Deschooling – The Education of Letting Go
So you want a new perspective on education? It may be that your first step isn’t school at all, but “deschooling”. In this episode we debunk the myths of what we deem as “successful education” and talk about going back to the root of what you desire with your kids.
Listen to this episode on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, YouTube, or your RSS Feed
This blog post on “Functional Education” lays out the outline of what all we will be covering on the podcast.
Functional education is a “whole mind” approach to learning. It’s taking learning beyond individual subjects and timelines to a full life-long learning approach.
What do you classify as “education”? Is it education, or entertainment…or both?
Hey Mama Rose,
Wow! Thank you so much for mentioning my “con” on your podcast post about unschooling. I’m finally taking the plunge with my amazing son starting this June. We are so excited to get out of the box of public education. I’m an educator in my soul, but the school system kills me! Especially for kids who learn differently, it doesn’t work. Thank you for empowering parents to listen to their heart and their children!
I’m excited to listen to your new podcast series.
Grateful,
Nicole
One of the biggest obstacles in trying to determine education for our children is based on our preconceived notions of what it’s “supposed” to look like.
Courage to Grow – This was written by the creator of Acton Academy and is a powerful book that introduces the concepts surrounding the Acton model…which I believe is essentially organized unschooling through a school. It’s an excellent read to explore the Socratic method, how to be your child’s “guide”, and look at what educational options you may have.
This is what some of us grew up thinking-
There are checkpoints that need to be followed:
- Memorization = Knowledge
- The way you enforce learning is to test, test, test
- For life to run smoothly, you must standardize it (if everyone reaches the norm, everyone is “educated”)
- TV is for “lazy” parents
What trips parents up is when they pull their children out of a system that isn’t working for them, bring them home, and then duplicate the same system because it’s all they know.
Sir Ken Robinson Ted Talk “Schools are killing our creativity”. Education is organic – it grows in our everyday life.
Does memorization really equal knowledge? What if you created a “climate of possibility” in your home?
Success in business – interaction – it’s built on trial and error. You keep trying. That zest and zeal to learn and grow – that’s what’s valuable. Tap into your curiosity and drive and see what happens.
The foundation is critical – it is more important for you to have a relationship full of trust and connection before you embark on your child’s learning experience.
The core is your connection with self, environment and others.
Break your old habits – deschool and get a reset.
As you deschool, keep in mind how old your child is – have they already been in a school setting and have a bad attitude about it? Are they brand new to “school” of any sort?
Get into your child’s world and explore:
- What delights them
- What motivates them
- What shuts them down
- Where do you stand in their life – what is your relationship?
- Define how the new educational feeling looks – what do you want it to feel like?
Add a weekly check-in to your family routine – just to connect and see where everyone is at in life.
Take a personal inventory – “Is this who I want to be?”
Listener Question of the week:
How would you encourage and facilitate self play, exploration and creative imagination for a kid (5) who fixates on video games outside his age range? (He doesn’t play them at our house, but has exposure at his bio mom’s and has friends with older siblings who talk about it)
Trying not to be completely ANTI, but it’s impacted how he plays.
He loves legos and being outside, but pretty much anything he plays with turns into somebody “getting” somebody or re-enacting a video game. Am I being overly sensitive to his boy-ness? – Shelby
Are you giving your child opportunities to explore different roles…even the negative ones?
Your Challenge this Week:
Practice “deschooling” – try throwing the idea of what “education” is out the window, and just be with your child. Pay attention to what climate of possibility you have in your home. What learning opportunities crop up?
The Mama Says Namaste Podcast song has arrived! For the full version of cuteness, I recommend you hop over to our YouTube channel and watch this video of us singing it live!
This week we find ourselves in Nokomis, Florida. We love love love this area, especially the drum circles on the beach! See our pictures and follow our adventures on Instagram as @FieldTripGypsies
Care for some Q&A? Hit us with any questions you have regarding education/school in your home. Ask in the Mama Says Namaste or Unschooling Families Facebook groups.
If we reference you on the podcast, we will also send you a free “Mamaste” shirt – fresh off the presses!
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