Unschooling Explained in Metaphor
Learning is like breathing.
If you are not breathing, your body is dead. If you are not learning, your mind is dead. All but the most deteriorated bodies can breathe without assistance. And all but the most deteriorated minds can learn without assistance.
If you were to take a bellows and stick the end in your child's mouth and pump and pump to try and help the child breathe, you would only be succeeding in either a) damaging or hurting the child's body or b) shutting down the child's natural breathing mechanism.
If you kept pumping the bellows for eighteen years and then stopped and released your child into the fresh air to breathe on his own, chances are his body would not remember how to use its innate breathing mechanism. The child's body would likely die in the struggle to remember how to use itself.
Learning Happens. Don't force it.
Hi, I'm Starr!
I believe all human interactions should be consensual
"But, they have to be taught, or they won't learn." my friend always says when i say things like home schooling or unschooling.
What would an appropriate response to such a statement be? I'm in the middle of raising two young boys and hope to be able to convince their mother to allow me to educate them instead of the state.
There isn't an appropriate response. The other person is still deep in brainwashing.
When children want to learn, they learn at an incredible speed.
When children don't want to learn, they barely learn at all.
So, if you want to teach a child something, then
A. wait till they want to learn it.
B. force it into them.
Which works better? If you choose A, they may never learn the thing, because they may never get interested in it.
We just do not have much data on path A yet.
I suggest that you read lots of homeschooling success stories, and relate these to the mother.
I love this, what a great metaphor, learning is so like breathing for all kids until it is being forced on them, oh if only, we could all leave well enough alone. One day hopefully people will learn, but being force fed information keeps on happening, yeah to all who turn away.
So many kids today are so sheltered, their parents won't let them out of their sight. That's why their self esteem is so low, they have never done anything for themselves or faced and overcome any obstacle on their own and they know it. Can you help me help some people educate themselves?
Hi @funbobby51. I have read your post, upvoted it at 100%, and resteemed it. Hope that helps get some Venezuelans on Steemit!
I'm not often moved to be charitable but something about their plight moved me, they are down there working so hard in such a dire situation and they didn't ask. Thank you for your help! I keep visualizing a happy Venezuelan posting away I can't wait for it to be manifest.
Nice attempt at a metaphor (hence why I upvoted) but TBH it misses the mark as it too 'passive' - the real 'horror of education' is that it 'calls upon' students to align their identity with the system, requiring that they 'act through the examination system', if you get my drift... ?
A more suitable metaphor might involve teaching them to breath with only the top tenth of their lungs, thereby invoking the anxiety induced by said system!?
Although that's not quite there either - I think we need an entire story incorporating many horrific metaphors to convey how bad mainstream education is for our kids!
Thanks for this, i love you.....
Sounds like music to my ears.
Nice to read you! thank you.