Emily van Lidth de Jeude writes about her experiences as an unschooling parent, wilderness educator, and explorative learning consultant.
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Hey out there in Roslindale, Massachusetts!
...or somewhere thereabouts.
I've been noticing somebody from your area repeatedly on this site, and have read news articles about unschooling in Ma. Check in (comment, below!) and tell us how things are, out there!
Hey there - I've been reading recently from Roslindale. This blog is one of many I read to learn about unschooling/life learning etc. I don't have kids yet, though! I hope to in 2 or 3 years perhaps, and plan to do unschooling. So I spend some of my free time reading about people who already do.
Hi Emily - there do seem to be some groups of home learners that meet up and do activities. A-OK is one, but the only real group that is specifically geared towards unschoolers I could find appeared to be defunct. I'm still learning, though! I hope that when I have children I will be able to find community. It seems like it could be difficult, and I know that having other people who support this type of learning will be essential, since a lot of people, including family, will be full of opinions about how it is wrong.
Oh yes -- I hear you on that one: plenty of people who are full of opinions, and even more upsetting: those who say very little but have real and genuine fear for my children's safety and/or wellbeing! But the blog helps a lot with that, at least for family, whose opinions we care most about, of course. It lets them see what we do, and helps reassure them that everything's OK.
As for community, it certainly can be hard, which is why I asked you. We have a great program, here, for homeschoolers, but the more popular it becomes, the less life-learning is happening, and the more mainstream/curricula-based it becomes. We drift a little further away from it, every year. We do, however, have support among friends for what we're doing, including from many who for financial or other reasons choose not to homeschool, and have their kids in the regular full-time program. Unschooling/life-learning seems to be really scattered across the board in terms of how it's done, and what sort of education/institutions/lifestyle is involved.
I wish you so much freedom and success with your one-day kids. It's not easy to buck the norm, but it's sure rewarding to unschool.
Hey there - I've been reading recently from Roslindale. This blog is one of many I read to learn about unschooling/life learning etc. I don't have kids yet, though! I hope to in 2 or 3 years perhaps, and plan to do unschooling. So I spend some of my free time reading about people who already do.
ReplyDeleteHi Plover! Is there much support/community for unschoolers/lifelearners, there?
ReplyDeleteHi Emily - there do seem to be some groups of home learners that meet up and do activities. A-OK is one, but the only real group that is specifically geared towards unschoolers I could find appeared to be defunct. I'm still learning, though! I hope that when I have children I will be able to find community. It seems like it could be difficult, and I know that having other people who support this type of learning will be essential, since a lot of people, including family, will be full of opinions about how it is wrong.
ReplyDeleteOh yes -- I hear you on that one: plenty of people who are full of opinions, and even more upsetting: those who say very little but have real and genuine fear for my children's safety and/or wellbeing! But the blog helps a lot with that, at least for family, whose opinions we care most about, of course. It lets them see what we do, and helps reassure them that everything's OK.
ReplyDeleteAs for community, it certainly can be hard, which is why I asked you. We have a great program, here, for homeschoolers, but the more popular it becomes, the less life-learning is happening, and the more mainstream/curricula-based it becomes. We drift a little further away from it, every year. We do, however, have support among friends for what we're doing, including from many who for financial or other reasons choose not to homeschool, and have their kids in the regular full-time program. Unschooling/life-learning seems to be really scattered across the board in terms of how it's done, and what sort of education/institutions/lifestyle is involved.
I wish you so much freedom and success with your one-day kids. It's not easy to buck the norm, but it's sure rewarding to unschool.
Thank you!
ReplyDelete