Posted on 10/29/2018 3:27:58 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
Your thoughts?
I am not a fan of unschooling as I’ve seen it misused as an excuse for parents to not do much of anything with their kids.
Some courses demand structured learning to master the subject, to make sure you get everything that you need to know for the subject. I think especially of math where much of what you learn is built on the foundation of what you did before it.
Some sort of structured education or schooling has been part of human history for a long time and did so with great success.
That said, I could not agree more with his assessment of the public school system.
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I bought his book on the underground history of education in America. Amazing book.
I am so sorry to hear this.
He definitely informed my homeschooling years.
R.I.P.
Anyone who cares about education in America simply MUST read things that Gatto wrote. I particularly recommend The Underground History of American Education.
There is a pdf version on-line. I much prefer the printed bound volume. But you can get a sense of the book by reading almost any part. I suggest starting with the Eyeless in Gaza chapter.
I emailed Gatto with a question about something he wrote. (I no longer remember what it was.) He called me on the phone and we talked for a half hour or more about my question and other things too. What an honor for me.
ML/NJ
After his oped was published I kept a copy around to show friends and relatives just why I felt homeschooling was superior to traditional schools. It's not the raw knowledge my kids learned as the independence and the desire to teach yourself.
Now to impart those ideals to the next generation.
We did a form of unschooling, although I prefer to call it laissez faire homeschool. All three of our children are now successful adults. Everyone has to find the path that is best for his family.
A real teacher. I suspect he would score as an NF.
Once in California, a Myers-Briggs survey of public school teachers indicated that almost 2/3 were Sensing-Judging [SJ], while almost 1/3 were iNtuitive-Feeling [NF], with a smattering of SPs (P.E., Shop and the like), and NTs (Science, Engineering, higher education).
Both SJs and NFs were disproportionately represented, especially the NFs, who are heavily outnumbered in the general population.
The other significant finding was that although SJs had a 2:1 edge in numbers, almost all excellence-in-teaching awards went to NFs.
NFs seek to build rapport, and tend to view each student as an individual. SJs tend to focus on rules and rote, and to treat all students as interchangeable.
We followed a kind of “unschooling” with the 2 youngest, once the basics were mastered and they had the desire & self-discipline to take charge of their own learning decisions. I think I called it “delight directed learning” or some such on my evaluation papers.
Kids who are, from the earliest age; read to, talked to, and treated as if they can understand even abstract constructs learn without even realizing they’re learning.
I know there are good teachers, and good schools. But the politics, the artificiality & strictness of the typical school experience often stifles those who have the brightest minds. (IMO)
I considered same-age schooling highly artificial, even as a boy. The old prairie-school mixed class I saw in movies seemed much more natural.
I belonged with older kids, but was not put ahead because I was small and shy, even though I was ahead of everyone else in mathematics and language.
Mixed aging would teach the older ones responsibility toward the younger, and teach the younger to accept guidance from the older. Each student would have his turn at both roles, as their aging progressed.
I have his book on the shelf. It’s absolutely fascinating! One of his points that I remember and teach is that a student doesn’t need to believe everything a teacher says. The teacher (adult) could be offering an opinion; he could be honestly misinformed, or he could be intentionally conveying incorrect information.
RIP. I had a few long, wonderful conversations with him. He changed a lot of perspective for me. He did us all a great service. I still see the horrors of institutional education and am still skulking around its edges while soaking up some of its benefits for good reason. After homeschooling for many years, it’s about time I get some of my tax bennies.
Human nature. Committees will always pretty much suck.
Unschooling has his moments and should be a part of even structured education. I think all those young people with their gap year before college get it. They have to take the sheeplike follower habit out of their souls.
My two oldest had some unschooling and some very classic homeschooling and some in between. It combined to make them both the most “they” that they could be. They are strong and individual. It took me a long time after my college degrees to wash the 20 years of being an obedient student out of my soul.
My two youngest are in the most unique “public” ( funded) schools around, absolutely great situations for each of them. But I’m a homeschooling mom forever anyway. I did more years than most.
Sounds like him. He was so open and so available. I wonder if his huuuuuge tome (the Underground History) made it through my purge of my books 3 years ago. I’d like to think I kept that one.
One of my sons did middle school at a hybrid school, which is half homeschooling but they meet once a week with their teacher for 2-3 hours and work on things with their small class. The kids had ages from 11-16. It was wonderful.
Wow, have heard of him. He sounds like he was amazing man & I am definitely going to read his books.
Which of his books should I read first? And thank you for this.
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