Interesting article about a family homeschooling in the 1970s

[Jenny in Florida]

Yes, these folks were clearly a little, well, different in terms of their priorities. But, given my own leap into less structured schooling this year, I thought it was a good read:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/magazine/my-parents-were-home-schooling-anarchists.html?_r=1&hpw&pagewanted=all

[blondeviolin]

While I applaud the adventure, there is no way that I would want that sort of homeschooling for my children. I would LOVE to take them all of those places, but we would learn more about them before (in preparation) or afterwards (use the trip as a springboard). There is also no way that I would take my children across the world with such uncertainty of finances.

[Crimson Wife]

While I'm not an "unschooler", the description of what the family did sounds FAR preferable to the PS the kids wound up attending. Yes, the mom should've been more on top of the one brother's reading difficulties, but certainly there are plenty of PS kids who "slip through the cracks".

 

I wish that someone could've given the author an It's a Wonderful Life type look at "what would life be like now" if the kids had had the opportunity to be HS all the way through rather than only a few years.

[Lily_Grace]

While I applaud the adventure, there is no way that I would want that sort of homeschooling for my children. I would LOVE to take them all of those places, but we would learn more about them before (in preparation) or afterwards (use the trip as a springboard). There is also no way that I would take my children across the world with such uncertainty of finances.

 

I'd have to agree here. I think the mom did the kids a disservice by not preparing them for their adventures but expecting them to figure out things all by themselves. We moved to the Azores, first thing I did was had the Kid research and learn about the new culture. We moved to Italy, we researched and learned the new language/culture. We put him in public school, we researched and visited the school beforehand.

 

Adventures and nomadic lifestyle, yes. Throwing them in the deep end without teaching how to swim - no bueno.

[butterflymommy]

What a strange article. It felt decidedly anti-homeschooling to me, and I could have done without the (seemingly) snarky asides about conservative christians and there being "little hard data" on the achievement of homeschoolers.

 

The kids were not homeschooled that long, either, unless I'm misunderstanding the timeline.

[Jenny in Florida]

While I applaud the adventure, there is no way that I would want that sort of homeschooling for my children. I would LOVE to take them all of those places, but we would learn more about them before (in preparation) or afterwards (use the trip as a springboard). There is also no way that I would take my children across the world with such uncertainty of finances.

 

I agree on all three points. I wish my kids had more adventure in their lives, and I do believe that there are many, many opportunities for learning in just travel and being. However, it sounds like this family didn't make the most of those opportunities. And the financial stuff made me nervous just reading about it.

 

What a strange article. It felt decidedly anti-homeschooling to me, and I could have done without the (seemingly) snarky asides about conservative christians and there being "little hard data" on the achievement of homeschoolers.

 

The kids were not homeschooled that long, either, unless I'm misunderstanding the timeline.

 

I didn't see it as anti-homeschooling, although the author clearly has ambivalence about her own experiences. And there really isn't a lot of hard data, much as all of us would like to have it. Pretty much all of the studies that have been done on homeschoolers and homeschooling have relied on self-reported data or have used such a small sample that it is tough to make the results mean much.

 

The kids were out of school for about six years, as I read it.

[TrixieB]

I'd like to read the article the mom wrote for the NYT magazine back in 1975, to see her perspective on the experience. Does anyone know if it's available online anywhere?

[LibraryLover]

It sounds like life, a really interesting life. Few things go quite the way as planned, and there are bumps & struggles along the way. Their rough transition into school is an issue because our society hates the non -conformist, so we must punch the kid not wearing the right jeans, or harass the person who is of the wrong religion etc.

 

I enjoyed the article very much. It sounded real. It was honest, kinks and all. The mother wanted her children to experience freedom. The father wanted to spare them the struggles of his own school experiences. Few kids get to experience what they did. Hs'd or not, some kids will experience terrible social issues (hsing doesn't protect all kids from that. People here have had their children suffer with neighborhood kids, coaches, coop teachers and students etc).

 

I like how the article confronted the 'straggler' son who took a little extra time to find himself, but is now a 'successful real estate agent'. That can happen to any human being. Even those carefully educated at home or elsewhere. It's not always smooth sailing for many of us. Again, I liked the article. It was honest and real.

Edited November 9, 2011 by LibraryLover

[sassenach]

It sounds like life, a really interesting life. Few things go quite the way as planned, and there are bumps & struggles along the way. Their rough transition into school is an issue because our society hates the non -conformist, so we must punch the kid not wearing the right jeans, or harass the person who is of the wrong religion etc.

 

I enjoyed the article very much. It sounded real. It was honest, kinks and all. The mother wanted her children to experience freedom. The father wanted to spare them the struggles of his own school experiences. Few kids get to experience what they did. Hs'd or not, some kids will experience terrible social issues (hsing doesn't protect all kids from that. People here have had their children suffer with neighborhood kids, coaches, coop teachers and students etc).

 

I like how the article confronted the 'straggler' son who took a little extra time to find himself, but is now a 'successful real estate agent'. That can happen to any human being. Even those carefully educated at home or elsewhere. It's not always smooth sailing for many of us. Again, I liked the article. It was honest and real.

:iagree:

 

The thing about homeschool articles is that it's impossible to get it "right." Homeschooling is so very individual. No two home school experiences are going to look alike. I have yet to read a first person narrative that accurately reflects *my* family, and yet I still enjoy reading them. I think we need to be careful of always looking for ourselves in any article that is about homeschooling.

 

I enjoyed that very much.

[ChristusG]

Honestly, I think that their learning experience sounds wonderful. While it may not have been the smartest idea to set out with such little money, I applaud the parents for wanting to offer their children more than the traditional classroom experience.

 

As far as not recognizing learning difficulties, things were different back then. They couldn't research online, attend homeschool conventions, or look for a homeschooling tutor. They didn't have the resources that we do today.

 

The thing that I don't agree with is how she failed to smoothly transition the children into formal school. Sounds like the parents kind of just "threw" them in. Surely they had to know that since the children had never attended school, the transition may be difficult.

[oldskool]

Great article. Lately I have been a bit worried that I am not homeschooling with enough "rigor". This makes me wonder if it really matters. Maybe it is just a love of learning or exploring life that will lead children to have success in adulthood? I would like to think so, but when I find myself letting loose and being more unschoolish, the worries about college applications/scholarships creep back in. When I started college I only paid $19.00 a credit. The cost of college today makes experimenting with homeschool approaches much scarier.

 

 

Lesley

[laughing lioness]

The mom based a lot of her homeschooling on A.S. Neil's work. The Summerhill project is still going on. But, if you read the old stuff you'll realize a few things. *

A. It was a backlash against the rigidity and conformity of Victorian England.

B. It was fairly chaotic (there is talk of broken windows, trashed furniture, etc.). It was what C.S. Lewis based his "Progressive School" in the Silver Chair on. He, being classically educated, doesn't have great things to say about this methodology,, so realize that not everyone thought this method was the cat's meow. Many considered it (and still do) rich parents paying for thier kids to participate in the Lord of the Flies.

(*I'm basing these observations on my own reading of Summerhill's work and my master's thesis, Why Parent's Homeschool")

 

Holt was a Summerhill groupie. I've read most of Holt's books and appreciate most of what he has to say. I've read most of the back issues of GWS. Seems like the most successful unschoolers (those who actually unschool, vs those who say they are and don't), like the Colfaxe's and some of the families that G. Llewellyn features in some of her writings and in some of the GWS mags- were incredibly intelligent and very purposeful about their kids education. Read the Colfaxes- holy moly. One of the boys says Calculus was a luxery break from their life-style. Hardly what one finds when one hears about "unschoolers" these days, eh? The parents were NOT slackers, but rather very intentional about how they educated. Perhaps they were random and global but they were not slothful or laxidasical in their approach.

 

WHAT did the kids featured in this artile "learn" from their experiences? I read copious amounts as a kid, and we traveled. Yes, I learned from that- in a vague, general way. But I did not have a body of knowledge that was easily accesible to me, on so many levels, until I started being intentional about my own education.

 

Interesting article, yes. But as far as the pedagogy of education getting put forth- sorely lacking, imho.

[Haiku]

I think it sounds great. Although I have chosen a much more traditional route for our homeschooling, I don't kid myself into believing either of two things:

 

1) People who do it differently are doing it wrong or doing their kids a disservice

 

and

 

2) The way I do things ensures that my kids won't have bumps, snags, and snarls along the way that they may attribute to homeschooling.

 

Homeschooling is not the magic ticket to an easy life. I think the article was an excellent example of how everything in life is a trade-off of some sort.

 

Tara

[Haiku]

Wow, I did some reading about Summerhill and, for me personally, it sounds like a real nightmare. I'm pretty sure I would have hated it there.

 

Tara

[Haiku]

As an aside, does anyone know what ever became of "The Children on the Hill"?

 

Tara

[Catherine]

It's linked in the article.

[Plucky]

Fascinating. It didn't seem anti-hsing to me either. One of the kids floundered, could he have floundered no matter what schooling he had? I have two integrated into the school system now, and it hasn't been a problem, however, they chose to go to school and continue to choose to go to school.

 

I do think that the mom had her identity too wrapped up in hsing. I know that some hs moms do hs for themselves (sounds crazy doesn't it?) I do not hs for me, but for my kids. I used to do pro/con lists about hsing a few times a year when my kids were younger. Hsing turned out well for us, but there were times that had I found more on the school pro list I would have happily sent them off.

[TrixieB]

It's linked in the article.

Thanks! It wasn't linked earlier today.

[butterflymommy]

Fascinating. It didn't seem anti-hsing to me either. One of the kids floundered, could he have floundered no matter what schooling he had? I have two integrated into the school system now, and it hasn't been a problem, however, they chose to go to school and continue to choose to go to school.

 

I do think that the mom had her identity too wrapped up in hsing. I know that some hs moms do hs for themselves (sounds crazy doesn't it?) I do not hs for me, but for my kids. I used to do pro/con lists about hsing a few times a year when my kids were younger. Hsing turned out well for us, but there were times that had I found more on the school pro list I would have happily sent them off.

 

I found it anti-HSing from the way she described their unpreparedness for school-- not knowing the times table-- and there is the suggestion that her brother's reading issues were caused by HSing, which I seriously doubt as the other siblings seem to have been avid readers. Also the tired argument that kids should go to school "to learn to deal with bullies." ugh!

 

It sounds to me like the mom got burnt out and overwhelmed, was likely sick of her husband not supporting the family, and dumped the kids in school. It would have been interesting to see how the kids turned out, had they continued their "adventure."

[ErinE]

.

Edited December 3, 2023 by ErinE

[Mommy22alyns]

I found it anti-HSing from the way she described their unpreparedness for school-- not knowing the times table-- and there is the suggestion that her brother's reading issues were caused by HSing, which I seriously doubt as the other siblings seem to have been avid readers. Also the tired argument that kids should go to school "to learn to deal with bullies." ugh!

 

It sounds to me like the mom got burnt out and overwhelmed, was likely sick of her husband not supporting the family, and dumped the kids in school. It would have been interesting to see how the kids turned out, had they continued their "adventure."

 

 

I got this sense as well.

[cathmom]

I read this this morning because SWB linked it on FB. I've been thinking about it since, on and off.

 

We've experienced some of what they did - most especially the need for money. For some reason I thought not caring about money exempted us from needing any. Guess what? The world doesn't work that way, especially when you have 7 dc. Things keep getting more expensive, and I don't see how I could ever stay home FT with the children again. I probably should not have ever.

 

OTOH, I am much happier working. I *love* having an identity outside of being a homeschool mom. We are planning to transition our dc into some school (details still being worked out) but you can bet that I won't throw them into the deep end and just get on with my own life lol. DD 13 and I discussed my school schedule today and she revealed that she didn't know what a delayed opening was! I had to explain to her what it meant.

[Wildiris]

Link to same discussion on the board.

[HS Mom in NC]

Here's a copy of my reply to this article on a different thread here at WTM:

 

The first problem with this article is that it does not consistently use the term "unschooling" in reference to the mother's approach. Ignorant readers unfamiliar with child-centered, unstructured, unschooling might be assuming, based on only this article, that unschooling and homeschooling are synonymous. There is a huge variety of approaches to homeschooling. Unschooling is practiced by the minority of the 2 million homeschoolers she mentions and not all of them are so unstructured in all subjects and their lifestyles.

 

The second problem is not addressing the issues of transition. The parents blindly dump children from a real world, multi-cultural experience into something as foreign as the bizarre parallel universe of American PS (which by the way, bears little resemblance to the real world of the American workforce and American adult life.) Even some children immersed in PS culture from age 5 have a hard time adapting to Jr. High or High School in PS.

 

Basically, these kids got the worst of both worlds. It was a free for all of mom's impulses and a rootless existence and then it was the mass production conveyor belt of PS with no preparation or follow up by Mom or Dad. I guess whatever Mom and Dad wanted for themselves mattered more than what their children needed at the time. It seems like these parents never thought beyond the moment. What did they think their children would be doing at ages 20, 30 and 50? What would those children need to do now to prepare? What would they need to do 10 years from now to prepare?

 

This is also an example of sticking to a theory over real life results. If your child is not reading well or focusing well, it is not an in born personality trait. It's something that can be developed with a thoughtful, systematic approach and consistency.

[Marianne in TX]

:iagree:

It sounds like life, a really interesting life. Few things go quite the way as planned, and there are bumps & struggles along the way. Their rough transition into school is an issue because our society hates the non -conformist, so we must punch the kid not wearing the right jeans, or harass the person who is of the wrong religion etc.

 

I enjoyed the article very much. It sounded real. It was honest, kinks and all. The mother wanted her children to experience freedom. The father wanted to spare them the struggles of his own school experiences. Few kids get to experience what they did. Hs'd or not, some kids will experience terrible social issues (hsing doesn't protect all kids from that. People here have had their children suffer with neighborhood kids, coaches, coop teachers and students etc).

 

I like how the article confronted the 'straggler' son who took a little extra time to find himself, but is now a 'successful real estate agent'. That can happen to any human being. Even those carefully educated at home or elsewhere. It's not always smooth sailing for many of us. Again, I liked the article. It was honest and real.

[Sahamamama]

Summerhill :tongue_smilie:

John Holt :tongue_smilie:

Father spending family's grocery $ on paintings :tongue_smilie:

 

Cokie Roberts repeatedly pressing the mother about socialization, as in "Don't the little darlings need to be with their peers and suffer all the harsh experiences that entails, if they are to gain independence and be prepared for the realities of adulthood?" And then the author talks about the children being beaten up on the back of the bus or thrown over a desk. These are the realities of childhood -- undisciplined, uncultivated childhood -- not adulthood. These are the realities of Lord of the Flies, not civilized adulthood. As an adult, if I am bullied, beaten up, or harassed, I can file a grievance or even press charges! We expect children at school to just "suck up and take it," and call it socialization. :tongue_smilie: