Unschooling Via Mega Man X2! Reading!
I came across a post today in a Facebook homeschooling group
in which a very concerned mother was asking for advice on how to handle her 5-year-old’s situation. Apparently, her child is not interested in writing, and as she works full time, she is worried he is falling behind the standardized public school curriculum in America.
I tried to provide a bit of encouragement and perspective as best I could:
I hope you’ll check out those educators and books I mentioned in the comment.
Even if you don’t, though, the main takeaway (as far as I am concerned) from this mother’s worry and over concern is this: the pressure typically put on kids and parents by compulsory schooling institutions and modern culture is tremendous. This is all the more strange when we consider that children all learn at different speeds, and that even if a child doesn’t learn to read or write until age 12, they’ll still be able to read, ultimately. Is it worth it to give them a deep-seated neurosis and complex about it?
Please enjoy the video above. I was blown away by my son’s progress tonight as he read the text from a video game he recently purchased.
Prior to my filming (which seemed to add a little perceived pressure) he was reading even faster.
As much as it may be the “wrong” thing to say in the eyes of “mainstream culture,” do you know how he learned? He learned through watching YouTube videos and playing video games. Then he became more and more interested in text and began to read packages on drinks, candy, etc, and signs on storefronts such as the laundromat.
Unschooling is nothing “special.” It is simply natural learning. The fact that we as humans are ALL natural learners is pretty damn cool, though, isn’t it!
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
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My son studies through games and game-related videos on YouTube, to the point that he speaks and reads English better than our native tongue :)
I've trained myself to be more relaxed about his education, but the idea that he might be behind in some areas of the standardized curriculum still bugs me from time to time. A parent needs to de-school himself before embarking on an unschooling journey with the kids.
No idea what your little one was saying, but he seemed pretty fast!
I had similar concerns externally pressed on me about my boys. They both read and write fine now (even though it took both til 8-9 to get reading fluency and a bit longer again before they were comfortably and neatly writing). Similarly, they picked it up in a hurry when they started getting into computer/video games and I refused to read every single screen to them.
They pick up things that are actually important just fine don't they :D
私の息子も同じでした:D
great post thanks for sharing:)
Bulllshit spam.
nice :) @kafkanarchy84