|
Radical Unschooling This is the "office" of Sandra Dodd, unschooling mother of Kirby, Marty and Holly, who never went to school. |
Refresh the page for a new quote. |
Art Attitude Balance en français Being Beginning Books Boredom Bribery Change Checklists Choices Chores Communicating Confidence Connect • the • Dots Control Curriculum Dads Definitions Deschooling en français Economics Empowerment Fallacies Fighting Focus Food Issues Freedom Games Geography Giftedness Gilligan Help "Have to"? History Holt Quotes How? How much time? "If I let him..." "If only...sooner" Imagination John Holt Joy en français Language Arts Late nights Learn vs. Teach en français Learning Math Mom Happiness Movies Museum-house Music Myths Nest Noisy Peace Parenting Peacefully Parenting Topics Partners Phonics Playing en français Principles Priorities Reading Rebellion Relatives Respect en español Rules Shakespeare Seeing it Sleeping Spanking Special Needs Spelling Spirituality Spoiled Children Stages of Unschooling Stress Strewing Subjects Substance Teens Test avoidance Thinking Sticks Time Times Tables Tiny Monsters Toddlers To Be Fascinating To Get Jokes Transition Triviality TV/Video Typical Days Video Games Violence Toy Guns Siblings Video Games TV Parents Wishlist Wise children Wonder Words & power Writing "Yes!"
"You could grow up to be President!" |
![]()
LEARNING ALL THE TIMEPeople learn by playing, thinking and amazing themselves. They learn while they're laughing at something surprising, and they learn while they're wondering "What the heck is this!?"I have a discussion group called AlwaysLearning, where the principles underlying unschooling are discussed. There are live text chats at least twice a week at SandraDodd.com/room.
CAN IT WORK IN THE REAL WORLD?If unschooling can't work in the real world, nothing at all can. People will say "How will they learn algebra in the real world?" Is there algebra in the real world? If not, why should it be learned? If so, why should it be separated artificially from its actual uses? "Why?" should always be the question that comes before "What?" and "How?" There is a Sesame Street book called Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum. There is a "things under the sea" room and "things in the sky" room, but still each room is just a room in a museum, no windows, everything out of context. Then he opens a big door marked "everything else in the whole wide world" and goes out into the sunshine. There is unschooling. NOT JUST FOR KIDS!The way adults tend to learn things is the way people best learn—by asking questions, looking things up, trying things out, and getting help when it's needed. That's the way pre-school kids learn too (maybe minus the looking things up), and it is the way "school-age" kids can/should learn as well. Learning is internal. Teachers are lovely assistants at best, and detrimental at worst. "Teaching" is just presentation of material. It doesn't create learning. Artificial divisions of what is "educational" from what is considered NOT educational, and things which are "for kids" from things which are NOT for kids don't benefit kids or adults. Finding learning in play is like the sun coming out on a dank, dark day. [Playing ]ARTICLES BY SANDRADescriptions and links to essays and articles are here. Some are linked in the list to the left, but others defy short description, and those are probably the best ones!
LINKS TO OTHERS' WRITINGSUNSCHOOLING ORGANIZATIONSRegional groups, lists and resources(by language, nation, state, religious or special focus)
|
|