I'm a teacher. If you asked me "who" I am, I would first say a mom and I would then say "a teacher." Being a teacher is a huge part of my life as well as just who I AM. Imagine my surprise, to find out that I have a very "unschooling" philosophy about learning. My older boys who are now 21 and almost 19, had such a hard time in school. Consequently, I had a hard time right along with them. I always felt like I was going crazy and often asked questions such as:
*Is it just me or is what is happening to these kids (mine and everyone else's) really wrong??
*Am I crazy?
*Is my perception of how to treat kids/people altogether WRONG?
*What is wrong with me??
*What is wrong with my kids?
My husband and I recently (October) pulled our 4th grade son out of school because we could see, for a THIRD time, the same things happening that we did with the older two boys- teachers were being disrespectful and/or downright mean to our son, he hated going to school, he got in trouble at school for things he didn't do and so on. Being a teacher, I have never understood why many (most, in my experience) teachers are rude to students. I have determined that teachers are teachers for one of three main reasons:
1. They did well in school and they want to help others do so (and see no reason why kids CAN'T).
2. They want control of a group of kids (they need to "be the boss).
3. They became a teacher just because they "fell" into it.
Of course there are admirable reasons why people become teachers, but honestly, I haven't run into many.
So, after we pulled our son out, I was really wanting to be conscientious about making sure he was still learning. I've been reading books about homeschooling, which automatically led to Unschooling. UN-SCHOOLING? That goes against everything I've been told, believed and done in my WHOLE LIFE. As with my kids growing up and feeling like I have been tricked, because I really didn't "get" that they grow up and leave you, I feel tricked about this topic as well: School. It's not what I thought it was, it's not what it should be (in my opinion) and things I thought were possible are not. The system isn't even set up FOR them to be possible.
Now I am on to a new chapter in life- reteaching myself what true learning and good education is all about. It's not going to happen in the public school system, that's for sure.
