tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444392441568379568.post4922705539168817114..comments2023-09-15T02:30:10.372-07:00Comments on Posts from Portland: Learning to ReadElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05114137750570177263noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444392441568379568.post-50957941517036029502008-02-08T15:58:00.000-08:002008-02-08T15:58:00.000-08:00This is wonderful, Elizabeth; especially for a new...This is wonderful, Elizabeth; especially for a newbie unschooler like myself who's still trying to trust that Rhys will read when he's good and ready (and not a moment before). We should've learned, when Fisher announced that he would become potty-trained on his fourth birthday and then proceeded to do so, that stuffing knowledge into the reluctant learner is worse than useless.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, thanks for the good thoughts.Molly Newmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02109356136788349306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2444392441568379568.post-72323253987812319302008-02-06T21:47:00.000-08:002008-02-06T21:47:00.000-08:00I love this: "But I think that learning is learnin...I love this: "But I think that learning is learning, and that all learning has value. It is the openness to learning that is important, and how well we keep the channels open for learning is dependent on attitudes around us and expectations."<BR/><BR/>My children keep showing me that this is true, over and over, and I'm finally beginning to really get it. I started out as a devoted unschooler, but sometimes my 10-year-old has pushed for more structured schooling, and then I have erroneously overgeneralized and provided more structure than was needed, and provided it to the kid who WASN'T asking for it. <BR/><BR/>The thing that just recently dawned on me is that when kids are happy and feeling accepted as they are, their brains also work better, and they'll absorb important things because their brains are receptive. It may not be multiplication tables, but it will be important stuff that will help them learn about the world, make connections, understand things--all the stuff they are naturally interested in doing. And, after they've been in a big learning phase, they need some down time to integrate what they've learned into their picture of the world, and I I push ahead, then I risk driving out what they learned.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I do understand that sometimes kids flounder. We always have to figure out how to balance when to nudge or push a child and when to back off, and sometimes it is hard to know if you're doing the right thing. Reading home-ed has made me realize that sometimes some kids need specific kinds of help, and parents are usually best-placed for seeing that, but I bet it is a pretty rare kid who doesn't pay some kind of price when required to stay lock-step with their average age-mate.ElizOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02871039122447763582noreply@blogger.com