"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
The Deschooling and Unschooling Movement Is Growing
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Fan-friggin'-tastic. It's wonderful to see this movement taking hold.
Sadly, a lot of homeschoolers would send their kids right back into the arms of government tomorrow if they got rid of sex education, put The Bible back in the classroom, and forced the kids to wear uniforms. That's why homeschooling runs a distant third for me.
The first and greatest choice, in my opinion, is freeschooling. This ensures that the child directs his own learning if and when he chooses, and also has ample opportunity to socialize with kids of various ages. It also removes some of the stigma of being a weirdo parent in the eyes of outsiders. You're just sending your kid to a special school.
The second choice is very close to the first, and that is unschooling. The article brought up an issue which may have some validity, in that unschooled kids may have trouble with socialization. If an unschooled child has exposure to the surrounding community on a daily basis, however, the one reservation I and others have may be moot. Great article.
This is just yet another reminder that 'No Child Left Behind' is a myth. When I hear how children are systematically forced to regurgitate specific amounts of carefully controlled curricula, we will always end up with children being left behind. There is no free will for children or parents in the current government run monopoly on education. Depending on where you are, you may have to jump through hoops to either home school/unschool your children. They have done such a good job of painting a black and white world view image there is no critical thinking among our kids today as long as they are educated by the state. 25 or so years ago when I was being educated in a government institution I never gave it much thought. Now that I am older my blinders have fallen off and I don't like what I see. The shit being fed to America's children is so bad it is leaving an unsavory taste in my mouth.