Remember how you used to wake up at 5:30am --- maybe 6:00am to take a shower, have breakfast, and rush off to school -- where your assignment(s) will be checked and graded? Remember how teachers blessed you with homeworks at the end of the school day? Remember how you had to go home and spend a couple of hours trying to figure out your homework --- especially that last number? Remember jacking studying for exams, hoping to ace it and get that special gift from mommy and/or daddy? Well, all of that doesn't have to happen anymore.
The new school is in town! And it is here to tell you that you should allow your children to reach the fullest potential --- of their stupidity. I watched an episode of ABC's Nightline where Juju Chang had me cringing in my seat. Unschooling is not homeschooling. Homeschooling is where children don't go to school. Instead, they are schooled by their parents/guardians (with the curriculum) at home. Unschooling, however, has no schooling whatsoever. Instead, the children are allowed to just basically do whatever. Yes, whatever. Watch TV. Play. Sleep. Bake. Whatever. Because children, it appears, are good decision makers who should be allowed to take control of their lives.
I decided to research this unfortunate phenomenon some more. Critics of Unschooling say that parents of the Unschoolers are just lazy. Supporters of Unschooling say they don't want to leave the enlightenment of their children to a government-controlled agency (i.e.school). My thoughts: Someone needs to tell them that the entire country is government-run. If today, the lawmakers - who by the way are part of the government - decide that driving red cars is illegal, it would become illegal. That's what happens when government is in charge, which only happens like, you know --- all the time.
If supporters of Unschooling cannot stand a government-run agency, then their best - and only - option would be to move to another planet. But then, the government probably won't permit that. Tough luck.
Does anyone else wonder how these children would be able to compete with their mates? In today's world, their is so much technological advancement that by the time college students graduate from the University, whatever they learned in college would be ancient and outdated. I should say that I do acknowledge that school isn't for everyone. However, these children should be allowed to make that decision for themselves --- when they reach the age of accountability (which so happens to not be at the age of five).
My words to my future children: When you have one degree under your belt, a good job, and a loving spouse, you can now go ahead and decide whether school is or isn't for you.
And, on that note, I leave you with Juju Chang's report on ABC Nightline about Unschooling. Enjoy.
