Thoughts on Oatmeal and Unschooling
Dec. 31st, 2008 12:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crazychicknladyI used to try to convince people to homeschool; I used to try to convince new homeschoolers to unschool. I was (and still am) completely convinced of the value of my way of thinking about educating children. I had an experience, however, a few years back that made me understand how hard it is to adopt a way of looking at the world and living that runs so counter to general society and one's own personal experiences growing up.
A few years ago we joined a group of homeschoolers meeting once a week (the group lasted about six months before drifting apart).
One of the ladies was very enthusiastic about a particular way of dealing with food.
According to her, cereal is bad, even puffed corn (which is just corn for crying out loud); the argument is that whatever process they put the cereals through, to give them a shelf life, makes them like poison.
Trying to think of something healthy we had eaten recently, I asked her about oatmeal. She said oatmeal is fine, as long as you soak it overnight first (whoops, we just dumped hot water in it a few minutes before eating it). Also, brown rice is only good for you if you soak it or cook it a long time.
Cheerios have always been a staple in my house: finger food for older babies, easy to carry along in a bag, great as a quick snack at home with milk.
Anyway, it became obvious to me that it would take a giant restructuring of the way I dealt with food on a daily basis to embrace her way of thinking. I couldn't do it. I didn't want to change my life that much, to take a chance on a philosophy I wasn't sure even made that much sense, or could even work.
*epiphany*
How could I expect to convince someone to embrace homeschooling (let alone unschooling), since doing so would require a dramatic shift in their daily life. Most people see raising kids to five and sending them to school, thus freeing up time for them to work during the day, or at least have some peace for the household tasks, as normal. It's how life is supposed to work.
I can't soak my oatmeal and give up cereal. Okay, everyone has their limits.
For those interested and asking about homeschooling or unschooling I still highly recommend two books as a place to start:
Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, by John Taylor Gatto. (Thanks to the internet you can get the first essay in the book, The 7-Lesson Schoolteacher, plus a bit more, free here.
Free at Last: The Sudbury Valley School, by Daniel Greenberg.
For those who do not want to think about it very hard, I understand.
A few years ago we joined a group of homeschoolers meeting once a week (the group lasted about six months before drifting apart).
One of the ladies was very enthusiastic about a particular way of dealing with food.
According to her, cereal is bad, even puffed corn (which is just corn for crying out loud); the argument is that whatever process they put the cereals through, to give them a shelf life, makes them like poison.
Trying to think of something healthy we had eaten recently, I asked her about oatmeal. She said oatmeal is fine, as long as you soak it overnight first (whoops, we just dumped hot water in it a few minutes before eating it). Also, brown rice is only good for you if you soak it or cook it a long time.
Cheerios have always been a staple in my house: finger food for older babies, easy to carry along in a bag, great as a quick snack at home with milk.
Anyway, it became obvious to me that it would take a giant restructuring of the way I dealt with food on a daily basis to embrace her way of thinking. I couldn't do it. I didn't want to change my life that much, to take a chance on a philosophy I wasn't sure even made that much sense, or could even work.
*epiphany*
How could I expect to convince someone to embrace homeschooling (let alone unschooling), since doing so would require a dramatic shift in their daily life. Most people see raising kids to five and sending them to school, thus freeing up time for them to work during the day, or at least have some peace for the household tasks, as normal. It's how life is supposed to work.
I can't soak my oatmeal and give up cereal. Okay, everyone has their limits.
For those interested and asking about homeschooling or unschooling I still highly recommend two books as a place to start:
Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, by John Taylor Gatto. (Thanks to the internet you can get the first essay in the book, The 7-Lesson Schoolteacher, plus a bit more, free here.
Free at Last: The Sudbury Valley School, by Daniel Greenberg.
For those who do not want to think about it very hard, I understand.
