[HPFGU-OTChatter] Home Schooling-Long

[Rose Woofenden]

>Amy Z said: A bunch of interesting and wonderful stuff about 
>home/un-schooling.


I totally agree with all that you said, Amy. I've been un-schooled for all 
my life. I'm 15 now. I have 6 siblings, all of whom have been un-schooled. 
One is now out of college having done wonderfully there. Another is now in 
his freshman year at college and doing great.  None of us ever went to 
public school. My sister had her first day of "School" when she was 18!

One of the most frequent comments that I get when the subject of 
home-schooling (without even getting into un schooling...) is: "But how do 
you learn anything without going to school?" I have to hold my tongue and 
not say "How do you learn anything going *to* school?" I like to refer to 
public school as "forced learning".  I don't like the idea of "You are 
going to learn this, this way, and in this time frame. You learn the same 
as every other student in this school. And that is going to work for you." 
It seems to me that in school our diversity gets forgotten. We all learn 
different ways, and we need to be taught different ways.  I feel that 
un-schooling give much more freedom to do that.

I take a few classes with a private tutor. (I decided that I didn't want to 
do algebra on my own, and wanted a teacher. My parents were very open to 
that.) I was very lucky to find a guy that goes to much church that is a 
wonderful teacher. We have classed of 3-7 people. We meet in his home once 
a week to go over what we are studying. He is a *wonderful* teacher. He 
loves to do it, and is very good at it. What I really like a lot about the 
class is that it isn't just him teaching us, the little students who don't 
know anything. It's a group, all of us, sharing what we know, and helping 
each other learn. Often on of the students will help another student with 
something that they don't understand, because the way we see it might be 
easier for them to understand.  I really love it.

Other then that, we don't do any formal schooling. I think that leaves life 
more open for us to learn. Not having to spend my days in school leaves me 
open to go out and learn real life things. My family travels, we've taken 
trips across the country during the school year. No better way to learn 
geography then doing that. My dad coordinates workshops on Solar, Wind and 
Water power. Those happen every October, since I'm not stuck in school I 
get to help/participate in those. I've learned so much about electricity 
through those. I know how to wire up a solar energy system, and have done 
my own fair share of trouble-shooting on our own systems.  That is an 
experience that I would never been able to have if I were in school.

Another really valuable thing that I see in un-schooling, especially with a 
large family, is that everyone teaches each other. The little kids learn 
from the older kids, and the older kids get to cement things in their 
brains by teaching it to the younger ones. That lightens the load on my 
parents as well.  My brother and I learned to read at almost the same time, 
although he is older then me by a few years. :-) We helped to teach each 
other. My older brother and I helped to teach all four of our younger 
siblings. My little sister learned to read when she was six. We had taught 
her the basics, and she had just decided that she wanted to learn to read, 
and took off. At the time my youngest brother who is two years older then 
her, was struggling with his reading. There were times when my sister would 
be helping her older brother learn to read.

Really liked what you said about the parents being a resource, Amy. That is 
how it is in our family as well. If they can't teach us something. They 
make it possible for us to learn it, one way or another. They find a book, 
or a friend, or someone who can teach us.

I don't know who is was, (Mark Twain?) that said something along the lines 
of, 'the only thing that you need to know is how to learn, and you can do 
anything." I think that is right on. I have the natural instinct of how to 
learn, I can go wherever I want to go.

Well... there is always more to say on this subject, but I have to get off 
the computer and get some reading done for the literature class that I take 
with my tutor. (We get to read all those fun old Greek books. Very fun.)



-Rose


Current book:  The Moon By Night- Madaline L'Engle
Current Song playing:  The Eagles- Take it Easy
Last Words Spoken by me: "Is Nora ready to go yet?









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