Posted by Someone Else at 9:29am Aug 6 '11I think kids benefit from having a vast array of adult role models who are consistently in their lives (even if only for a year at a time). I also think it's important for everyone to have a very solid understanding of certain academic basics. I also think it's vital that kids have lots of time to socialize with their peers.
School provides all of that. Unschooling *can* provide that.
On the whole, I think unschooling is extremely iffy. Especially because some of the types of people who choose alternate lifestyles and alternate ways to raise their kids are the types of people who don't integrate into society very well (this is by no means saying all or even most unschoolers and people into alternate lifestyles are bound to be social misfits or such). I think it's a very high risk for kids in these situations to get improper educations and improper socialization experience, which at best makes a lot of opportunities a lot harder for them in life, if not completely makes some options impossible,
If it is done properly, with a lot of solid academics instilled and loads of time to socialize with a stable network of adults and peers, and time to meet new adults and peers, then I think unschooling can be just as great as public school, and better for some people.
But public school is already designed to give kids the socialization and academics they need, so while I freely admit that public school makes life a lot harder for a lot of kids (I dropped out of high school to get my GED and go to college early), I can't really condemn the whole system. Even though public school was more harmful than helpful to me by the end of my stint in the system, on the massive whole, it was incredibly good for me. I learned academically and socially things I never would have been able to learn without the network of adults and opportunities and friends that my schools provided me with. Sure, I likely would have turned out just as fine, and possibly even better, if my parents had been able to successfully create all those opportunities for me...but that would be a hell of a lot of work for them, and it would be so easy for them to miss something and leave, say, my math skills in the dust because of the shared interest between them and myself in photography.
I guess my final point is that, if it's well done, there's no reason why unschooling shouldn't be just as good or better for a kid than similar quality public schooling. But I feel like unschooling is a lot easier to mess up and a lot more damaging to mess up.
School provides all of that. Unschooling *can* provide that.
On the whole, I think unschooling is extremely iffy. Especially because some of the types of people who choose alternate lifestyles and alternate ways to raise their kids are the types of people who don't integrate into society very well (this is by no means saying all or even most unschoolers and people into alternate lifestyles are bound to be social misfits or such). I think it's a very high risk for kids in these situations to get improper educations and improper socialization experience, which at best makes a lot of opportunities a lot harder for them in life, if not completely makes some options impossible,
If it is done properly, with a lot of solid academics instilled and loads of time to socialize with a stable network of adults and peers, and time to meet new adults and peers, then I think unschooling can be just as great as public school, and better for some people.
But public school is already designed to give kids the socialization and academics they need, so while I freely admit that public school makes life a lot harder for a lot of kids (I dropped out of high school to get my GED and go to college early), I can't really condemn the whole system. Even though public school was more harmful than helpful to me by the end of my stint in the system, on the massive whole, it was incredibly good for me. I learned academically and socially things I never would have been able to learn without the network of adults and opportunities and friends that my schools provided me with. Sure, I likely would have turned out just as fine, and possibly even better, if my parents had been able to successfully create all those opportunities for me...but that would be a hell of a lot of work for them, and it would be so easy for them to miss something and leave, say, my math skills in the dust because of the shared interest between them and myself in photography.
I guess my final point is that, if it's well done, there's no reason why unschooling shouldn't be just as good or better for a kid than similar quality public schooling. But I feel like unschooling is a lot easier to mess up and a lot more damaging to mess up.
it takes a village to raise a child - Someone Else