|
Editor-in-Chief of Editor-in-Chief
of Editor-in-Chief of Author of unschooling books
|
Musings, meanderings, wonderings and wanderings about unschooling, natural parenting, sustainable living and more by Wendy Priesnitz. Archives - February, 2008 Foundations of Success – February 29,
2008 However, my point here is to share this quote by Dell Computers founder Michael Dell: “It’s exciting to see how fast your kids learn and grow. I’m not too worried about them, particularly the ones who like to break rules and don’t follow instructions, those are the ones that will do just fine because they know what’s important to them.” The quote is from Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters by Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, Mark Thompson (Wharton School Publishing, 2006). Dell is the consummate entrepreneur who dropped out of the University of Texas at age 19 to found Dell Computers. His parents weren’t happy, hoping that he’d stay in school and become a doctor. And his early teachers saw little promise in him, with one commenting that he “would probably never go anywhere in life.” His net worth is now estimated to be over $17 billion. Both Nancy Plent and John Taylor Gatto have articles in the March/April
issue of Life Learning (on its way to subscribers now) on variations of this topic.
Nancy notes one commonality among
them – it was a person, not a school, who made a difference in the
lives of successful people who had problems with school. But I think Michael Dell nailed it: Breaking rules, not following
instructions and knowing what’s important to you are hallmarks of
success, especially in business and the arts. And school most definitely
is not the place to learn those things! Keeping to the rules, following
instructions and accepting others’ opinion of what’s important are
the things that matter most at
school. Trusting
Teens to Make Their Own Education Decisions – February 25, 2008 Linda Franklin, President & CEO, Colleges Ontario says there is a general lack of awareness about the benefits of a technical or trades education, as opposed to a university one. “Our goal with ‘Obay’ is to use a tongue-in-cheek approach to begin to address this awareness issue, starting with parents, the group our research showed has strong influence when it comes to decision-making around post-secondary education. The message is to step back and find out what your children really want, and then look at all the postsecondary options together.” The Obay campaign, brought to you by the makers of “WhyBecauseISaidSo” and “NotUnderMyRoof,” is designed to remind parents that they should explore all the options – in many cases, their children may be more likely to find rewarding and fulfilling careers through college education and training. Unfortunately, research shows that by a margin of three to one, parents push their teens to attend university and one third also say they would be disappointed or embarrassed if their child went to college! So this advertising campaign includes copy like:
“Your kids should be allowed to make their own decisions, especially
when it comes to their post secondary education” and “Sure you want
what’s best for your kids, but when it comes to post-secondary
education, pushing them to do what you want isn’t right.” Too bad
these parents didn’t receive this autonomy message before they had
kids, but I guess it’s better late than never! Sexual Assault at School
Should Not be Normal
– February 23, 2008 A few days ago, the chair of the Toronto District School Board told a conference that a growing number of teenage girls view sexual assault as normal. During a keynote address to the annual Safe Schools Conference, Gerry Connelly said a young girl will see somebody being pushed against a locker, or touched inappropriately, and apparently shrug it off. Connelly told the crowd, girls think “That’s just the way it is.” According to a survey conducted at one Toronto area high school, 33 percent of students surveyed reported being sexually harassed in the school over the past two years. Twenty-nine per cent reported being the victim of unwanted sexual contact, including touching or grabbing at their school, and 29 female students or 7 percent of respondents reported being the victim of a major sexual assault at their school. Another report on sexual harassment at 23 Ontario schools by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health showed that 30 percent of Grade 9 girls and 28 percent of Grade 11 girls reported having been touched, grabbed or pinched in a sexual way. In 1998, the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation’s 1998 survey on sexual harassment found that four in five eighth through 11th grade students in the U.S. had experienced some form of sexual harassment while at school. That’s some kind of positive socialization that
results in young boys thinking it’s OK to assault young girls and that
makes young girls think that gender-based violence is acceptable. Surprise, Surprise: Feminists Can Homeschool – February 20,
2008 However, I’m glad to see this aspect of the
homeschooling community gaining some credibility (if an article in a
magazine called “Bitch” can do that!). And the article does poke at
the questions with which many of us have struggled over the years, which
occasionally spill over into Life Learning’s pages…and which are the
foundation for many of the essays in that book I hope to finish this
Spring (you’ll be the first to know when it’s published!). One of
the questions that writer Maya Schenwar poses in this article is: “Can
women trade their careers for their families without sacrificing a few
of their feminist values – the very values that inspired many of them
to homeschool in the first place?” That apparent conundrum supposedly
eats away at radical unschooling feminist moms. There are many
reasons why many people believe that feminism and bringing up your own
kids – let alone unschooling them even when the free child care of
public schools is available! – are not compatible. That includes our
habits of defining our identities by our careers and success as the
ability to make lots of money...not to mention the lack of value we
place on children and childcare. But I’m bothered by the presumptions
this supposedly feminist writer, writing in a self-described feminist
magazine, seems to make about fathers’ place (or, rather, absence) in
the scheme of things and about mothers’ individuality getting lost
because they like to hang out with their kids. This sort of thinking-inside-the-box is why so many women (myself
included) are uncomfortable with the feminist label, even though we
identify with the movement’s principles. Fortunately, if my two
30-something daughters are any indication, feminist homeschooling or
radical unschooling (or whatever other label one wants to give it –
I’m weary of fighting labels) could help create a new generation of
truly egalitarian (oh dear, that word is probably loaded too!) young
people. Idle Parenting is Responsible Parenting –
February 19, 2008 The Telegraph piece was written by Tom Hodgkinson
who is editor of a quirky British alternative magazine called
The Idler. (Google “Tom Hodgkinson” or “The Idler” and you’ll find other
essays on this same subject.) His parenting style is motivated by one of
my favorite DH Lawrence essays: Education of the People, published in
1918. Lawrence wrote, “How to begin to educate a child. First rule: leave him alone.
Second rule: leave him alone. Third rule: leave him alone. That is the
whole beginning.” And the reason the author feels this style of
parenting works? Respect for the child and trust in another human being.
Trust is a word we use a lot in Life Learning. It goes a long way. If
you agree, you might want to bookmark The Telegraph website because
Hodgkinson will be writing a regular column there on idle parenting beginning
in March. The Challenge of Honest Business – February 10,
2008 That’s been the conundrum of my business for over
three decades: How do you sell stuff to people while at the same time
encouraging them not to buy stuff?! Our solution: Keep things small,
simple, authentic and flexible. I don’t know Lundstrom, although I sat
on a small business panel with her once about 20 years ago. But I wish
her well and I hope she reincarnates her business in some – possibly
simpler – way. The world needs her talent and her perspective on
business. Homeschooling versus Homework – February
10, 2008 Cameron, who once taught kindergarten, says that studies have shown that reading with, or to, young children every day is the only proven way to boost their academic success. Aside from suggesting that we need to question what the term “academic success” really means (and if we want to buy into that definition), I, of course, would add the need for unstructured play – time for children to explore and to pursue their own interests, unfettered by curriculum, tests and the other school management stuff (like busy work and homework). So I have a suggestion for those parents who told the researchers that they like how homework helps them be involved in their children’s academic lives: Lose both homework and schoolwork and just let the kids learn! Bartel and Cameron think that homework is a social justice issue. “Those of us who are educated, who’ve come through the system, have resources and aren’t working three jobs” have the time and ability to help kids with homework, said Cameron. And if they’re too busy to help, they simply hire tutors. Obviously, the fact that homeschooling isn’t always seen as a viable option by families interested in the concept hasn’t
convinced the system to democratize and broaden its take on learning; I
wonder if the homework issue will do
the job. No Child Left Inside – February 5, 2008 “Louv’s success in building public awareness and action to address ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ represents a vital contribution to both the future of our environment and the health of our children,” says Audubon President John Flicker. “It will fall on the shoulders of our next generation to address the huge environmental problems of today and the new challenges that lie ahead; so it is critical that we narrow the divide between young people and the natural world.” In the upcoming first issue of our new Natural Child Magazine, writer and natural toy retailer Peter Emmeneger
writes about the powerful development wallop packed by unstructured play
– the kind with no rules, few gizmos and little or no adult. And in a
future issue, he and his wife (an architect who is trying to get the
school board to fund a Waldorf-type school) will be writing about
creating great outdoor play spaces for kids. However, as Suzanne
Malakoff writes in the current issue of
Life Learning magazine, there are all sorts of great discoveries to be
made just playing in a mud puddle! Do You Want Fries With That Diploma? – February
2, 2008 McDonald's employees will initially be offered a “basic shift manager” course to train staff in everything they need to know to run a McDonald’s outlet — from marketing and hygiene to customer service. Railroad operator Network Rail and low-cost airline Flybe plan to offer more advanced courses that could count toward vocational diplomas or even university degrees. Network Rail is testing a course in track engineering, while Flybe is planning an "airline trainer program," which will cover everything from engineering to cabin crew training. It’s not clear if universities will be willing to
accept students with “McQualifications” – yes, I can’t resist
the obvious plays on words this creates. And so-called “expert”
(read: academics and leaders of teachers’ unions) opinion has been
fairly negative since the announcement. But – aside from my opinions
about fast food and fast food corporations, and without knowing the content of these courses – I have no problem with the
idea. I think it could set a precedent for recognizing the value of
on-the-job, real-life experience for people of all ages. And those
academics and teachers unions had better get their heads around that. New Magazine Baby is Born – January
29, 2008 Please
feel free to share the link with anyone you think would be interested in
this magazine. The interest has been huge so far and we anticipate the
first issue will sell out. Return
to current weblog copyright © Wendy Priesnitz 2008 |
Topics & Passions: life learning ~ Monthly Archives: ~ What I'm Reading: Alone! Alone! Lives of
Some Outsider Women by Rosemary Dinnage (New York Review Books,
2004) ~ What
I'm Listening To:
Gold by Nina Simone (Sony Universal Music, 2007) ~
Fav
Bookmarks:
Daughter Blog ~ Fav Quotes:
Art, Writing, Creativity
|
Blog Updates
