Can you guys explain to me

The term Unschooling came because public school teach with books and test, unschooling is undoing the pressure and trauma caused by public school.

You know your kids are learning when you see them or talk with them, just like a child who is taught with any other method. DS1 loves to sing the ABC's while shopping and when he sees the letters on the boxes and the words that he knows he points them out, he will point at what he doesn't know and ask me, and the next time he sees it he knows.

Grades are ok sometimes but if your child worked a really long time on a school project... research, planning, hours or weeks of labor, and on top of that being proud of it... what happens to their spirit (pride) when the teach gives them a low grade! Depending on the childs mindset will they try harder next time or never care about working that hard again. A child being proud of their own work is more important then the grade they get.

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Originally Posted by purplepoet20

The term Unschooling came because public school teach with books and test, unschooling is undoing the pressure and trauma caused by public school.

You know your kids are learning when you see them or talk with them, just like a child who is taught with any other method. DS1 loves to sing the ABC's while shopping and when he sees the letters on the boxes and the words that he knows he points them out, he will point at what he doesn't know and ask me, and the next time he sees it he knows.

Grades are ok sometimes but if your child worked a really long time on a school project... research, planning, hours or weeks of labor, and on top of that being proud of it... what happens to their spirit (pride) when the teach gives them a low grade! Depending on the childs mindset will they try harder next time or never care about working that hard again. A child being proud of their own work is more important then the grade they get.

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But certainly you don't keep them out of school just in case they might get a bad grade, right? If a child of any age puts that kind of effort into a project, surely they would not receive a poor grade...or if they study and cannot grasp the concept still, they can get extra help but you would not be aware of the difficulties without the testing and grading.

To me, that's just life. No, you will not always succeed and you will struggle certainly but it is how you cope with that, how you react and how you improve that builds who you are. I am not saying that you cannot accomplish that through homeschooling at all but I am just taking your comments literally and it is not my experience at all that if a child works hard on something, a teacher gives them a poor grade. In fact, if a child worked on something for weeks, I venture to say there is no way they would receive a failing grade.

My daughter had a hard time this year in science- the concepts were difficult for her age- I had to google most of it but she and I(and her dad) worked with her, taught her HOW to study and she ended up with a high average in the class. So, it was a great opportunity for us to work with her this year to not only teach her about the topics she was learning about but also to teach her how to study smart, how to take a test...there was a great deal of critical thinking involved.

See, to me, after the ABC's and 123's, school of any kind is just a tool to prove you can learn. I have a college degree in a specific field but very little of that was actually useful. I used to think it was such a waste of time that I had even bothered. But then, once I realized that it proves that I can take something totally unfamiliar to me and master it, it wasn't about the actual subject or material itself, but it proved I can learn and take on new things. That is what my future employer saw too- not which classes I took- I mean who cares- but I proved I could learn and the only way to do that was to take the classes and get the grades.

I assume there is more to why you choose to homeschool than the fear of a poor grade. I am sure there is but I hope that is not the main reason. Children with parents that are involved do well. I am sure your children would do well in any envionment!

This is an excerpt from a web page that I frequent:) I would like my kids to be self-directed when they are older:)
"Self-directed learning is not self-isolated or unstructured learning. Rather, it's the approach of a student who takes full responsibility for her learning.

Self-directed learners work both alone and in teams; they seek out mentors and coaches; they relish high-quality instruction; and they value both abstract and hands-on knowledge. Unlike other students, self-directed learners don't wait for a teacher or class to begin their projects and studies".

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Originally Posted by nuthinbutpink

But certainly you don't keep them out of school just in case they might get a bad grade, right? If a child of any age puts that kind of effort into a project, surely they would not receive a poor grade...or if they study and cannot grasp the concept still, they can get extra help but you would not be aware of the difficulties without the testing and grading.
Yup:) Testing and grading are exactly the reasons why I'm keeping my kids out of school. I do not want learning to be a competition. I do not want them to judge their self worth by the tests they take. I want them to LOVE to learn. I know many people that hated school including myself and my hubby. I received poor grades because the teachers that I had didn't like the way I learnt. I had to be quiet, not ask too many questions and if it took too long to grasp I was looked at like I was stupid. I worked very hard on all my subjects but I was a visual learner which didn't work well in a classroom the way they taught. Also, I was sick a lot when I was in high school. They didn't believe me or my mom and so they would give me lower grades even though I completed it all at home. This is one of the reasons my mom homeschooled me for 3 grades in HS.

To me, that's just life. No, you will not always succeed and you will struggle certainly but it is how you cope with that, how you react and how you improve that builds who you are. I am not saying that you cannot accomplish that through homeschooling at all but I am just taking your comments literally and it is not my experience at all that if a child works hard on something, a teacher gives them a poor grade. In fact, if a child worked on something for weeks, I venture to say there is no way they would receive a failing grade.

My daughter had a hard time this year in science- the concepts were difficult for her age- I had to google most of it but she and I(and her dad) worked with her, taught her HOW to study and she ended up with a high average in the class. So, it was a great opportunity for us to work with her this year to not only teach her about the topics she was learning about but also to teach her how to study smart, how to take a test...there was a great deal of critical thinking involved.

See, to me, after the ABC's and 123's, school of any kind is just a tool to prove you can learn. I have a college degree in a specific field but very little of that was actually useful. I used to think it was such a waste of time that I had even bothered. But then, once I realized that it proves that I can take something totally unfamiliar to me and master it, it wasn't about the actual subject or material itself, but it proved I can learn and take on new things. That is what my future employer saw too- not which classes I took- I mean who cares- but I proved I could learn and the only way to do that was to take the classes and get the grades.

I assume there is more to why you choose to homeschool than the fear of a poor grade. I am sure there is but I hope that is not the main reason. Children with parents that are involved do well. I am sure your children would do well in any envionment!

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One of the issues I have with school grading is the fact that you can do amazingly well in 9 out of 10 classes...receive a failing grade in Math(I did) and end up with a GPA of 3.6 like myself....and if Math hadn't been in there I would have had a 4.0. THAT is unfair. I hated Math 30. I will never be passionate about Math. Science, English, History and Languages were my strong subjects but apparently a person has to be great at everything to succeed in life...or at least that's what the schools are telling our kids.

Well I don't think our school cause any trauma to my girls. They like to go there. DD1 said she hates that school is over now for the summer. I think life it's difficult and there is always competition in life. I mean what is going to happen when they grow up? They have to go "out" to work with everyone else there is no "unworking" right?

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Originally Posted by DoulaMama

One of the issues I have with school grading is the fact that you can do amazingly well in 9 out of 10 classes...receive a failing grade in Math(I did) and end up with a GPA of 3.6 like myself....and if Math hadn't been in there I would have had a 4.0. THAT is unfair. I hated Math 30. I will never be passionate about Math. Science, English, History and Languages were my strong subjects but apparently a person has to be great at everything to succeed in life...or at least that's what the schools are telling our kids.

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I just have a different viewpoint, I guess. I wouldn't let the fear of possibly failing stop me from doing something.

I was terrible at math too but I just didn't care because I knew it wasn't important long-term. I never saw it that if I was bad at math I would fail in life though...I've done fairly well for myself and that has never held me back.

What happens with college? Do you want your children to get a college education?

Where I live the schools are ok if you are having a hard time because the teachers try to review a lot. State funding is based on the schools test scores of kids. A lot of parents don't care about helping their kids so they are behind. 2 schools have closed down, now other classes or very over crowded, the teachers have to buy there own supplies if they want to do any type of project, and getting parent involved is very difficult.

The best school here are the private school. It is $5,000 a year for tuition, uniforms, class project fee, and book fees. If we sent or kids to school then that is where we would send them but we save a ton of money by homeschool.

A lot of unchooling kids make it far in college. They are more self driven so they end up graduating on time and with better grades.... the college here just had graduation out of the top 5 students 2 were unschooled kids.

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Originally Posted by purplepoet20

Where I live the schools are ok if you are having a hard time because the teachers try to review a lot. State funding is based on the schools test scores of kids. A lot of parents don't care about helping their kids so they are behind. 2 schools have closed down, now other classes or very over crowded, the teachers have to buy there own supplies if they want to do any type of project, and getting parent involved is very difficult.

The best school here are the private school. It is $5,000 a year for tuition, uniforms, class project fee, and book fees. If we sent or kids to school then that is where we would send them but we save a ton of money by homeschool.

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I agree. Parental involvement is key. My sister teaches and she gets $100 per YEAR for her class. That's it. It is disgusting. She is out of pocket for most things for her class. One of the biggest failings here is the lack of support for our teachers.

I have no fears for my kids grades.... I was very advanced in math and science growing up (just like my dad and brother) and my husband is also very smart when it comes to math and music. But for me at 8 years old and going to a highschool every afternoon for math was no fun. I was labeled the show off kid and teased but my parents told me I had to go or I would never get a good job. By the time I was in Jr High I stopped going to school all together. My husband was gifted with music but hated to preform and when everyone kept pushing he gave up and never played again....

With to stubborn parents I would expect my own kids to be stubburn as well. I want them to notice their own mistakes on an essay not have it pointed out to them, I want them to be proud of the hard work they do and not focus on the reward or fear the grade, and should the time come for college and a career I want them to be self motivated and love there life with out the judgement of others.