Do you think there is more of a trend towards unschooling than there was a few years ago?

[duckens]

I have not read the other entries.

 

Yes, I think that there is more of a trend toward unschooling.

 

I think this for two reasons:

 

1) I suspect that one of biggest indicators of a homeschooler is that they know another homeschooler.  It would follow that the biggest indicator of an unschooler is that they know another unschooler.

 

2) As more parents are homeschooling, there are more types of unschooling.  Rather than letting kids do the pure or extreme unschooling in all things and all ways, many families will be strict/traditional for some subjects (math, writing) and flexible/unschooling for other subjects (history, science).

 

What is unschooling?    The definition can be a moving target these days.

 

Is it just giving your child free time to pursue their interest?  An hour each day, or eight hours each day?

 

Does the child have an interest in Dinosaurs, so THE PARENT checks our every dinosaur book in the library to read?  And culminate with a fossil dig or trip to the science museum for the Dino exhibit?

 

Is it giving your child a choice for the upcoming semester?  Do you want to do the Dinosaur curriculum or the Princess curriculum?  Do you want to do typing or programming?  Snap circuits or Lego League?

[Desert Strawberry]

You seem a bit... confused.

I was unclear. My first post was meant to convey the common attitudes I've encountered in others, not my own opinion.

Ime this board represents the extreme end of the spectrum.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Ime this board represents the extreme end of the spectrum.

In my experience, this board represents almost every point along the spectrum. :tongue_smilie: A breakout of unschooling threads will almost invariably bring on rigor threads, just as a breakout of rigor threads will almost invariably bring on unschooling/relaxed threads. After that, you get your anticipated increase in threads asking about balance.

 

Cue the rigor and/or balance threads in 3...2...1...

 

:lol:

[Desert Strawberry]

Tara, my dh and I have both finished our degrees in the past five years. I'm familiar with the current university climate. That's why I'm not pushing my kids into it.

[NavyMommy]

I think like some of the PP that the unschooling crowd is simply more vocal. I'm friends with lots of HSers and by far those who would identify themselves as unschoolers are the most vocal all over FB and posting all kinds of links, ect. Oddly enough they're also the ones with only one school age child and they're all 3rd grade or under. 

 

In our area there does seem to be a good number of classical schoolers. This is my first year, but lots of the classes and coops I've seen seem to have a classical flavor to the classes they're offering. I haven't met any of them yet IRL though so I'm not at all sure which direction they lean in their at home styles. 

[Sahamamama]

Fwiw we are studying Latin and Greek. I do give my kids the best education possible. Not as much as some here. But Imo plenty and vastly more than what they would receive at any of the public or private schools here.

I'm an entrepreneur. I've worked in 4 separate career fields. Only one required a degree. If/when I go back to work, my degree won't get me the job. My experience will.

I'm not against college. I went twice. I'm against the idea that everyone needs an advanced degree to be moderately successful.

my point was that not everyone has the same goals in life. Not everyone is going to agree on what an adequate education consists of. If another parent thinks journal writing and reading novels is a completely adequate education, I don't think anyone has a right to tell her she's wrong.

 

Oh, I would never tell her.

 

I do, however, have a perfect right to think it.

 

FWIW, your "I don't think anyone has a right" statement is as much a value judgment as my "this isn't an education."

[Runningmom80]

Just come to Sonoma County . . . or Marin, or Mendocino or Humboldt. You'll see it! :lol:

I lived in San Raphael for 4 years, I could definitely see an unschool trend happening in fair fax and San anselmo!

 

 

Oh, I miss it so. Lol

[Crimson Wife]

I missed this thread the first time around as we were on vacation, but what I've noticed in the 7 years we've been HSing is a shift away from "unschooling" and more towards people really worrying about following the state standards & using PS materials at home (with or without charter enrollment). Maybe there hasn't been a decrease in the absolute number of "unschoolers", just faster growth among the replicating-PS-at-home types causing a shift in the overall percentages.

[swellmomma]

The bulk of homeschoolers I have ever met either in the city or out in this rural area were unschoolers, child directed etc.  Some use curriculum for some subjects, but I can count on one hand the number I have met over the years that actively teach their children the bulk of their work.  Most go with the belief that chores, regular life experiences and reading is enough of a complete education right through high school

[MistyMountain]

In my area there is a definite trend that is new especially in the crunchy/natural mommies community which is growing. I was a part of a local natural group for a while and there were a lot of homeschoolers and the vast majority of them were either relaxed or unschoolers. All the homeschooling discussions were on how curriculum was bad and that you only teach things when the kids were interested or you could do a relaxed version of reading and math using cooking and going food shopping.

 

I am fine with other families doing things differently. Different methods work for different parents and kids but a lot of parents thought that no matter what you were doing a good job and you couldn't screw homeschooling up. I don't agree with that. I think you can neglect to educate a child by doing too little.

 

I didn't end up homeschooling. If I didn't live in this area or get into the charter I did I would be and it is still a future option. If I did I think I would do something classical like or eclectic but I wouldn't be doing unschooling. It does not work for me at all and it doesn't work for my kids either especially my oldest. She doesn't mind being given work to do. She doesn't want to be in charge of educating herself and she needs lots of structure and routine. I need it myself. I would be way too stressed unschooling. I loved the idea and when my kids were really young I thought of doing something really child led with some math and reading thrown in but as time went on and my oldest showed me that child led doesn't work for every child I changed.

 

I still feel out of place a little. Most moms I know either chose homeschooling and unschool or they do a charter school but they do the waldorf or the child led charters. I don't think there are really many parents at dd's school who are crunchy types. There are lot of discussions on how kids do best with hands on learning or when they are in charge. DD's charter isn't called classical but it really reminds me of that style. They call it a back to basics school.

[foxbridgeacademy]

When we were in NC, at least 1/2 of the Co-op families called them selves un-schoolers. Like a PP said, I would consider them more "interest" led. Here in KY we don't know any HS'ers, the local Co-ops are very religious. From their posts on YahooGroups and the level of classes they offer I'd say no un-schoolers here.

[Soror]

The bulk of homeschoolers I have ever met either in the city or out in this rural area were unschoolers, child directed etc.  Some use curriculum for some subjects, but I can count on one hand the number I have met over the years that actively teach their children the bulk of their work.  Most go with the belief that chores, regular life experiences and reading is enough of a complete education right through high school

We have a lot of that as well. It is either school at home/abeka/ or we don't really need to do school.