Editor’s Pick. Written by Amy Milstein. The more I learn about learning, the less I understand why many educators believe all kids need to learn the same subjects at the same age and in more or less the same fashion. That’s not how true learning works. But, the critics say, if you let kids just…
Tag: unschooling
Making Children Learn What They Don’t Want to Learn
Editor’s Pick. Written by Sue Elvis. My children follow their own interests when it comes to learning. This sounds rather indulgent, doesn’t it? Why should I let them direct their own learning? Hey, they’re only kids. How do they know what they need to know? I stop and think about these questions for a moment,…
My Shifting Vistas
Send him mail. “One Improved Unit” is an original bi-weekly column appearing every other Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OIU-only RSS feed available here. One’s worldview as it concerns the political landscape shapes one’s angle of skepticism. Claims by governments and political leaders…
Our Own Measures of Success
Editor’s Pick. Written by Christopher Rowley. I have recently heard a similar sentiment across the various unschooling communities that I am privileged to have access to. The boiled down version of this sentiment seems to center on confusion concerning ideas related to goals and measureable successes. If I phrase the thoughts I have heard in…
Unschooling Isn’t All About the Kids
Send her mail. “Living with Wild Abandon” is an original bi-weekly column appearing every other Tuesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Breezy V. Stevens. Breezy is a long-time radical unschooler, an advocate for children’s rights, a crazy dog lady, a crafter in various mediums, a lover of all things tropical and beachy, and the designer of “EVC…
Does Unschooling Mean “Anything Goes”?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Jennifer McGrail. One thing I hear fairly often is that people will “experiment” with radical unschooling, the kids will go wild (for lack of another term) and the parents will pronounce it a failure. But the problem isn’t unschooling. The problem is that if you take kids who are used to…
Imposing Rules on Children: Is There a Better Way?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Sue Elvis. Some people might say that family rules are essential because they ensure a child knows what is right, and avoids what is wrong, and so he will act appropriately. If the rules are broken, then the child will have to face the consequences, which might include punishment. “My children…
Unsanctimonious Unschooling
Send her mail. “Living with Wild Abandon” is an original bi-weekly column appearing every other Tuesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Breezy V. Stevens. Breezy is a long-time radical unschooler, an advocate for children’s rights, a crazy dog lady, a crafter in various mediums, a lover of all things tropical and beachy, and the designer of “EVC…
Getting Kids to Help with the Chores
Editor’s Pick. Written by Sue Elvis. It took me years to work out how to encourage my children to help with the household chores. Before that happened, I tried all the usual methods: I designed rosters with jobs for each child for each day of the week. I wrote out lists of chores and let…