An Unschooling Manifesto

[Frank]

"If every child was unschooled -- given the chance to explore and discover and learn in the real world what they love to do, what they're uniquely good at doing, and what the world needs that they care about -- then we would have a world of self-confident, creative, informed, empowered, networked entrepreneurs doing work that needs to be done, successfully. We would have armies of people collaborating to solve the problems and crises facing our world, instead of going home exhausted at the end of the day seeking escape, feeling helpless to do anything that is meaningful to thems or to the world." from An Unschooling Manifesto by Dave Pollard

[Michael Nolan]

I like Pink Floyd's version better.

[Frank]

jeje .. It is pretty good! I agree, too! As it has been said in education circles, "It is the death of education, but the dawn of learning."

Michael Nolan said:

I like Pink Floyd's version better.

[Melissa]

Anyone interested in unschooling or deschooling and Mexico should read the work of Ivan Illich
Excellent stuff.

[carlos olmos]

where did you learn to read and write?

[Frank]

Schools have been somewhat OK for left brain learning ... but today's world requires using the skills of the right brain too. Reading and writing are not enough. And in many countries, reading and writing skills have always been traditionally low to begin with.

Students need to also learn how to critically think, collaborate, use technology, evaluate multiple sources and formats of data, be creative, work on projects, etc. They need to learn how to exercise skills of communication, flexibility and ambiguity, participation, etc etc .... these are the 21st-century skills that are overwhelmingly lacking from educational venues.

carlos olmos said:

where did you learn to read and write?

[Melissa]

carlos olmos said:

where did you learn to read and write?

I learned to read from my older brother, school nearly ruined it for me.
Traditional schools main goal is to mold a controlable electorate. Children are born knowing how to learn, and a lot of what goes on in traditional schools crushes that innate ablity. Instead of teaching a stardard curriculum, primary school teachers would be better off teaching learning skills and learning tools, and leave the content to the individual minds.

[Benjamin Stewart]

I´m curious how others feel about whether metacognition (i.e., learning how to learn) is innate or influenced by the environment (i.e., social).

Melissa said:

carlos olmos said:

where did you learn to read and write?

I learned to read from my older brother, school nearly ruined it for me.
Traditional schools main goal is to mold a controlable electorate. Children are born knowing how to learn, and a lot of what goes on in traditional schools crushes that innate ablity. Instead of teaching a stardard curriculum, primary school teachers would be better off teaching learning skills and learning tools, and leave the content to the individual minds.

[Melissa]

Benjamin Stewart said:

I´m curious how others feel about whether metacognition (i.e., learning how to learn) is innate or influenced by the environment (i.e., social).

That's a very good question Benjamin.
I think the desire to learn is innate, and many children can learn metacognition on their own, and small improvements in the early childhood environment go a long way. But by conciously teaching such techniques to children will send them soaring. I did a lot of reading on the topic in the two years prior to becoming a mother. This: http://www.newhorizons.org/ was one of my favorite sites.