Monday, May 9, 2011

Twitter Book Club: Grace Llewellyn (1991) The Teenage Liberation Handbook - Part 3

Part Three—The Tailor-Made Educational Extravaganza


17. Your Tailor-Made Intellectual Extravaganza

"Whatever you love, you will love it more truly when you understand its history." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"The unpleasant flip side of living in an information age is that it's hard to know what matters and what doesn't." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply


But, Miss Llewellyn, isn't this the reason many people give for the purpose of school?

18. Beyond "field trips": using cultural resources

"In a library, you can learn whatever you want, but no one will try to make you learn anything." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply




19. School as a cultural resource

"They knew they could be assertive since they were five families strong, and for each of their kids the district wo... http://tl.gd/a8but5less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply


Lets repeat this one because I think it is real important:
"They knew they could be assertive since they were five families strong, and for each of their kids the district would gain $3,000. They presented the following list of requirements to the administrator." Llewellyn
Diane Ravitch, in a recent speech, called parents the sleeping giants in education reform. Somehow I don't think this is quite what she means but this strategy used by different homeschooling organizations in the past could be used to enact massive school changes. Think about it. If you and five other families each had two children who were of school age and all felt strongly about something related to how the school spends money in the name of educating your children collectively you have massive power to make change. These five parents potentially could leverage $50,000-$100,000 of per-pupil revenue the district receives (depending on what the local per pupil rate is). This kind of leverage is huge. Now, if that number of families was bigger, say 40 and each had at least 2 children now we are talking about $400,000-$800,000 of funds for that one school. THIS IS HUGE!

20. the Glorious Generalist

"nothing real is as uniform or predictable as the rows of offices in a tall building." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"As long as your mind is honest, your understanding of the universe will be in flux: an ocean, not a sidewalk." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"Most four-year-olds aren't fundamentally bewildered, and it's not for lack of questions and wonder." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"Ultimately, education is about our connection to the universe, our place in it. The bigger that connection, the bi... http://tl.gd/a8cfj3less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



21. Unschooling science

"School treats science all wrong. It usually allows no play and is afraid to ask you to do serious work. But real s... http://tl.gd/a91035less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



RT @anderscj: TwitLonger: "School treats science all wrong. It usually allows no play and is afraid to ask you to http://tl.gd/a91035less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply



"Don't be brainwashed by government education people when they emphasize science and math over other subjects. This... http://tl.gd/a919qjless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



22. Unschooling math

"Many of us don't even know what math is—we confuse it with arithmetic and forget that it's more about logic, and a... http://tl.gd/a9lpb7less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



23. Unschooling The Social Sciences

This chapter is mostly a list of social studies resources. Nothing that really grabs me.less than a minute ago via Twitterrific Favorite Retweet Reply



24. Unschooling "English"

"The best English teacher in the world would hardly say a word, especially to the whole class at once. She would st... http://tl.gd/aaai7cless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"Sometimes literary criticism seems utterly ridiculous, a way to make insecure English professors feel as scientifi... http://tl.gd/aaak57less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"We learn by example. Therefore, the best writing teacher for most people is lots of reading." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"I've had several students who spoke articulately, but who panicked and fell apart when they had to write, because ... http://tl.gd/aaaqcmless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



25. Unschooling foreign languages

Nothing of any real surprise here. Llewellyn basically recommends you learn a foreign language by visiting places where other languages are spoken.

26. Unschooling the arts

"Don't divorce art from the rest of your life." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



RT @anderscj "Don't divorce art from the rest of your life." Llewellynless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply



27. Sports teams and otherwise athletics

Again, nothing really grabbed me here. She more or less just tells her readers to go out and enjoy the great outdoors.

28. The call of the wild

"I see distressing signals that young people are increasingly softer, more cautious, overprotected by parents and a... http://tl.gd/aatpi0less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply


I find this distressing too. When I was a kid my friends and I used to run all over the neighborhood. It was expected behavior of us. Today, if a parent let their six, seven, eight, even ten-year-old do this they would be considered negligent. Sad. I wish things were different. I wish I could give my own children the freedom I had. I worry about what they are missing out on by not having this basic affordance.

"If you are a receptive adventurer, you will learn far more from quiet observation than from any contrived academia." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



29. Worldschooling

29. Other school stuff turned unschool stuff

31. College without school

This may be one of the more important chapters in this book because it not only dispels a lot of myths about unschooling and education but also gives actionable advice for how to go to college (if you end up wanting to go) even without a high school diploma, and perhaps even without a GED.

"It's no longer an exception or an unusuality when unschoolers get into the most elite institutions, hardly even wo... http://tl.gd/aaufufless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"I hope soon to hear from people who are admitted to graduate schools without having completed undergraduate degrees." Llewellynless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"Colleges increasingly encourage freshmen to take a year off for work or travel after high school before college. T... http://tl.gd/aaupneless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"Many unschoolers tell me that college is a possibility for their futures, but only if they find themselves specifi... http://tl.gd/aausm6less than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



"I am appalled that young people are routinely encouraged to go into significant debt in order to earn a piece of p... http://tl.gd/aauvunless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet Reply



@anderscj how about the fact that a seemingly majority of parents believe that their kids should pay their own way #perpetualdebtless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPad Favorite Retweet Reply



@mwacker it is becoming the American caste systemless than a minute ago via Twitterrific Favorite Retweet Reply





@mwacker I would love to get my Ed.D or Ph.D in education or have a job those degrees open doors to but I can't afford it.less than a minute ago via Twitterrific Favorite Retweet Reply

2 comments:

Essay Writer said...

I am really sad to hear that you want to study more but can't afford it.

Carl Anderson said...

It is free to study. I've clearly demonstrated that everyday on my blog. What I can't afford is the credential.