thing yesterday.

 

What do you think? Do you fit in anywhere? Disagree?

 

My dh and I are both Gen X, and I would agree with the assessment.

[Giraffe]

I think that's us too, but reversed - I'm the one that's almost a baby boomer, while DH is firmly Gen X (yeah, I robbed the cradle). DD's favorite phrase? "What would happen if..."! She is definitely strong willed, independent, and not letting anyone tell her what to do!

[Heather in WI]

We're Gen X and own our own business. Loved the article and posted to Facebook. :D

[4everHis]

Dude, that's us too. Dh is last segment of the baby boomers, I am Xer. Dh is self-employed. Ds is a non-coformist in so many ways. We dislike jumping through someone elses hoops, and by genetics ds questions everything. WHY? is his favorite word. :lol:

 

If we weren't so gosh darn proud that he is an independent thinker, I might imagine there was something wrong with him. :D

 

I'm fairly sure this kid will grow up to do something completely unique as a job. Entrepreneur would be all right.

 

When I read this I thought of my dh :D and early on I continually thought something was wrong with him. I was the perfect ps child:mad::blush5::scared:, he should have been homeschooled. I'm learning to ask WHY? I think our kids are going to make great Gen Z adults.

[pdalley]

I hafta say, as far as my husband and I are concerned, she nailed us.

 

Here

 

 

 

I'm Gen X, Dh, poor Dude hits the Baby Boom, though he acts like an Xer because he's on the cusp. We both are setting our kids up to be entrepreneurs. Matter of fact, we were talking about this very thing yesterday.

 

What do you think? Do you fit in anywhere? Disagree?

 

Nailed us too. DH is on the cusp of baby boomers - though he's more Gen X in his thinking. I am Gen X for sure.

 

This article makes me hopeful. I see what she's saying about thinking and problem solving with mine.

[radiobrain]

WOW. I think this is a really wonderful article.

 

So my kids are generation Z? Does that mean they are the last, or that their kids will be generation A+ (or Ah-ha)? :D

 

Pegs so much of what I have already thought myself, and how I have been approaching my children's future.

 

Thanks for posting.

[Mother Superior]

My dh and I are both Gen X, and I would agree with the assessment.

 

Ditto this! (We should have a smiley that says "I agree with Mrs Mungo!" I think I'd use it a LOT!)

[justamouse]

Penelope has an amazing take on being a person with Aspergers, too, just in case anyone wanted to click around her blog-she has a tab up there about it.

 

She may offend some people, just a warning. She's not much with the filter or saying what she SHOULD say. I love her sumthin awful. :001_smile:

[Lady Florida.]

 

What do you think? Do you fit in anywhere? Disagree?

 

Interesting article, and I'm glad to see someone has a positive outlook for my son's generation. But wow, she likes to put whole generations of people in a box, doesn't she? (I never heard of her before this article.) Either that, or dh and I were just born at the wrong time.

 

She seems to forget that Baby Boomers span almost 20 years. Dh and I hit the middle of the boom. We were too young to "change politics" but old enough to see what drugs did to the older Boomers. We are not competitive. We (well, dh mostly) pulled the college rug out from under his older son. Dh knew his son, and knew that he'd just flounder in college while trying to figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up. I had no trouble giving up my career.

 

I can't speak for Gen X or Y, but I'm pretty sure she put a whole bunch of them in the wrong box too.

 

Sorry, I get her point and it's a good one, but her stereotyping IMO, took away some of the credibility of her argument.

[elegantlion]

Admit it, someone else has this song going through their head.

 

 

 

I know, probably more of a boomer song, but as an Xer, I'm reclaiming it. :D

[Mosaicmind]

Remind me again because I don't really follow the generation "names". Dh was born in '62 so he is a boomer--right? And I was born in '68--and I am a generation X'er, right? Honestly, though what does all that mean? Does it matter what generation we were born in?

[justamouse]

Admit it, someone else has this song going through their head.

 

 

 

I know, probably more of a boomer song, but as an Xer, I'm reclaiming it. :D

 

 

Lol, I'm listening to Jagged Little Pill. :lol:

 

Mosaic:

 

from about.com

 

2000/2001-Present - New Silent Generation or Generation Z

1980-2000 - Millennials or Generation Y

1965-1979 - Generation X

1946-1964 - Baby Boom

1925-1945 - Silent Generation

1900-1924 - G.I. Generation

 

We have generational ...quirks that demographers have pinpointed.

[pdalley]

Admit it, someone else has this song going through their head.

 

 

 

I know, probably more of a boomer song, but as an Xer, I'm reclaiming it. :D

 

 

I love The Who. And I think that song fits. :D

[Colleen in NS]

Dude, that's us too. Dh is last segment of the baby boomers, I am Xer. Dh is self-employed. Ds is a non-coformist in so many ways. We dislike jumping through someone elses hoops, and by genetics ds questions everything. WHY? is his favorite word. :lol:

 

This is us.

[elegantlion]

This is us.

 

Nova Scotia really should be closer to the midwest. We could have some fun together. :D

[Audrey]

Very interesting. Dh and I are Gen X. Out here self-employment is the norm -- farmers, ag industry, small businesses -- so it's something that ds has always seen. Ds is very much an independent thinker, which is fine with us. We aren't much for conformism... but you probably guessed that already. :D

Edited April 11, 2011 by Audrey

[Colleen in NS]

Nova Scotia really should be closer to the midwest. We could have some fun together. :D

 

No, I think you need to come here, since you are currently celebrating Scottish heritage. Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland. :D Plenty of kilts around here, esp. in Pictou County and Cape Breton. :D

[justamouse]

Dude, that's us too. Dh is last segment of the baby boomers, I am Xer. Dh is self-employed. Ds is a non-coformist in so many ways. We dislike jumping through someone elses hoops, and by genetics ds questions everything. WHY? is his favorite word. :lol:

 

If we weren't so gosh darn proud that he is an independent thinker, I might imagine there was something wrong with him. :D

 

I'm fairly sure this kid will grow up to do something completely unique as a job. Entrepreneur would be all right.

 

This is us.

 

It's so true. We think how we can make what we need fit us, rather than conforming to get our needs met (I break this for faith, though). And working for someone else never even entered our mind. My kids are the same.

 

How is a Classical Education going to serve these kids?

 

Listening to The Who, now. :-)

Edited April 11, 2011 by justamouse
apparently the sun has strange effects on my spelling.

[Jenny in Atl]

Another Gen X married to a Gen X, who has just gone to work, for someone else, for the first time in 15 years... It's been painful. :lol: :tongue_smilie:

[Mynyel]

I have no idea if I am a x, y or z (well probably not a z :)) but I do know I buck the system! :)

[Just Robyn]

Interesting article, and I'm glad to see someone has a positive outlook for my son's generation. But wow, she likes to put whole generations of people in a box, doesn't she? (I never heard of her before this article.) Either that, or dh and I were just born at the wrong time.

 

She seems to forget that Baby Boomers span almost 20 years. Dh and I hit the middle of the boom. We were too young to "change politics" but old enough to see what drugs did to the older Boomers. We are not competitive. We (well, dh mostly) pulled the college rug out from under his older son. Dh knew his son, and knew that he'd just flounder in college while trying to figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up. I had no trouble giving up my career.

 

I can't speak for Gen X or Y, but I'm pretty sure she put a whole bunch of them in the wrong box too.

 

Sorry, I get her point and it's a good one, but her stereotyping IMO, took away some of the credibility of her argument.

 

As an early Gen Yer married to a late Gen Xer :iagree:. Some of the statements about Gen X and some of the statements about Gen Y apply to us, but neither description works completely.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Two boomers here. Many of the homeschooling moms I know (who are my age) are boomers too (duh - since they are my age or older). I don't think you can generalize like this. Of course a big chunk of homeschooling parents are going to be in Generation X since that's the generation who is having most of the school age children right now. My dh and I just happened to get married late (late 20's and 30's) and had our children late due to fertility problems. Most of my peers have kids who are in college or beyond.

[WIS0320]

My husband and I are both Gen X.

 

I think the comments below the article were more thought-provoking than the actual article!

[DawnM]

This is interesting. We are both Gen Xers but honestly, I am far more Baby Boomer in my thinking when it comes to traditional schooling (college) and joining the work force.

 

Dawn

[ocelotmom]

I have no idea if I am a x, y or z (well probably not a z :)) but I do know I buck the system! :)

Based on your kid's ages - X unless you were a teen mom. You might be on the border between X and Y if you had a kid in your late teens.

 

I think the article certainly makes sense with everything I've read about Generation X as adults in other contexts.

[RanchGirl]

self-employed Gen Xers here as well. That was an interesting article, thanks for sharing.

[Mommyfaithe]

We're Gen X and own our own business. Loved the article and posted to Facebook. :D

 

Us too. Looks like my kiddies are more yuppie...lol....

[*lifeoftheparty*]

LOL! I just read this article a few hours ago.

 

DS6 is outside right now, with a pile of sticks and unopened newspapers I was going to recycle....he has a sign that says "Store Open". He's trying to sell the sticks, "that can be used to make bow and arrow toys" for $2. :001_huh:

 

I feel bad for him.... I really don't think anyone is going to pay $2 for a stick or a newspaper they already have.... but I don't want to crush his entrepreneurial spirit! What to do.... what to do.....

[FO4UR]

LOL! I just read this article a few hours ago.

 

DS6 is outside right now, with a pile of sticks and unopened newspapers I was going to recycle....he has a sign that says "Store Open". He's trying to sell the sticks, "that can be used to make bow and arrow toys" for $2. :001_huh:

 

I feel bad for him.... I really don't think anyone is going to pay $2 for a stick or a newspaper they already have.... but I don't want to crush his entrepreneurial spirit! What to do.... what to do.....

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Oh.My.Word!!!

 

I know his future business partner...he's an 8yo living under my roof.

 

Mine wants to make books to sell. Someday...someday...:001_smile:

[Garga]

He's trying to sell the sticks, "that can be used to make bow and arrow toys" for $2.

 

 

I know his future business partner...he's an 8yo living under my roof.

 

Mine wants to make books to sell.

 

 

Mine drew pictures on index cards and wanted to sell them in our front yard. He was 7 and he's not an artist. He was severely disappointed when I told him that I didn't think there would be enough demand. I wish I'd just let him go ahead and try and figure out that there was no demand on his own. (Like the above poster and the sticks.)

[LMD]

hmm, stereotypically, DH an I don't fit our gen Y status. We're definately not 'rule followers' or 'do what our parents tell us' people :lol: . We're pretty close to the cusp of gen X though, maybe we're just too old for our time!

[justamouse]

LOL! I just read this article a few hours ago.

 

DS6 is outside right now, with a pile of sticks and unopened newspapers I was going to recycle....he has a sign that says "Store Open". He's trying to sell the sticks, "that can be used to make bow and arrow toys" for $2. :001_huh:

 

I feel bad for him.... I really don't think anyone is going to pay $2 for a stick or a newspaper they already have.... but I don't want to crush his entrepreneurial spirit! What to do.... what to do.....

 

 

LOL!

 

Go baby, go!

 

When I was a tot I was jealous of the Girls Scouts selling cookies so I sold pretty crystal rocks. :lol: I guess it paid off! My Dh had a vitamin store before he graduated HS, and in his senior year was making more than the teachers. He never worked for anyone but himself. Me, either, apart from odd jobs when I was a teen. And it all started with rocks. So, keep that stick business going. :-) He's gotta start somewhere!

Edited April 12, 2011 by justamouse

[*lifeoftheparty*]

LOL!

 

Go baby, go!

 

When I was a tot I was jealous of the Girls Scouts selling cookies so I sold pretty crystal rocks. :lol: I guess it paid off! My Dh had a vitamin store before he graduated HS, and in his senior year was making more than the teachers. He never worked for anyone but himself. Me, either, apart from odd jobs when I was a teen. And it all started with rocks. So, keep that stick business going. :-) He's gotta start somewhere!

 

After a while, (he chased the Swann truck with his sign in the air), DH went out and gently explained supply and demand; that people may not want to pay for sticks when they can go into the woods and get sticks for free.... DS said, "But THESE are GREAT sticks!"

 

We let him stay out until it got dark, LOL.

[cjbeach]

We're both Gen Xer's but while I did seek out a stable income (R.N.) my dh has always had his own biz. He's an ex-stockjockey/WStreeter who did better on his own.

He has always been about owning his own business. He put us through some rough times last year getting this business up on its' legs, but I can see now why he did it. (Sometimes I wish he wasn't SO entrepeneurial.;) ) He also wanted to build a biz in the hopes he can provide a stable biz for his children to step into one day, if they so desire.

And I also have those kids who are always setting up their own sidewalk business or making signs for their current wares.:001_huh:

Edited April 12, 2011 by cjbeach

[WIS0320]

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Oh.My.Word!!!

 

I know his future business partner...he's an 8yo living under my roof.

 

Mine wants to make books to sell. Someday...someday...:001_smile:

 

I have another business partner to be living under my roof, though she is only 5. I had to explain several times to her this winter that no one was going to buy a cup of hot chocolate for $2 when they could get a whole box of Swiss Miss for the same price! She's always trying to figure out ways to earn money, Girl Scout cookie selling was the pinnacle of her year.

[elegantlion]

After a while, (he chased the Swann truck with his sign in the air), DH went out and gently explained supply and demand; that people may not want to pay for sticks when they can go into the woods and get sticks for free.... DS said, "But THESE are GREAT sticks!"

 

We let him stay out until it got dark, LOL.

 

Goodness you simply must write this down for future reference. Like when he opens up a lumber stores. Selling sticks all my life...:lol::lol:

 

 

My ds discovered the ability to trade and sell cards like Pokemon and Magic cards. He had a good thing going for a while. Sold a ton of them to a card store owner.

[gardening momma]

Dude, that's us too. Dh is last segment of the baby boomers, I am Xer.

 

I think that's us too, but reversed - I'm the one that's almost a baby boomer, while DH is firmly Gen X (yeah, I robbed the cradle).

 

Nailed us too. DH is on the cusp of baby boomers - though he's more Gen X in his thinking. I am Gen X for sure.

There is a book I read that said that some experts (whoever decides on the generation names and years) consider the latter part of the Baby Boomers generation to be "Generation Jones."

[GailV]

Interesting article, and I'm glad to see someone has a positive outlook for my son's generation. But wow, she likes to put whole generations of people in a box, doesn't she? (I never heard of her before this article.) Either that, or dh and I were just born at the wrong time.

 

She seems to forget that Baby Boomers span almost 20 years. Dh and I hit the middle of the boom. We were too young to "change politics" but old enough to see what drugs did to the older Boomers. We are not competitive. We (well, dh mostly) pulled the college rug out from under his older son. Dh knew his son, and knew that he'd just flounder in college while trying to figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up. I had no trouble giving up my career.

 

I can't speak for Gen X or Y, but I'm pretty sure she put a whole bunch of them in the wrong box too.

 

Sorry, I get her point and it's a good one, but her stereotyping IMO, took away some of the credibility of her argument.

 

:iagree: Dh and I are solidly in the Boomer years. I'm incredibly non-competitive and non-conformist. Dh is so competitive that he's non-comformist, because he's pretty sure he can come up with a better way to do everything.

 

The homeschooled middle schoolers and high schoolers I spend time with tend to run the gambit, too. Yeah, some are forging their own paths (and remind me of dh), but I know 18 year olds who seem to be drifting as aimlessly as my older Boomer siblings ever did.

[Nicole M]

I have mixed feelings about this. I wonder if this generation of self-directed learners are a little too skeptical about what those in authority can offer, to the point of being downright disrespectful. I keep thinking about this article from the Chronicle:

 

http://chronicle.com/article/Students-Should-Check-Their/126890/

 

I do think that we're going to see a huge shift where higher education becomes something that only the elite can attain, if we continue down the road we're going. Really, it's been an aberration that in the last century we've had so many people across economic and social boundaries get so much education. I don't feel good about that, though.

 

I guess I just can't jump on the Debt Free U bandwagon.

[JessReplanted]

At the risk of sounding stupid, the generation labels have always confused me. I was born in '78, so I'm X ? But my sister who was born in '82 is Y?

And now my kids ('03-'07) will be Z ?

 

I remember when I was in college & working as a waitress having a rude customer accuse me of 'not caring about anything' b/c I was an 'Xer'. :ack2:

[mama2cntrykids]

LOL! I just read this article a few hours ago.

 

DS6 is outside right now, with a pile of sticks and unopened newspapers I was going to recycle....he has a sign that says "Store Open". He's trying to sell the sticks, "that can be used to make bow and arrow toys" for $2.

 

I feel bad for him.... I really don't think anyone is going to pay $2 for a stick or a newspaper they already have.... but I don't want to crush his entrepreneurial spirit! What to do.... what to do.....

 

 

Oh.My.Word!!!

 

I know his future business partner...he's an 8yo living under my roof.

 

Mine wants to make books to sell. Someday...someday...:001_smile:

 

Mine drew pictures on index cards and wanted to sell them in our front yard. He was 7 and he's not an artist. He was severely disappointed when I told him that I didn't think there would be enough demand. I wish I'd just let him go ahead and try and figure out that there was no demand on his own. (Like the above poster and the sticks.)

 

Oh my! Now I know my ds8 isn't the only one and that he's in good company lol. He's had a couple of "great ideas" over the past year. None of them panned out, but HEY, he's TRYING. The boy wants to be an inventor (or spy:lol:) and I say, there's NOTHING stopping him! I always tell my kids that they can be whatever they put their minds to be.

 

As for the article, I liked it. It maybe stretching in some places, but overall, I agree. I also read some of the comments on it. Wow, ppl still pull the whole "socialization" card when it comes to homeschooling:001_huh:??? Seriously? Hasn't that been debunked by now:glare::confused:?

[Crimson Wife]

At the risk of sounding stupid, the generation labels have always confused me. I was born in '78, so I'm X ? But my sister who was born in '82 is Y?

And now my kids ('03-'07) will be Z ?

 

Yep. I was born in '77 so I'm at the tail end of Gen X while my younger brother who was born in '81 is Gen Y. I distinctly remember when our family got our first computer while he doesn't (I was 9, he was 5).

[kolamum]

My parents were Baby Boomers and they homeschooled my siblings and I ;) Which makes my kids second generation homeschoolers. :D

[Peela]

I am an X and dh is a Baby Boomer.

Dh is an entrepreneur and unusual in many ways- but highly competitive. I am a bit more of a non competitive and non conformist, and i can relate to not having that feminist axe to grind that my mother and grandmother were saddled with.

 

Our kids, early generation Z, will be entrepreneurial, individualistic and self directed, so that fits.

Edited April 12, 2011 by Peela

[kalanamak]

My husband and I are both Gen X.

 

I think the comments below the article were more thought-provoking than the actual article!

 

It got weirder and weirder. Here is a comment from Penelope Whoever, way down deep in the comments.

 

"Here's why I think getting a job is the end game. Because if you teach a kid to read Plato and do math but the kid can't get a job then their self-esteem will be killed."

 

 

I also had to laugh over the person who said people homeschool to get a job, but go to real school to get an education. :lol:

[FO4UR]

Yep. I was born in '77 so I'm at the tail end of Gen X while my younger brother who was born in '81 is Gen Y. I distinctly remember when our family got our first computer while he doesn't (I was 9, he was 5).

 

I relate.

 

I was born in 79. My brother is definitely an "x," my sister is definitely a "Y," and I am right on that cusp. My brother was old enough to have access to grandpa's first computer (we didn't get one in our home for a long while)...I remember the first ever modem, but brother was old enough to actually learn to use it when it was brand-spanking new. Little sister doesn't remember life without the computer.

 

Public education seemed to change drastically in our little city in the 5 years from me to my little sister.

[choirfarm]

Well, once again, I don't fit anywhere. I was born in 67, my dh in 65 but we are boring conformist people. That said, I have always stayed home. I have no desire nor does my dh to start a business or own property. My dh has been given several opportunities and we have no desire to have that much work. HE is busy enough on his own. But we are both oldest, follow the rules, make lists kind of people. My oldest was born in 95 and he is just like us. He doesn't want to take any risks at all. I'm not sure what my middle one is and my younges loves people and loves to perform.. She wants to be a singing missionary.

 

As far as competititive..well about some things like grades I am. Other things like size of house..nope. I don't wear any jewelry other than a wedding ring. I love jeans and tshirts. That is my wardrobe. I'm just plain boring. That said, I hate textbooks. I much prefer reading from real books to create a curriculum. I"ve never followed a curriculum the way it is written, either. I've even created a Texas history one from scratch..