I am sure everyone has different experiences. IT just seems to me that a CHILD has not the development to know what it is they will NEED to know even if they may be inclined to know what they WANT to know. I dont know where this leaves a child when they get out on their own or if something happens to the support system that has earned a living by being competitive in a workforce which requires basic math and reading and writing and reading comprehension.

I question any approach which raises a child to think the world will revolve around their interests alone...although I do see a tremendous benefit in allowing children to follow their interests IN ADDITION to educating them on those things they will need...

Sorry but I think this is crazy!! It has nothing to do with the parents, I just think that the children NEED to learn about the things that the school is teaching!! I do think that they picked a bad example of parents to do this whole subject on BECAUSE those parents don't seem to concerned with their kids!!
I do believe however that sometimes the whole school thing sucks for some kids!! I know my son was a fast learner and had problems just sitting there "waiting" for others to catch up. I think they need special programs for different type of kids...BUT THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!
I GUESS TO EACH THEIR OWN BELIEF OF THIS TOPIC!!!

I'm wondering if some feel that good school grades are more important than allowing children to be happy....
If a child is happy they will do better in all areas of life. It's a good thing to encourage children to follow their bliss and find what makes them happy. I do feel they will find and develop their talents and interests with encouragement..where a school setting can be very oppressive and stifling. My son got all A's and was honor roll, but he was miserable, bored and depressed. His well being became more important to me than his grades, thank god! For me a happy child is success much more than a depressed child that gets good grades..

this approach, done successfully, takes MUCH more effort than just getting them dressed and sending them to school.

it's also more expensive.

i certainly didn't need to learn to play kickball, or who won what battle. i didn't need to take shop, or learn to sew a shirt.

knowing which river is which...not so much. knowing about rocks...still not so much.

i'd've been one of those students that would have FLOWN with the unschooling. i was absolutely insane about learning. to be able to direct the course of my own studies...would have been amazing. i wouldn't have sat through AP classes, bored to tears.

Children do come to this planet with more knowledge than they are given credit. As adults and parents we seem to think we know more than them..all the bad, but in spiritual matters and matters of the heart they have much clarity and they are quite capable of guiding us. We just don't believe that so we conform them, change them and attempt at making them clones of ourselves.
To teach a child that they are wonderful and special does not mean we are teaching them they are the center of the universe..just the center of our universe. Such things can be taught without them thinking that their shiit doesn't stink and that they are more important than others. It actually helps them to be more tolerant and allowing of others...children learn what they live, and by our example.
To take a brilliant child, send them to a place all day where they are herded like sheep, clumped together socially and academically and forced to conform and be like everyone else is cruel. They are individuals and each has insight as to what they want and what makes them happy. Each has the birthright to be experience this freedom.
How many people do you know that decide what their children are going to be or do when they grow up and then make that the focus with no real interest what the child wants to do because..their young and don't know what they want, or they don't have any life experience...too young and inexperienced to know what they want. What a crock! They are quite aware.
The basics that are spoken of in this thread can easily be taught and the rest of the time is for them to explore as much diversity as possible so they are able to find their nitch. Instead of struggling with something they have no interest in, will never use in life..because they have zero interest in it, they can excel in those areas they enjoy and do better in. The sooner they have the freedom to do this the better, before they lose that natural youthful desire to learn because they have burned out.
Sending children to school to learn how to be good workers and live up to societies standards does not serve them..Every fiber in their being wants to be happy and free and the entire Universe is set up to accommodate that.

I think, in this day and age,, a child like you were is the exception. Children need adult structure and guidance in MOST cases. In most cases, children dont come in this world with the knowledge necessary to survive as adults(because they arent yet adults and havent yet had the experiences). On their journey to adulthood, as precious and amazing as they are,, they USUALLY are meant to have some adult supervision giving them examples and boundaries with which to compete and survive once they are adults.

The children in the OP did not seem to me like those overachieving types who are going to SOAR with no supervision.

Yeah it makes ya wonder how different things could have been if there would have been more options for us...I wonder to. Wish I would have know more about such things when my oldest was just going into school. Yet so grateful I had the knowledge for the younger two.

My mom would have made me go to school anyways lol

I loved school...when I was at school. At home the tv and playing games were my thing. I wouldn't learn at home, I wouldn't even watch tv if it had anything to do with educational stuff.

It works for kids that wish to learn and will do so on their own time. For those of us that didn't mind school when at school or like my best friend, hated school in general, we wouldn't have learned much outside a classroom. I never even brought homework home, I always finished it in study hall or something.

aint the school's problem. get the kids off the games and their butt. make them ready to face the world. teach them to accept responsibility for their actions. in other words, kick them out of the nest like a mother bird andf let them get in touch with reality. most kids today are not.

I am reminded of a saying 'love dont pay the bills'

what makes children happy is great, but it is not going to include all the knowledge they NEED to compete and be SELF SUSTAINING once they are adults,,,,, I am great with encouraging children to explore things they enjoy, but I am not so cool with the extreme of ONLY encouraging them in things they enjoy,,,,,


there are many things they will need that might not be entertaining or 'enjoyable' for them

One thing that many adults don't take into consideration is how much learning the kids (especially the younger ones) are doing while playing. Most children unschool themselves until they are placed in a school/preschool setting.

My daughter learned to identify colors before she could speak, she was reading, writing, and doing basic math at 4. She started kindergarten at a 1st grade level -- all on her own, I only answered her questions. She commented in Kindergarten that "you don't go to school to learn." Even today, at 18, she knows more about different historical time periods than I do simply from reading more books set in those time periods. She even researches people, events, and things that were mentioned in books and movies; so basically, even though she attended public schools, she unschooled herself in her free time. She is just one of those children who has a natural love of learning, she will freely chose reading over mindless television/video games. She was no where near the top of her graduating class partially because she only put in the minimal effort needed to pass the classes she was forced to take that she had no interest or aptitude in (like science).

My son on the other hand -- he wants nothing to do with learning. There is no way he could be taught using the unschooling style. He proved that even as a preschooler -- the things that most kids learn without much effort from the parents required more teaching effort with him.