Saturday, August 13, 2011

Why do people even utter the word?

Why do homeschoolers say I'm not an unschooler but? We were unschooly today... After the books the kids did _____. Why do they have a list of excuses of why they can't be unschoolers?

Why don't they leave us out of their equation? I have often wondered why so many people are ready to talk about unschooling even though they aren't doing it.  I think there is some sort of weird affiliation, jealosy? curiosity? hatred? I really don't know.

All of these people who hate labels yet publicly use the word unschooling when they aren't unschoolers makes me wonder.

I think some people are misinformed but some think they know what we know and some just plain say hey we are unschooling at this time of day and that is what it is.


Unschooling is equated with not using a formal method of textbooks or teaching so if the kid goes off and actually looks something up they are unschooling? Really?


I've seen people say they enforce the basics but encourage *unschooling*   UGH!!!!

The basics are learned through living life, they don't need to be enforced! Stop enforcing things on your children! Live with them, listen to them, be with them, love them. Academics are such a waste of precious life.... Anyone can learn when not forced but lives in a loving environment. Nobody needs enforcement of the basics! What are the basics? Reading, writing, adding, subtracting, cooking, cleaning??? One person's list is not anothers. Hey teacher leave them kids alone!

You can tell me to shut the fuck up and back off but in reality Unschooling does mean something, it is a  real philosophy, it is a real way to live with your children.

I'm really sick of all of the bullshit on the web and people who use the term. If you aren't unschooling, admit it, move on and forget about us...Please!!!!!

9 comments:

jen said...

AMEN. That's all.

Stephanie said...

Thanks Jen! I just keep seeing stuff that people say online and I'm like WTF?

Jessica said...

You either unschool or you dont.you can not unschool some of the time and school some of the time, its a clash of ideas and confusing to the child. I see things like that too and it sits heavy in your stomach.

Jessica said...

sigh. this is why I shun the label. 'cause so many of the unschoolers on the interwebz come off as haters. come on mamas, we're all doing something radical just by keeping our kids our of school. why do we have to break ourselves into ever tinier and ever more hostile subgroups?

Stephanie said...

If someone is recreating school where dad is the principle, mom is the teacher and the kid has to sit and do schoolwork 6 hours a day...I say no way. They have no escape if school and home are the same place. People do homeschool like that, just do a little googling.

I say school is far better and I do not applaud them for keeping them home.

Now my issue is with people saying they unschool but... No, you don't.
Nobody has to unschool but it is an inviting concept that most people will never embrace.

I do believe the label is useful to find others and when there are new people seriously wanting to unschool the waters get muddied by the wishy washy ones.

Unschooling is real, it does mean something and it works and is wonderful so to say anything under the sun is unschooling is wrong, In My opinion.

I appreciate your feedback :)

Stephanie said...

I'm not a hater people can do whatever they want just don't call it what it isn't.

Darcel @The Mahogany Way said...

I hear this often too. It drives me nuts! We don't use any type of curriculum. We learn through living. I hate when people say things like that. Don't cheapen what we are really doing so you can make yourself feel better, ya know?

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

I love people who unschool successfully. Just because unschooling isn't what my family lives by and "needs" doesn't make us wishy washy, though. I am usually a person to turn away from a post that somewhat offends me, but I have had 2 glasses of wine and that isn't always a good thing.

ANYWAY! There are many, many ways to live our lives. There are many, many ways to educate our children. What works for one family will surely backfire on another. Hence, the reason why my family is an eclectic homeschooling family. 1 child requires Constant Mediation. He craves order, rules, and expectations to meet. Another child is very creative but somewhat slower to the whole "educational norms." He likes to do messy, active, crazy activities. My youngest tends to surprise me with her ability to unschool herself as I work with the others. I find that she creates, writes, constructs and reads before I get the chance to "teach" her.

Do we unschool 1/3 of our family? Do I need to find a classification above and beyond that we homeschool? I think not. It's of little interest to anyone else, anyway. (even though I just typed it all out here! Hello, 2 glasses of wine!)

What was my point? I don't know. Just that I felt that you were really, really angry that somebody else uses the word "unschooling" when you don't think they should. It reminds me of the arguments between Protestants and Catholics when they all were believing the same basic thing, weren't they?

Stephanie said...

You don't go around saying you unschool but....

That is my whole point. Some people don't care but when some people are seeking out unschooling it really helps to find people who are actually doing it.

I was talking about people who talk about it and do it half assed or really not at all but talk like they do.

I don't get it, that's all. You homeschool, that is great and you aren't going around saying stuff that bothers me.... I could just ignore it, actually I do ignore a lot but once in awhile I vent. This particular post was very mild :)

I guess I shouldn't care but I do. The more I'm out there the more muddy waters I see.