Shay's Articles at the "Life Without School" Blog
I am honored to have been among the first guest authors invited to contribute to the "Life Without School" blog hosted by my dear friend. This
Crucial Elements
I was lucky to have an unconventional youth, during which short periods of my life were defined largely by who I was and what interested me. These were my halcyon days, upon which I still look with pleasure. Some time ago, I made a brief list of the elements that were crucial to these idyllic periods...
Attracted To Power
An old friend said that she noticed I have "always been attracted to power." This friend often provides insightful and accurate observations, so her comment gave me pause. I stopped to consider what she said, to examine myself and my tendencies, checking to see if what she said was true.
Off The Specified Route
How many times I have been admonished for being "off the specified route!" Heaven forbid I should take the scenic route on a whim, make a side trip out of necessity, or visit a byway to satisfy my curiosity.
Chortling Paramedics
My daughter e-mailed me the most recent culmination of her life without school: a Power Point trailer for the fictitious movie, "Chortling Paramedics." The words on the screen are a warning. "When you're in trouble...don't call for help...because you might not get it...if your town has been taken over by Chortling Paramedics.
Interfering with Life
During the last two years of my public education, I often stated--in a joking tone, although I meant it sincerely--that "school interferes with my life." I was able to make this declaration only because I had experienced two years of life without school. It was unschooling, actually, although it was considered "truancy" in that time and place.
Unschooling on a Bike
If unschooling is about learning by following one's interests, about being led by one's passions, then I am unschooling myself as an adult, in much the way I did for the two years I lived my life without school as a teen
Mother, I'm Flying!
Caitlin was also able to reach Laurel in a way that I could not, and my mother-pride swelled to see my daughter treating her sister with the kind of behavior I had modeled throughout her life. Watching this happen, I felt I could see a momentary glimpse into a kinder future, one in which people are more whole, and better at connecting with each other.
House of Tomorrow
When my firstborn was very young, I pounced on each "learning moment," overly eager to make sure my daughter received every possible kind of support and encouragement for learning. If she showed even the tiniest interest in a subject, creature, object, or concept, I rushed in with resources, manipulatives, books, toys, games, and real life objects.
Stranger Danger? Maybe
I did not teach my children "never talk to strangers," that all-too-common line that makes every unknown person a danger. Nor did I teach- or model for them the idea that every stranger is "just a friend you have not met." I am certain that if we never talked to strangers, we would never meet potential new friends, but I temper that with commonsense cautiousness.
A Homeschooler's Changing Perspective on Authority Figures
Despite her firm conviction, despite knowing what is right for her child, despite her mother bear's instinct to protect her child, this woman is trying to muster the courage to face the school division, because, as she stated, "these people intimidate me." I noted that, "It is common to feel intimidated by authority figures. After all, we learned that fear in school." Who among us did not learn to fear being sent to the principal's office, to tremble at the thought of facing that man in a suit, that man who had the power to rule our lives?
A Pivotal Point
Picture a 12-year-old girl's face, when she receives her class assignments the morning of her first day of middle school. She unfolds the paper with anticipation, only to discover that, rather than the Wood Shop she longed for, she has been assigned to Home Economics.
Homeschool Teen Reviews
My eldest daughter, Caitlin, is a writer in her own right. Almost 16 years-old, she is skilled far beyond the level I had attained at that age. This is due to both nature and nurture; she has the brains and the inclination, and has grown up in an environment that provides excellent support for her endeavors.
Rejecting the Summer Reading Program
The librarian was dismayed that these kids did not seem to want to read for the pleasure of it, but were only interested in jumping as low as possible through the hoops to get the goodies, but then she suggested that my daughter should do just that.
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