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Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts

Friday, March 13, 2015

Straight-A College Student Kicked Out Because He Was Homeschooled


Melissa Melton

With all this talk about mandatory vaccination, a lot more parents are discussing homeschool as an option (while that option is still available). Besides, how much propaganda do we really want to expose our children to on their path to adulthood anyway?

That being said, the story I’m about to discuss out of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) shows the enormity of what homeschooling parents truly are up against in this country.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

‘Common Core’ Nationalizes and Dumbs Down Public School Curriculum

Dees Illustration
Dr. Ron Paul

In addition to shredding civil liberties, launching a utopian global war for democracy, and going on a spending spree that would make LBJ blush, the so-called “conservative” Bush administration dramatically increased federal control over education via the “No Child Left Behind” act. During my time in Congress I heard nothing but complaints about this law from teachers, administrators, and, most importantly, students and parents. Most of the complaints concerned No Child Left Behind’s testing requirements, which encouraged educators to “teach to the test.”

Sadly, but not surprisingly, instead of improving education by repealing No Child Left Behind’s testing and other mandates, the Obama administration is increasing national control over schools via the “Common Core" initiative. Common Core is a new curriculum developed by a panel of so-called education experts. The administration is trying to turn Common Core into a national curriculum by offering states increased federal education funding if they impose Common Core’s curriculum on their public schools. This is yet another example of the government using money stolen from the people to bribe states into obeying federal dictates.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Indoctrination Revealed in Utah School Curriculum

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Take Your Children Out of Government Schools

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Dave Hodges, Contributor

Many Americans are speaking about removing their children from government-run schools and finding alternatives to an increasingly failing system. In lieu of the recent rash of school shootings, many parents feel that moving their children to another educational venue will help to protect them from crazed, lone gunman who are on psychotropic medications and are seeking to do harm to our children while attending school in gun free zones with no protection. In a few isolated incidences, this may be true.

However, school shootings are such an isolated event, I am not sure how to protect against students other than by having armed guards on every campus in America.

Aside from school violence, there are some other very compelling reasons that parents may want to consider when deciding where and how to educate their child. This is the first in a multi-part series which will clearly delineate the reasons why those in the know will never let their child darken the doors of the nation’s government schools.

Friday, October 19, 2012

8 Reasons to Say NO to College


Bohemian Mom

You may already be wondering, “what parent in their right mind would not want their kids to go to college?” I half expect the Child Protective Services to beat down my door just for writing this. It was not that long ago that I myself would have shunned this article, and concluded that its author is an unfit parent.  But a measured look at the reasons why college may not be the best choice reveals another side of the story that most parents aren't usually exposed to.

I must state upfront that if our children desire a profession that requires college, of course we will encourage and support them to follow their dreams. However, they will definitely know the consequences versus the benefits.

First, let's examine the traditional path that was ingrained in all of us.

Do your homework. Get good grades. Go to a good college. Get a job. Work for 45-plus years to pay off all debts. Save for your kid's college and your retirement. Play by the rules. Success will be yours.

Sound familiar?

We've all heard this mantra from family, teachers, employers and the TV, as if it's the only path society provides for success. For many, as the economy worsens this myth gets echoed even more loudly. "We need more education to compete in a weaker job market," society says. But is it really true given the current economic situation?

I understand that for some people college will be a necessary step in pursuing their dreams. For instance, those who want to become certified doctors in the US must study at an American Medical Association approved university.

But first they should ask themselves "why" they want to be a doctor.

Is it to help people? To make a nice income? Is it for prestige among family and peers? Then, it may be wise to ponder if becoming a doctor is the best way to accomplish those goals. Certainly there must be other ways to help people, make good money, and gain respect from loved ones without accruing a quarter-million dollar debt before working life begins, right?

Either way, college may be necessary for some to achieve their dreams. But let’s be sure our children know that there are other paths, other innovative ways to attain their goals, and certainly other ways to spend 4-8 of the best years of their lives.

Here are eight reasons why college will not be encouraged in our household:
College is just not what it used to be
Wiki image
1. It is Obsolete
Why does a nursing student need four more years of English Lit or Algebra? Likewise, why would a business major have any need for Anatomy and Physiology? I know, I know, back to that whole college-is-teaching-kids-to-think argument. Or maybe the “well-rounded” school of thought? I don’t buy it. After 13 years of schooling prior to college, most subjects outside of a degree's focus seem to be a waste of time and money.

Additionally, the world is changing at lightening-fast speed, but the education system is still moving at a snail's pace. At the exponential rate of change in science and technology, by the time someone graduates from 4-6 years of college what they were forced to learn the first couple of years is most likely obsolete, requiring even more schooling.  What a racket!

What's more, with a smartphone and Internet, all of the world's knowledge is literally in the palm of our hand.  Incidentally, advanced knowledge is not confined to the brick-and-mortar walls of universities anymore.

2. Horrible Job Market
In this poor economic climate where America's job market has entered a prolonged drought, college graduates are no longer guaranteed a job.  In fact, only 53% of recent college graduates in the U.S. have full-time employment.  And even global youth unemployment has been labeled a "crisis".

According to the New York Times analysis of recent unemployment numbers:
Employment rates for new college graduates have fallen sharply in the last two years, as have starting salaries for those who can find work. What’s more, only half of the jobs landed by these new graduates even require a college degree, reviving debates about whether higher education is 'worth it' after all.
So, the myth that kids must attend college to get a job is proven false.  Kids today need more than the standard education to stand out in a crowded field of cookie-cutter graduates.
3. Prohibitive Cost
The cost of going to college versus the benefits make it a terrible investment.  Entrepreneur James Altucher breaks down the numbers quite accurately:
The average tuition cost is approximately $16,000 per year. Plus assume another $10,000 in living costs, books, etc. $26,000 in total for a complete cost of $104,000 in a 4 year period. Some people choose to go more expensive by going to a private college and some people choose to go a little cheaper by going public but this is an average. Also, a huge assumption is that its just for a 4 year period. According to the Department of Education, only 54% of undergraduates graduate within 6 years. So for the 46% that don’t graduate, or take 10 years to graduate, this is a horrible investment. But lets assume your children are in the brilliant first half who finish within six years (and hopefully within four). 
Is it worth it? First, let’s look at it completely from a monetary perspective. Over the course of a lifetime, according to CollegeBoard, a college graduate can be expected to earn $800,000 more than his counterpart that didn’t go to college. $800,000 is a big spread and it could potentially separate the haves from the have-nots. But who has and who doesn’t? 
If I took that $104,000 and I chose to invest it in a savings account that had interest income of 5% per year I’d end up with an extra $1.4 million dollars over a 50 year period. A full $600,000 more. That $600,000 is a lot of extra money an 18 year old could look forward to in her retirement. I also think the $800,000 quoted above is too high. Right now most motivated kids who have the interest and resources to go to college think it’s the only way to go if they want a good job. If those same kids decided to not go to college my guess is they would quickly close the gap on that $800,000 spread.
There is not much more to say.  It's is a bad investment for parents, and student loans seem financially irresponsible as a burden to place on our children before they start their professional life.
NPR/Getty image
4. Debt Serfdom
As the cost of living continues to outpace pay increases, it's difficult enough just to survive week to week, let alone get ahead financially.  When young people begin their adult lives saddled with hundreds of thousands of debt, it almost ensures that they will be locked into a lifetime of debt serfdom.  In other words, they'll be trapped into working whatever job they can find just to pay this obligation irregardless of their passions. Add on the pressure and manufactured prestige of "owning" a home, having a nice car, starting a family or dressing a certain way, and you have all the makings of wasting a life trying to pay for these things. I'm not sure this was part of the original American Dream, but, sadly, it is indisputably what it has become.  Surely, there are more fulfilling ways to spend our limited time on this planet than running on the same hamster wheel our entire lives.

5. Knowledge is Free
It's important to highlight the difference between school and knowledge. These things do not go hand in hand. Many people go to college and never achieve any useful knowledge, while many people who never attend school are some of the wisest and most successful people in the world.

In the 1700s, knowledge was limited to those with the resources to buy books, or those who could afford to send their kids to school (most stayed home to work the family trade).  Ben Franklin understood that in order to have a level playing field in society, everyone must have access to knowledge.  So he founded the first public library in America (which later became the University of Pennsylvania).  Now that the Internet acts as a global open-source library and is giving away knowledge, everyone has the ability to learn about what they're most interested in for free.

No need to waste money just to get a piece of paper saying you “officially have gained knowledge”. What is the goal; the piece of paper, or the actual knowledge?  If it is the knowledge, as I hope it should be, then college is not the most efficient way to reach that goal anymore.
6. Wasted Youth
To all those who said they had the time of their life in college, I ask, "Couldn't you get drunk and flirt with the opposite sex without college?" We likely had the time of our lives because we were young, healthy, carefree and it was the first time we were out of our parents' control.  College just happened to be the place where we lived this experience.  But it's a tall price to pay, since all of those factors don't change in the absence of college.

Furthermore, how many of you went to college purely out of obligation? My parents never gave me the option, even though, in retrospect, I wasn't mature enough to appreciate my overpriced education. So, I dropped (flunked) out. It wasn't until later in life when I knew what I wanted to be, that I began to appreciate school.  Then, I got straight A's in route to becoming a Registered Nurse.

In these most amazing years of life, transitioning from child to adult, imagine what could be experienced or achieved when you're not locked in a dorm out of obligation (See the countless alternatives to college in my final point).  Finally, college will always be there for your kids no matter when and if they decide to go.

7. Limited Life Choices
Many people that we meet say they're envious of our permanent travel lifestyle, but they feel too trapped by financial obligations to attempt an alternative lifestyle.  This is the result of the debt serfdom cycle explained earlier that begins with student loans. Because of the debts incurred while at college, and a host of other reasons, many young adults end up limiting their options in life. We are usually told the opposite, but once a student commits to a certain major they may feel obligated to only pursue that career even if it falls out of favor with them.  Most kids usually don't know what they want at 18 years old.

Life should be a collection of experiences, not a collection of shiny trinkets that mean nothing on our deathbeds.  If we seek a life outside of the proverbial box -- a life of travel, of passion, of adventure, of independence -- then societal pressures and college debt become a prison that locks us into a narrow range of experiences. Once we step out of the box and realize this, the floodgates of alternatives to the "normal" path open wide.

8. Countless Alternatives
This is the other side of the story that parents aren't supposed to see, or even contemplate for their kids.  First, it begins with wanting something for your child that's far more important than societal success -- happiness!  This can only be achieved if we allow our children to live their passions.  After all, this life is theirs for the making, and we view our job as a guide to help them follow their own path, not to dictate some societal fantasy.
Wiki image
Even our parents are still bitter that we gave up on the traditional definition of success to pursue an alternative lifestyle of homeschooling and extensive adventuring.  Our happiness seems to take a backseat in their mind compared to the anguish they feel about missing their grandkids, and our rejection of the dreams they had for us.  Although this has been somewhat painful, we're grateful to them for helping shape what we believe is important for our children.

So what alternatives are available instead of going to college?  First, they can take online courses through OpenCourseware or iTunes if they want to accrue college credits.  They can learn a skill by becoming an apprentice.  They can volunteer for a charity or even a big company to learn about how those organizations work.  They can travel by picking up odd jobs along the way (or obtaining ESL certificate to teach English abroad).  They can start a business, a nonprofit organization, or monetize a blog.  They can find a mentor or become a self-taught expert in whatever field that moves them.  They can create something beautiful; art, music, handmade crafts, write a book, or build something.  This list is endless, and they will gain great knowledge with each of these examples and more.

Finally, they can just get a part-time job and enjoy their carefree youth until they discover their passion. We must stop assuming that a "lack of direction" equals failure.  It doesn't; not if they're happy.  We get one go around in this life and it shouldn't be wasted doing something that others expect us to do.

At this point, our boys learn what interests them and is pertinent to their lives. We all learn better when we're inspired.  And we have great confidence in this approach to prepare them for life.  The universe has a funny way of giving people what they desire.  Sadly, most people are too busy complaining about their situation to even define what they want.

In conclusion, we teach our boys that they should do what they love. That happiness is far more important than any status symbol or paycheck, no matter what anyone thinks. No dream is too big to achieve. The college-job path is only one way to achieve certain goals among a host of other perhaps more rewarding experiences.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, and criticisms.  Please leave comments below and we will answer them.

This article first appeared on Bohemian Travelers family travel blog.

You can support this article by voting on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/q82yl/8_reasons_to_say_no_to_college/

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

'Unschooling': Home learning the future of US education?

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

5 Books Homeschool Parents Must Read



Bohemian Mom
Activist Post

Making the decision to homeschool is not an easy one. Societal pressure, family interrogations, and our own insecurities and fears are things we have to wrestle with on a regular basis. 

Having a good support system is vital, whether it is local homeschooling groups, your spouse, or simply some good friends to listen to you and encourage you. 

But another important component to starting the journey or just battling through some of the tougher times along the way, is to have a good arsenal of books that you can read and continue to refer to.

These books brilliantly shape the philosophy of homeschooling and offer creative alternative ideas that are essential knowledge for all parents.  I've found the books on the list below to be invaluable for my homeschooling experience. 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

9 Rules for New Homeschooling Parents


Wiki image
Bohemian Mom
Activist Post

Deciding to homeschool your children is probably one of the most significant lifestyle choices you as a parent can make, and it does not come easy. 

Usually one parent looks into it and must convince the other parent that it isn't crazy. So, the education actually begins with both parents opening their minds to new concepts.

Some are motivated to try homeschooling because of a bad experience their child had in public school, or some may view the conventional school curriculum as not in line with their beliefs or aspirations, while others are drawn to the freedom and joy of spending more time with their children.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Do You Know What Freedom Is? (Video)

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Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery. -- Wayne Dyer

Bohemian Dad
Activist Post

Someone recently asked us how they celebrate the Fourth of July in Cambodia, where we are spending this American Independence Day.  It just goes to show that some people don't even know what they're celebrating anymore.

Here's a funny 'man on the street' segment from last year proving this point:



So this Independence Day, we feel it's important to define what freedom means to us. But, first, I'll tell you what freedom isn't. It isn't celebrating once-a-year with beer and fireworks about America declaring independence from England 236 years ago.  That has very little to do with defining individual freedom in 2012.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Do Parents’ Rights End at the Schoolhouse Gate?

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"There is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children, either independent of their right to direct the upbringing and education of their children or encompassed by it. We also hold that parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students." ~ Fields v. Palmdale School District PSD, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2005)

John Whitehead
Lew Rockwell

Do parents have a right to control the upbringing of their children, especially when it comes to what their children should be exposed to in terms of sexual practices and intimate relationships?

That question goes to the heart of the battle being played out in school districts and courts across America right now over parental rights and whether parents essentially forfeit those rights when they send their children to a public school. On one side of the debate are those who believe, as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, that "the child is not the mere creature of the state" and that the right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their children is a fundamental liberty interest protected by the U.S. Constitution. On the other side are government officials who not only believe, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Fields v. Palmdale School District PSD (2005), that "[s]chools cannot be expected to accommodate the personal, moral or religious concerns of every parent," but go so far as to insist that parents’ rights do "not extend beyond the threshold of the school door."

A recent incident in Fitchburg, Massachusetts clearly illustrates this growing tension over whether young people, especially those in the public schools, are essentially wards of the state, to do with as government officials deem appropriate, in defiance of the children’s constitutional rights and those of their parents. On two separate occasions this year, students at Memorial Middle School (MMS) in Fitchburg were administered surveys at school asking overtly intimate and sexually suggestive questions without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Ron Paul: Department of Education wants to 'indoctrinate' children

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Andy Barr
Politico

DES MOINES, Iowa — Ron Paul warned a group of home schooling advocates on Wednesday that officials at the Department of Education are trying to “indoctrinate” their children.

“They don’t educate our kids, they indoctrinate our kids,” the Texas congressman said of federal education efforts. “It’s a propaganda machine.”

Paul, who's considering a second White House bid in as many cycles, cast the many home schoolers in the crowd as something akin to a merry band of rebels against federal overreach. “What I’ve seen from you is an effort to counteract the propaganda machine."

Paul said the concerns expressed about children who are home schooled have been overblown and contended that the kids who really have a problem are those who grow up in the public system.

Read Full Article

RELATED ARTICLES:
4 Reasons to Change the Way We View Education
A Journey to Unschooling



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Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Death of Free Will

Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt 
Infowars

THE LAST NAIL OF SO-CALLED SCHOOL REFORM is being struck in the coffin of traditional American education which made our nation the envy of the Free World and which produced famous scientists, engineers, mathematicians, writers, artists, musicians, doctors, etc.

The reform is not new. It started in the early 1900s when John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s Director of Charity for the Rockefeller Foundation, Frederick T. Gates, set up the Southern Education Board. In 1913 the organization was incorporated into the General Education Board. These boards set in motion “the deliberate dumbing down of America”. In Frederick T. Gates’ “The Country School of Tomorrow” Occasional Papers No. 1 (General Education Board, New York, 1913) was a section entitled “A Vision of the Remedy” in which he wrote:
Is there aught a remedy for this neglect of rural life? Let us, at least, yield ourselves to the gratifications of a beautiful dream that there is. In our dream, we have limitless resources, and the people yield themselves with perfect docility to our moulding hand. The present educational conventions fade from our minds; and unhampered by tradition, we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive rural folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or of science. We are not to raise up from among them authors, orators, poets, or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians. Nor will we cherish even the humbler ambition to raise up from among them lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, of whom we now have ample supply.
The above quote sounds like something from one of the public/private school-to-work/tax-exempt foundation partnerships involved in the Reinventing Schools Coalition agenda, as well as other innocuous sounding current-day initiatives that are being implemented across the nation.

Read the entire article as a PDF

RELATED ARTICLES:
4 Reasons to Change The Way We View Education
A Journey to Unschooling



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Monday, December 6, 2010

No teachers, no homework: Students set own agenda at private school in Davie

photo: Amy Beth Bennett/Sun Sentinel
Georgia East 
Sun Sentinel 

DAVIE — It's about 11 a.m. in the small, sun-drenched building, and 4-year-old Leila Ekendiz has an idea.

It's her classmate Ian's 8th birthday so she wants to make him a birthday card. About five other kids follow her into a room with a closet full of crayons, paper and stickers.

When they finish, some of the kids wander over to the computers while others head for the garden or to the refrigerator. At the Sunset Sudbury School, a new private school in Davie, the 11 students, ages 4 to 9, set their own agendas. Chalkboards, lesson plans and tests simply don't exist.


"In traditional schools there are so many students that kids are not allowed to talk to each other during their school day,'' said staffer Idelma Quintana, whose son attends the school. "Our kids here are learning how to get along with other kids and negotiate conflict.''

As public schools adopt tougher standards and emphasize standardized tests, alternative schools have become more popular.

"The regular public school system and even some private schools tend to operate under the paradigm that kids are lazy and need to be forced to learn,'' said Jerry Mintz, director of the New York-based Alternative Education Resource Organization. "We take a diametrically different approach that starts with the assumption that kids are natural learners.''

Mintz said in the past two decades, the number of home-schoolers nationwide has grown from about 20,000 to about 2 million. He said there are about 12,000 alternative schools, including charter and public alternatives and Montessoris.

Of those, about 200 are "democratic schools," in which students play a big role in decision-making, he said. 

Read Full Article 

RELATED ARTICLES:
4 Reasons to Change The Way We View Education
A Journey to Unschooling




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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A Journey to Unschooling

Mary Hickcox

Unschooling is a term that John Holt coined in the 70s, after years of extensive research regarding how children learn and what was causing them to fail. He determined that totalitarian school pushes many children to fail via a fear inducing sub-society, where school as structured seemed to slow the learning process in most children. 

One of his strongest beliefs was that children did not need to be forced into learning, that they are always learning, yet anything that resembled the rigid structure of school was actually counterproductive to their success.  The theory has resonated, thus unschooling, or life-learning led by the child's interests, was born. 

When I first heard about unschooling 8 years ago I thought it seemed crazy.  I thought all the things that some of you are thinking right now.  What about socialization, grades, college?  My children need to go to school to be “on track” with everyone else.  It seemed lazy and neglectful, and I couldn’t imagine going against the grain in such an “extreme” way.

Flash forward to today and you see a very different philosophy in my home.  I have spent the past 6 years homeschooling my oldest son.  We have since had 2 more children, traveled with them extensively, moved to a foreign country, and experimented with almost every type of homeschooling you can imagine.  Then I discovered the mind-opening experience that is unschooling, and now I can’t imagine living my life in anything but this “extreme” way.


My oldest son started out life in a mainstream fashion. He attended 2 years of preschool and then went on to half-day Kindergarten. We lived in a wonderful small town with an excellent school system and were lucky enough to get an award-winning teacher for his Kindergarten experience. She was fantastic, but through her own admission she could not provide the experience that she felt the students deserved. It wasn’t a bad experience but we wanted more for our son. What more did we want? For starters, more room for independent thought, creativity, an ability to question things without being in “trouble” -- and the freedom to run our household without the demands of the school system intruding.

The nagging question that remained was what could I, as a parent, do? After talking to that very same teacher, and a lot of soul searching, I decided to withdraw my son from school. She not only encouraged this; she was almost as enthusiastic about the idea as I was. I found that there were many philosophies to choose from within the realm of homeschooling. Since I was still caught up in the “school” mentality, doing a canned curriculum at home is where we started.  We tried this in many different ways for 3 years when I realized that we solved some of the issues but not all of them.  Simply put, we were not enjoying it as much as we thought we should and thought more freedom and independence may be the cure.

At this point I opened up my mind to the thoughts of unschooling and started reading book after book about it.  I realized that I needed to throw away conventional thinking and open up my mind to the possibility that what I thought of as learning may not be the only path to knowledge.   My discovery took place because of pioneers: HoltGattoKohn, and Sandra Dodd.   They all showed me, through their writings, a new reality that I will forever be grateful for.

Reading books and opening my mind were the first steps in the process of de-schooling that Wikipedia defines as: “The mental process a person goes through after being removed from a formal schooling environment, where the school mindset is eroded over time."  This step is vital for the entire family, but for the parent it can be very difficult.  Parents have far more baggage in regards to school, as well as the added feeling and stress that we are responsible for our children's education and ultimately their future.  I struggled with what seemed like an ingrained need to conform in some way.  After all, I did go to public school and in his book Dumbing Us Down, John Taylor Gatto says “we are schooling children to merely obey orders…” Although I was a bit rebellious in school, I was still conditioned by societal norms and allowing myself to break out of the box is where I struggled most on my journey to unschooling.

Ivan Illich first coined the term "deschooling" in a controversial book called Deschooling Society, published in 1971.  In this book he enlightens his readers to the fact that “universal education through schooling is not feasible."  He goes on to explain that the institutionalization of education means an institutionalization of society as a whole.  And that until we change the way we view education we won't be able to change the way all institutions function.  There is a corrupting impact at the institutional level, but it is particularly damaging to society when this happens in schools; and it is happening in schools as we speak.

Another big hurdle for me was in understanding that authentic learning happens all the time.  I have realized over the past few years that you really can’t stop someone from learning no matter what you do or don’t do.  My middle child has never been to school or even attempted anything remotely resembling school; yet, at 7 he can read because he wanted to and he was developmentally ready to read.  Although if he was not ready there would have been no pressure put on him to be on to be "on par" with others his age.  Through simply living our lives he has learned numbers, adding, subtracting, percentage, fractions etc.  How?  We play war, poker, exchange money, let him do some shopping; all of which are necessary and fun for him, so he has learned it.  School puts our children in a box and many times real life cannot be discovered within it.  I would prefer my children to spend their time independent and free of that box, in the real world.

Everything my kids do shares an equal value because they are always learning, whether it is a walk in the jungle, building a chicken coup, playing video games, or reading a book. We love that our children have a say in what they want to discover.  We offer them ideas and show them various paths to knowledge, but ultimately it is what interests them.  Don’t we all learn better when it is something pertinent in our lives?  I know I do and I know my kids do as well.

Deschooling is an ongoing process and something I will be actively doing for many years to come.  It has profoundly changed me as a person and there is no going back inside the box.  It reaches beyond schooling and into our lives on every level.  There is a new intensity of respect, equality, independence, and unconditional love for all members of the family.  We now know what authentic learning is:  It's experiencing life without structured learning, and we are all happier for it.

Author Mary Hickcox is an unschooling advocate, mother, and life guide to three sons (11, 7, 3).

Recent Article by Mary Hickcox:
4 Reasons to Change the Way We View Education




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