In the last few days with this dust up over unschooling there have been all sorts of posts written for and against. I would like to point out that this type of unschooling is the extreme side of homeschooling but a VALID form of educating your child. Here is a wonderful family story of a certified teacher turned unschooler, Why I Unschooled My Three Kids Also a well written post came out (with lively debate) from Spunky Homeschooler Should Unschooling be Illegal? , and Parent at the Helm Unschooling UNEDITED
This has sparked a conversation on FaceBook and on my original post about whether or not unschooling is the right choice for a special needs child. I really think it all boils down to homeschooling is so incredibly individual that there is not a yes, or no answer. If it works for your family right now, use it! That may change several months from now or not.
The key is to know your child. If they crave structure than give it to them. If they need time to cool off after being in the pressure cooker of public school than relax and give them time. Learning will happen in a home where there is a wide variety of learning material available. Hands on projects are not off limits. Field trips are the norm.
I would ask my unschooling friends a couple of questions. How do you handle a pediatrician that ask what are your learning, or other educationally nosey questions? If you need to go to the hospital how have you handled that? I ask this because I often talk to families that are just looking into homeschooling and I would like to give them information about all types of homeschooling.
Thank you my friends! I look forward to your comments!
Jodi Whisenhunt says
I am not a 100% unschooler. We do use textbooks, but we mix things up. As you said above, the key is to know your children. Understand how they learn and what they need and cater to their interests and abilities.
I don’t worry about others’ nosiness or judgments. There’s more to this life than test scores. Usually, my kids are too shy to answer when people try to drill them anyway 😉
StephiLou273 says
Well, I missed the whole dust-up. I will have to go back and read it all. I am unschooling/homeschooling my 6 year old son. He has Down syndrome, stroke, global brain damage, CP, heart defect, lung damage, immune disorder, etc.
I tried the regimented, theme approach. Either he was not ready, or will never be ready for that type of structured learning. Because of his brain damage, his comprehension is WAY ahead of his expressive language. He gets frustrated easily. He has sesnsory issues and seizures. We are not REALLY sure how well his site is – if the messages are getting “mixed up” along the way. Same with language.
For kids like my son, sitting down to a work book or reading material, even fingerpainting or coloring are overwhelming and setting them up for failure. He is learning what he needs to know right now through play. He can tell me his colors, shapes, we are working on alphabet and counting. He recognizes his favorite songs and the few cartoons we allow. He doesn’t “watch” as much as listens – the images and sounds together are too overwhelming.
I think when you take the step to homeschool your child, part of what we strive to do is to find what works for each individual child. They don’t get this in public/private school. We have the time to taylor make an education plan specifically for each of our children. If unschooling works for some, that is great!
When we start critisizing how others tailor their homeschool for THEIR children, we run the risk of sliding down that slippery slope to where ALL homeschools will be required to be administered the same…why not just send them to public?
As far as homeschooling in the hospital, I have never had any trouble. We have a large plastic file box/bankers box that comes with us. I write an IEP of sorts, and update it regularly with notes on what we are working on, goals, therapy notes, etc. If you do this, you can talk to the teacher at the hospital to show how and what you are working on. We re regulars at 5 different children’s hospitals, and I have NEVER had any trouble. They are usually more than happy just to help you with any resources, print outs etc.
I think sometimes we get so hung up on the process, we lose site of the goal – to educate our children. If you can show that your children are learning with what ever style, who should say that is unacceptable? Short of the child being abused, it is nobody else’s business.
As parents, our job is to prepare our children to go out and have the tools needed to be productive, contributing members of society. If a parent is going to fail their child, they are going to do that no matter if they homeschool or not. Short of a child being abused, it is not my job to police your job as a parent. I have enough on my plate, and besides, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!
Stephanie
grandma linda says
Hi, Heather,
I think the answer to your question is for the parent to give herself/himself a quick lesson in “educationese.” Any unschooling activity can be made to sound quite “schooly” if one just knows how to present it. It doesn’t take long and, once you get the hang of it, it can actually be fun.
Amanda says
I am new to the whole home-schooling idea. I have three children, two boys and a girl. My oldest son is 11 and special needs. He attends public school at the local high school in a developmental learning center. He thoroughly enjoys school and loves riding the school bus. My thing is my daughter is also special needs. She is almost 7, UNABLE to sit alone, crawl, walk or talk. I have had doctors tell me that they don’t think she will ever be as functional as her oldest brother. I have prayed about this and I believe that home-schooling or unschooling is the answer, I just don’t know where to start. Can you give me some advice?