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AMA
Original poster

I'm a radical unschooler AMA

999 replies

OutOfControlSpirals · 26/07/2018 15:22

I'm a radical unschooling mum, which basically means I've taken the principals of unschooling, where a child is free to learn what they want, when they want, and applied it to every aspect of our lives. So my children have the same freedoms that I do when it comes to eating/sleeping/learning etc.

OP posts:
Redrunbluerun · 26/07/2018 22:06

soy Grin everyone is now conveniently ignoring that.

BitOutOfPractice · 26/07/2018 22:11

i just want to say that I in no way think my approach is superior or that I am a better parent than someone following a more conventional approach

Well that's the first major bit of bullshit on the thread.

So, op how do you teach mathematics "in line with the curriculum"? Unless you are a maths expert I'd be interested as to how the kids are teaching themselves quadratic equations

HollowTalk · 26/07/2018 22:12

I will say though, Ive seen plenty of unschooled kids who started reading at 10 or 11 and within 6 months were at the same level as their peers.

This is absolute bollocks.

Passmethecrisps · 26/07/2018 22:13

Hi op. I have tried to read the whole thread but was getting lost so please forgive me if this has already been asked.

I know one radical unschooling family. Three children are at home following the day to day that you describe. One child however chose to go to mainstream education. How would you respond if one of those children asked to do this?

Passmethecrisps · 26/07/2018 22:13

Sorry - replace ‘those’ with ‘your’

Greenyogagirl · 26/07/2018 22:13

duckingmel every ‘professional’ failed my son and gave up on him. I’ve done literally everything I can for him to the detriment of my own health. I was forced into home ed and have unschooled and my son has thrived, he’s having a much better and more varied education than he ever had in school.

NoFucksImAQueen · 26/07/2018 22:14

Well this thread has got a bit out of hand Confused
I love how everyone is attacking the op for looking down on others when she was being attacked from the first response.
Anyway I think it sounds a nice way of life and while I couldn't do it and if I did I would definitely not be an adequate teacher to my kids I think it sounds like you are and it's going great for you all. I'm actually a bit jealous.

Original poster
OutOfControlSpirals · 26/07/2018 22:15

Everytime I answered, all any one could focus on were noodles or how they percieved my choice to be an attack on their own. I'll answer questions from posters with a genuine interest, I'm not bothering with those who are coming up with ludicrous scenarious that I'm highly unlikely to experience and then demanding I provide an answer.

OP posts:
Tabathatwitchett · 26/07/2018 22:15

Well yes green, legally they can but I am asking you (and others obviously) what evidence there is of the success of those various forms. Let me put it another way, there is countless data, studies etc etc about the current school system. We research everything in education, from how to differentiate work to how to develop memory skills in our students etc etc. Each August, we look at exam data and we decide whether we got it right and we then improve it. Schools can (and do) measure their success based on these outcomes and on the destinations and thus life chances of their students. I am asking, again, what data there is to suggest that unschooling is better than schooling.

I suspect that there is none due to the small numbers of students involved and perhaps the limited time that this has been a choice for parents. That's ok but what isn't ok is to then wrap it up as "better" because, frankly, until there is data you simply cannot know that.

Again I'm happy to be corrected should anyone have a link to some peer reviewed studies and some data.

I would add that I currently work in a school in a desperately deprived area where for many students education truly is their ticket to happiness. It has a massive value to them, and should their parent choose, as is their right, to deny them that chance then they would be seriously jeopardising their aspirations and yes, their future happiness. Do they all bounce into school each day? Of course not. Are they forced into classrooms to learn maths etc that they don't want to do? You bet. Does it help them get GCSEs and will that help them to move onto further education or decent employment? Of course it does and of course it will.

It's the only time it's free- and for people in deprived areas, paying for an education at a later date is simply not a choice they have. So am I passionate about it? You bet I am.

multivac · 26/07/2018 22:17

My kids taught themselves quadratic equations in Y5, thanks to the guidance of (generally) educated adults, and resources available to them via intra- (the local secondary school) and the internet. KS 3 and 4 students are being taught by non-specialist teachers all the time - have you read about the recruitment/retainment crisis?

I'm not suggesting HE is the answer, always, for everyone. But to assume that every child in mainstream, state education is getting specialist teaching, in every subject, to above the level that might be provided by an interested person with a good, general level of education and access to course of study specifications, is hopelessly naive.

multivac · 26/07/2018 22:18

For the third, time tabitha, are you a teacher?

Greenyogagirl · 26/07/2018 22:20

Parents know their child best.
It is better for some children.
I don’t need data and reviews to know what’s best for my child.

Icecoldchilli · 26/07/2018 22:20

Multivalve - your kids taught themselves quadratic equations in year 5 did they? How.....interesting Hmm

DuckingMel · 26/07/2018 22:20

I'm sorry to hear that, green. The professionals around DS have been good, so I am lucky. I know many are not. I'm glad to hear your DS is doing well now. I think you should be proud of yourself and him. We all have to find the best way to do things. Sometimes the circumstances dictate a certain solution.

Condragulations · 26/07/2018 22:21

Damn 23 pages and what, like 10 responses from the OP?
Not exactly AMA is it? Grin

NerrSnerr · 26/07/2018 22:21

I'm still curious to know if you're a blogger OP?

Ever since the whole episode where the home ed blogger went on telly (was it this morning?) and said how her kids are on minecraft all day and the online home ed community went bonkers I've been intrigued.

I felt really sorry for her because she didn't once say 'this is how everyone should home ed' she just described how she did it. Even if I didn't agree with her education methods she didn't deserve the backlash.

InionEile · 26/07/2018 22:21

This has certainly kicked off since I last posted! It's interesting how defensive some posters are. Look honestly at what your kids are learning in school up to, say, age 10-11. As a teacher posted upthread, so much of what teachers do in school with young children is just crowd control and behaviour management. And the only reason there is a need for behaviour management is because 25+ children are crammed into a classroom with strict rules and only one adult to enforce them.

You can't possibly look at the current school system and think it's the best that we can do for children. It is also a relatively modern construct, not at all how humans have traditionally lived. Children used to just learn from their parents by watching and working alongside them throughout their lives e.g. as farmers, craftspeople. It is not normal to stick a bunch of kids in a room and teach them all the same thing at the same pace just because they happen to have been born at the same time.

I think home-schooling can be effective if done right. After age 12, however, I think a school environment can offer more opportunities for socialisation and broader development of interests.

The problem is, of course, if you homeschool / unschool, the switch from that to a mainstream second-level school would be quite a shock to the system!

SuburbanRhonda · 26/07/2018 22:21

I'm not bothering with those who are coming up with ludicrous scenarious that I'm highly unlikely to experience and then demanding I provide an answer.

So as I said - “Ask me anything” my arse.

Greenyogagirl · 26/07/2018 22:22

tabatha you assume parents deny their children an education which a lot of the times isn’t the case. Schools fail children all the time, leaving parents to pick up the pieces.

multivac · 26/07/2018 22:23

In the sense that they accessed the direct instruction and practice materieal snecessary for them to do it via the internet, given that it wasn't on the NC for that year group, then yes, they did, icecold. It's not that weird. No one taught them how to play Fortnite, either, but they are shit-hot at that, too...

SuburbanRhonda · 26/07/2018 22:24

You can't possibly look at the current school system and think it's the best that we can do for children.

Has anyone actually said this?

adaline · 26/07/2018 22:26

In other words it's not AMA at all - you're just picking and choosing what you answer and ignoring the questions you don't like or can't answer.

At least @Greenyogagirl has enough courage in her convictions to answer people's questions and not tell everyone they're ridiculous for asking you how you'd deal with certain situations Hmm

famousfour · 26/07/2018 22:26

OP if your child never shows an interest in a particular topic, say maths beyond a basic level, would your philosophy be to leave it. Or would you seek to encourage them to do it? If so, how.

Another question, how do you encourage perseverance without enforcing it?

I have to say I don't see why people are so narky about unschooling. It does sound like very hard work though. And requires a lot of imagination and patience.

Icecoldchilli · 26/07/2018 22:27

Multivac - so talk me through how they identified they needed to know it, who were the educated adults, and how they managed to grasp quite a tricky concept for a 10 year old, I’m fascinated....

As I said previously, I’m a Doctor, was ‘gifted and talented’ at school and I spent year 5 playing with puppy in my pockets and reading (as well as going to school, of course.)

Are your children neurotypical?

InionEile · 26/07/2018 22:28

Yes, Suburban! This entire thread has resulted in endless responses that say homeschooling / unschooling is 'neglect' and children are better off in school where they can learn maths and have structured activities and socialise with others. So clearly most of the posters on this thread think that school is the best option for kids. OK, no-one has specifically said that school is perfect in every way but most people on here seem to think it's pretty damn good or they wouldn't be so vocal in defending it.

I do take tabatha's point, however, that homeschooling is very much a financial privilege and standard school, free of charge, is vitally important in providing opportunities for low-income families. This is true. Home- / Un-schooling is a privilege.